Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai and His Five Disciples: On the Ethical Paths to Choose and Avoid (Avot 2:8-9)

Appendix - Hillel’s 80 students, and Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai’s Encyclopedic Knowledge: A List of 11 Domains of Knowledge (Sukkah 28a)

Outline

The Passage - Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai and His Five Disciples (Avot 2:8-9)

1. R' Yohanan ben Zakkai’s five students: R' Eliezer, R' Yehoshua, R' Yose ha-Kohen, R' Shimon ben Netanel, and R' Elazar ben Arach

2. R' Yohanan ben Zakkai - R' Eliezer ben Hyrcanus outweighs all the other sages

3. Abba Shaul citing R' Yohanan ben Zakkai - R' Eleazar ben Arach outweighs all the other sages—including R' Eliezer ben Hyrcanus

4. R' Yohanan ben Zakkai asks his students to identify the most desirable Ethical “Path”

   1. R' Yohanan ben Zakkai favors R' Elazar ben Arach's answer as encompassing the others

5. The same exercise is repeated for negative Ethical “Path” (evil eye, bad companion, etc.)

   1. R' Yohanan ben Zakkai favors Elazar ben Arach's answer as encompassing the others

Appendix - Hillel’s 80 students, and Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai’s Encyclopedic Knowledge: A List of 11 Domains of Knowledge (Sukkah 28a)

1. Hillel’s 80 students

2. Yoḥanan ben Zakkai’s Encyclopedic Knowledge: A List of 11 Domains of Knowledge

The Passage

Avot.2.8-9

R' Yohanan ben Zakkai’s five students: R' Eliezer, R' Yehoshua, R' Yose ha-Kohen, R' Shimon ben Netanel, and R' Elazar ben Arach

R' Yohanan ben Zakkai had five students,¹ each associated with a single characteristic:²

1. R' Eliezer ben Hyrcanus: a plastered ( סוד) cistern (בור) that retains everything³

2. R' Yehoshua ben Ḥanania: “happy (אשרי) is the woman that gave birth to him (יולדתו)”

3. R' Yose ha-Kohen: pious⁴

4. R' Shimon ben Netanel: “fears sin”

5. R' Elazar ben Arach: a “powerful (מתגבר) spring (מעין)”

חמשה תלמידים היו לו לרבן יוחנן בן זכאי,

ואלו הן:

1. רבי אליעזר בן הורקנוס,

2. ורבי יהושע בן חנניה,

3. ורבי יוסי הכהן,

4. ורבי שמעון בן נתנאל,

5. ורבי אלעזר בן ערך.

Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai had five disciples

and they were these:

1. R' Eliezer ben Hyrcanus,

2. R' Yehoshua ben Hananiah,

3. R' Yose the priest,

4. R' Shimon ben Nethanel

5. and R' Eleazar ben Arach

הוא היה מונה שבחן:

1. רבי אליעזר בן הורקנוס --

   1. בור סוד שאינו מאבד טפה.

2. רבי יהושע בן חנניה --

   1. אשרי יולדתו.

3. רבי יוסי הכהן --

   1. חסיד.

4. רבי שמעון בן נתנאל --

   1. ירא חטא.

5. ורבי אלעזר בן ערך --

   1. מעין המתגבר.

He [R' Johanan] used to list their outstanding virtues:

1. R' Eliezer ben Hyrcanus --

   1. is a plastered cistern which loses not a drop;

2. R' Yehoshua ben Hananiah --

   1. happy is the woman that gave birth to him;

3. R' Yose the priest --

   1. is a pious man;

4. R' Simeon ben Netanel —

   1. is one that fears sin,

5. And R' Eleazar ben Arach —

   1. is like a spring that [ever] gathers force.

R' Yohanan ben Zakkai - R' Eliezer ben Hyrcanus outweighs all the other sages

הוא היה אומר:

אם יהיו כל חכמי ישראל בכף מאזנים,

ואליעזר בן הורקנוס בכף שניה —

מכריע את כלם

He [=R' Yohanan ben Zakkai] used to say:

if all the sages of Israel were on one scale of the balance

and R' Eliezer ben Hyrcanus on the other scale —

he would outweigh them all.

