Jose ben Joezer (also spelt Yose ben Yoezer) was a rabbi of the early

Maccabean period The Maccabees (), also spelled Machabees ( he, מַכַּבִּים, or , ; la, Machabaei or ; grc, Μακκαβαῖοι, ), were a group of Jewish rebel warriors who took control of Judea, which at the time was part of the Seleucid Empire. ...

, possibly a disciple of

Antigonus of Soko Antigonus of Sokho ( he, אנטיגנוס איש סוכו) was the first scholar of whom Pharisee tradition has preserved not only the name but also an important theological doctrine. He flourished about the first half of the third century BCE. ...

and member of the ascetic group known as the

Hasidæans The Hasideans ( he, חסידים הראשונים, ''Hasidim ha-Rishonim'', Greek ''Ἀσιδαῖοι'' or Asidaioi, also transcribed Hasidæans, Assideans, Hassideans or Assideans) were a Jewish religious party which played an important role ...

, though neither is certain. He belonged to a priestly family.

Biography

With him and

Jose ben Johanan Jose ben Jochanan ( he, יוסי בן יוחנן, Yose ben Yochanan or Joseph ben Johanan) was Av Beit Din (Chief Justice) of the Sanhedrin in the 2nd century BCE. He was a native of Jerusalem. He and Jose ben Joezer were the successors and, it is ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, his colleague, begins the period known in Jewish history as that of the

zugot The ''Zugot'' ( he, הַזּוּגוֹת ''hazZūgōṯ'', "the Pairs"), also called Zugoth or ''Zugos'' in the Ashkenazi pronunciation, refers both to the two-hundred-year period ( 170 BCE – 30 CE, he, תְּקוּפַת הַזּו� ...

(duumvirate), which ended with Hillel and

Shammai Shammai (50 BCE – 30 CE, he, שַׁמַּאי, ''Šammaʾy'') was a Jewish scholar of the 1st century, and an important figure in Judaism's core work of rabbinic literature, the Mishnah. Shammai was the most eminent contemporary of Hill ...

. According to an old tradition, the member of the "zugot" mentioned first occupied the office of

Nasi Nasi may refer to: Food Dishes Nasi Goreng is an Indonesian and Malay word for ''cooked rice'', featured in many Southeast Asian dishes *Nasi goreng, a popular rice dish often simply called ''nasi'' *Other Southeast Asian ''nasi'' dishes: **Nasi ...

(president) of the

Sanhedrin The Sanhedrin (Hebrew and Aramaic: סַנְהֶדְרִין; Greek: , ''synedrion'', 'sitting together,' hence ' assembly' or 'council') was an assembly of either 23 or 71 elders (known as "rabbis" after the destruction of the Second Temple), ...

, while the one mentioned second served in the capacity of vice-president. Jose belonged to the party of the Ḥasidim, and was a decided adversary of Hellenism. To prevent Jews from settling beyond Judea he declared all pagan countries " unclean". He declared also glass utensils "unclean", probably because they were manufactured in pagan countries. In other respects, however, he was very liberal, and received the surname "Sharaya" ("one who permits") for having rendered three liberal decisions on certain ritual questions. The first

halakic ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical command ...

controversy known in the

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...

was that between Jose ben Joezer and his colleague Jose ben Johanan. It arose over the question whether the laying of hands on the heads of the sacrifices is permitted on feast-days. Jose ben Joezer was distinguished for his piety, and is called "the most pious in the priesthood" ("''hasid shebikechunnah''"). He professed great veneration for scholars, one of his sayings being: "Let thy house be a meeting-place for the wise; powder thyself in the dust of their feet, and drink their words with eagerness"

Death

Jose was probably among the sixty pious men who, at the instigation of the high priest

Alcimus Alcimus (from grc-gre, Ἄλκιμος ''Alkimos'', "valiant" or Hebrew אליקום ''Elyaqum'', "God will rise"), also called Jakeimos, Jacimus, or Joachim (), was High Priest of Israel for three years from 162–159 BCE. He was a moderate Hell ...

, the son of his sister, were crucified by the Syrian general Bacchides. The Midrash reports the following dialogue between

and Jose ben Joezer while the latter was on the way to execution: :Alcimus: "See the profit and honors that have fallen to my lot in consequence of what I have done, whilst thou, for thy obstinacy, hast the misfortune to die as a criminal." :Yose, quietly: "if such is the lot of those who anger God, what shall be the lot of those who accomplish His will?" :Alcimus: "Is there any one who accomplished His will more than thou?" :Yose: "If this is the end of those who accomplish His will, what awaits those who anger Him?" On this Alcimus was seized with remorse and committed suicide: "He went and subjected himself to all four modes of execution inflicted by the Beth Din: stoning, burning, beheading, and strangulation. What did he do o accomplish this He took a beam and stuck it in the ground, attached a rope to it, set up logs

n front of it N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

and built a stone wall around it. He then made a bonfire

ith the logs The Ith () is a ridge in Germany's Central Uplands which is up to 439 m high. It lies about 40 km southwest of Hanover and, at 22 kilometres, is the longest line of crags in North Germany. Geography Location The Ith is immediatel ...

and stuck a sword in the middle. He then hanged himself with the rope, and while he was strangling the rope burnt through and snapped, he fell on the sword, while the wall

f stones F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''. His ...

fell upon him and he burned

n the fire N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

" Jose ben Joezer left a son, whom he had disinherited for bad conduct.

Bava Batra Bava Batra (also Baba Batra; Talmudic Aramaic: בָּבָא בַּתְרָא "The Last Gate") is the third of the three Talmudic tractates in the Talmud in the order Nezikin; it deals with a person's responsibilities and rights as the owner of pr ...

133b

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jose ben Joezer Mishnah rabbis Pirkei Avot rabbis Zugot 2nd-century BCE rabbis Sanhedrin