Ribaz • Yochanan ben Zakkai
Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai
Era of the TannaimYahrzeit pageRabban Yochanan ben Zakkai, known by the acronym Ribaz, was one of the greatest of the Tannaim in the generation before the destruction of the Temple and in the years that followed, and one of the figures who shaped the face of the Jewish people after that catastrophe. He grew up…
Biography
Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai, known by the acronym Ribaz, was one of the greatest of the Tannaim in the generation before the destruction of the Temple and in the years that followed, and one of the figures who shaped the face of the Jewish people after that catastrophe. He grew up and studied in Jerusalem, was among the foremost disciples of Hillel the Elder, and embraced his teacher's path of pursuing peace and avoiding faction and war. The Sages describe him as a scholar of enormous breadth who practised humility and kindness. During the siege of Jerusalem, as Jewish life stood on the brink of collapse, he acted in a way that was controversial in his own day in order to save Torah learning: the Talmud relates that he was carried out of the city in a coffin, reached the Roman camp, and used the moment when Vespasian was told of his accession to make a single request, 'Give me Yavneh and its sages.' In Yavneh he re-established the academy and the seat of leadership, stood at the head of the scholars, and enacted ordinances that adapted Torah life to a people without a Temple. By doing so he preserved the continuity of the Oral Torah, and from his time onward Yavneh became the cradle of the generations of the Tannaim.
Life Story
Childhood
He was born in Jerusalem in the first century CE and, according to the tradition in the Midrash, lived some hundred and twenty years: forty years in trade, forty years of study and forty years of teaching. He did not belong by family to the house of Hillel, yet he received the title 'Rabban', which was reserved for the heads of the generation.
Teachers
He was a disciple of Hillel the Elder and of Shammai the Elder. Even during his student years Hillel declared, 'I am confident of this one, that he will rule in Israel', and called him 'a father of wisdom and a father of generations'. The Talmud counts him among Hillel's eighty disciples, and from among them came the scholar who sustained Torah after the destruction.
Students
He stood at the head of the circle of scholars in Yavneh. His five celebrated disciples were Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Hananiah, Rabbi Yose the Priest, Rabbi Shimon ben Natanel and Rabbi Elazar ben Arakh, and the Sages relate that he would praise each of them for his particular strength, in clarity, sharpness, piety, fear of sin and dialectic. Further disciples are associated with him, among them Rabbi Nachunya ben HaKana.
Family
According to tradition he was married, and the Midrash relates that he grieved greatly over the death of his son. One of his sons, Rabbi Yehuda, is mentioned in the words of the Sages. We do not have complete details of his family background, but it is known that he did not come from the line of the presidents of the house of Hillel, which is what gives particular weight to his receiving the title 'Rabban'.
Key Events
During the Great Revolt against Rome he was in Jerusalem, and according to the legend he held that there was no point in fighting the Romans. In the course of the siege he left the city in a coffin and reached the Roman camp, where he met Vespasian, who according to the talmudic account was informed at that very hour that he would become emperor. In return for his foresight he made a single request that contained three things: 'Give me Yavneh and its sages, and the family of Rabban Gamliel, and physicians to heal Rabbi Tzadok.' Having obtained it, he moved the centre of Torah and of leadership to Yavneh, gathered the surviving scholars and secured Jewish continuity for the generations. In Yavneh he enacted ordinances meant to preserve the commandments without a Temple, among them the shofar on Rosh Hashanah even when it falls on Shabbat, the lulav for all seven days outside the Temple, and the acceptance of testimony for the sanctification of the month throughout the day. He also bore the conflicts with the Sadducees and with the remnants of the zealots.
Miracles
The Sages attribute to him foreknowledge of events: his words to Vespasian, 'Peace to you, O king', were fulfilled at once, and other traditions about answered prayers and deliverance from danger were linked to his name in the Jerusalem Talmud and the Midrash. These traditions should be mentioned with caution, as part of the aggadic literature rather than as proven history.
Influence
His central legacy is the very survival of the Oral Torah after the destruction. In Yavneh he laid the foundation of the academy, of the Sanhedrin and of the spiritual leadership to which the Jewish people returned for generations, and his disciples shaped the Mishnah. The halakhic creativity of the following generations was built on the move he initiated.
Death
According to tradition he died around the year 80 CE, after decades of leadership. In his last years he left Yavneh and moved with his disciples to Bror Hayil in the south of the country, and it was there that he passed away. The Sages describe his final hours: his disciples came to visit and asked for a blessing, and he said to them, 'May it be His will that the fear of heaven be upon you as the fear of flesh and blood.' When they were surprised that he asked no more, he explained that one who sins says, 'Let no person see me', and he wept, because he did not know which way he would be led on high. He instructed that the vessels be removed from the house and told them to prepare a seat for Hezekiah king of Judah, who had come. Of his passing the Sages said: 'When Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai died, the splendour of wisdom ceased.'