Abba Shaul citing R' Yohanan ben Zakkai - R' Eleazar ben Arach outweighs all the other sages—including R' Eliezer ben Hyrcanus

אבא שאול אומר משמו:

אם יהיו כל חכמי ישראל בכף מאזנים

ורבי אליעזר בן הורקנוס אף עמהם,

ורבי אלעזר בן ערך בכף שניה —

מכריע את כלם

Abba Shaul said in his name:

if all the sages of Israel were on one scale of the balance,

and R' Eliezer ben Hyrcanus also with them,

and R' Eleazar ben Arach on the other scale —

he would outweigh them all.

R' Yohanan ben Zakkai asks his students to identify the most desirable Ethical “Path”

This Mishnah presents a two-part ethical exercise in which Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai asks his five students to identify the best and worst ethical “path” (דרך) for a person to adopt or avoid.⁵ Each student offers a different possibility, and Rabban Yohanan selects one answer—“a good heart” and “an evil heart”—as encompassing all the others.

His students’ responses:

1. R' Eliezer: a good eye

2. R' Yehoshua: a good friend

3. R' Yose: a good neighbor

4. R' Shimon: foresight (רואה את הנולד)

5. R' Elazar: a good heart

אמר להם:

צאו וראו:

איזוהי דרך ישרה שידבק בה האדם?

1. רבי אליעזר אומר:

   1. עין טובה.

2. רבי יהושע אומר:

   1. חבר טוב.

3. רבי יוסי אומר:

   1. שכן טוב.

4. רבי שמעון אומר:

   1. הרואה את הנולד.

5. רבי אלעזר אומר:

   1. לב טוב.

He [Rabban Yohanan] said unto them:

go forth and observe:

which is the right way to which a man should cleave?

1. R' Eliezer said:

   1. a good eye;

2. R' Yehoshua said,

   1. a good companion;

3. R' Yose said,

   1. a good neighbor;

4. R' Shimon said,

   1. foresight.

5. R' Elazar said,

   1. a good heart.

R' Yohanan ben Zakkai favors R' Elazar ben Arach's answer as encompassing the others

אמר להם:

רואה אני את דברי אלעזר בן ערך מדבריכם,

שבכלל דבריו דבריכם.

He [Rabban Yohanan] said to them:

I prefer the words of Elazar ben Arach,

for in his words your words are included.

The same exercise is repeated for negative Ethical “Path” (evil eye, bad companion, etc.)

The same exercise is repeated for negative “paths”—with students’ responses correspondingly flipped: evil eye, bad companion, etc.—again with “evil heart” singled out as the root category.

אמר להם:

צאו וראו איזוהי דרך רעה שיתרחק ממנה האדם.

1. רבי אליעזר אומר,

   1. עין רעה.

2. רבי יהושע אומר,

   1. חבר רע.

3. רבי יוסי אומר,

   1. שכן רע.

4. רבי שמעון אומר,

   1. הלוה ואינו משלם.

      1. אחד הלוה מן האדם, כלוה מן המקום ברוך הוא, שנאמר (תהלים לז) לוה רשע ולא ישלם, וצדיק חונן ונותן.

5. רבי אלעזר אומר,

   1. לב רע.

He [=Rabban Yohanan] said unto them:

go forth and observe which is the evil way which a man should shun?

1. R' Eliezer said,

   1. an evil eye;

2. R' Yehoshua said,

   1. an evil companion;

3. R' Yose said,

   1. an evil neighbor;

4. R' Shimon said,

   1. one who borrows and does not repay

      1. for he that borrows from man is as one who borrows from God, as it is said, “the wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous deal graciously and give” (Psalms 37:21).

5. R' Elazar said,

   1. an evil heart.

R' Yohanan ben Zakkai favors Elazar ben Arach's answer as encompassing the others

אמר להם:

רואה אני את דברי אלעזר בן ערך מדבריכם,

שבכלל דבריו דבריכם

He [=Rabban Yohanan] said to them:

I prefer the words of Elazar ben Arach,

for in his words your words are included.

