Rabban Gamliel

In the times of the Mishnah, witnesses would come to the Beit Din to tell them that they saw the new moon. One time, witnesses came to report seeing the new moon. Rabbi Yochanan ben Nuri said, "They are false witnesses". When they came to Yavneh, however, Rabban Gamliel accepted their testimony. Rabbi Dosa ben Horkanos said, "How can these witnesses be accepted, given that we have strong evidence that they are false witnesses? Would you accept the testimony of witnesses who said that a woman has given birth if on the next day you saw her and she was still pregnant?" Rabbi Yehoshua was convinced by this argument, and did not accept that the new month started when Rabban Gamliel said it started. A few days later was Yom Kippur. Rabban Gamliel demanded that Rabbi Yehoshua come to Rabban Gamliel's house on the day which, according to Rabbi Yehoshua's count, was Yom Kippur. Rabbi Akiva went to Rabbi Yehoshua and saw him in great distress. Rabbi Akiva said to him, "I can bring proof from the Torah that whatever Rabban Gamliel did is valid, because the Torah says, 'These are the holidays of Hashem which you shall proclaim', whether they are proclaimed at their proper time or not." Rabbi Yehoshua then went to Rabbi Dosa ben Horkanos, who said to him, "If we call into question the decisions of the Beit Din of Rabban Gamliel, we must then call into question the decisions of every Beit Din which has existed since the days of Moses." After this talk, Rabbi Yehoshua took his staff and money and went to Yavneh to Rabban Gamliel on the day which, according to Rabbi Yehoshua's counting, was Yom Kippur. Rabban Gamliel rose and kissed him on his head and said to him, "Come in peace, my teacher and my student: my teacher in wisdom and my student because you have accepted my decision.

It happened that a disciple came before R. Joshua and asked him, "Is Maariv voluntary or mandatory?" He replied, "It is voluntary." Then he came before Rabban Gamaliel and asked him the same question. He replied, "It is mandatory." He thereupon said to him, "But R. Yehoshua told me it was voluntary!" Rabban Gamaliel said to him, "Wait until the security guards enter the Beit Midrash." When the security guards had assembled, the questioner stood up and asked, "Is the evening-Tefillah voluntary or obligatory ?" Rabban Gamaliel replied, "It is obligatory." Rabban Gamaliel said to the Sages, "Is there anyone who has a different opinion on this matter?" R. Joshua said to him, "No" Then Rabban Gamaliel said to him, "But it has been reported to me in your name, Yehoshua, that it is voluntary ?" And he added, "Yehoshua, stand up so that the people could testify against you." R. Yehoshua stood up and said, "If I were living and he dead, the living would be able to deny the statement of the dead ; but seeing that I am alive and he also is alive, how can the living deny the statement of the living ! " Then Rabban Gamaliel sat and started teaching while R. Joshua remained standing, until all those present began to murmur and cried to Huspit the interpreter, "Stop !" and he stopped. They said, "How long is Rabban Gamaliel going to continue insulting Rabbi Yehoshua? Last year he insulted him on the question of the New Year ; he slighted him on the question of the firstborn in the incident of R. Sadok; and here again he has insulted him. Come, let us depose him! Whom shall we appoint in his stead ? Shall we appoint Rabbi Yehoshua ? No, he is a party in this fight, so that would not be fair. Shall we appoint Rabbi Akiva ? No, perhaps Rabban Gamaliel will harass him because he does not come from a long line of leaders. Let us, then, appoint R. Eleazar b. 'Azariah, for he is wise, rich, and he is of the tenth generation from Ezra. He is wise, so if anyone puts difficult questions to him, he will be able to reply to him ; and he is rich, so if it be necessary for someone to attend at the palace of the Emperor, he will be qualified to do so ; and he is of the tenth generation from Ezra, so he possesses ancestral merit and Rabban Gamaliel will not be able to harass him on that account." They visited R. Eleazar b. 'Azariah and asked him, "Would you agree to become the head of the Sanhedrin?" He replied, "I will first go and take counsel with the members of my household." He went and consulted his wife, and she said to him,

"Perhaps they will soon get rid of you!" He answered "Better to use the cup of honor for one day, even if it breaks the next day." She said to him, "You have no grey hair!" That day he was eighteen years of age; but a miracle took place, and eighteen rows of hair turned grey. ... That same day, they removed the security guards from the door, and permission was granted for all the disciples to enter ; for Rabban Gamaliel had issued a proclamation: "A disciple, who is not inwardly the same as outwardly, will not be allowed to enter the House of Study." That day many benches had to be added. R. Johanan said : Abba Jose b. Dostai and the Rabbis differ as to the number; one declaring four hundred benches were added, the other declaring it was seven hundred. This [vast addition] depressed Rabban Gamaliel who said, "Perhaps, God forbid, I have withheld Torah from Israel !" He was shown a dream to relieve his mind. Even after being deposed as leader, Rabban Gamaliel did not stop coming to the Beit Midrash.

One day an Ammonite named Judah, came before them in the House of Study and said to them, "May I convert?" Rabban Gamaliel replied to him, "You are forbidden to enter the Community." R. Joshua said to him, "You are permitted to enter the Community" ...They immediately permitted him to enter the Community. Rabban Gamaliel then said, "Since it is so, I will go and ask forgiveness from R. Joshua for arguing against his ruling." When he arrived at R. Yehoshua's house, he noticed that the walls of his house were blackened, and said to him, "From the walls of thy house it can be recognized that you are a charcoal-burner." R. Joshua replied, "Woe to the generation whose leader you are, for you don't know the struggle of the disciples to support and feed themselves!" He said to him, "I beg your pardon; forgive me." He took no notice of him. "Do it out of regard for my father!" He made peace with him... R. 'Akiba said to him, "Rabbi Yehoshua, you have forgiven Rabban Gamliel! The only reason that we deposed him was to give honor to you... "What should we do? Shall we depose R. Eleazar b. 'Azariah? That's a problem, because we have the tradition, 'We may promote to a higher degree of sanctity but not demote to a lower degree! ' If we ask one of them to give the drasha on one Shabbos and the other on the next Shabbos, it will lead to jealousy. Let, then, Rabban Gamaliel give the drasha three Sabbaths in the month and R. Eleazar b. 'Azariah one Sabbath,"

After Rabbi Eliezer was excommunicated, R. Gamliel was on a ship; a wave stood upon him to drown him. He said: It appears to me this is only because of R.Eliezer b. Hyrkanos. He stood on his feet and said, “Master of the world, it is revealed and known before You that not for my honor I did nor for the honor of my father’s house but for Your honor that controversies not multiply in Israel.” The sea rested from its anger. Ima Shalom, wife of R. Eliezer, was R. Gamliel’s sister; from then she did not allow R. Eliezer to fall on his face in prayer.

(16) Rabban Gamliel says, "Make for yourself a mentor, remove yourself from doubt and do not give your taxes by estimation."