1. Mishnah, Avot, 1.1-1.2, 1.4-1.16, 2.4, 2.8, 2.10 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
| 1.1. Moses received the torah at Sinai and transmitted it to Joshua, Joshua to the elders, and the elders to the prophets, and the prophets to the Men of the Great Assembly. They said three things: Be patient in [the administration of] justice, raise many disciples and make a fence round the Torah." 1.2. Shimon the Righteous was one of the last of the men of the great assembly. He used to say: the world stands upon three things: the Torah, the Temple service, and the practice of acts of piety." 1.4. Yose ben Yoezer (a man) of Zeredah and Yose ben Yoha [a man] of Jerusalem received [the oral tradition] from them [i.e. Shimon the Righteous and Antigonus]. Yose ben Yoezer used to say: let thy house be a house of meeting for the Sages and sit in the very dust of their feet, and drink in their words with thirst." 1.5. Yose ben Yocha (a of Jerusalem used to say:Let thy house be wide open, and let the poor be members of thy household. Engage not in too much conversation with women. They said this with regard to one’s own wife, how much more [does the rule apply] with regard to another man’s wife. From here the Sages said: as long as a man engages in too much conversation with women, he causes evil to himself, he neglects the study of the Torah, and in the end he will inherit gehinnom." 1.6. Joshua ben Perahiah and Nittai the Arbelite received [the oral tradition] from them. Joshua ben Perahiah used to say: appoint for thyself a teacher, and acquire for thyself a companion and judge all men with the scale weighted in his favor." 1.7. Nittai the Arbelite used to say: keep a distance from an evil neighbor, do not become attached to the wicked, and do not abandon faith in [divine] retribution." 1.8. Judah ben Tabbai and Shimon ben Shetach received [the oral tradition] from them. Judah ben Tabbai said: do not [as a judge] play the part of an advocate; and when the litigants are standing before you, look upon them as if they were [both] guilty; and when they leave your presence, look upon them as if they were [both] innocent, when they have accepted the judgement." 1.9. Shimon ben Shetach used to say: be thorough in the interrogation of witnesses, and be careful with your words, lest from them they learn to lie." 1.10. Shemaiah and Abtalion received [the oral tradition] from them. Shemaiah used to say: love work, hate acting the superior, and do not attempt to draw near to the ruling authority." 1.11. Abtalion used to say: Sages be careful with your words, lest you incur the penalty of exile, and be carried off to a place of evil waters, and the disciples who follow you drink and die, and thus the name of heaven becomes profaned." 1.12. Hillel and Shammai received [the oral tradition] from them. Hillel used to say: be of the disciples of Aaron, loving peace and pursuing peace, loving mankind and drawing them close to the Torah." 1.13. He [also] used to say: one who makes his name great causes his name to be destroyed; one who does not add [to his knowledge] causes [it] to cease; one who does not study [the Torah] deserves death; on who makes [unworthy] use of the crown [of learning] shall pass away." 1.14. He [also] used to say: If I am not for myself, who is for me? But if I am for my own self [only], what am I? And if not now, when?" 1.15. Shammai used to say: make your [study of the] Torah a fixed practice; speak little, but do much; and receive all men with a pleasant countece." 1.16. Rabban Gamaliel used to say: appoint for thyself a teacher, avoid doubt, and do not make a habit of tithing by guesswork." 2.4. He used to say: do His will as though it were your will, so that He will do your will as though it were His. Set aside your will in the face of His will, so that he may set aside the will of others for the sake of your will. Hillel said: do not separate yourself from the community, Do not trust in yourself until the day of your death, Do not judge not your fellow man until you have reached his place. Do not say something that cannot be understood [trusting] that in the end it will be understood. Say not: ‘when I shall have leisure I shall study;’ perhaps you will not have leisure." 