Appendix - Hillel’s 80 students, and Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai’s Encyclopedic Knowledge: A List of 11 Domains of Knowledge (Sukkah 28a)

Sukkah.28a.5-7

Hillel’s 80 students

תנו רבנן:

שמונים תלמידים היו לו להלל הזקן:

1. שלשים מהן --

   1. ראוים שתשרה עליהן שכינה כמשה רבינו,

2. ושלשים מהן --

   1. ראוים שתעמוד להם חמה כיהושע בן נון.

3. עשרים --

   1. בינונים.

• גדול שבכולן —

  • יונתן בן עוזיאל,

• קטן שבכולן —

  • רבן יוחנן בן זכאי

The Sages taught:

Hillel the Elder had 80 students:

1. 30 of them

   1. were sufficiently worthy that the Shekhina should rest upon them as it did upon Moses our teacher,

2. and 30 of them

   1. were sufficiently worthy that the sun should stand still for them as it did for Joshua bin Nun,⁶

3. and 20

   1. were on an intermediate level between the other two.

• The greatest of all the students --

  • was Yonatan ben Uzziel,

• and the youngest⁷ of them --

  • was Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai.

Yoḥanan ben Zakkai’s Encyclopedic Knowledge: A List of 11 Domains of Knowledge

The Talmud describes Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai as an exceptional scholar who mastered a vast range of domains of knowledge:

His expertise included:

1. Bible (מקרא)

2. Mishnah

3. Talmudic discourse (גמרא)

4. halakha (הלכות)

5. aggadah

6. Minutiae:⁸ “Minutiae of the Torah (דקדוקי תורה) and minutiae of the scribes (דקדוקי סופרים)”

7. Legal hermeneutics: ‘a fortiori’ reasoning (קלים וחמורים - ‘kal ve-homer’) and verbal analogies⁹

8. Calculations: of calendrical seasons (תקופות) and numerology¹⁰

9. Non-human languages:¹¹ of angels ( מלאכי השרת), demons (שדים), and palm trees ( דקלים).

10. Parables:¹² of launderers ( כובסין) and of foxes¹³

11. Grasp of both "great matters"¹⁴ and "small matters".

The Talmud explains the final items as follows:

The "great matters" he studied refer to the mystical "Design of the Divine Chariot",¹⁵ while "small matters" denote halakhic debates.¹⁶

אמרו עליו על רבן יוחנן בן זכאי

שלא הניח

1. מקרא

2. ומשנה,

3. גמרא

4. הלכות

5. ואגדות;

6. 1. דקדוקי תורה

   2. ודקדוקי סופרים;

7. 1. קלים וחמורים

   2. וגזרות שוות;

8. 1. תקופות

   2. וגימטריאות;

9. 1. שיחת מלאכי השרת,

   2. ושיחת שדים,

   3. ושיחת דקלים;

10. 1. משלות כובסין,

    2. משלות שועלים;

11. 1. דבר גדול

    2. ודבר קטן.

• דבר גדול —

  • מעשה מרכבה.

• דבר קטן —

  • הויות דאביי ורבא.

לקיים מה שנאמר:

״להנחיל אוהבי יש

ואוצרותיהם אמלא״.

They said about Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai

that he did not neglect

1. Bible;

2. Mishna;

3. Gemara;

4. halakhot

5. and aggadot;

6. 1. minutiae of the Torah

   2. and minutiae of the scribes;

7. the hermeneutical principles of the Torah with regard to

   1. a fortiori inferences

   2. and verbal analogies;

8. the calculation of

   1. the calendrical seasons;

   2. and numerology [gimmatreyaot].

9. 1. the conversation of ministering angels;

   2. the conversation of demons,

   3. and the conversation of palm trees;

10. 1. parables of launderers, which are folk tales that can be used to explain the Torah;

    2. parables of foxes;

11. and more generally,

    1. a great matter

    2. and a small matter.

The Talmud elaborates:

• A great matter --

  • is referring to the secrets of the Design of the Divine Chariot, the conduct of the transcendent universe.

• A small matter --

  • is, for example, halakhot that were ultimately formulated in the framework of the disputes of Abaye and Rava.

