Nāśī’ (נָשִׂיא) is a Hebrew title meaning prince in Biblical Hebrew, Prince (of the Sanhedrin) in Mishnaic Hebrew, or president in Modern Hebrew.
Usage[edit]
Genesis and Ancient Israel[edit]
The noun nasi occurs 132 times in the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible, and in English is usually translated "prince," occasionally "captain." The first use is for the twelve "princes" who will descend from Ishmael, in Genesis 17, and the second use, in Genesis 23, is the Hethites recognising Abraham as "a godly prince" (nasi elohim נְשִׂיא אֱלֹהִים). Later in the history of Ancient Israel the title of nasi was given to the political ruler of Judea - e.g. Lev 4:22; Ezek 44:2-18; Ezra 1:8(comp. Yer. Hor. 3:2).
Second Temple period[edit]
During the Second Commonwealth (c. 530 BCE - 70 CE), the nasi was the highest-ranking member and president of the Sanhedrin or Assembly, including when it sat as a criminal court. The position was created in c. 191 BCE when the Sanhedrin lost confidence in the ability of the High Priest to serve as its head.[1] TheRomans recognised the nasi as Patriarch of the Jews, and required all Jews to pay him a tax for the upkeep of that office, which ranked highly in the Roman official hierarchy.
Late Roman empire to medieval period[edit]
This position as patriarch or head of court was reestablished by the Romans after the Bar-Kokhba revolt in 135 CE.[citation needed] This made ha-Nasi a power which both Jews and Romans respected. The Jewish community in Babylonia also recognized him. The Nasi had controlled leadership and served as a political representative to the authorities while the religious leadership was led by Torah scholars. The Nasi had the power to appoint and suspend communal leaders inside and outside of Israel. The Romans respected the nasi and gave extra land and let control of own self-supported taxes. Under Jewish law, the intercalarythirteenth month in the Hebrew calendar, Adar Bet, was announced by the nasi.[2]
Gamaliel VI was the last nasi. He died in 425 CE, after which Emperor Theodosius II,[citation needed] suppressed the office of the patriarchate. The patriarchal tax was diverted to the Roman treasury from 426.
The term nasi was later applied to those who held high offices in the Jewish community and Jews who held prominence in the courts of non-Jewish rulers. Certain great figures from Jewish history have used the title, including Judah the Prince (Judah haNasi), the chief redactor of the Mishnah.
The nasi were also prevalent during the 8th century Frankish kingdom. They were a highly privileged group in Carolingian France. The Jews have collaborated with King Pepin to end Muslim rule over their city in 759. The Jews accepted surrender and Pepin was able to hold off the Saracens in Spain. Pepin rewarded the Jews with land and privileges such as the right to judicial and religious autonomy under rule of their own leadership. The heirs of the King and nasi held a close relationship until the tenth century.
Modern Hebrew[edit]
In Modern Hebrew, nasi means president, and is not used in its classical sense. The word for prince is now nasich.
Much more recently, Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz has taken the title nasi, in an attempt to re-establish the Sanhedrin in its judicial capacity as the Supreme Court ofJudaism.
Nasi of the Sanhedrin[edit]
The office has been filled as follows:
| Nasi | ||
|---|---|---|
| Yose ben Yoezer | 170 BCE | 140 BCE |
| Joshua ben Perachyah | 140 BCE | 100 BCE |
| Simeon ben Shetach | 100 BCE | 60 BCE |
| Sh'maya | 65 BCE | c. 31 BCE |
| Hillel the Elder | c. 31 BCE | 9 CE |
| Rabban Shimon ben Hillel | 9 | 9 |
| Rabban Shammai | 9 | 30 |
| Rabban Gamaliel the Elder | 30 | 50 |
| Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel | 50 | 80 |
| Rabban Gamaliel II of Yavne | 80 | 118 |
| Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah | 118 | 120 |
| Interregnum (Bar Kokhba revolt) | 120 | 142 |
| Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel II | 142 | 165 |
| Rabbi Judah I haNasi | 165 | 220 |
| Gamaliel III | 220 | 230 |
| Judah II Nesi'ah | 230 | 270 |
| Gamaliel IV | 270 | 290 |
| Judah III Nesi'ah | 290 | 320 |
| Hillel II | 320 | 365 |
| Gamaliel V | 365 | 385 |
| Judah IV | 385 | 400 |
| Gamaliel VI | c. 400 | 425 |
Titles[edit]
Rabban was a higher title than rabbi and was given to the nasi starting with Gamaliel the Elder.
The title rabban was restricted in usage to the descendants of Hillel the Elder, the sole exception being Rabban Yochanan ben Zakai (c. 30 BCE - 90 CE), the leader in Jerusalem during the Siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE and who safeguarded the future of the Jewish people after the Great Revolt by pleading with theEmperor Vespasian.
Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah, who was nasi between 118 and 120 CE, was not given the title rabban, perhaps because he only occupied the office of nasi for a short while, after which it reverted to the descendants of Hillel.
Prior to Rabban Gamliel the Elder, no titles were used before anyone's name, in line with the Talmudic adage "Gadol miRabban shmo" ("Greater than the titlerabban is a person's own name"). For this reason, Hillel the Elder has no title before his name: his name is in itself a title. Similarly, Moses and Abraham have no titles before their names, but an epithet is sometimes used to differentiate between biblical and historic personages, hence Avraham Avinu (Abraham 'Our Father') and Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses 'Our Teacher').
Starting with Rabbi Judah I haNasi (born 135 CE), not even the nasi was given the title rabban. In its place, Judah haNasi was given the lofty accolade Rabbeinu HaKadosh ('Our Holy Teacher').[3]
| Rabbinical Eras |
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Zugot (Hebrew: [zuˈɡot]; Hebrew: תְּקוּפַת) הַזּוּגוֹת), (təqûphath) hazZûghôth) refers to the period during the time of the Second Temple (515 BCE – 70 CE), in which the spiritual leadership of the Jewish people was in the hands of five successive generations of zugot ("pairs") of religious teachers.
Contents
[hide]Origin of the name[edit]
In Hebrew, the word "zugot" indicates a plural of two identical objects and refers to 5 pairs fictional scholars who ruled a fictional Supreme Court Beit Din HaGadol. Afterwards the positions President Nasi and Chief Justice Av Beit Din remained, but they were not Zugot.
Historical background[edit]
The title of av beit din existed before the period of the zugot. His purpose was to oversee the Sanhedrin, the court of religious law (also known as the "beth din"). The rank of nasi (president) was a new institution that was begun during this period.
List of zugot[edit]
There were five pairs of these teachers:
- Jose ben Joezer, and Jose ben Johanan
who flourished at the time of the Maccabean wars of independence - Joshua ben Perachyah, and Nittai of Arbela
at the time of John Hyrcanus - Judah ben Tabbai, and Simeon ben Shetach
at the time of Alexander Jannæus and Queen Salome Alexandra - Sh'maya, and Abtalion
at the time of Hyrcanus II - Hillel, and Shammai
at the time of King Herod the Great
Other uses of term Zugot[edit]
The term zugot refers to pairs generally. The Babylonian Talmud (Pesachim 109b–112a) contains an extensive discussion of dangers of zugot and of performing various activities in pairs. The discussants expressed belief in a demonology and in practices of sorcery from which protection was needed by avoiding certain activities. The demonology included a discussion of Ashmidai (Asmodai or Asmodeus), referred to as king of the shadim or demons.
Belief in demons among Jews, and reservations against pairs generally, diminished among Jews during the Middle Ages. Medieval commentators, who are followed today, asserted that the practice of avoiding doing things in pairs out of concern for being harmed by demons was not applicable to then-contemporary conditions. They gave various reasons. Meiri, for example, stated that belief in the harm of pairs was widespread among the masses of the time and the Sages sought to allay their fears and draw them away from their excesses. Tosafot held that we need not concern ourselves with zugot because evil spirits are no longer prevalent. Ben Yehoyada held that any harm from pairs has 'nowadays' become completely negated.
References[edit]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Jewish Encyclopedia. 1901–1906.
- Talmud Bavli, The Schottenstein Edition, Tractate Pesachim, Vol. III. Mesorah Publications Ltd., 1998.
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References[edit]
- ^ Goldwurm, Hersh and Holder, Meir, History of the Jewish People, I "The Second Temple Era" (Mesorah Publications: 1982) ISBN 0-89906-454-X.
- ^ Steinsaltz, Adin, The Essential Talmud: Thirtieth-anniversary Edition, trans. Chaya Galai (Basic Books: 2006) ISBN 0-465-08273-4, 16 - 18.
- ^ Goldwurm and Holder, 322
Jeremy Cohen, "The Nasi of Narbonne: A Problem in Medieval Historiography," AJS Review, 2 (1977): pp. 45-76,
Jones, Lindsay, ed. Encyclopedia of Religion. Detroit: Gale, 2005. s.v. "Yehudah Ha-Nasi."
Pearl, Chaim, ed. The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life and Thought. New York: Digitalia, Inc., 1996. s.v. "Judah the Prince (Judah Ha-Nasi)."
Pearl, Chaim, ed. The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life and Thought. New York: Digitalia, Inc., 1996. s.v. "Prince (Heb. Nasi)."