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Jose ben Jochanan (Hebrew: יוסי בן
יוחנן, Yose ben Yochanan or Joseph ben Johanan) was
Nasi (president) of the Sanhedrin in the second
century BCE. He was a native of Jerusalem. He and Jose
ben Joezer were the successors and, it is said, the
disciples of Antigonus of Sokho[1], and the two
together formed the first of a series of duumvirates
that transmitted the traditional law; in each pair
one, according to tradition, was prince-president ("nasi"),
and the other vice-president, of the Sanhedrin (Av
Beth Din).[2] One of Jose's sayings was: "Let thy
house be opened wide; and let the needy be thy
household; and prolong not converse with woman".[3] A
disagreement between the two colleagues with regard to
halakhic decisions gave rise to the formation of two
different schools. Both men were opposed to Hellenism,
and both belonged to the Hasideans. Jose ben Joezer
and Jose ben Johanan were the last of the "eshkolot"[4],
or "wise men" (from Hebrew Eshkolot, "bunches [of
grapes]", poet. "abounding in wisdom")[5]. |