Writings
The Teaching of Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai
1st century CEOral Torah
Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai wrote no book of his own. His teachings are scattered through the Mishnah, the Talmuds and the Midrash, and from them a substantial part of the world of the Oral Torah after the destruction was formed.
His Way and Views
Torah Study
He saw Torah study as the foundation on which the Jewish people stands, and in the hour of destruction he chose to save the academy itself. The Talmud describes him as having left untouched no part of Scripture and Mishnah, law and legend, the precision of the Torah and the precision of the scribes, a phrase that reflects the breadth of his learning and his wish to encompass every part of Torah.
Halacha
He enacted ordinances to preserve the commandments in a life without a Temple: the shofar on Rosh Hashanah wherever a court sits, the lulav for seven days outside the Temple, and the acceptance of testimony for the new month throughout the day. In doing so he taught that halakhah continues to address a changing reality and does not depend on the Temple and its offerings alone.
Faith
He believed that the destruction did not sever the bond between God and Israel, and that Judaism could continue even when the old centre lay in ruins. His teachings on redemption and on the cycles of the generations express confidence that the Divine Presence had not abandoned His people.
Ethics
He stressed humility and a sense of purpose: 'If you have learned much Torah, do not take credit for yourself, for that is why you were created.' He taught his disciples not to pride themselves on their achievements, since study is not a privilege but a calling.
Customs
After the destruction he directed public life toward prayer and deeds of kindness as a substitute for the Temple service, and sought to preserve the continuity of custom while adapting it to the new reality. When his disciple Rabbi Yehoshua mourned the ruined Temple, he answered that deeds of loving-kindness atone for Israel as the offerings once did.
Character
He is described as wise, humble and compassionate, a pursuer of peace. The Talmud testifies that he was always the first to greet every person, even a gentile in the marketplace, and that he never spoke an idle word. Like his teacher Hillel he recoiled from war, and for that reason his course during the revolt drew criticism from some of his contemporaries.
Public Role
He saw public leadership as a mission: to save the people from spiritual extinction, to rebuild its institutions and to preserve the unity of the scholars in an age of division. In his view responsible leadership is measured by the ability to preserve what exists even in a time of crisis.
Famous Quotes
"If you have learned much Torah, do not take credit for yourself, for that is why you were created."
"May it be His will that the fear of heaven be upon you as the fear of flesh and blood."
"Give me Yavneh and its sages."
Famous Stories
During the siege of Jerusalem Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai asked to leave the city. The Sages relate that the zealots allowed no one out, so he lay down in a coffin and his disciples, Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua, carried him beyond the wall. In this way he reached the Roman camp.
Standing before Vespasian he said, 'Peace to you, O king.' The commander replied, 'You are liable to death, and why did you call me king?' Ribaz explained that Jerusalem falls only to a king, and asked him to wait a little. At that moment word came from Rome of the emperor's death and of Vespasian's own accession.
When Vespasian was told of his elevation he offered the sage a request, but only one. Ribaz asked: 'Give me Yavneh and its sages, and the family of Rabban Gamliel, and physicians to heal Rabbi Tzadok.' It was the moment in which he chose to save what could still be saved, the academy and the leadership of the generation.
His disciples called him 'the lamp of Israel, the right-hand pillar, the mighty hammer', and the Sages said of him that in all his years he never spoke an idle word and never walked four cubits without Torah. When they came to ask for his blessing in his final illness, he wept as he thought of the judgement to come and of the two paths set before him.
Students
Teachers
Grave Site
Grave Details
- Grave Name
- Tomb of Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai, Tiberias
- City
- Tiberias
- Country
- Israel
Timeline
Birth in Jerusalem
Study in Jerusalem under Hillel and Shammai
Years in the town of Arav in the Galilee teaching Torah
Outbreak of the Great Revolt against Rome
Leaving besieged Jerusalem and meeting Vespasian
Establishing the academy and leadership in Yavneh
The ordinances of Yavneh and leading the scholars after the destruction
His passing at Bror Hayil
Legacy
The academy of Yavneh is his great legacy: from it came the generations of the Tannaim, there the halakhah of later generations took shape, and there the Oral Torah was preserved. The phrase 'Yavneh and its sages' became a symbol of spiritual continuity: even when the Temple was destroyed, a centre of learning and leadership remained that sustained the people for generations.