(On another occasion) two other witnesses came and said: We saw the moon on its proper day, but could not see it on the next evening. R. Gamaliel accepted their testimony, but R. Dosa b. Harkenas said: They are false witnesses; for how can they testify of a woman being delivered (on a certain day) when on the next day she appears to be pregnant? Then R. Yehoshua said to him: I approve your opinion. Upon this R. Gamaliel sent him (R. Yehoshua) word, saying: "I order thee to appear before me on the Day of Atonement, according to your computation, with your staff and with money." R. Akiva went to him and found him grieving. He then said to him: I can prove that all which R. Gamaliel has done is proper, for it is said: "These are the feasts of the Lord, holy convocations which ye shall proclaim," either at their proper time, or not at their proper time, only their convocations are to be considered as holy festivals. When he (R. Yehoshua) came to R. Dosa b. Harkhinas, the latter told him: "If we are to reinvestigate the decisions of the Beth Din of R. Gamaliel, we must also reinvestigate the decisions of all the tribunals of justice which have existed from the time of Moses till the present day; for it is said [Ex. xxiv. 9] Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and seventy elders went up (to the Mount)." Why were not the names of the elders also specified? To teach us that every three men in Israel that form a Beth Din are to be respected in an equal degree with the Beth Din of Moses. 

The rabbis taught: The reason that the names of those elders are not mentioned, is, in order that one should not say: Is So-and-so like Moses and Aaron? Is So-and-so like Nadabh and Abihu? Is So-and-so like Eldad and Medad? (And how do we know that one should not ask thus?) Because, it is written [i Sam. xii. 6]: "And Samuel said unto the people the Lord that appointed Moses and Aaron "and in the same connection it is written [ibid. 11]: "And the Lord sent Yerubaal and Bedan and Yiftach and Shmuel." [Yerubaal is Gideon; and why is he named Yerubaal? Because he strove against Baal. Bedan is Samson; and why is he named Bedan? Because he came from Dan. Yitfach means just what it is (i.e., he had no surname or attribute).] And it is also written [Ps. xcix. 6]: "Moses and Aaron among his priests, and Samuel among those who called upon his name." The sacred text regards the three common people equal with the three noblest, to teach us that Yerubaal was in his generation like Moses in his; Bedan in his generation was like Aaron in his; Yiftach in his generation was like Samuel in his generation. From all this one must learn that if even the commonest of the commoners is appointed leader by a community, he must be considered as the noblest of the nobility, for it is said [Deut.

xvii. 9]: "And thou shalt come unto the priests, the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in his days." (Why does the passage say "in those days"?) Can you imagine that one could go to a judge who was not in his days? (Surely not! But by these words Scripture teaches us that a judge is to be held "in his days" equal in authority with the greatest of his predecessors.) We find a similar teaching in Eccles. vii. 10: "Say not thou that the former days were better than these!

In the meantime there was a dispute in the heavenly college- if the mark preceded the white hair, he's impure, and if the white hair preceded the mark, he's pure. If the case is in doubt: God said: Pure, and the Heavenly Academy said: Impure. And they said- who will prove it? Rabba b. Nachmani will prove it, as he used to say that he was the only one who knew the law of Nagaim and the only one who knew the law of Oh'loth. They sent the angel of death for him, but he could not touch him, as he did not cease studying one moment. In the meantime a wind blew and made noise with the trees of the forest, and Rabba thought that the officers were after him and said: It is better for me to die than to be taken by the Government. And when he was dying, he was questioned about the dispute in the heavenly college, and he decided it was pure. Then a heavenly voice came forth, saying: Well is it with thee, R. b. Na'hmani, that thy body is pure, and that thy soul left thy body while thou wast saying "pure." A note fell in the city of Pumbaditha: "Rabba b. Na'hmani was taken to the heavenly college."

Rabbi Yehudah said, "Rav said, "When Moshe ascended to the heavens, he found the Holy One, Blessed be He, sitting and attaching crowns to the letters. He said before Him, "Master of the Universe! Who is staying your hand?" He said to him, "There is one man man who will exist after many generations, and Akiva the son of Yosef is his name, who will in the future expound on every crown and crown piles and piles of laws." He said before Him, "Master of the Universe! Show him to me." He said to him, "Turn backwards." He went and sat at the end of eight rows [of students in Rabbi Akiva's Beit Midrash], and he did not know what they were talking [about]. He got upset. As soon as he got to one [other] thing, his students said to him, "Our teacher, from where do you learn this?" He said to them, "It is a law [that was taught] to Moshe at Sinai." He calmed down. He returned and came before the Holy One, Blessed be He, and said before Him, "Master of the Universe! You have a man like this, and You are giving the Torah through me?" He said to Him, "Be silent. This is what I have decided." 

One time, I was walking, and a certain man found me, and begin with me in the ways of heresy, and he had scripture in him, but he didn't have Mishna, and he said to me: Rabbi, Scripture was given us on Mount Sinai, Mishna was not given to us on Mount Sinai. And I said to him: My son, both scripture and Mishna were said from the mouth of Might (God). And what is the difference between them? They told a parable, to what can it be compared, to a flesh and blood king who had two servants, and he had great love for them, and he gave each one a kab of wheat, and to each a bundle of flax. The wise one took the flax and wove a nice tablecloth, and took the wheat and ground it, sifted it, kneaded it, baked it, and set it on the table, and put the fine tablecloth on it, and left it until the king should come. The foolish one did nothing. After a time, the king came and said to his 2 servants- my sons, bring me what I gave you. One of them took out the bread of fine flour with a fine tablecloth, and one of them took out the wheat in a box and the bundle of flax. Woe for such shame, woe for such embarrassment. Which one was more beloved? I would say, the one who took out the bread on the table with the fine tablecloth...

Rather, when God gave the Torah to Israel, he gave it only as wheat to make fine flour, and flax to make a cloth.

Rav Acha bar Yaakov said: It is known to the one who spoke and the world came to be, that there is none in his generation like Rabbi Meir. Why, then, was the halacha not decided in accordance with his opinion? Because his friends couldn't get to the bottom of his opinion, because he could say about something impure that it was pure, and justify it, and vice versa... Rabbi Abahu said in the name of Rabbi Yochanan: Rabbi Meir had a student whose name was Somchos, who could say about something impure 48 reasons to be impure, and for anything pure, 48 reasons to be pure. It was taught: There was an old student in Yavneh who could declare a rodent pure in 150 ways. Rabbi Abba said in the name of Shmuel: For 3 years, the houses of Shammai and Hillel argued, each one claiming the law follows their opinion.give 48 reasons for anything being impureIt was taught: ...Rabbi Abba said in the name of Shmuel... For three years, the House of Hillel and the House of Shammai argued. One said, 'The halakha is like us,' and the other said, 'The halakha is like us.' A Heavenly voice emerged and said "These and these are the words of the living God, and the law is in accordance with Beit Hillel. But since these and these are the words of the living God, why did the house of Hillel merit that the law should be decided in their favor? Because they were pleasant and humble and would teach their own teaching and those of Beit Shammai, and what is more, they would put Beit Shammai's words before their own...Our Rabbis taught: For two and a half years, the houses of Shammai and Hillel argued, these said 'it would have been better for man not to have been created than to have been created', and these said 'it is better that man was created than had he not been created.' They counted and decided that it would have been better had man not been created, but now that he has been, let him search his deeds. And some say, let him plan his deeds.