He did not neglect any of these disciplines so as to fulfill that which is stated:

“That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance

and that I may fill their treasuries” (Proverbs 8:21), as Rabban Yoḥanan was filled with the disciplines of Torah and wisdom.

1. חמשה תלמידים היו לו לרבן יוחנן בן זכאי.

Compare a similar line in baraita cited in the Talmud about Jesus, discussed in my piece “Joy, Waterskin, and Students of Jesus: Talmudic Wordplay on the Names of Heretics (Sukkah 48b; Sanhedrin 43a)”, section “The Trial of Jesus's Five Disciples (=Apostles): A Narrative of Names, Scriptural Wordplay, and Verdicts (Sanhedrin 43a)”:

חמשה תלמידים היו לו לישו

Jesus had five disciples

As here, the names of the students are subsequently listed, and story is told about them (the story of their execution).

And compare also the similar trope of five disciples listed in the case of R’ Yehuda ben Bava, in Sanhedrin.14a.2 (=Avodah_Zarah.8b.14):

מה עשה יהודה בן בבא?

[…]

וסמך שם חמשה זקנים.

ואלו הן:

1. רבי מאיר,

2. ורבי יהודה,

3. ורבי שמעון,

4. ורבי יוסי,

5. ורבי אלעזר בן שמוע

What did R’ Yehuda ben Bava do?

[…]

and there he ordained five elders.

And they were:

1. R’ Meir,

2. R’ Yehuda,

3. R’ Shimon,

4. R’ Yosei,

5. R’ Elazar ben Shammua.

The same list of five students appears with R’ Akiva, though it lacks the explicit numbering, in Yevamot.62b.10:

והיה העולם שמם,

עד שבא רבי עקיבא אצל רבותינו שבדרום,

ושנאה להם:

1. רבי מאיר,

2. ורבי יהודה,

3. ורבי יוסי,

4. ורבי שמעון,

5. ורבי אלעזר בן שמוע,

And the world was desolate of Torah (after the mass death of R’ Akiva’s students, see there)

until R' Akiva came to our Rabbis in the South (דרום - i.e. Judea, which is south of Galilee)

and taught his Torah to them.

This second group of disciples consisted of

1. R' Meir,

2. R' Yehuda,

3. R' Yosei,

4. R' Shimon,

5. and R' Elazar ben Shamua.

2. הוא היה מונה שבחן - “he [=R' Yohanan ben Zakkai] used to count their praise”.

3. אינו מאבד טפה - “doesn’t lose a drop”.

4. חסיד - ‘hasid’.

5. Stating:

צאו וראו:

איזוהי דרך ישרה

שידבק בה האדם

Go out and see (i.e., observe and analyze):

what is the upright (ישרה - literally: “straight”) path

to which a person should cleave?

The idiom “straight path” ( דרך ישרה) is also used earlier in the tractate, see Avot.2.1:

רבי אומר:

איזוהי דרך ישרה

שיבר לו האדם?

R’ [Yehuda HaNasi] said:

which is the straight path

that a man should choose for himself?

The phrase is found in the Bible, use there in a more literal sense, see Psalms.107.7a:

וידריכם בדרך ישרה

He guided them on a straight (i.e. direct) path

6. The biblical miracle of the sun standing still for Joshua in Joshua 10:12-13 is the quintessential miracle in the Talmud. On it, see for example my recent appendix here, “Three people had the sun altered on their behalf: Moses, Joshua, and Nakdimon“.

7. קטן. Alternatively, the term katan here means 'least' — that is, Yoḥanan ben Zakkai was, comparatively, the least distinguished of Hillel’s disciples.

Compare the next section, davar gadol u’davar katan ('a great matter and a small matter'), where katan similarly implies something of relatively lower significance.

8. דקדוקי - ‘dikdukei’ - “precision, details”.

