There is a powerful story in the Talmud about the dynamics of power and authority. In the earliest periods of the rabbis, the Sanhedrin, and the various communities, authority, and decision-making were paramount important.
It still is today, though it looks different.
The rabbis, particularly amidst the fall of the Temple, were establishing themselves as the future of Judaism. While it took centuries for that to accurately describe reality, they established the principles and perspectives that still guide us today.
In unpacking this story, we can receive insight into how that authority was articulated and ask ourselves what it means for us.
Let’s jump in on Masechet Rosh Hashanah 24b and 25a, where the Mishnah relates a story:
MISHNA: There was an incident in which two witnesses came to testify about the new moon, and they said: We saw the waning moon in the morning in the east, and that same day we saw the new moon in the evening in the west.
Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Nuri said: They are false witnesses, as it is impossible to see the new moon so soon after the last sighting of the waning moon.
However, when they arrived in Yavne, Rabban Gamliel accepted them as witnesses without concern.
Our story begins with the testimony of two individuals on the status of the moon, in order to establish the new month. While we won’t spend a bunch of time on this dynamic, we can understand that:
The rabbis wanted testimony for the new moon.
Witnesses were subject to scrutiny
The rabbis could calculate the new date but wanted testimony.
I explore this more in this piece from Gemara on the same page but on the subject of the moon:
What is important for us is that Rabbi Yochanan ben Nuri believed they were false, but Rabban Gamliel accepted them.
The text continues:
And there was another incident in which two witnesses came and said: We saw the new moon at its anticipated time, i.e., on the night of the thirtieth day of the previous month; however, on the following night, i.e., the start of the thirty-first, which is often the determinant of a full, thirty-day month, it was not seen.
And nevertheless Rabban Gamliel accepted their testimony and established the New Moon on the thirtieth day.
Again, without going too deep into the moon-related content, we can understand what the text is telling us: Rabban Gamliel accepted what was potentially problematic testimony.
We then get this, and a very strange metaphor:
Rabbi Dosa ben Horkinas disagreed and said: They are false witnesses; how can witnesses testify that a woman gave birth and the next day her belly is between her teeth, i.e., she is obviously still pregnant? If the new moon was already visible at its anticipated time, how could it not be seen a day later?
Rabbi Yehoshua said to him: I see the logic of your statement; the New Moon must be established a day later.
Our story’s conflict has now appeared. Despite the fact that Rabban Gamliel has already ruled to approve the testimony, Rabbi Yehoshua rejects this.
That rejection leads Rabbi Yehoshua to calculate the days differently and as a result, his calendar is now one day later than Rabban Gamliel’s.
Upon hearing that Rabbi Yehoshua had challenged his ruling, Rabban Gamliel sent a message to him: I decree against you that you must appear before me with your staff and with your money on the day on which Yom Kippur occurs according to your calculation; according to my calculation, that day is the eleventh of Tishrei, the day after Yom Kippur.
What are the consequences? Rabban Gamliel tells Rabbi Yehoshua, you have publicly challenged my authority, and therefore you are ordered to appear on the day that you have calculated to be Yom Kippur.
Which is to say, the same date looks like this:
Rabban Gamliel’s date: 11th of Tishrei - Normal day
Rabban Yehoshua’s date: 10th of Tishrei - Yom Kippur
Could you imagine being told to show up, carrying all of the prohibited items on Yom Kippur?!
How do you think Rabbi Yehoshua felt? Distressed? You bet.
The Mishnah continues:
Rabbi Akiva went and found Rabbi Yehoshua distressed that the head of the Great Sanhedrin was forcing him to desecrate the day that he maintained was Yom Kippur.
In an attempt to console him, Rabbi Akiva said to Rabbi Yehoshua: I can learn from a verse that everything that Rabban Gamliel did in sanctifying the month is done, i.e., it is valid.
Rabbi Akiva goes to find his buddy and help him feel better. What a good friend!
Later on in the Talmud, this part of the story is retold, and it begins like this:
Rabbi Akiva went and found Rabbi Yehoshua in a state of distress, and he said to him: My teacher, for what reason are you distressed?
Rabbi Yehoshua said to him: Rabbi Akiva, it is fitting for one to fall sick in bed for twelve months, rather than to have this decree issued against him that he should have to desecrate Yom Kippur.
Rabbi Yehoshua is not in a good mental place.
In an attempt to make Rabbi Yehoshua feel better, he says, “Don’t worry, what Rabban Gamliel is doing is ok!” I’m not sure that would make me feel better. But what Rabbi Akiva is doing is helping Rabbi Yehoshua understand that this will not have negative consequences.
