HILLEL WAS SUCCEEDED AS NASI of the Sanhedrin by his son Simeon. The office of Nasi assumed added importance after the office of “Head of the Court” was abolished and the Nasi became the sole ruler in all religious questions.
But it seems that Simeon did not live very long. He is only mentioned in the Talmud as Hillel’s successor and no teaching of his has been recorded. When Simeon died his son Gamliel was elected Nasi. Gamliel came to be known as Rabban Gamliel the Elder and he was the first one to be titled “Rabban.”
The title “Elder” was conferred upon Gamliel because he was the first scholar of that name. The title Rabban (our teacher) was conferred on him because he was the only Head of the Sanhedrin. At that time there was introduced the custom of “Smichat Z’kenim,” ordination of the elders, during which the Nasi or his representative ordained one of the disciples by placing his hand on his head. This procedure conferred upon the disciple the title Rabbi and the right to judge in all disputes except those involving life and death which were then the prerogative of the Roman government.
Most of the time that Rabban Gamliel served as Nasi was unfavorable for the Jews, only one short period of improvement intervened. These were the last years preceding the destruction of the temple and the country was in a state of constant crisis. Officially the land was a province of the Roman empire and was ruled by the iron hand of a Roman governor. Even the slightest disobedience to the governor’s will was punishable by death.
In those days Christianity began to spread in the country. The Apostle Paul (Saul of Tarsus) claims to have been a disciple of Rabban Gamliel. If this claim is justified, then the trial of Jesus must have taken place during those years.
During that time too the Sanhedrin left the stone chamber in the temple and moved to “Chanuth,” a place in Jerusalem outside of the temple. The cause of this transfer of the Sanhedrin probably lay in the realization that the political situation of the country was rapidly approaching a crisis. If the temple could not withstand the enemy, it was aimed to save the Sanhedrin at least.
Almost at the same time the throne of Rome was ascended by the mad Ceasar Caligula who demanded that all the nations of the empire accord him divine worship. He also commanded the Jews of Palestine to place his image in the temple.
This command was received on the eve of the festival of Succoth when Jews from the whole country were gathered in Jerusalem for the festivities. Their joy immediately turned to mourning and every one felt certain that the royal decree would not be fulfilled for the whole nation would rise against the attempt to desecrate their sanctuary. Under the prevailing political situation it was obvious that such a rebellion against the emperor’s command would cost the lives of tens of thousands of people.
One of the scholars then present in Jerusalem addressed the people and said: “Let not the festivities of this day be disturbed. God in Heaven will save us from Caligula’s decree even as he delivered us from other such decrees in the past.”
His prediction came true and before this decree was executed Caligula was slain. With the death of the emperor this decree was abolished. Another political factor was influential in this case although its influence was exerted secretly.
The Jewish prince Agrippa, the son of the executed prince Aristobulus who was the son of Miriam the Hasmonean, was educated in Rome where he was very friendly with Caligula. He once exclaimed that he wished emperor Tiberius was dead so that Caligula could ascend the throne. When this remark was reported to Tiberius he had Agrippa put in prison. A short time later Tiberius died and Caligula freed Agrippa from his imprisonment. In spite of the intrigues of his sister, who was also a grandchild of Miriam the Hasmonean, Agrippa was made ruler over several districts of the old Jewish kingdom. In addition to this Caligula offered to fulfill any wish of Agrippa which lay in his power. Agrippa asked that the decree to have an image of the emperor installed in the temple be revoked. Although Caligula was displeased by this request, he agreed to postpone the execution of his decree; meantime he was assassinated.
After Caligula’s death, Agrippa utilized his influence with the Roman senate to have Claudius named emperor and Claudius showed his gratitude by naming Agrippa king over the whole land of Judea. Agrippa ruled for seven years which marked a bright period in the life of the Jews of Palestine.
In contradistinction to his predecessors, Agrippa strove to observe all the laws of the Torah in the same manner as they were observed by the common people without requesting any royal privileges. But despite this there were many who were dissatisfied with the king. The behavior of previous kings was fresh in the memory of the people and many Jews felt that it would be better if there were no king.
One of the scholars said to the king that he was not worthy to cross the threshold of the temple because he built a “theater” in Cesarea according to Roman custom. Agrippa did not punish the man but had him taken to a performance in Cesarea to convince him that the performances were not against the Jewish faith. Another time the king was accused of not being a full blooded Jew, since his grandfather (Herod) was an Idumean convert, and also of not being raised in the Jewish faith.
Once when king Agrippa was standing on the platform in the temple during the festival of Succoth and was reading the king’s portion of the Torah (Deut. 17) he reached the verse “you shall not make a stranger who is not your brother king over you.” He then remembered the accusation that was levelled against him that he was not a pure Jew and he began to weep. The scholars felt a great pity for their weeping king and they said to him: “Fear not king Agrippa, you are our brother.”1)סוטה מ״א א׳.