Jastrow interprets as follows:

"דקדוקי תורה" - "the subtle points in the interpretation of Biblical laws";

"דקדוקי סופרים" - "the special points in rabbinical enactments"

See Jastrow (modernized):

דקדוק, דקדוקי masculine (from דקדק)

[…]

2) Nicety, fine point, subtlety, detail, minuteness; [in later Hebrew: grammar]

• Avot chapter 6: "דקדוק חברים" - "the fine points discussed among scholars"

• Sanhedrin 99a: "חוץ מדקדוק זה" - "except this single point (in the adopted interpretation of the Law)"

• Bekhorot 30b

• Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 2:4d: "אלו צריכין דקדוק" (not צריך) - "the following pairs of words require special care in pronouncing"

• Deuteronomy Rabbah section 2: "דקדוק אותיות" - "precision of letters"

Plural as above, construct: דקדוקי, דקדוקי.

• Hullin 4a: "דקדוקי מצות" - "the details of ritual laws"

• Sukkah 28a: "דקדוקי תורה" - "the subtle points in the interpretation of Biblical laws"; "דקדוקי סופרים" - "the special points in rabbinical enactments"

• Leviticus Rabbah section 22: "שני דקדוקי שחיטה וכו׳" - "there are two defined rules concerning the cutting of animals"

• Jerusalem Talmud Yoma 3:41a

• Jerusalem Talmud Sotah 2:18a: "כל דקדוקי הפרשה" - "all the particulars of the section"

• Tosefta ibid. 2:1

And frequently elsewhere.

And see Jastrow, entry דקדק (modernized):

דקדק (Pilpel of דוק or דקק)

[…]

3) to examine minutely, search, investigate (charity cases); to trace genealogical records (corresponding to בדק); in general to be very strict in religious observances; (with עם) to deal strictly with (especially used of divine retribution)

• Yerushalmi Peah 8:21a: מדקדקין בכסות וכ׳ "you must make inquiries if one asks for clothes, but you must not etc., if food is asked for"

• Leviticus Rabbah section 34 (Bava Batra 9a: בודקין)

• Yerushalmi Kiddushin 4:65d: אין מדוקדק אחריה "you must not trace its past records"

• Yerushalmi Bava Batra 4, end, 14d: it is the custom in sales להיות מדקדקין "to be strict," opposite בעין יפה liberal

• Exodus Rabbah section 31: מדוקדק עמהם "he is stinting (illiberal) towards the poor"

• Yerushalmi Sukkah 1:52b top: לא דקדק בה "he paid no particular attention to its preparation"

• Hullin 4a: הרבה מדוקדק בה יותר וכ׳ "they are very strict in the observance, even more so than etc."

• Tosefta Pesachim 1 (2):15

• Yevamot 121b (referring to Psalms 50:3): הקב"ה מדוקדק עם וכ׳ "God deals with those around Him (the good) strictly, to a hair's breadth"

• Yerushalmi Shekalim 5:48d

• Leviticus Rabbah section 27; and frequently

• Tanhuma Mishpatim 11: למה אתה תדקדק בהכאתה "why are you so severe in punishing her?"

9. גזרות שוות - gezerah shavah.

On these, see my piece “Ancient Interpretations: Talmudic Hermeneutics and Drashot Revisited”.

10. גימטריאות - ‘gematria’.

These two knowledge domains are also paired in the Mishnah tractate Avot, see my recent piece here, section “R' Eliezer Hisma - Laws of sacrifices and niddah are central; astronomy and gematria are secondary (3:18)“, see my note there:

רבי אליעזר בן חסמא אומר:

[…]

תקופות וגימטריאות --

פרפראות לחכמה

R' Eliezer Hisma said:

[…]

The calculation of the equinoxes (תקופות) and gematria (גימטריאות) —

are the desserts (פרפראות) of wisdom.

11. שיחת - literally: “speech”.

12. משלות - ‘mashal’.

13. שועלים - related to the Greek Aesop’s Fables; on this, see my note in my previous piece.

14. דבר גדול - literally: “large things”.

15. מעשה מרכבה.

For more on this, see the intro to my “Pt1 Talmudic Cosmology (Ma'aseh Bereshit): Earth's Foundations, the Seven Heavens, and Cosmic Dimensions (Chagigah 12b-13a)“, section “Meaning of “Ma'aseh Bereshit”“.

16. הויות דאביי ורבא - "the disputes of Abaye and Rava".

The disputes between the major amoraim Abaye and Rava are seen as the paradigmatic Talmudic disputes, and are thus used as a metonym for Talmudic debate in general.