Pt2 From Nero to Titus: The Siege of Jerusalem and the Destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans in 70 CE in Talmudic Retelling (Gittin 56a-b)

This is the second part of a three-part series. Part 1 is here; the outline of the series can be found at Part 1.

The Story of Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai and Vespasian

Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai arranges a secret meeting with his nephew Abba Sikkara, the Zealot leader

אבא סקרא – ריש בריוני דירושלים,

בר אחתיה דרבן יוחנן בן זכאי הוה.

שלח ליה: תא בצינעא לגבאי

§ The Talmud relates: Abba Sikkara was the leader of the zealots [biryonei] of Jerusalem

and the son of the sister of Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai.

Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai sent a message to him: Come to me in secret (בצינעא)

Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai Urges Abba Sikkara to End the Revolt, but Abba Sikkara Responds that He Doesn’t Fully Control the Zealots

אתא.

אמר ליה:

עד אימת עבדיתו הכי,

וקטליתו ליה לעלמא בכפנא?!

אמר ליה:

מאי איעביד?!

דאי אמינא להו מידי —

קטלו לי!

He came,

and Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai said to him:

Until when will you do this

and kill everyone through starvation (כפנא)?!

Abba Sikkara said to him:

What can I do?!

for if I say something to them —

they will kill me.¹

Abba Sikkara advises Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai to feign death to escape the city

אמר ליה:

חזי לי תקנתא לדידי דאיפוק,

אפשר דהוי הצלה פורתא.

אמר ליה:

נקוט נפשך בקצירי,

וליתו כולי עלמא ולישיילו בך,

ואייתי מידי סריא

ואגני גבך,

ולימרו דנח נפשך

Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai said to him:

Show me a method so that I will be able to leave the city,

and it is possible that through this there will be some small salvation.

Abba Sikkara said to him:

This is what you should do: Pretend to be sick,

and have everyone come and ask about your welfare, so that word will spread about your ailing condition.

Afterward bring something putrid (סריא)

and place it near you,

so that people will say that you have died and are decomposing.

וליעיילו בך תלמידך

ולא ליעול בך איניש אחרינא,

דלא לרגשון בך דקליל את,

דאינהו ידעי —

דחייא קליל ממיתא.

עביד הכי.

And then, have your students enter to bring you to burial,

and let no one else come in

so that the zealots not notice that you are still light (קליל)

As the zealots know —

that a living person is lighter than a dead person.²

Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai did this.

Students (R' Eliezer and R' Yehoshua) carry Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai past Zealot guards and out of Jerusalem

נכנס בו רבי אליעזר מצד אחד,

ורבי יהושע מצד אחר.

כי מטו לפיתחא,

בעו למדקריה.

אמר להו: יאמרו: רבן דקרו!

בעו למדחפיה.

אמר להו: יאמרו: רבן דחפו!

פתחו ליה בבא, נפק.

R' Eliezer entered from one side

and R' Yehoshua from the other side to take him out.³

When they arrived at the entrance of the city on the inside,

the guards, who were of the faction of the zealots, wanted to pierce him (למדקריה) with their swords in order to ascertain that he was actually dead, as was the common practice.

Abba Sikkara said to them: The Romans will say that they pierce even their master (רבן - ‘rabbi’)

The guards then wanted at least to push him to see whether he was still alive, in which case he would cry out on account of the pushing.

Abba Sikkara said to them: They will say that they push even their teacher.

The guards then opened the gate and he was taken out.⁴

“Hail, King” Greeting - Outside the walls Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai greets Vespasian as king and is threatened with execution for treason

כי מטא להתם, אמר:

שלמא עלך מלכא, שלמא עלך מלכא!

אמר ליה:

מיחייבת תרי (קטלא) [קטלי]:

1. חדא —

   1. דלאו מלכא אנא

   2. וקא קרית לי מלכא,

2. ותו —

   1. אי מלכא אנא

   2. עד האידנא אמאי לא אתית לגבאי?!

When Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai reached there, i.e., the Roman camp, he said:

Greetings (שלמא - ‘shalom’) to you, the king; greetings to you, the king!