2.8. Rabban Yoha ben Zakkai received [the oral tradition] from Hillel and Shammai.He used to say: if you have learned much torah, do not claim credit for yourself, because for such a purpose were you created. Rabban Yoha ben Zakkai had five disciples and they were these: Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, Rabbi Joshua ben Haiah, Rabbi Yose, the priest, Rabbi Shimon ben Nethaneel and Rabbi Eleazar ben Arach. He [Rabbi Joha] used to list their outstanding virtues: Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus is a plastered cistern which loses not a drop; Rabbi Joshua ben Haiah happy is the woman that gave birth to him; Rabbi Yose, the priest, is a pious man; Rabbi Simeon ben Nethaneel is one that fears sin, And Rabbi Eleazar ben Arach is like a spring that [ever] gathers force. He [Rabbi Yoha] used to say: if all the sages of Israel were on one scale of the balance and Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus on the other scale, he would outweigh them all. Abba Shaul said in his name: if all the sages of Israel were on one scale of the balance, and Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus also with them, and Rabbi Eleazar ben Arach on the other scale, he would outweigh them all." 2.10. They [each] said three things:Rabbi Eliezer said: Let the honor of your friend be as dear to you as your own; And be not easily provoked to anger; And repent one day before your death. And [he also said:] warm yourself before the fire of the wise, but beware of being singed by their glowing coals, for their bite is the bite of a fox, and their sting is the sting of a scorpion, and their hiss is the hiss of a serpent, and all their words are like coals of fire." |
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2. Mishnah, Beitzah, 2.7 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
| 2.7. Also he declared three decisions of a lenient character:One may sweep up [on a festival] between the couches, And put spices [on the coals] on a festival; And roast a kid whole on the night of Passover. But the sages forbid them." |
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3. Mishnah, Berachot, 1.1 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
| 1.1. From what time may one recite the Shema in the evening? From the time that the priests enter [their houses] in order to eat their terumah until the end of the first watch, the words of Rabbi Eliezer. The sages say: until midnight. Rabban Gamaliel says: until dawn. Once it happened that his sons came home [late] from a wedding feast and they said to him: we have not yet recited the [evening] Shema. He said to them: if it is not yet dawn you are still obligated to recite. And not in respect to this alone did they so decide, but wherever the sages say “until midnight,” the mitzvah may be performed until dawn. The burning of the fat and the pieces may be performed till dawn. Similarly, all [the offerings] that are to be eaten within one day may be eaten till dawn. Why then did the sages say “until midnight”? In order to keep a man far from transgression." |
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4. Mishnah, Hagigah, 2.2 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
| 2.2. Yose ben Yoezer says that [on a festival] the laying of the hands [on the head of a sacrifice] may not be performed. Yosef ben Joha says that it may be performed. Joshua ben Perahia says that it may not be performed. Nittai the Arbelite says that it may be performed. Judah ben Tabai says that it may not be performed. Shimon ben Shetah says that it may be performed. Shamayah says that it may be performed. Avtalyon says that it may not be performed. Hillel and Menahem did not dispute. Menahem went out, Shammai entered. Shammai says that it may not be performed. Hillel says that it may be performed. The former [of each] pair were patriarchs and the latter were heads of the court." |
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5. Mishnah, Peah, 2.5-2.6 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
| 2.5. He who plants his field with one kind of seed, even though he makes up of it two threshing-floors, he gives only one peah [for the lot]. If he plants it of two kinds, even though he makes up of it one threshing-floor, he must give two peahs. One who plants his field with two species of wheat: If he makes up of it one threshing-floor, he gives only one peah; But if two threshing-floors, he gives two peahs." 2.6. It happened that Rabbi Shimon of Mitzpah planted his field [with two different kinds] and came before Rabban Gamaliel. They both went up to the Chamber of Hewn Stone and asked [about the law]. Nahum the scribe said: I have a tradition from Rabbi Meyasha, who received it from Abba, who received it from the pairs [of sage], who received it from the prophets, a halakhah of Moses from Sinai, that one who plants his field with two species of wheat, if he makes up of it one threshing-floor, he gives only one peah, but if two threshing-floors, he gives two peahs." |
