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Kathy Nguyen

Ms. Adams

Social Studies Enrichment

12/12/2011

Yochanan ben Zakkai

Yochanan ben Zakkai was the youngest and most distinguished disciple of Rabbi Hillel, one of

the greatest hero of the Jewish people. Yochanan ben Zakkai lived a wonderful life of 120 years,

with his first fort years in business, the next forty years studying, and the last forty years as the

leader of Klal Yisroel. He has been called the "father of wisdom and the father of generations"

because he made sure the continuation of Jewish scholarships still went on after Jerusalem fell to

Rome in C.E. He was intelligent in every area of Torah, Mikrah, Mishnah, Gemorah,

Halacha, Aggadah, Tekufos, Gematrious, the language of angels, Sheidim, palm trees, and heknew the secrets of creation and the Chariot. It was said that in ben Zakkai's entire life, he never

engaged in a conversation without speaking in Torah or without wearing tefillin, two small black

boxes with black straps attached to them. Whenever he entered the Bais Medrash, a study hall,

he'd always be the first to enter and the last to leave. He would learn uninterruptedly and would

never be found sleeping in the Bais Medrash.

For three years, the Roman General Vespasian tried to rule the city of Jerusalem, but was unable

to get her to surrender. There was a large group called, the Baryonim who thought that they

could fight against the Roman army rather than surrender. Jerusalem had a large supply of oil,

wine, and wood and easily held out against an enemy attack. The Baryonim set fire to thesestorehouses hoping that this would force the Roman army to fight them.

Ben Zakkai's nephew, Abba Sikrah, told him to pretend to be sick and die. After a few days of

the faked death, then take the coffin out of the city to the Roman general. The Roman general

was angered with this and wanted to have him killed. Yochanan ben Zakkai told the general that

soon the general will become King. At that very moment a Roman nobleman informed the

general that the king had died and Vespasian had been proclaimed the new ruler. Amazed,

Vespasian granted Yochanan ben Zakkai any request he would like. Ben Zakkai asked that

Vespian would give the city of Yavneh and its great scholars to start a school of Torah. He also

asked that the leadership of the family of Rebbi Gamliel should be allowed to continue, andrequested a doctor to heal Rebbi Tzodok. The king happily agreed to all three requests and

granted them.

Although ben Zakkai could not save the city of Jerusalem, he managed to rescue the great Torah

Sages, and insured that the study of Torah would continue. He would tell his students that there

are three things that a person should share in the world and that would be living in Eretz Yisroel,

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bringing up one's children to Torah Study, and lastly reciting Havdala on wine on

Mozoei. Yochanan ben Zakkai was buried in the city of T'verya, alongside where the Rambam

would've been buried 1,100 years later.

Works Cited

Jewish Virtual Library. 2011.

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Teitelhbaum, Rabbi. R' Yocahnan ben Zakkai. December 2011

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