Jose ben Halafta

He was born at Sepphoris; but his family was of Babylonian-Jewish origin.Yoma 66b According to a genealogical chart found at Jerusalem, he was a descendant of Jonadab ben Rechab.Yerushalmi Ta'anit 4 2; Genesis Rabba 98:13 He was one of Rabbi Akiva's five principal pupils, called "the restorers of the Law,"Yevamot 63b who were afterward ordained by Judah ben Baba.Sanhedrin 14a He was also a student of Johanan ben Nuri, whose halakhot he transmittedTosefta, Kelim Bava Kamma 2:2; Tosefta Kelim Bava Batra 7:4 and of Eutolemus.Eruvin 35a; Rosh Hashanah 15a It is very likely that he studied much under his father, Halafta, whose authority he invokes in several instances.Bava Kamma 70a; Megillah 17b But his principal teacher was Akiva, whose system he followed in his interpretation of the Law.Pesahim 18a; Yevamot 62b

After having been ordained in violation of a Roman edict,Sanhedrin, l.c. Jose fled to Asia Minor,Bava Metzia 84a 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,Shabbat 33b which he found in a decaying state.Bava Batra 75b He established there a flourishing school; and it seems that he died there.Sanhedrin 109a; compare Yerushalmi Avodah Zarah 3:1.

Jose's great learning attracted so many pupils that the words "that which is altogether just shalt thou follow"Deuteronomy 16:20 were interpreted to mean in part "follow Jose to Sepphoris".Sanhedrin 32b 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."Yerushalmi Gittin 6 9

Owing to Jose's fame as a saint, legend describes him as having met Elijah.Berakhot 3a; Sanhedrin 113b 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.Yerushalmi Yevamot 1 1

He exemplified Abtalion's dictum, "Love work";Pirkei Avot 1:10 for he was a tanner,Shabbat 49a a trade then commonly held in contempt.[https://www.sefaria.org.il/Pesachim.65a.3?lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en Pesahim 65a]

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.Babylonian Talmud, Yevamot 46b; Sanhedrin 27a; Yerushalmi Terumot 3:1; Eruvin 51a

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.Sanhedrin 88b For the most part, Jose adopted a compromise between two contending halakhists.Compare Terumot 10:3; Eruvin 8:5 (86a); Yoma, 4:3 (43b) 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.Pesahim 9:2 (93b); Menahot 87b. He was generally liberal in his halakhic decisions, especially in interpreting the laws concerning fastsTa'anit 22b and vows.Nedarim 21b, 23a

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,Genesis Rabba 68:4 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."Yevamot 82b; Niddah 46b; compare Shabbat 88a 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.Compare Avot 4:6 A series of Jose's ethical sayingsIn Shabbat 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.Kiddushin 52a; Nazir 50a 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."Derekh Eretz Rabbah 11 According to BacherMonatsschrift, 42:505-507 this was directed against the Hebrew Christians.

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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.Avot de-Rabbi Nathan 17:1
• What does the trickster lose? Bava Metzia 3
• 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.Lamentations Rabbah 2:9
• 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 [Shabbat] candle (i.e. before the Sabbath actually sets in).Jerusalem Talmud (Shabbat 2:6 [20a])

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Schechter, Solomon and M. Seligsohn. [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=427&letter=J&search=Jose "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.

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