Vespasian said to him:

You are liable for two death penalties:

1. one —

   1. because I am not a king

   2. and yet you call me king,

2. and furthermore —

   1. if I am a king,

   2. why didn’t you come to me until now?!

Scriptural Proof - Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai proves Vespasian’s destined royalty via Isa 10:34 (“Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one”) equating Temple with Lebanon and king with “mighty”

אמר ליה:

דקאמרת: לאו מלכא אנא,

איברא מלכא את;

דאי לאו מלכא את

לא מימסרא ירושלים בידך,

דכתיב: ״והלבנון באדיר יפול״

• ואין ״אדיר״ אלא מלך,

  • דכתיב: ״והיה אדירו ממנו וגו׳״;

• ואין ״לבנון״ אלא בית המקדש,

  • שנאמר: ״ההר הטוב הזה והלבנון״.

Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai said to him:

As for what you said about yourself: I am not a king,

in truth, you are a king, if not now, then in the future.

As if you are not a king,

Jerusalem will not be handed over into your hand,

as it is written: “And the Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one (אדיר)” (Isaiah 10:34).

• And “mighty one” means only a king,

  • as it is written: “And their mighty one shall be of themselves, and their ruler shall proceed from the midst of them” (Jeremiah 30:21), indicating that “mighty one” parallels “ruler.”

• And “Lebanon” means only the Temple,

  • as it is stated: “That good mountain and the Lebanon” (Deuteronomy 3:25).

Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai blames Zealots for why he didn’t meet Vespasian earlier

ודקאמרת:

אי מלכא אנא —

אמאי לא קאתית לגבאי עד האידנא

בריוני דאית בן לא שבקינן

And as for what you said with your second comment:

If I am a king —

why didn’t you come to me until now,

there are zealots among us who did not allow us to do this.

Jug-and-Snake Parable - Vespasian compares Jerusalem to a honey jug wrapped by a snake (=Zealots)

אמר ליה:

אילו חבית של דבש

ודרקון כרוך עליה,

לא היו שוברין את החבית בשביל דרקון?!

אישתיק.

Vespasian said to him:

If there is a jug of honey

and a snake (דרקון - from Greek) is wrapped around it,

wouldn’t they break the jug in order to kill the snake?!⁵

Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai was silent and did not answer.

Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai’s silence is later criticized by Rav Yosef or R' Akiva (Isaiah 44:25)

קרי עליה רב יוסף,

ואיתימא רבי עקיבא:

״משיב חכמים אחור

ודעתם יסכל״,

איבעי ליה למימר ליה:

שקלינן צבתא

ושקלינן ליה לדרקון

וקטלינן ליה,

וחביתא שבקינן לה.

In light of this, Rav Yosef later read the following verse about him,

and some say that it was R' Akiva who applied the verse to Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai:

“I am YHWH…Who turns wise men backward

and makes their knowledge foolish” (Isaiah 44:25).

As Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai should have said the following to Vespasian in response:

In such a case, we take tongs (צבתא)

and remove the snake,

and kill it,

and in this way we leave the jug intact.

News arrives that Vespasian was appointed emperor

אדהכי, אתא פריסתקא עליה מרומי,

אמר ליה:

קום!

דמית ליה קיסר,

ואמרי הנהו חשיבי דרומי לאותיבך ברישא.

In the meantime, as they were talking, a messenger⁶ arrived from Rome,

and said to him:

Rise!

for the emperor has died,

and the noblemen of Rome plan to appoint you as their leader and make you the next emperor.

Vespasian’s Sudden foot swelling is cured by Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai via bringing a disliked man (Proverbs 15:30, 17:22)

הוה סיים חד (מסאני) [מסאניה].

בעא למסיימה לאחרינא, לא עייל.

בעא למישלפיה לאידך, לא נפק.

אמר: מאי האי?!

At that time Vespasian was wearing only one shoe (מסאניה)

and when he tried to put on the other one, it would not go on his foot.

He then tried to remove the other shoe that he was already wearing, but it would not come off.

