Rabbi Yochanan ben Nuri (
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
: יוחנן בן נורי) was a ''
tanna'' of the 1st and 2nd centuries.
Biography
He initially studied under the watch of
Rabban Gamliel of Yavne and senior of
Rabbi Akiva
Akiva ben Yosef (Mishnaic Hebrew: ''ʿĂqīvāʾ ben Yōsēf''; – 28 September 135 CE), also known as Rabbi Akiva (), was a leading Jewish scholar and sage, a '' tanna'' of the latter part of the first century and the beginning of the second c ...
, and later took up residence in
Beit She'arim (Roman-era Jewish village). A great
halakist, always provided with satisfactory answers to all questions, he was familiarly called "pedler's basket" or "bundle of halakot"; the number and diversity of
halakot cited under his name in the
Mishnah
The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Tor ...
alone, about 40, justify those titles. Besides exhaustive rabbinical knowledge, he acquired familiarity with the general science of his time, especially
geometry
Geometry (; ) is, with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. It is concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. A mathematician who works in the field of geometry is ...
. It was said of him, as of his colleague R.
Eleazar Chisma, that he could approximately state the number of drops contained in the sea.
Also like R. Eleazar Chisma, he was very poor. Through the influence of R.
Joshua ben Hananiah both were appointed by
Rabban Gamliel
Gamaliel the Elder (; also spelled Gamliel; he, רַבַּן גַּמְלִיאֵל הַזָּקֵן ''Rabban Gamlīʾēl hazZāqēn''; grc-koi, Γαμαλιὴλ ὁ Πρεσβύτερος ''Gamaliēl ho Presbýteros''), or Rabban Gamaliel I, ...
to remunerative offices.
Rabbi Johanan showed himself grateful to Rabban Gamliel. When, after that patriarch's death, Rabbi Joshua proposed a change in a rule established by Rabban Gamliel, Rabbi Johanan opposed him: "I have observed that the head is always followed by the body; as long as Rabban Gamliel lived we observed the rule laid down by him, and now you propose to veto his directions. Joshua, we shall not listen to you". Close scholarly relations also existed between him and R.
Halafta
Halafta or Rabbi Halafta (רבי חלפתא) was a rabbi who lived in Sepphoris in the Galilee during the late 1st and early 2nd centuries CE (second generation of tannaim). He was the father of Jose ben Halafta, and one of the latter's teachers o ...
.
He was very pious, and therefore later rabbis said that when one dreams of Rabbi Johanan ben Nuri one may hope to develop a wholesome fear of sin.
Teachings
In his discussions of halakhot, Rabbi Johanan considered expediency and economy as well as law and authority. When
Rabbi Tarfon
Rabbi Tarfon or Tarphon ( he, רבי טרפון, from the Greek Τρύφων ''Tryphon''), a Kohen, was a member of the third generation of the Mishnah sages, who lived in the period between the destruction of the Second Temple (70 CE) and the ...
declared that only
olive oil was appropriate for the
Shabbat-lamp, Rabbi Johanan became impatient: "And what shall the
Babylonians
Babylonia (; Akkadian: , ''māt Akkadī'') was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Syria). It emerged as an Amorite-ruled state c. 1 ...
do where none but sesame-oil is to be had; and what shall the Medians do, who have nothing but nut-oil; and the Alexandrians, who have nothing but radish-oil; or the Cappadocians, who have only naphtha?". On another occasion, when
Rabbi Akiva
Akiva ben Yosef (Mishnaic Hebrew: ''ʿĂqīvāʾ ben Yōsēf''; – 28 September 135 CE), also known as Rabbi Akiva (), was a leading Jewish scholar and sage, a '' tanna'' of the latter part of the first century and the beginning of the second c ...
suggested that a married woman who has become the common talk of the "spinsters by the moon" ought to be divorced, Johanan remarked, "In that case there is no chance for a daughter of Judah to live with a husband! Only where infidelity is fully established by legal evidence may a divorce be imposed".
In the
aggadah
Aggadah ( he, ''ʾAggāḏā'' or ''Haggāḏā''; Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: אַגָּדְתָא ''ʾAggāḏəṯāʾ''; "tales, fairytale, lore") is the non-legalistic exegesis which appears in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism ...
he is not often cited.
[Jewish Encyclopedia article for Yochanan ben Nuri](_blank)
by Solomon Schechter
Solomon Schechter ( he, שניאור זלמן הכהן שכטר; 7 December 1847 – 19 November 1915) was a Moldavian-born British-American rabbi, academic scholar and educator, most famous for his roles as founder and President of the ...
and S. Mendelsohn.
Some of his halachic teachings are notable even though they are not accepted in practice. He ruled that not only the
five species of grain, but also rice and millet, could become
chametz. He ruled that in the
mussaf
Mussaf (also spelled Musaf or Musof) is an additional service that is recited on Shabbat, Yom Tov, Chol Hamoed, and Rosh Chodesh. The service, which is traditionally combined with the Shacharit in synagogues, is considered to be additional to th ...
prayer of
Rosh Hashana
Rosh HaShanah ( he, רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה, , literally "head of the year") is the Jewish New Year. The biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (, , lit. "day of shouting/blasting") It is the first of the Jewish High Holy Days (, , " ...
, the ''malchuyot'' verses should be recited in the third blessing (''kedushat hashem'') rather than the fourth (''kedushat hayom'').
[Mishna Rosh Hashana 4:5]
References
Its bibliography:
*
W. Bacher, Ag. Tan. i. 372;
*
Brüll, Mebo ha-Mishnah, i. 122;
*
Z. Frankel, Darke ha-Mishnah, p. 123;
*Hamburger, R. B. T.;
*
Weiss, Dor
Isaac (Isaak) Hirsch Weiss, also Eisik Hirsch Weiss () (9 February 1815 – 1 June 1905), was an Austrian Talmudist and historian of literature born at Groß Meseritsch, Habsburg Moravia.
After having received elementary instruction in Hebre ...
, ii. 118.S
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johanan ben Nuri
Mishnah rabbis
1st-century rabbis
2nd-century rabbis
Year of birth missing
Year of death missing