Tag Archives: Sanhedrin

Who Was the Reish Galuta?

In this week’s parasha, Ki Tetze, we learn about the mitzvah of bal tashchit, the prohibition on wasting good products. This is derived from the Torah’s command not to chop down fruit trees in the midst of war (Deuteronomy 20:19-20). The Talmud (Bava Kamma 58b) presents a related case, where a man chopped down a date palm belonging to his neighbour, and had to pay damages for it. The two went for litigation to the reish galuta, or “exilarch”, also known as rosh hagolah, “head of the exile”, who was something like the “chief rabbi” of Babylon. Now, the date palm in question was actually three palms coming out of one root, with a total value of 100 dinars. Since the man only chopped down one of three palms, the reish galuta ruled he was liable to pay 33.3 dinars.

The perpetrator did not like this ruling, exclaiming: “Why should I follow the reish galuta, who rules according to Persian law?” So he went to Rav Nahman instead who ruled a smaller fine, based on the average value of sixty date palms. The Talmud goes on to discuss the nuances of this issue. It concludes on the following page by saying that the halakhah does indeed follow the reish galuta, but only with regards to Persian date palms, since they are more expensive than regular ones. A couple of interesting questions emerge here: First, why did the perpetrator accuse the reish galuta of following Persian law, instead of Jewish law? And second, who was the reish galuta anyway, and what was the origin, history, and function of that office? Continue reading →

Will Jewish Law Follow Beit Shammai?

In this fifth week between Pesach and Shavuot, it is customary to read the fifth chapter of Pirkei Avot. We read that “Every dispute that is for the sake of Heaven, will in the end endure; But one that is not for the sake of Heaven, will not endure.” (5:17) And then we are given an example of a dispute that was “for the sake of Heaven”, that of Hillel and Shammai. Recall that Hillel and Shammai were the leaders of the two main schools of Jewish learning roughly 2000 years ago in Judea. Hillel was president of the Sanhedrin, while Shammai was the deputy. Hillel passed away around the year 10 CE, and Shammai some time after that.

The Talmud (Eruvin 13b) states that the schools of Hillel and Shammai debated for 3 years about whose interpretation of Jewish law is correct, until a Bat Kol, a Divine Voice, resonated from Heaven to declare that the halakhah should follow Beit Hillel. The Bat Kol acknowledged that both interpretations are “words of the living God” or, more accurately, “the living Word of God”, but the scholars of Hillel’s school won. The Talmud explains why: “Because they were agreeable and forbearing, and would teach both their own statements and the statements of Beit Shammai.” And so, halakhah has generally followed Hillel ever since. That said, some things did come from Beit Shammai, most notably the 18 Decrees that include pat israel, gevinat akum, and by extension, chalav israel. Today, it is often repeated that in the forthcoming Messianic Age, the halakhah will switch to follow Beit Shammai entirely. Where did this idea come from, and does it have any validity? Continue reading →

Rabbi Meir Lives

Who was the great sage and miracle worker Rabbi Meir? What was so special about his message and his teachings? Find out in this class as we explore the enigmatic figure and uncover how his profound, mystical, and universal Torah is the key to the forthcoming Final Redemption of the world. Plus: Did Roman Emperor Nero convert to Judaism? Where does 666 really come from? And who was the greatest of Greek philosophers, Oenomaus of Gadara?