The Dethroning of Rabban Gamaliel

1. Rav Yehuda said, Shmuel said: the evening prayer. Rabban Gamliel says: obligatory. Rabbi Yehoshua says: optional. Abaye said: The halakha is in accordance with the statement of the one who said: obligatory. Rava said: The halakha is in accordance with the statement of the one who said:

optional.

2. The Sages taught: A student came before Rabbi Yehoshua. He said to him: Is the evening prayer optional or obligatory? He said to him: Optional.

3. He came before Rabban Gamliel. He said to him: Is the evening prayer optional or obligatory? He said to him: Obligatory. He said, but Rabbi Yehoshua told me: optional? He said to him: Wait until the shield-bearers enter the study hall,.

4. When shield-bearers entered, the questioner stood and asked: Is the evening prayer optional or obligatory? Rabban Gamliel said to him: Obligatory.

5. Rabban Gamliel said to the Sages: Is there any person who disputes this matter? Rabbi Yehoshua said to him: No. He said to him: But it was in your name that they told me: optional!

6. He said to him: Yehoshua, stand up and they will testify against you. Rabbi Yehoshua stood up and said: If I were alive and he were dead, the living can contradict the dead. Now that I am alive and he is alive, how can the living contradict the living?

7. Rabban Gamliel was sitting and lecturing, and Rabbi Yehoshua standing up, until all of the people murmured and said to Ḥutzpit the translator: Stop, and he stopped.

8. They said: Until when will he continue afflicting him? On Rosh HaShana of last year , he afflicted him; In Bekhorot [firstborn], in the story of Rabbi Tzadok, he afflicted him. Here too, he afflicted him. Let us remove him!

9. Who shall we establish in his place? Shall we establish Rabbi Yehoshua? He is party to the incident. Shall we establish Rabbi Akiva in his place? Perhaps he would punish him as he lacks the merit of ancestors. Rather, let us establish Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya, who is wise, rich, and a tenth to Ezra.

10. He is wise, so if he challenges him he responds. He is rich, so if he needs serve Caesar’s court, he too is able to go and serve. And he is tenth to Ezra, so he has the merit of ancestors, and he cannot punish.

11. They came and said to him: Would the Master consent to being the Head of the Yeshiva? He said to them: I will go and consult with my household. He went and consulted with his wife. She said to him: [28A] Perhaps they will remove you. He said to her: A person uses an expensive goblet today and it break on the morrow.

12. She said to him: You have no white. That day he was eighteen years old. A miracle happened for him and eighteen rows of hair turned white. This is why Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya said: "I am as seventy years old" and not "I am seventy years old".

13. It was taught: On that day they removed the guard and permission was granted to the students to enter, for Rabban Gamliel would proclaim and say: Any student whose insideis not like his outside, cannot enter the study hall. On that day several benches were added. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Abba Yosef ben Dostai and the Rabbis are divided on this. One said: Four hundred benches were added, and one said: Seven hundred benches were added,

14. Rabban Gamliel was disheartened. He said: Perhaps, Heaven forbid, I prevented Israel from Torah. They showed him in his dream white jugs filled with ashes, but that is not, it was shown to him to ease his mind.

15. It was taught: Eduyyot was taught that day. And wherever we say: On that day, it refers to that day. There was not a pending halakha in the study hall that they did not clarify. And even Rabban Gamliel did not prevent himself from the study hall for even one moment.

16. As we learned in a mishna: On that day, Yehuda, the Ammonite convert, came before them in the study hall. He said to them: What am I to marry into the congregation? Rabban Gamliel said to him: You are forbidden to marry into the congregation. Rabbi Yehoshua said to him: You are permitted to marry into the congregation.

17. Rabban Gamliel said to him: But it was already stated: “An Ammonite and a Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of YHWH. Rabbi Yehoshua said to him: Do Ammon and Moab reside in their place? Sennacherib King of Asyria already rose and scrambled all the nations, as it is said: “I have removed the bounds of the peoples, and have robbed their treasures, and have brought down as one mighty the inhabitants” (Isaiah 10:13). And anything that parts, parts from the majority.

18. Rabban Gamliel said to him: But it was already stated: “Afterward I will bring back the captivity of the children of Ammon, says YHWH” (Jeremiah 49:6) and they have already returned? Rabbi Yehoshua said to him: But it was already stated: “And I will return the returm of My people Israel" (Amos 9:14), and they have not yet returned. They immediately permitted him to marry into the congregation.

19. Rabban Gamliel said: Since this is what happened, let me go and appease Rabbi Yehoshua. When he reached his house, he saw that the walls of his house were black. He said to him from the walls of your house it is evident that you are a charcoal maker.

20. He said to him: Woe unto a generation that you are its leader as you are unaware of the suffering of Torah scholars, how they make a living and how they sustain themselves. He said to him: I am humbling myself before you, forgive me. He paid him no attention. Do it in deference to my father! He was appeased.

21. They said: Who will go and inform the Sages? This launderer said to them: I will go. Rabbi Yehoshua sent to the study hall: The one who wears the robes will wear the robes, and the one who did not wear the robes will say to the one who wears the unrobes, remove your robes and I will wear it?