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6. Mishnah, Shekalim, 3.3 (1st cent. CE - 3rd cent. CE)
| 3.3. [The members] of Rabban Gamaliel’s household used to enter [the chamber] with their shekel between their fingers, and throw it in front of him who made the appropriation, while he who made the appropriation purposely pressed it into the basket. He who made the appropriation did not make it until he first said to them: “Should I make the appropriation?” And they say to him three times: “Make the appropriation! Make the appropriation! Make the appropriation!”" |
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7. Tosefta, Moed Qatan, 2.14-2.16 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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8. Tosefta, Shabbat, 7.5 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
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9. Tosefta, Sukkah, 2.4 (1st cent. CE - 2nd cent. CE)
| 2.4. Said Rabbi Eliezer ben Rabbi Zadok: When I was studying Torah with Rabbi Yoha the Horohite, I observed him eating his bread dry, for those were years of scarcity. I went and told my father, who said to me: Take him some olives. So I took some to him. He took them and looked at them; but when he saw that they were moist he said to me, I do not eat moist olives. So I went and told my father, who said to me, go and tell him that the olive (bottle) is perforated according to the laws of the school of Hillel, but the lees have stopped it up, to show that one may eat profane things from no impure motive. So though he was a disciple of the school of Shammai he was guided by the opinions of the school of Hillel." |
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10. Babylonian Talmud, Rosh Hashanah, None (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
25a. וערבית במערב א"ר יוחנן בן נורי עדי שקר הם כשבאו ליבנה קיבלן רבן גמליאל,ועוד באו שנים ואמרו ראינוהו בזמנו ובליל עיבורו לא נראה וקיבלן ר"ג,אמר רבי דוסא בן הורכינס עדי שקר הן היאך מעידים על האשה שילדה ולמחר כריסה בין שיניה אמר לו רבי יהושע רואה אני את דבריך שלח לו ר"ג גוזרני עליך שתבא אצלי במקלך ובמעותיך ביוה"כ שחל להיות בחשבונך,הלך ומצאו ר"ע מיצר אמר לו יש לי ללמוד שכל מה שעשה ר"ג עשוי שנאמר (ויקרא כג, ד) אלה מועדי ה' מקראי קדש אשר תקראו אתם בין בזמנן בין שלא בזמנן אין לי מועדות אלא אלו,בא לו אצל ר' דוסא בן הורכינס אמר לו אם באין אנו לדון אחר בית דינו של ר"ג צריכין אנו לדון אחר כל בית דין ובית דין שעמד מימות משה ועד עכשיו שנאמר (שמות כד, ט) ויעל משה ואהרן נדב ואביהוא ושבעים מזקני ישראל ולמה לא נתפרשו שמותן של זקנים אלא ללמד שכל שלשה ושלשה שעמדו בית דין על ישראל הרי הוא כבית דינו של משה,נטל מקלו ומעותיו בידו והלך ליבנה אצל ר"ג ביום שחל יוה"כ להיות בחשבונו עמד ר"ג ונשקו על ראשו אמר לו בוא בשלום רבי ותלמידי רבי בחכמה ותלמידי שקבלת את דברי:, big strongגמ׳ /strong /big תניא אמר להם ר"ג לחכמים כך מקובלני מבית אבי אבא פעמים שבא בארוכה ופעמים שבא בקצרה,א"ר יוחנן מ"ט דבי רבי דכתיב (תהלים קד, יט) עשה ירח למועדים שמש ידע מבואו שמש הוא דידע מבואו ירח לא ידע מבואו,רבי חייא חזייא לסיהרא דהוה קאי בצפרא דעשרים ותשעה שקל קלא פתק ביה אמר לאורתא בעינן לקדושי בך ואת קיימת הכא זיל איכסי א"ל רבי לר' חייא זיל לעין טב וקדשיה לירחא ושלח לי סימנא דוד מלך ישראל חי וקים,ת"ר פעם אחת נתקשרו שמים בעבים ונראית דמות לבנה בעשרים ותשעה לחדש כסבורים העם לומר ר"ח ובקשו ב"ד לקדשו אמר להם ר"ג כך מקובלני מבית אבי אבא אין חדושה של לבנה פחותה מעשרים ותשעה יום ומחצה ושני שלישי שעה וע"ג חלקים,ואותו היום מתה אמו של בן זזא והספידה ר"ג הספד גדול לא מפני שראויה לכך אלא כדי שידעו העם שלא קידשו ב"ד את החדש:,הלך ר"ע (ומצאו) מיצר כו': איבעיא להו מי מיצר ר"ע מיצר או רבי יהושע מיצר ת"ש דתניא הלך ר"ע ומצאו לרבי יהושע כשהוא מיצר אמר לו [רבי] מפני מה אתה מיצר אמר לו (רבי) עקיבא ראוי לו שיפול למטה י"ב חדש ואל יגזור עליו גזירה זו,א"ל רבי תרשיני לומר לפניך דבר אחד שלמדתני אמר לו אמור אמר לו הרי הוא אומר (ויקרא כג, ב) אתם אתם אתם ג' פעמים,אתם אפילו שוגגין אתם אפילו מזידין אתם אפילו מוטעין בלשון הזה אמר לו עקיבא נחמתני נחמתני:,בא לו אצל רבי דוסא בן הורכינס כו': ת"ר למה לא נתפרשו שמותם של זקנים הללו שלא יאמר אדם פלוני כמשה ואהרן פלוני כנדב ואביהוא פלוני כאלדד ומידד,ואומר (שמואל א יב, ו) ויאמר שמואל אל העם ה' אשר עשה את משה ואת אהרן ואומר (שמואל א יב, יא) וישלח ה' את ירובעל ואת בדן ואת יפתח ואת שמואל ירובעל זה גדעון ולמה נקרא שמו ירובעל שעשה מריבה עם הבעל בדן זה שמשון ולמה נקרא שמו בדן דאתי מדן יפתח כמשמעו | 25a. bandthat same day we saw the new moon bin the evening in the west. Rabbi Yoḥa ben Nuri said: They are false witnesses,as it is impossible to see the new moon so