He said: What is this?!

אמר ליה:

לא תצטער,

שמועה טובה אתיא לך,

דכתיב: ״שמועה טובה תדשן עצם״.

Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai said to him:

Be not distressed or troubled,

for good tidings have reached you,

as it is written: “Good tidings make the bone fat” (Proverbs 15:30), and your feet have grown fatter out of joy and satisfaction.

אלא מאי תקנתיה?

ליתי איניש דלא מיתבא דעתך מיניה, ולחליף קמך,

דכתיב: ״ורוח נכאה תיבש גרם״.

עבד הכי, עייל.

Vespasian said to him: But what is the remedy? What must I do in order to put on my shoe?

Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai said to him:

Have someone with whom you are displeased come and pass before you,

as it is written: “A broken spirit dries the bones” (Proverbs 17:22).

He did this, and his shoe went on his foot.

אמר ליה:

ומאחר דחכמיתו כולי האי,

עד האידנא אמאי לא אתיתו לגבאי?!

אמר ליה: ולא אמרי לך?!

אמר ליה: אנא נמי אמרי לך!

Vespasian said to him:

Since you are so wise,

why didn’t you come to see me until now?!

Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai said to him: But didn’t I already tell you?

Vespasian said to him: I also told you what I had to say.⁷

Modest Requests - R’ Yohanan asks only for Yavne and its scholars, the Rabban Gamliel line, and doctors for R’ Tzadok

אמר ליה:

מיזל אזילנא, ואינש אחרינא משדרנא;

אלא בעי מינאי מידי דאתן לך.

אמר ליה:

1. תן לי יבנה וחכמיה,

2. ושושילתא דרבן גמליאל,

3. ואסוותא דמסיין ליה לרבי צדוק.

Vespasian then said to Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai:

I will be going to Rome to accept my new position,

and I will send someone else in my place to continue besieging the city and waging war against it.

But before I leave, ask something of me that I can give you.

Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai said to him:

1. Give me Yavne and its rabbis and do not destroy it,⁸

2. and spare the dynasty⁹ of Rabban Gamliel and do not kill them as if they were rebels,

3. and lastly give me doctors to heal R' Tzadok.¹⁰

Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai’s relatively modest requests are later criticized by Rav Yosef or R' Akiva (Isaiah 44:25)

קרי עליה רב יוסף,

ואיתימא רבי עקיבא:

״משיב חכמים אחור

ודעתם יסכל״,

איבעי למימר ליה: לשבקינהו הדא זימנא.

והוא סבר:

דלמא כולי האי לא עביד,

והצלה פורתא נמי לא הוי

[…]

Rav Yosef read the following verse about him,

and some say that it was R' Akiva who applied the verse to Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai:

“I am YHWH…Who turns wise men backward

and makes their knowledge foolish” (Isaiah 44:25),

as he should have said to him to leave the Jews alone this time.

And why didn’t Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai make this request?

He maintained that

Vespasian might not do that much for him,

and there would not be even a small amount of salvation.

Therefore, he made only a modest request, in the hope that he would receive at least that much.

[…]

1. I.e., Abba Sikkara’s response was that he didn’t have full control over the Zealots. He couldn’t single-handedly stop the revolt; if he tried, Zealots would kill him.

2. חייא קליל ממיתא.

This is true; weight loss in a corpse comes from water evaporation and gas escape. Weight changes are gradual and reflect fluid loss or gain. Post-mortem changes: cooling, blood pooling, gas formation, tissue dehydration. These processes can make a corpse lighter over hours to days, and by variable amounts depending on temperature and humidity.

However, it’s worth noting that classical Greco-Roman science typically gave a different (incorrect) explanation for this: they linked life to heat and moving breath. Greek physicians said ‘vital heat’ and pneuma kept bodies warm and animated; when the heat was gone, the body felt heavier, colder, and inert, so some philosophers inferred that a corpse must weigh more than a living body because the light, airy pneuma had escaped.

3. On Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai and his students, compare my “Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai and His Five Disciples: On the Ethical Paths to Choose and Avoid (Avot 2:8-9)“.

