Everything about Jose Ben Halafta totally explained
Rabbi
Jose ben Halafta or
Yose ben Halafta (
Hebrew:
רבי יוסי בן חלפתא) was a
Tanna of the fourth generation (2nd century CE). Jose was a student of Rabbi
Akiba and was regarded as one of the foremost scholars of
halakha and
aggadah of his day. He was a teacher and mentor to, among other notables,
Judah ha-Nasi and thus is prominently mentioned in the
Mishnah.
Biography
Of Jose's life only the following details are known: He was born at
Sepphoris; but his family was of
Babylonian-Jewish origin. According to a genealogical chart found at
Jerusalem, he was a descendant of
Jonadab ben Rechab. He was one of
Akiba's five principal pupils, called "the restorers of the Law," who were afterward ordained by
Judah ben Baba. He was, besides, a pupil of
Johanan ben Nuri, whose
halakhot he transmitted and of
Eutolemus. It is very likely that he studied much under his father,
Halafta, whose authority he invokes in several instances. But his principal teacher was Akiba, whose system he followed in his interpretation of the Law. After having been ordained in violation of a Roman edict, Jose fled to
Asia Minor, where he stayed till the edict was abrogated. Later he settled at
Usha, then the seat of the
Sanhedrin. As he remained silent when his fellow pupil
Simeon bar Yohai once attacked the Roman government in his presence, he was forced by the Romans to return to Sepphoris, which he found in a decaying state. He established there a flourishing school; and it seems that he died there. Jose's great learning attracted so many pupils that the words "that which is altogether just shalt thou follow" were interpreted to mean in part "follow Jose to Sepphoris". He was highly extolled after his death. His pupil
Judah ha-Nasi said: "The difference between Jose's generation and ours is like the difference between the Holy of Holies and the most profane."
His halakot are mentioned throughout the greater part of the Mishnah, as well as in the Baraita and Sifra. His teaching was very systematic. He was opposed to controversy, declaring that the antagonism between the schools of Shammai and Hillel made it seem as if there were two Torahs. For the most part, Jose adopted a compromise between two contending halakhists. Like his master Akiba, Jose occupied himself with the dots which sometimes accompany the words in the Bible, occasionally basing his halakot on such dots. He was generally liberal in his halakic decisions, especially in interpreting the laws concerning fasts and vows. In those cases where there was a difference of opinion between Jose and his contemporaries, it was Jose's decision that was adopted as the norm for the practise.
Bible Chronology
Jose was also a prominent haggadist; and the conversation which he'd with a Roman matron, resulting in her conviction of the superiority of the Jewish religion, shows his great skill in interpreting Biblical verses. Jose is considered to be the author of the
Seder Olam Rabba, a chronicle from the
Creation to the time of
Hadrian, for which reason it's called also known as "
Baraita di Rabbi Jose ben Halafta." This work, though incomplete and too concise, shows Jose's system of arranging material in chronological order.
Jose is known for his ethical dicta, which are characteristic, and in which he laid special stress on the study of the Torah. He exemplified
Abtalion's dictum, "Love the handicrafts"; for he was a
tanner by trade, and followed a craft then commonly held in contempt. A series of Jose's ethical sayings in
Shabbot (118b) shows his tendency toward
Essenism. As has been said above, Jose was opposed to disputation. When his companion Judah desired to exclude Meïr's disciples from his school, Jose dissuaded him. One of his characteristic sayings is, "He who indicates the coming of the Messiah, he who hates scholars and their disciples, and the
false prophet and the slanderer, will have no part in the future world." According to Bacher this was directed against the Hebrew
Christians.
Owing to Jose's fame as a saint, legend describes him as having met
Elijah. Jose,
complying with the Law, married the wife of his brother who had died childless; she bore him five sons:
Ishmael,
Eleazar,
Menahem, Halafta (who died in his lifetime), and
Eudemus.
Further Information
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