soon after the last sighting of the waning moon. However, bwhen they arrived in Yavne, Rabban Gamliel accepted themas witnesses without concern., bAndthere was banotherincident in which btwowitnesses bcame and said: We sawthe new moon bat itsanticipated btime,i.e., on the night of the thirtieth day of the previous month; however, bon thefollowing bnight,i.e., the start of the thirty-first, which is often the determit of ba full,thirty-day month, bit was not seen. Andnevertheless bRabban Gamliel accepted theirtestimony and established the New Moon on the thirtieth day., bRabbi Dosa ben Horkinasdisagreed and bsaid: They are false witnesses; how canwitnesses btestify that a woman gave birth and the next day her belly is between her teeth,i.e., she is obviously still pregt? If the new moon was already visible at its anticipated time, how could it not be seen a day later? bRabbi Yehoshua said to him: I seethe logic of byour statement;the New Moon must be established a day later. Upon hearing that Rabbi Yehoshua had challenged his ruling, bRabban Gamliel senta message bto him: I decree against you that youmust bappear before me with your staff and with your money onthe day on which bYom Kippur occurs according to your calculation;according to my calculation, that day is the eleventh of Tishrei, the day after Yom Kippur., bRabbi Akiva went and foundRabbi Yehoshua bdistressedthat the head of the Great Sanhedrin was forcing him to desecrate the day that he maintained was Yom Kippur. In an attempt to console him, Rabbi Akiva bsaid toRabbi Yehoshua: bI can learnfrom a verse bthat everything that Rabban Gamliel didin sanctifying the month bis done,i.e., it is valid. bAs it is stated: “These are the appointed seasons of the Lord, sacred convocations, which you shall proclaimin their season” (Leviticus 23:4). This verse indicates that bwhetheryou have proclaimed them bat theirproper btimeor bwhetheryou have declared them bnot at theirproper btime, I have only these Festivalsas established by the representatives of the Jewish people.,Rabbi Yehoshua then bcame to Rabbi Dosa ben Horkinas,who bsaid to him: If we come to debateand question the rulings of bthe court of Rabban Gamliel, we must debateand question the rulings of bevery court that has stood from the days of Moses until now. As it is stated: “Then Moses went up, and Aaron, Nadav and Avihu, and seventy of the Elders of Israel”(Exodus 24:9). bBut why were the names of theseseventy bElders not specified? Rather,this comes bto teach that everyset of bthreejudges bthat standsas ba court over the Jewish peoplehas the same status bas the court of Moses.Since it is not revealed who sat on that court, apparently it is enough that they were official judges in a Jewish court.,When Rabbi Yehoshua heard that even Rabbi Dosa ben Horkinas maintained that they must submit to Rabban Gamliel’s decision, bhe took his staff and his money in his hand, and went to Yavne to Rabban Gamliel on the dayon bwhich Yom Kippur occurred according to hisown bcalculation.Upon seeing him, bRabban Gamliel stood up and kissed him on his head. He said to him: Come in peace, my teacher and my student.You are bmy teacher in wisdom,as Rabbi Yehoshua was wiser than anyone else in his generation, bandyou are bmy student, as you accepted my statement,despite your disagreement., strongGEMARA: /strong bIt is taughtin a ibaraitathat bRabban Gamliel said to the Sages,in explanation of his opinion that it is possible for the new moon to be visible so soon after the last sighting of the waning moon: bThis isthe tradition that bI received from the house of my father’s father: Sometimesthe moon bcomes by a longpath band sometimes it comes by a shortone., bRabbi Yoḥa said: What is the reasonfor the opinion bof the house of RabbiYehuda HaNasi, i.e., the house of the heads of the Great Sanhedrin, the source of Rabban Gamliel’s ruling? bAs it is written: “Who appointed the moon for seasons; the sun knows its going down”(Psalms 104:19). This verse indicates that bit isonly bthe sunthat bknows its going down,i.e., its seasons and the times that it shines are the same every year. In contrast, bthe moon does not know its going down,as its course is not identical every month.,§ The Gemara relates that bRabbi Ḥiyyaonce bsawthe waning bmoon standingin the sky bon the morningof the btwenty-ninthof the month. bHe took a clumpof earth and bthrewit batthe moon, bsaying: This evening we need to sanctify you,i.e., the new moon must be visible tonight so that we may declare the thirtieth of the month as the New Moon, band you arestill bstanding