Nasi (Hebrew title)

( ''nāśīʾ'') is a Hebrew title meaning "prince" in Biblical Hebrew, "Prince f_the_Sanhedrin.html" ;"title="Sanhedrin.html" ;"title="f the Sanhedrin">f the Sanhedrin">Sanhedrin.html" ;"title="f the Sanhedrin">f the Sanhedrin in Mishnaic Hebrew, or "President (government title), president" in Hebrew language#Modern Hebrew, Modern Hebrew.

Usage

Genesis and ancient Israel

The noun ''nasi'' (including its grammatical variations), occurs 132 times in the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible, and in English is usually translated "prince," occasionally "captain." The first use is for the twelve "princes" who will descend from Ishmael, in the Book of Genesis , and the second use, in , is the Hethites recognising Abraham as "a godly prince" (' ).

In the Book of Leviticus (), in the rites of sacrifices for leaders who err, there is the special offering made by a "nasi".

In the Book of Numbers (), the leader of each tribe is referred to as a ''nasi'', and each one brings a gift to the Tabernacle. In , occurring 38 years later in the Biblical story, the ''nesi'im'' of each tribe are listed again, as the leaders responsible for apportioning tribal inheritances.

Later in the history of ancient Israel, the title of ''nasi'' was given to the political ruler of Judea (; ). Similarly, the Mishnah defines the ''nasi'' of Leviticus 4 to mean the king.

Second Temple period

During the Second Temple period ( BCE – 70 CE), the ''nasi'' was the highest-ranking member and president of the Sanhedrin, or Assembly, including when it sat as a criminal court. The position was created in c. 191 BCE when the Sanhedrin lost confidence in the ability of the High Priest to serve as its head. The office of ''nasi'' in the Land of Israel was comparable with the office of exilarch in Babylonia. The Romans recognized the ''nasi'' as Patriarch of the Jews, and required all Jews to pay him a tax for the upkeep of that office, which ranked highly in the Roman official hierarchy.

Late Roman empire

This position as patriarch or head of court was reestablished several years after the Bar-Kokhba revolt. This made the ''nasi'' a power which both Jews and Romans respected. The Jewish community in Babylonia also recognized him. The ''nasi'' had controlled leadership and served as a political representative to the authorities while the religious leadership was led by Torah scholars. The ''nasi'' had the power to appoint and suspend communal leaders inside and outside of Israel. The Romans respected the ''nasi'' and gave extra land and let control of own self-supported taxes. Under Jewish law, the intercalary thirteenth month in the Hebrew calendar, Adar Bet, was announced by the ''nasi''.

Gamaliel VI was the last ''nasi''. He died in 425 CE, after which Emperor Theodosius II suppressed the office of the patriarchate. The patriarchal tax was diverted to the Roman treasury from 426.

Middle Ages

The term ''nasi'' was later applied to those who held high offices in the Jewish community, and Jews who held prominence in the courts of non-Jewish rulers. Certain great figures from Jewish history have used the title, including Judah the Prince (Judah haNasi), the chief redactor of the Mishnah.

The ''nasi'' were also prevalent during the 8th-century Frankish kingdom. They were a highly privileged group in Carolingian France. The Jews collaborated with King Pepin to end Muslim rule over their city in 759. The Jews accepted surrender and Pepin was able to hold off the Saracens in the Iberian peninsula. Pepin rewarded the Jews with land and privileges such as the right to judicial and religious autonomy under rule of their own leadership. The heirs of the King and ''nasi'' held a close relationship until the tenth century.

17th–20th-century Jewish community in Yemen

According to ethnologist Erich Brauer, among the Jews of Yemen, the title of ''nasi'' was conferred upon a man belonging to the community's most noble and richest family. There was no direct election for this post. In general, the ''nasi'' was also a scholar, well-versed in Torah, but this was not a condition for his office. Among his duties, he was a representative of the community in all its affairs before the government. He was also entrusted with the duty of collecting the annual poll-tax (''ğizya''), as also to settle disputes arising between members of the community.

Chabad

The term Nasi was used by Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn to refer to the spiritual leaders of the Chabad movement. In particular, he used the term "Nesi Hador" (; "the prince of the generation") or "Nesi doreinu" (; "the prince of our generation") to refer to his father-in-law, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn. This phrase was later adopted by the Rebbe's own followers to refer to Rabbi M. M. Schneersohn himself.

Modern Hebrew

In Modern Hebrew, ''nasi'' means "president", and is not used in its classical sense. The word Nasi is used, in Israel, as the title of the Head of State and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. In Hebrew, the word "prince" is now expressed by a synonym: "nasi" (as in Yehuda HaNasi) and ' ().

Much more recently, Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz took the title ''nasi'' in an attempt to re-establish the Sanhedrin in its judicial capacity as the Supreme Court of Judaism.

List of Nesi'im

During the Mishnaic period, the office of nasi was filled as follows:

List of presidents of Israel:

Rabban

''Rabban'' was a higher title than ''rabbi'' and was given to the ''nasi'' starting with Gamaliel the Elder.

The title ''rabban'' was restricted in usage to the descendants of Hillel the Elder, the sole exception being Rabban Yochanan ben Zakai (c. 30–90 CE), the leader in Jerusalem during the Siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE and who safeguarded the future of the Jewish people after the Great Revolt by pleading with the Emperor Vespasian.

Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah, who was ''nasi'' between 118 and 120 CE, was not given the title ''rabban'', perhaps because he only occupied the office of ''nasi'' for a short while, after which it reverted to the descendants of Hillel.

Prior to Rabban Gamliel the Elder, no titles were used before anyone's name, in line with the Talmudic adage "''Gadol miRabban shmo''" ("Greater than the title ''rabban'' is a person's own name"). For this reason, Hillel the Elder has no title before his name: his name is in itself a title. Similarly, Moses and Abraham have no titles before their names, but an epithet is sometimes used to differentiate between biblical and historic personages, hence ''Avraham Avinu'' (Abraham 'Our Father') and ''Moshe Rabbeinu'' (Moses 'Our Teacher').

Starting with Rabbi Judah I ''haNasi'' (born 135 CE), not even the ''nasi'' was given the title ''rabban''. In its place, Judah ''haNasi'' was given the lofty accolade ''Rabbeinu HaKadosh'' ('Our Holy Teacher').Goldwurm and Holder, 322

See also

* Modern attempts to revive the Sanhedrin

References

{{reflist

Further reading

Jeremy Cohen, "The Nasi of Narbonne: A Problem in Medieval Historiography," AJS Review, 2 (1977): pp. 45–76,

Jones, Lindsay, ed. Encyclopedia of Religion. Detroit: Gale, 2005. s.v. "Yehudah Ha-Nasi."

Pearl, Chaim, ed. The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life and Thought. New York: Digitalia, Inc., 1996. s.v. "Judah the Prince (Judah Ha-Nasi)."

Pearl, Chaim, ed. The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life and Thought. New York: Digitalia, Inc., 1996. s.v. "Prince (Heb. Nasi)."

External links

Sanhedrin history

Jewish Encyclopedia: Nasi

Honorifics
Ancient Israel and Judah
Jewish royalty
Establishments in the Seleucid Empire
Jewish leadership roles
Sanhedrin