What does he say? Our Mishnah tells us:
As it is stated: “These are the appointed seasons of the Lord, sacred convocations, which you shall proclaim in their season” (Leviticus 23:4). This verse indicates that whether you have proclaimed them at their proper time or whether you have declared them not at their proper time, I have only these Festivals as established by the representatives of the Jewish people.
This quote, from our Torah portion this week, Emor, is understood like this: We, as the Jewish people, and in this case, Rabban Gamliel as the person with authority, get to decide when the holidays are.
This is a monumental thing to say.
God does not establish the calendar. We do.
God might command us to observe the holiday and celebrate it, fulfill the mitzvot, and the rest, but we, the Jewish people, are the ones who have the power to establish them on their dates.
So Rabban Gamliel, in his authority as leader of the people at that time, says that this date is actually the 11th of Tishrei, do not worry, Rabbi Yehoshua, it is the 11th of Tishrei.
In the retelling later on in the Talmud, with a different argument with the same conclusion, Rabbi Yehoshua says to Rabbi Akiva:
Rabbi Yehoshua said to him in these words: Akiva, you have consoled me; you have consoled me.
Ultimately, Rabbi Yehoshua begins to feel better about this uncomfortable situation he finds himself in.
As a result, he finds Rabbi Dosa ben Horkinas, the one who convinced him in the first place to talk to him. The Mishnah tells us that Rabbi Dosa ben Horkinas teaches:
Rabbi Yehoshua then came to Rabbi Dosa ben Horkinas, who said to him: If we come to debate and question the rulings of the court of Rabban Gamliel, we must debate and question the rulings of every court that has stood from the days of Moses until now.
As it is stated: “Then Moses went up, and Aaron, Nadav and Avihu, and seventy of the Elders of Israel” (Exodus 24:9). But why were the names of these seventy Elders not specified?
Rather, this comes to teach that every set of three judges that stands as a court over the Jewish people has the same status as the court of Moses. Since it is not revealed who sat on that court, apparently it is enough that they were official judges in a Jewish court.
How does Rabbi Yehoshua resolve this internal tension between what he believes to be true and the authority around him?
He recognizes that the system requires trust and that without that trust, it falls apart. Otherwise, we would have to reexamine every decision from Moses until now.
There are two important takeaways here:
Each court has the same authority as Moses, including ours today.
This only works because it is Rabban Gamliel and the trust Rabbi Yehoshua has in him.
This is expressed in the conclusion of the story:
Rabbi Yehoshua, he took his staff and his money in his hand, and went to Yavne to Rabban Gamliel on the day on which Yom Kippur occurred according to his own calculation.
Upon seeing him, Rabban Gamliel stood up and kissed him on his head. He said to him: Come in peace, my teacher and my student. You are my teacher in wisdom, as Rabbi Yehoshua was wiser than anyone else in his generation, and you are my student, as you accepted my statement, despite your disagreement.
Rabbi Yehoshua shows up as he’s asked, even though he believed Rabban Gamliel to be wrong, he recognized that this was bigger than just his opinion.
Rabban Gamliel meets him and graciously accepts him and compliments him: You are my teacher, as you are wise, and you are my student because you accepted my authority despite our disagreement.
Had Rabban Gamliel not been a trusted authority or treated him poorly, this story wouldn’t work. It is because they were able to find a pathway forward, with kindness and understanding, despite their lack of agreement, that they could make this work.
A few concluding thoughts:
We have the power to establish the system.
Even though this story is, in part, about Rabban Gamliel wielding authority, the broader lesson is that we, the Jewish people, are empowered to establish how Judaism actually works.
Yes, we have the Tradition to contend with, but ultimately it is in the hands of us, human beings.
Friendship and kindness matter.
When Rabbi Yehoshua fell into this position of opposing Rabban Gamliel in this issue, he was distressed. Not just for religious reasons, though certainly those as well, but because of his relationship with Rabban Gamliel.
Conflicts with friends can be painful and challenging.
Rabbi Akiva represents a manifestation of friendship as well, in his attending to his friend and his distress. This story wouldn’t have worked if Rabbi Akiva came to taunt or pester Rabbi Yehoshua. It was his kindness and care that helped Rabbi Yehoshua navigate this difficult moment.
Even though this story includes a problematic use of power by Rabban Gamliel, which I think deserves greater reflection and analysis, I’m struck by Rabban Gamliel’s immediate response. In the resolution, if Rabban Gamliel gloated, he would appear tyrannical rather than protective (since rabbinical power was limited at that moment in history in the aftermath of the fall of the Temple).
It is his kindness towards his friend, his complimentary way of speaking, to show that Rabbi Yehoshua was still valued, that made this story work.