here? Goand bcover yourselffor now, so that the new moon will be seen only after nightfall. The Gemara further relates that bRabbiYehuda HaNasi once bsaid to Rabbi Ḥiyya: Go toa place called bEin Tav and sanctify theNew bMoonthere, band send me a signthat you have sanctified it. The sign is: bDavid, king of Israel, lives and endures. /b, bThe Sages taughtin a ibaraita /i: bOnce the sky was covered with clouds, and the form of the moon was visible on the twenty-ninth of the month. The people thought to saythat the day was bthe New Moon, and the court sought to sanctify it.However, bRabban Gamliel said to them: This isthe tradition that bI received from the house of my father’s father:The monthly cycle of the brenewal of the moontakes bno less than twenty-nine and a half days, plus two-thirds of an hour, plus seventy-threeof the 1,080 bsubsectionsof an hour.,The ibaraitacontinues: bAnd on that day the mother ofthe Sage bben Zaza died, and Rabban Gamliel delivered a great eulogyon bherbehalf. He did this bnot because she was worthy of thishonor; brather,he eulogized her bso that the people would know that the court had not sanctified the month,as eulogies are prohibited on the New Moon.,§ The mishna taught that bRabbi Akiva went and found him distressedthat the head of the Great Sanhedrin was forcing him to desecrate the day that he maintained was Yom Kippur. bA dilemma was raised beforethe Sages: bWho was distressed?Was bRabbi Akiva distressed orwas bRabbi Yehoshua distressed?The Gemara answers: bComeand bhear, as it is taughtin a ibaraita /i: bRabbi Akiva went and found Rabbi Yehoshua in a state of distress,and bhe said to him: My teacher, for whatreason bare you distressed?Rabbi Yehoshua bsaid to him: Rabbi Akiva, it is fitting forone bto fallsick bin bed for twelve months, rather than to have this decree issued against himthat he should have to desecrate Yom Kippur.,Rabbi Akiva bsaid to him: My teacher, allow me to say before you one matter that youyourself once btaught me. He said to him: Speak. He said to him: It stateswith respect to the Festivals: “The appointed seasons of the Lord, which you shall proclaim bthem [ iotam /i]to be sacred convocations (Leviticus 23:2). And it is written: “These are the appointed seasons of the Lord, sacred convocations; you shall proclaim bthem [ iotam /i]in their season” (Leviticus 23:4). And it is written: “These are the appointed seasons of the Lord; you shall proclaim bthem [ iotam /i]to be sacred convocations” (Leviticus 23:37). bThree timesthe verses use the term: Them [ iotam /i], which can also be read as you [ iatem /i], in plural.,This comes to teach: bYou[iatem/b] are authorized to determine the date of the new month, bevenif you bunwittinglyestablish the New Moon on the wrong day; byou, evenif you do so bintentionally; you, evenif you are bmisledby false witnesses. In all cases, once the court establishes the day as the New Moon, it is sanctified, and God grants His consent. After hearing this, Rabbi Yehoshua bsaid to him in these words: Akiva, you have consoled me; you have consoled me. /b,§ The mishna taught that Rabbi Yehoshua next bcame to Rabbi Dosa ben Horkinas,who proved to him that the court of Rabban Gamliel has the same legal status as the court of Moses. bThe Sages taughtin a ibaraita /i: bWhy were the names of theseseventy bElderswho sat together with Moses on his court bnot specified?The reason is so bthat a person not say:Is bso-and-sothe judge in my time, blike Moses and Aaron?Is bso-and-so like Nadav and Avihu?Is bso-and-so like Eldad and Medad?Therefore, the names of the other elders were not specified, so that there is no way of knowing the qualifications of the elders in the time of Moses to compare them to later judges., bAndsimilarly bit says: “And Samuel said to the people: It is the Lord Who made Moses and Aaron”(I Samuel 12:6). bAnd it saysfurther: b“And the Lord sent Jerubaal and Bedan and Jephthah and Samuel”(I Samuel 12:11). The Gemara explains: bJerubaal, this is Gideon. And why is he called Jerubaal?The reason is bthat he waged a quarrel against Baal. Bedan, this is Samson. And why is he called Bedan? As he came fromthe tribe of bDan. Jephthah, in accordance with itsregular bmeaning,i.e., this is referring to Jephthah himself and is not a nickname. |
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11. Anon., Avot Derabbi Nathan A, 40, 3 (6th cent. CE - 8th cent. CE)
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12. Anon., Avot Derabbi Nathan B, 24, 23 (6th cent. CE - 8th cent. CE)
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