מה עשה יהודה בן בבא הלך וישב לו בין שני הרים גדולים ובין שתי עיירות גדולות ובין שני תחומי שבת בין אושא לשפרעם וסמך שם חמשה זקנים ואלו הן ר"מ ור' יהודה ור' שמעון ור' יוסי ור' אלעזר בן שמוע רב אויא מוסיף אף ר' נחמיה
What did Rabbi Yehuda ben Bava do? He went and sat between two large mountains, between two large cities, and between two Shabbat boundaries: Between Usha and Shefaram, i.e., in a desolate place that was not associated with any particular city so that he not endanger anyone not directly involved, and there he ordained five elders. And they were: Rabbi Meir, and Rabbi Yehuda, and Rabbi Shimon, and Rabbi Yosei, and Rabbi Elazar ben Shammua. Rav Avya adds that Rabbi Neḥemya was also among those ordained.
Yerushalmi Hagiggah 3:1
An incident is related of 7 elders that came together to intercalate the year in the Valley of Rimon. Who were they? Rabbi Meir, Rabbi Judah, Rabbi Yossi, Rabbi Shimon, Rabbi Nehemiah, Rabbi Eleazar ben Yakov, and Rabbi Yosi the Sandal-maker
The letter of Rav Sherira Gaon from the Cairo Geniza:
The sages left Tzippori and there was no presiding sage except for Rabbi Meir. Rabbi Yosi wanted to make Rabbi Meir the head of the court. They said to him, "her rival is at her side." He said, "the exigencies of the moment demand it. They permitted him, and they invested Rabbi Meir with the authority of the head of the court, and he wrote to him: Tzippori will be established! Even a bird has found refuge. When Rabbi Meir died, Rabbi Yosi ruled, and he died in Tzippori.
דתניא אמר רבי יוסי כשהלך אבא חלפתא אצל ר' יוחנן בן נורי ללמוד תורה ואמרי לה רבי יוחנן בן נורי אצל אבא
As it is taught in the Tosefta (Bava Batra 2:4) that Rabbi Yosei said: When father Ḥalafta went to study Torah with Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Nuri, and some say that he said: When Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Nuri went to study Torah with father Halafta
(יח) וּלְבֵ֨ית הָרֵכָבִ֜ים אָמַ֣ר יִרְמְיָ֗הוּ כֹּֽה־אָמַ֞ר יְהוָ֤ה צְבָאוֹת֙ אֱלֹהֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל יַ֚עַן אֲשֶׁ֣ר שְׁמַעְתֶּ֔ם עַל־מִצְוַ֖ת יְהוֹנָדָ֣ב אֲבִיכֶ֑ם וַֽתִּשְׁמְרוּ֙ אֶת־כָּל־מִצְוֺתָ֔יו וַֽתַּעֲשׂ֔וּ כְּכֹ֥ל אֲשֶׁר־צִוָּ֖ה אֶתְכֶֽם׃ (ס) (יט) לָכֵ֗ן כֹּ֥ה אָמַ֛ר יְהוָ֥ה צְבָא֖וֹת אֱלֹהֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל לֹֽא־יִכָּרֵ֨ת אִ֜ישׁ לְיוֹנָדָ֧ב בֶּן־רֵכָ֛ב עֹמֵ֥ד לְפָנַ֖י כָּל־הַיָּמִֽים׃ (פ)
רבי יוסי בי רבי חלפתא מבני יונדב בן רכב
Yerushalmi Ta'anit 4:2:
Rabbi Yosi son of Rabbi Halafta was from the descendants of Yonadav son of Rechav
Midrash on Psalms 50:
When Rabbi Yosi ben Halafta was a boy and used to play with other boys, a man saw him and said to him: your father shouldbe told that you play with the boys. Rabbi Yosi answered: by your life, does it matter to you? If you tell my father he will strike me, and you will accustom your tongue to peak slander.