22. Rabbi Akiva said to the Sages: Lock the gates so that Rabban Gamliel’s servants will not come and disturb the Sages. Rabbi Yehoshua said: It is best if I get up and go to them. He came and knocked on the door.

23. He said to them: One who sprinkles the, son of one who sprinkles, shall sprinkle, one who neither sprinkles nor son of one who sprinkles will say to one who sprinkles son of one who sprinkles: Your water is cave water and your ashes are burnt ashes?

24. Rabbi Akiva said to him: Rabbi Yehoshua, have you been appeased? Did we do anything but to defend your honor? Tomorrow you and I will be at his door early.

25. They said: What shall we do? Remove him? W have a tradition: One elevates in sanctity and does not downgrade. Let one Sage lecture one Shabbat and the other Sage one Shabbat, they will come to be jealous. Rather, Rabban Gamliel will lecture three Shabbatot and Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya one Shabbat. This is what the master said: Whose Shabbat was it? It was of Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya. That student was Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai.

2. It happened that one student came and asked Rabbi Yehoshua: What is about evening prayer? He said to him: It is voluntary.

3. He asked Rabban Gamliel: What is about evening prayer? He said to him: It is obligatory. He said to him: But Rabbi Yehoshua told me that it was voluntary. He said to him: Tomorrow, when I enter the assembly hall, stand up and ask me this halakha.

4. The next day, that student stood up and asked Rabban Gamliel: What is about evening prayer? He said to him: It is obligatory.

5. He said to him: But Rabbi Yehoshua told me that it was voluntary. Rabban Gamliel said to Rabbi Yehoshua: Are you the one who says it is voluntary? He answered him: No.

6. He said to him: Stand up on your feet so that they may testify against you.

7. Rabban Gamliel was sitting and lecturing and Rabbi Yehoshua was standing up, until the people started talking and said to Rabbi Ḥuẓpit the transmitter: relieve the people.

7A. They said to Rabbi Xenon the ḥazan: Say! He started and said: Start! All the people stood up and said to him (Nahum 3:19): “Certainly, on whom did your evil not pass always?”

12. They went and appointed Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah to the Yeshivah when he was 16 years old; his head was filled with white hair.

9. Rebbi Akiva was sitting and lamenting; he said, not that he is a greater Torah scholar than I am, but he comes from a family of great people, more than I do; hail to the man whose forefathers created merit for him, hail to the man who has a peg to hang on to. What was Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah’s peg? He was the tenth generation after Ezra.

13. How many benches were there? Rabbi Yaakov ben Sisi said: Eighty benches were there of accomplished scholars, not to count those standing behind the railing. Rabbi Yose ben Rabbi Abun said 300 were there, not to count those standing behind the railing.

15. As we have stated there (Mishnah Zebaḥim 1:3) “On the day Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah was appointed to the Academy.”

13. There (Mishnah Ketubot 4:6) we have stated: “This inference did Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah present before the sages at the vineyard of Yavneh.” Was there a vineyard? It means that the scholars sat there in rows like vines in a vineyard.

19. Rabban Gamliel went immediately [or: consequently] to appease each one in his house. He came to Rabbi Yehoshua and found him sitting and making needles. He asked him: This is how you earn your living?

20. He answered him: Until now you did not know? Woe to the generation whose leader you are! He said to him: I humble myself before you.

21. They sent a washerman to Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah, but some say that it was Rabbi Akiva.

23. He told him: The sprinkler, son of a sprinkler, should sprinkle. Should anyone who is neither a sprinkler nor the son of a sprinkler say to the sprinkler: your water is water from a cave and your ashes are ashes from a fireplace?

24. He said to him: You made your peace with him? I and you [in pl.] shall go in the morning to Rabban Gamliel’s door.

25. Nevertheless they did not remove him from his dignity but made him head of the court.

1. Rabbi Tzadok had a firstborn. He placed barley in baskets for it, and while it was eating, its lip split,

2. Rabbi Tzadok came before Rabbi Yehoshua. He told him: Do we differentiate between a ḥaver and an ignoramus? Rabbi Yehoshua told him: Yes!

3. He came before Rabban Gamliel. He told him: Do we differentiate between a ḥaver and an ignoramus? Rabban Gamliel said to him: No. He told him: But Rabbi Yehoshua told me yes. He told him: Wait until the shield-bearers enter the study hall.

4. When they entered the study hall, the questioner stood and asked: do we differentiate between a ḥaver and an ignoramus? Rabbi Yehoshua told him: No. Rabban Gamliel told him: But they told me in your name yes! Yehoshua, stand on your feet and they will testify against you!

5. Rabbi Yehoshua stood on his feet and said: What should I do? If I were alive and he were dead, the living can contradict the dead. Now that I am alive and he is alive, how can the living contradict the living?

6. Rabban Gamliel was standing and lecturing, and Rabbi Yehoshua awas standing on his feet, until all of the people began murmuring and told Ḥutzpit the disseminator: Stop, and he stopped.