Judah III
| Rabbinical eras |
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Judah III(orNesi'ah II;Hebrew:יהודה נשיאה;יודן נשיאה),Yudan Nesiah,was a prominentJewishsage, who held the office ofNasiof the ancientJewishSanhedrinbetween about 290 and 320 CE (fourth generation ofamoraim).
Biography[edit]
He was the son ofGamaliel IV,and grandson ofJudah II.
It is often difficult to know when the Mishna and Talmud are referring to Judah II or Judah III; they do not clearly distinguish between them. Since the title "Nesi'ah" was borne by both, which of the two in any citation is meant by "Judah Nesi'ah" can be gathered only from internal evidence, especially from the names of the scholars mentioned in the context.
He was a pupil of R.Johanan bar Nappaha(d. 279). In a question regarding the time of thenew moon,which he sent toRav Ammi,he introduces a teaching taught to him by Johanan with the words: "Know that R. Johanan has taught us thus all his life long".[1]
Judah III commissioned Johanan's pupilsAmmiandAssi,who directed theAcademyofTiberiasin theLand of Israel,afterEleazar ben Pedat's death, to organize the schools for children in thePalestiniancities.[2]Ammi especially appears as his councilor inaggadicquestions.[3]He also visited thebaths of Gadarawith Ammi.[4]
Ammi, however, protested against the number of fast-days which Judah set in times of trouble, saying that the community should not be overburdened.[5]OnceHelbo,a pupil of the above-mentioned Samuel ben Nahman, requested Judah, who had absented himself from a fast-day service held in the public square of the city, to take part in the service, which would thereby become more efficacious.[6]The prominent amora Jeremiah is said to have reproached Judah in a letter for hating his friends and loving his enemies.[7]
Germanus, Judah's Roman slave, is mentioned several times.[8]
The most important event of Judah III's patriarchate was the visit of the emperorDiocletianto Palestine.[9]One Friday the patriarch was called upon hurriedly to visit Diocletian atCaesarea Philippi,and his extraordinarily quick journey to there fromTiberiasgave rise to a legend in which the aged Samuel ben Nahman appears.[10]On the Church fatherEpiphanius' reference to the patriarch, see Grätz.[11]
When Judah III died (c. 320),Hiyya bar Abbacompelled his colleagueZeira,who was of priestly descent, to ignore, in honor of the dead patriarch, the laws to be observed bykohanim.[12]This scene took place in the "synagogue of the vine" atSepphoris;hence it is to be assumed that Judah III was buried at Sepphoris. He was succeeded by his sonHillel II.
Jewish tradition holds that Judah III was interred atOvnit.[13]
References[edit]
- ^Rosh Hashana 20a
- ^YerushalmiHagigah76c;Pesikta Rabbati120b
- ^Beitzah27a;Mo'ed Katan12b, 17a;Avodah Zarah33b; Menachot 29a
- ^Yerushalmi Avodah Zarah 42a, 45b
- ^Ta'anit 14a,b
- ^Yerushalmi Ta'anit 65a
- ^Yerushalmi Megillah 74; compareII Samuel19:6
- ^Yerushalmi Shabbat 8c; Yerushalmi Yoma 45b; Yerushalmi Avodah Zarah 42a
- ^Jewish Encyclopedia,Diocletian
- ^Yerushalmi Terumot 8,end;Genesis Rabbah63
- ^Grätz, "Gesch." 2d ed., iv. 483.
- ^Jerusalem Talmud (Berakhot3:1);Berakhot6b;Nazir5b,c
- ^Levi-Naḥum, Yehuda (1986).Sefer ṣohar le-ḥasifat ginzei teiman(in Hebrew). Ḥolon, Israel: Mifʻal ḥaśifat ginze Teman. p. 252.OCLC15417732.,chapter: Tombs of the forefathers and righteous [3]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Singer, Isidore;et al., eds. (1901–1906)."Judah III".The Jewish Encyclopedia.New York: Funk & Wagnalls.