King Agrippa was very much attached to Rabban Gamliel. He obeyed his advice in all religious matters and Rabban Gamliel was his guest on all festive occasions.
Many of the king’s regulations aimed to make peace between the Jews and non-Jews. The Roman administration attracted many non-Jews to Palestine and these considered themselves privileged citizens because they enjoyed the direct protection of Rome. The Jews, on the other hand, believed themselves to be the more privileged because of their being natives of the land. Agrippa endeavored to establish friendly relations between the two and in this Rabban Gamliel aided him. It was then that they permitted the non-Jewish poor to come to glean the fields together with the Jewish poor, and they ruled that it was obligatory to give charity to Gentile and Jewish poor alike. Similar rites were prescribed for the dead of both peoples.2)גטין ס״א א׳.
Agrippa reigned for seven years. In spite of his attempt to gain the favor of Rome he secretly sympathized with all those who dreamed of freedom from the Roman yoke. During the last days of his life he tried to ascertain the number of men that the Jews could raise into an army. He convoked all the Jews of the country to Jerusalem for a census. The census was made by means of the Paschal offerings which they brought. The High Priest hid a part of every offering and the number was found to be six hundred thousand. This was proof that there were six hundred thousand families in Palestine aside from those who could not come to Jerusalem because they were impure or because of the distance. Since every family consisted of an average of ten people it was accounted that the Jewish population of the country numbered over six million people.3)פּסחים ס״ד א׳, תוספתא פּסחים פרק ד׳.
At that time king Agrippa went to Caesarea to witness a theater performance and while in the theater he began to suffer great pain. He was immediately removed to his palace where he soon died at the age of fifty-four years.
Rabban Gamliel died soon after. With his death, the scholars said, there departed the glory of the Torah and all justice and purity passed away.
Of the innovations of Rabban Gamliel there were some of great importance for his time. He introduced a new procedure in taking testimony regarding the beginning of a new month. When it was necessary to hear such testimony on a Sabbath, the witnesses were kept in a place called “Beth Yazek” and they were not permitted to leave the place all day because of the Biblical prohibition that “no man shall leave his place.” Rabban Gamliel amended this law to permit one to walk two thousand ells in every direction from the point at which one found himself. He permitted a similar liberty for midwives on their way to women in labor, in case of fire, attack by a foreign army and flood.4)ראש השנה כ״ג ב׳.
Up to that time two witnesses were required to testify to the death of a man before the widow was permitted to remarry. But as the cases of violent death increased as a result of executions by the Romans as well as through murder on the highways Rabban Gamliel ruled that just as only one witness was required to validate a marriage even so only the testimony of one witness to the death of a man should be sufficient to permit the widow to remarry.5)יבמות קכ״ב א׳.
Aside from these innovations Rabban Gamliel introduced other rules pertaining to divorces and other important occasions in the lives of the people. In all of these regulations he aimed to lighten the burden of the laws. Only in those laws which pertained to cleanliness was he more severe than his predecessors. He also introduced various customs which placed the Nasi in a privileged position as compared to that of the common people.6)שקלים פרק ג׳ ופרק ו׳.
Rabban Gamliel was a person of delicate health. He was not strong enough to stand during his studies, as was then customary, and he permitted sitting down during study for teacher as well as for pupils.7)מגלה כ״א א׳. Although he was rich, he commanded his followers that he be buried in a plain linen shroud; this was contrary to the custom of the rich of that time. Since that time the custom of luxurious burial for important people was given up.8)מועד קטן כ״ז ב׳, כתובות ח׳ ב׳.
The following saying of Rabban Gamliel characterizes his opinion of his disciples: “There are as many types of disciples as there are varieties of fish; there are unclean fish, clean fish, fish from the Jordan and fish from the great sea. A disciple who comes from poor parents and who, although he has studied Torah, Mishnah, Halacha and Hagada, has no native intelligence is like an unclean fish. A disciple who comes from wealthy parents, has studied Torah, Mishna, Halacha and Hagada, and also has native intelligence is like a clean fish. One who has studied Torah and Mishna and can also expound Halacha and Hagada but is not intelligent enough to solve problems that are put before him is like a fish from the Jordan. Like a fish from the great sea is a disciple who has studied Torah and Mishna and can also expound Halacha and Hagada and can solve all problems put up to him.”
From Rabban Gamliel we discover for the first time why the Sanhedrin declared some years to contain thirteen months. In a letter which he sent to the Jews of Palestine and the neighboring countries he said: “The time of Pesach is drawing nigh but there is no sign of spring and we will not have lambs for the Passover offering nor young pigeons to be sacrificed by women who have given birth nor will there be new barley for the offering of the sheaf.9)סנהדרין י״א ב׳, ירושלמי מעשרות פרק ה׳ הלכה ד׳.
It also seems certain that the great academy of Jerusalem was transferred to Jabneh during the time of Rabban Gamliel. In Jabneh it remained for many years after the destruction of the temple with the permission of the Roman government.