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Jose ben Helpetha, commonly known as Jose ben Halafta (IPA:'josi ben xa'lafta/) was a tanna of the fourth generation (2nd century CE). He is the fifth-most-frequently mentioned sage in the Mishnah. Yose Ben Halafta is the one of two rabbis called Rabbi Yose in the Talmud; the other being Jose ben Zimra, an amora.

Biography

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 Rabbi Akiva's five principal pupils, called "the restorers of the Law," who were afterward ordained by Judah ben Baba. He was also a student 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 Akiva, 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."

Owing to Jose's fame as a saint, legend describes him as having met Elijah. Jose, complying with the levirate law, married the wife of his brother who had died childless; they had five sons: Ishmael, Eleazar, Menahem, Halafta (who died in his lifetime), and Eudemus.

He exemplified Abtalion's dictum, "Love work"; for he was a tanner, a trade then commonly held in contempt.

Teachings

Halakha

His legal decisions are mentioned throughout the greater part of the Mishnah, as well as in the Baraita and Sifra. The Babylonian Talmud says that in a dispute between Rabbi Jose b. Halafta and Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, the halakha follows Rabbi Jose b. Halafta. So, too, in any dispute between himself and his colleagues, Rabbi Yehuda b. 'Ilai and Rabbi Meir, the rule of practice is in accordance with Rabbi Jose.

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 Akiva, Jose occupied himself with the dots which sometimes accompany the words in the Bible, occasionally basing his halakhot on such dots. He was generally liberal in his halakhic decisions, especially in interpreting the laws concerning fasts and vows.

Aggadah

Jose was also a prominent aggadist. The conversation which he had 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 is 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. A series of Jose's ethical sayings 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.

Quotes

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• Let your friend's money be as precious to you as your own, and prepare yourself for the study of the Torah since it (i.e. learning and knowledge) is not passed down unto you by way of an inheritance.
• What does the trickster lose?
• If any man says to you, 'There is worldly wisdom to be found among the gentiles,' believe him. But if he says to you, 'The Divine Law (Torah) is to be found among the gentiles,' do not believe him.
• There are three things that can potentially cause death, and all three having been delivered unto the woman: The commandment of the menstruate (i.e. to separate herself from her husband during her natural purgation); the commandment of the dough offering (i.e. to separate the portion unto the priestly stock before eating the bread), and the commandment of lighting the candle (i.e. before the Sabbath actually sets in).

References

1. Drew Kaplan, "Rabbinic Popularity in the Mishnah VII: Top Ten Overall [Final Tally] Drew Kaplan's Blog (5 July 2011).
2. Yoma 66b
3. Yerushalmi Ta'anit 4 2; Genesis Rabba 98:13
4. Yevamot 63b
5. Sanhedrin 14a
6. Tosefta, Kelim Bava Kamma 2:2; Tosefta Kelim Bava Batra 7:4
7. Eruvin 35a; Rosh Hashanah 15a
8. Bava Kamma 70a; Megillah 17b
9. Pesahim 18a; Yevamot 62b
10. Sanhedrin, l.c.
11. Bava Metzia 84a
12. Shabbat 33b
13. Bava Batra 75b
14. Sanhedrin 109a; compare Yerushalmi Avodah Zarah 3:1.
15. Deuteronomy 16:20
16. Sanhedrin 32b
17. Yerushalmi Gittin 6 9
18. Berakhot 3a; Sanhedrin 113b
19. Yerushalmi Yevamot 1 1
20. Pirkei Avot 1:10
21. Shabbat 49a
22. Pesahim 65a
23. Babylonian Talmud, Yevamot 46b; Sanhedrin 27a; Yerushalmi Terumot 3:1; Eruvin 51a
24. Sanhedrin 88b
25. Compare Terumot 10:3; Eruvin 8:5 (86a); Yoma, 4:3 (43b)
26. Pesahim 9:2 (93b); Menahot 87b.
27. Ta'anit 22b
28. Nedarim 21b, 23a
29. Genesis Rabba 68:4
30. Yevamot 82b; Niddah 46b; compare Shabbat 88a
31. Compare Avot 4:6
32. In Shabbat 118b
33. Kiddushin 52a; Nazir 50a
34. Derekh Eretz Rabbah 11
35. Monatsschrift, 42:505-507
36. Avot de-Rabbi Nathan 17:1
37. Bava Metzia 3
38. Lamentations Rabbah 2:9
39. Jerusalem Talmud (Shabbat 2:6 )

1. See Halafta for pronunciations.

Resources

Schechter, Solomon and M. Seligsohn. "Jose ben Ḥalafta." Jewish Encyclopedia. Funk and Wagnalls, 1901–1906; which cites:

• Bacher, Ag. Tan. ii. 150–190;
  • idem, Ag. Pal. Amor. ii. 158 et passim;
• Brüll, Mebo ha-Mishnah, pp. 156–160, 178–185, Frankfort-on-the-Main, 1876;
• Frankel, Darke ha-Mishnah, pp. 164–168;
  • idem, in Monatsschrift, iv. 206–209;
• Joël, ib. vi. 81–91;
• Weiss, Dor, ii. 161–164.

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

• Mishnah rabbis
• 2nd-century rabbis