(ח) וְאֵין עוֹשִׂין תַּכְשִׁיטִין לַעֲבוֹדָה זָרָה, קֻטְלָאוֹת וּנְזָמִים וְטַבָּעוֹת. רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר אוֹמֵר, בְּשָׂכָר מֻתָּר. אֵין מוֹכְרִין לָהֶם בִּמְחֻבָּר לַקַּרְקַע, אֲבָל מוֹכֵר הוּא מִשֶּׁיִּקָּצֵץ. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר, מוֹכֵר הוּא לוֹ עַל מְנָת לָקוֹץ. אֵין מַשְׂכִּירִין לָהֶם בָּתִּים בְּאֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְאֵין צָרִיךְ לוֹמַר שָׂדוֹת. וּבְסוּרְיָא מַשְׂכִּירִין לָהֶם בָּתִּים, אֲבָל לֹא שָׂדוֹת. וּבְחוּץ לָאָרֶץ מוֹכְרִין לָהֶם בָּתִּים וּמַשְׂכִּירִין שָׂדוֹת, דִּבְרֵי רַבִּי מֵאִיר. רַבִּי יוֹסֵי אוֹמֵר, בְּאֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל מַשְׂכִּירִין לָהֶם בָּתִּים, אֲבָל לֹא שָׂדוֹת. וּבְסוּרְיָא מוֹכְרִין בָּתִּים וּמַשְׂכִּירִין שָׂדוֹת. וּבְחוּצָה לָאָרֶץ מוֹכְרִין אֵלּוּ וָאֵלּוּ:
One may not rent them houses in the Land of Israel, and we need not even mention fields [which are certainly forbidden to rent]; and in Syria [conquered land North of Israel, treated like Israel only with regard to some laws], one may rent them houses, but not fields; and outside of the Land one may sell them houses and rent them fields; these are words of Rabbi Meir. Rabbi Yosei says: In the Land of Israel it is permitted to rent them houses but not fields; and in Syria it is permitted to sell them houses and rent them fields; and outside of the Land, one may sell them either one.
Genesis Rabbah 66
A Roman matron asked Rabbi Yossi: And how many days did God create his world? He said to her, in six days, as it is written, “for in six days God made the heavens and the earth.”
And from that time, what has kept him busy?
He said to her, he sits and makes matches, assigning the daughter of one man to another, the wife of one man to another, this person’s money to another. She said to him, is that so difficult? I can do it myself. I have many Slaves and maid servants and I can match them up easily.
He said to her, if the matter seems so simple to you, it is as difficult. For God as the parting of the Red Sea. Rabbi Yossi went on his way.
What did she do? She took 1000 slaves and 1000 maidservants and arrange them in rows. She said, this man will marry this woman, and this woman will marry this man. And she matched them all in one night. The next day they came to her. One had an injured brain, One had a blackeye, one had a broken leg. She said to them, what happened to you?
One woman said, I don’t want him. Another man said, I don’t want her. Immediately she sent for Rabbi Yossi. She said to him, there is no God like your God. It is true, your Torah is indeed beautiful and praiseworthy and you spoke the truth.
He said to her, did I not tell you that if it seems simple to you, it is difficult for God as the parting of the Red sea?
A dilemma was raised before the Sages: One who transgressed and left his pot on the fire on Shabbat, what is his legal status? Did the Sages penalize him and prohibit him from eating the food, or did they not penalize him? Come and hear a resolution to this dilemma from that which Shmuel bar Natan said that Rabbi Ḥanina said: When Rabbi Yosei went to the city of Tzippori, he found hot water that was left on the stove, and he did not prohibit them from drinking it. He found eggs shriveled from overcooking that were left on the stove on Shabbat and he prohibited them from eating them. Is this not referring to permitting and prohibiting their consumption for that same Shabbat? If so, apparently he prohibits eating cooked food that was intentionally left on the stove on Shabbat. The Gemara immediately rejects this assumption: No. Rather, he prohibited them from doing so ab initio the following Shabbat, but he did not prohibit them from eating the eggs on that same Shabbat.