4. On the sub-story of Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai faking his death, compare in general Wikipedia, “Faked death“. This story is noted there, in section “Notable faked deaths > 1st century“.

5. Ed. Steinsaltz interprets the implication of Vespasian’s Jug-and-Snake Parable, and Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai’s response (in the next section) as follows:

Understanding that Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai was prepared to ask him [=Vespasian] not to destroy the Temple […]

In similar fashion, I [=Vespasian] am forced to destroy the city of Jerusalem in order to kill the zealots barricaded within it […]

[Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai responds:] So too, you [=Vespasian] should kill the rebels and leave the city as it is.

This reading is unlikely for a few reasons, including the fact that it imposes a modern assumption — that a wartime aggressor would feel compelled to justify collateral damage — onto a context where the victims were viewed as enemies.

The more likely reading is that Vespasian’s Jug-and-Snake parable is meant as a direct rebuttal to Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai’s explanation for why he didn’t come sooner:

1. Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai claimed the Zealots prevented him from coming

2. Vespasian replies that Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai should have forced his way out of Jerusalem regardless, even at the cost of harming his own side: Jerusalem’s own defenses or causing Jewish casualties.

3. Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai replies to Vespasian’s parable (in the next section) by reframing the analogy: it wasn’t worth harming his own people; he was right to escape Jerusalem in a delicate way that avoided causing damage to his own side.

6. פריסתקא.

From Greek, see Jastrow (modernized):

פרדיסקי I

a corruption of παρατάξις [părắtăxĭs]

soldiers, police.

Genesis Rabbah section 94, end - שדר פרדיסקי בתריה - “he (the royal officer) sent the police after him to arrest him”

See פרדשכא.

7. Notably, the conclusion to the 'shoe' episode is oddly anticlimactic: after an elaborate setup, the conclusion is a flat exchange in which Vespasian and Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai explicitly restate prior back-and-forth.

8. On Yavne as foundational in Talmudic memory, see these pieces of mine:

• ‘Sacred and Defiles the Hands’: The Canonical Status of the Biblical Books of Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs (Mishnah Yadayim 3:5), especially ibid. footnote 1.

• Pt1 The Four Sermons of the Mid-Second Century Sages in Yavne: On Hospitality (Xenia) and the Honor of Torah Sages (Berakhot 63b), especially ibid. footnote 6.

9. שושילתא - literally: “chain”.

Referring here to Patriarchate (Nesi’im). Compare my “Pt1 Tripartite Aphorisms: From The Men of the Great Assembly to Rabban Gamaliel’s Dynasty (Mishnah Avot 1:1-2:4)“, especially my intro there.

10. See earlier in the sugya, in Part 1, section “R’ Tzadok’s 40-year fasts and fig-based sustenance“:

דרבי צדוק יתיב ארבעין שנין בתעניתא

דלא ליחרב ירושלים,

כי הוה אכיל מידי —

הוה מיתחזי מאבראי.

R' Tzadok observed fasts for 40 years,

praying that Jerusalem would not be destroyed.

He became so emaciated from fasting that when he would eat something —

it was visible from the outside of his body.

The actual healing is subsequently elaborated on in the Talmud, where it’s described how physicians restored R’ Tzadok with progressively thicker drinks: bran-water, then flour-water, in Gittin.56b.7:

אסוותא דמסיין ליה לרבי צדוק – מאי היא?

1. יומא קמא

   1. אשקיוה מיא דפארי,

2. למחר

   1. מיא דסיפוקא,

3. למחר

   1. מיא דקימחא,

עד דרווח מיעיה פורתא פורתא.

The Talmud asks: What was he requesting when he asked for doctors to heal R' Tzadok? How did they heal him?

1. The first day

   1. they gave him water to drink that contained bran [parei].

2. The next day

   1. they gave him water containing flour mixed with bran [sipuka].

3. The following day

   1. they gave him water containing flour.

In this way they slowly restored his ability to eat, allowing his stomach (מיעיה - “intestines, innards”) to broaden little by little.