The Monk and the Monarch

Rabbi Tzadok was enticed by a certain noblewoman to engage in sexual intercourse with her. He said to her: My heart is weak and I am incapable at present; is there something to eat that can strengthen me? She said to him: There is something non-kosher. He said to her: What difference is there? One who performs such an act eats such food as well. She lit the oven and placed the non-kosher food in it to roast. Suddenly, Rabbi Tzadok stood up, walked over to the oven and sat on it. She said to him, "What are you trying to tell me?". He replied, "That the person who commits the one immoral act falls into this one (i.e. the fires of Gehenna). She replied to him, "Had I known that it was so bad, I would not have tormented you as I did."

Rabbi Eliezer says, "When a person comes to the rabbis to try to get out of a vow that she had made, the rabbis are allowed to ask her, "If you had known at the time that you took this vow that there was a possibility that you would disgrace the honor of your parents (by not fulfilling your vow), would you have still taken it? If she responds that, had she known this, she would not have taken the vow, the vow can be retroactively annulled, though the Chachamim disagree with Rabbi Eliezer. Rabbi Tzadok replies by saying, "Why are we talking about disgracing the parents; why not ask this person if she had considered the possibility that she would disgrace God's honor by making this vow?" Rabbi Tzadok answers his own question, stating, "If people were to consider the possibility of disgracing God's honor (by swearing in His name), then there would be no vows".

It happened that a disciple came before R. Joshua and asked him, "Is Maariv voluntary or mandatory?" He replied, "It is voluntary." Then he came before Rabban Gamaliel and asked him the same question. He replied, "It is mandatory." He thereupon said to him, "But R. Yehoshua told me it was voluntary!" Rabban Gamaliel said to him, "Wait until the security guards enter the Beit Midrash." When the security guards had assembled, the questioner stood up and asked, "Is the evening-Tefillah voluntary or obligatory ?" Rabban Gamaliel replied, "It is obligatory." Rabban Gamaliel said to the Sages, "Is there anyone who has a different opinion on this matter?" R. Joshua said to him, "No" Then Rabban Gamaliel said to him, "But it has been reported to me in your name, Yehoshua, that it is voluntary ?" And he added, "Yehoshua, stand up so that the people could testify against you." R. Yehoshua stood up and said, "If I were living and he dead, the living would be able to deny the statement of the dead ; but seeing that I am alive and he also is alive, how can the living deny the statement of the living ! " Then Rabban Gamaliel sat and started teaching while R. Joshua remained standing.

This continued for some time, until all those present began to murmur and cried to Huspit the interpreter, "Stop!" and he stopped. They said, "How long is Rabban Gamaliel going to continue insulting Rabbi Yehoshua? Last year he insulted him on the question of the New Year ; he slighted him on the question of the firstborn in the incident of R. Sadok; and here again he has insulted him. Come, let us depose him! Whom shall we appoint in his stead ? Shall we appoint Rabbi Yehoshua ? No, he is a party in this fight, so that would not be fair. Shall we appoint Rabbi Akiva ? No, perhaps Rabban Gamaliel will harass him because he does not come from a long line of leaders. Let us, then, appoint R. Eleazar b. 'Azariah, for he is wise, rich, and he is of the tenth generation from Ezra. He is wise, so if anyone puts difficult questions to him, he will be able to reply to him ; and he is rich, so if it be necessary for someone to attend at the palace of the Emperor, he will be qualified to do so ; and he is of the tenth generation from Ezra, so he possesses ancestral merit and Rabban Gamaliel will not be able to harass him on that account."

It was taught: On that day that they removed Rabban Gamliel from his position and appointed Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya in his place, there was also a fundamental change in the general approach of the study hall as they dismissed the guard at the door and permission was granted to the students to enter. Instead of Rabban Gamliel’s selective approach that asserted that the students must be screened before accepting them into the study hall, the new approach asserted that anyone who seeks to study should be given opportunity to do so. As Rabban Gamliel would proclaim and say: Any student whose inside, his thoughts and feelings, are not like his outside, i.e., his conduct and his character traits are lacking, will not enter the study hall. The Gemara relates: On that day several benches were added to the study hall to accommodate the numerous students. Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Abba Yosef ben Dostai and the Rabbis disputed this matter. One said: Four hundred benches were added to the study hall. And one said: Seven hundred benches were added to the study hall. When he saw the tremendous growth in the number of students, Rabban Gamliel was disheartened. He said: Perhaps, Heaven forbid, I prevented Israel from engaging in Torah study. They showed him in his dream white jugs filled with ashes alluding to the fact that the additional students were worthless idlers. The Gemara comments: That is not the case, but that dream was shown to him to ease his mind so that he would not feel bad. It was taught: There is a tradition that tractate Eduyyot was taught that day. And everywhere in the Mishna or in a baraita that they say: On that day, it is referring to that day. There was no halakha whose ruling was pending in the study hall that they did not explain and arrive at a practical halakhic conclusion.

And even Rabban Gamliel did not avoid the study hall for even one moment, as he held no grudge against those who removed him from office and he participated in the halakhic discourse in the study hall as one of the Sages.

One day an Ammonite named Judah, came before them in the House of Study and said to them, "May I convert?" Rabban Gamaliel replied to him, "You are forbidden to enter the Community." R. Joshua said to him, "You are permitted to enter the Community" After an extensive debate, they permitted him to enter the Community. Rabban Gamliel said to himself: Since this is the situation, that the people are following Rabbi Yehoshua, apparently he was right. Therefore, it would be appropriate for me to go and appease Rabbi Yehoshua. When he reached Rabbi Yehoshua’s house, he saw that the walls of his house were black. Rabban Gamliel said to Rabbi Yehoshua in wonderment: From the walls of your house it is apparent that you are a blacksmith, as until then he had no idea that Rabbi Yehoshua was forced to engage in that arduous trade in order to make a living. Rabbi Yehoshua said to him: Woe unto a generation that you are its leader as you are unaware of the difficulties of Torah scholars, how they make a living and how they feed themselves. Rabban Gamliel said to him: I insulted you, forgive me. Rabbi Yehoshua paid him no attention and did not forgive him. He asked him again: Do it in deference to my father, Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel, who was one of the leaders of Israel at the time of the destruction of the Temple. He was appeased. Now that Rabbi Yehoshua was no longer offended, it was only natural that Rabban Gamliel would be restored to his position. They said: Who will go and inform the Sages? ... Rabbi Yehoshua said: It is best if I go to them. He came and knocked on the door...Rabbi Akiva said to him: Rabbi Yehoshua, have you been appeased? Everything we did was to defend your honor. If you have forgiven him, none of us is opposed. Early tomorrow you and I will go to Rabban Gamliel’s doorway and offer to restore him to his position as Nasi. The question arose what to do with Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya? They said: What shall we do? Remove him from his position. That is inappropriate as we learned a halakha through tradition: One elevates to a higher level of sanctity and does not downgrade. Therefore, one who was the Nasi of the Sanhedrin cannot be demoted. Let one Sage lecture one week and the other Sage one week, they will come to be jealous one of another, as they will be forced to appoint one as the acting head of the Sanhedrin. Rather, Rabban Gamliel will lecture three weeks and Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya will lecture as head of the yeshiva one week. That arrangement was adopted.

(16) Rabban Gamliel says, "Make for yourself a mentor, remove yourself from doubt and do not give your taxes by estimation."

Rabbi Tzaddok would say: Do not separate yourself from the community. Do not act as a counselor-at-law (when serving as a judge). Do not make the Torah a crown to magnify yourself with, or a spade with which to dig.

One time, Rabbi Tzadok went into the area of the Temple courtyard and saw it destroyed. He said before God, ""Ribbono Shel Olam, my father in heaven, you destroyed your city and burned your dwelling-place. Rabbi Tzadok sat down quietly and fell asleep, and while he was sleeping he saw God standing and giving an obituary, and the angels of were eulogizing after God, saying keep your faith, O Jerusalem.

The Sanhedrin was arranged in a semi-circle, and the Nasi would sit in the middle so that everyone could see him and here his voice. Rabbi Elazar ben Tzadok said, "When Rabban Gamlliel was sitting as the Nasi in Yavneh, my father and his brothers would sit to his right, and the elders would sit to his left, out of respect to the elders.