Sages

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A Sage is Great than a Prophet

TALMUD

The Talmud dramatically gauges the great weight placed on the sages in the Jewish tradition. A verse from Psalms is presented as a prooftext in Bava Batra to show that a sage is even greater than a prophet.

Ameimar said: And a Sage is greater than a prophet, as it is stated: “And a prophet has a heart of wisdom” (Psalms 90:12), i.e., he is wise. When comparisons are drawn, who is compared to whom? You must say that the lesser is compared to the greater. Here too, prophecy is compared to wisdom, thus indicating that wisdom is greater than prophecy.

Bava Batra 12a:14

The Transmission of Torah

MISHNAH

The Men of the Great Assembly established foundational principles that ensured the continuity and preservation of Jewish teachings through successive generations. Pirkei Avot, a work of ancient rabbinic ethics and wisdom from the land of Israel, offers ethical guidance and moral teachings passed down from Moses to the sages.

Moses received the Torah at Sinai and transmitted it to Joshua, Joshua to the elders, and the elders to the prophets, and the prophets to the Men of the Great Assembly. They said three things: Be patient in [the administration of] justice, raise many disciples and make a fence round the Torah.

Pirkei Avot 1:1

Rebuilding Jewish Life After the Temple

REFERENCE

Rabban Jochanan ben Zakkai's efforts to establish Jabneh as a new center for Jewish life after the destruction of the Temple were pivotal in preserving Jewish learning and law. Gershom Bader's work provides a detailed account of Rabban Jochanan ben Zakkai's initiatives and the challenges faced in maintaining the sanctity of Jerusalem.

Rabban Jochanan ben Zakkai wanted to establish the custom of pilgrimages to Jabneh to take the place of the previous pilgrimages to Jerusalem. In this he but partly succeeded. Many people did come from far and near to celebrate the feast days in Jabneh and especially those Jews who lived outside of Judea who came to find out the law regarding matters of which they were in doubt. But the majority of the people continued to observe their feast days in the desolate Jerusalem on the site of the burned temple, which lost none of its sanctity in their eyes…

The Jewish Spiritual Heroes, Volume I; The Creators of the Mishna, Rabban Jochanan ben Zakkai 33-35

The Limits of Wisdom

JEWISH THOUGHT

Even the wisest of sages, including Solomon, acknowledged the limits of their own wisdom. In his 14th-century work, Derashot HaRan, Rabbi Nissim of Gerona explores the profound difficulty of fully grasping the essence of wisdom.

This is the intent of Solomon's statement (Ecclesiastes 7:23-24): "All this I have proved through wisdom. I said; 'I will become wise,' but it is far from me. What has been is far off and exceedingly deep. Who can find it out?" He says that wisdom is far from him and then "What has been is far off" so that we not get the impression that the "farness" is in relation to projection into the future but that what has occurred in the past can, indeed, be understood. "For I have found even what is past and completed too deep for me. I can find no reason for it…

Derashot HaRan 1:25

The Evolution of Jewish Prayer

GUIDES

The greatest of the Sages established a set, defined, obligatory formula for prayer, while still allowing for personal, optional prayer. The Babylonian Talmud, particularly the tractate Berakhot, discusses the evolution from personal prayer to structured, communal prayer.

Prayer is substantively different. From the outset, prayer constituted a portal through which one could address God whenever he desired, in times of distress and need as well as times of thanksgiving and gratitude. One's ability to recite his own personal prayer was never restricted. This is optional prayer, in which one pours out his heart before God in his own style and his own words. However, this was insufficient, and therefore, the greatest of the Sages throughout the generations established a set, defined, obligatory formula for prayer, to be recited at fixed times.

Introductions to the Babylonian Talmud, Berakhot, Introduction to Berakhot 10

The True Wisdom of Fear

MUSAR

The fear of G-d is considered the true and ultimate wisdom, as indicated by the interpretation of the word 'Hen' in Job 28:28. In his 18th-century ethical masterpiece, Mesillat Yesharim, Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto emphasizes that true wisdom inherently requires investigation and understanding.

Behold scripture says: "Hen fear of G-d - this is wisdom" (Job 28:28). Our Sages of blessed memory commented (Shab 31b), "'Hen' [hints to] 'one', for in Greek 'one' is designated as 'Hen'". Behold, that fear of G-d is considered wisdom - and this alone is [true] wisdom. And certainly that which does not require investigation cannot be called "wisdom".

Mesillat Yesharim, Introduction 28

The Depth of True Humility

CHASIDUT

True humility is so profound that one can acknowledge their own humility without it being a contradiction. In the early 19th-century collection of stories and teachings, Shivchei HaRan, the concept of genuine humility is exemplified by Moses and Rabbi Joseph.

He said, “One has not attained true humility unless he is on such a high level that he himself can say that he is modest.” This was the level of Moses, who could write about himself, “And the man Moses was very humble, more than any other man” (Numbers 12:2). It was also the level of the saintly Rabbi Joseph, who said, “Do not mention that humility no longer exists, for I am still alive” (Sotah 49b; see Likutey Moharan I, 4:7).

Shivchei HaRan 22:6

Blessings for the Sages

LITURGY

The Kaddish d’Rabanan uniquely invokes blessings on the Sages of Jewry following the study of Talmud or Midrash. This prayer, primarily in Aramaic with some Hebrew phrases, underscores the importance of Torah study and the transmission of Jewish teachings.

Kaddish is not the name generally given to this prayer in the Talmud. It is referred to there as “May His great Name...”, because the congregational response beginning with these words is the heart of this prayer. Only in one minor tractate, (Maseches Soferim 16, 19, and 21) is it referred to as Kaddish. Composed primarily in Aramaic, the language spoken and understood by most Jews in the Second Temple period (See Tosafos to Maseches Berachos 3a), nevertheless, several Hebrew phrases, which were familiar even to the unschooled, were also incorporated in the prayer…

Siddur Ashkenaz, Weekday, Shacharit, Preparatory Prayers, Korbanot, Kaddish DeRabbanan 1

Traits of the Wise

COMMENTARY

The Maharal of Prague delineates the traits that distinguish a wise person from an unformed one, emphasizing the importance of order and intellect. In his commentary on Pirkei Avot, a work of ancient rabbinic ethics and wisdom from the land of Israel, the Maharal of Prague explores the ethical teachings that define wisdom and proper conduct.

Seven things are [found] in an unformed person and seven in a wise man. A wise man does not speak in front of someone who is greater than him in wisdom or in number; and he does not interrupt the words of his fellow; and is not impulsive in answering; and he asks to the point and answers as is proper; and he speaks to the first [point] first and the last [point] last; and about that which he has not heard [anything], says, "I have not heard [anything]"; and he concedes to the truth. And their opposites [are the case] with an unformed person.…

Derekh Chayyim 5:7:1-2

Ethics in a Time of Turmoil

COMMENTARY

Rabbi Nehunia ben Hakkanah was a key figure during the critical period of the Second Temple's destruction. Pirkei Avot, a work of ancient rabbinic ethics and wisdom from the land of Israel, offers ethical teachings from sages of that era, providing insight into their wisdom and the historical context of their time.

Introduction Rabbi Nehunia ben Hakkanah lived at the same time as Rabban Yochanan ben Zakai, that is around the time of the destruction of the Second Temple. Rabbi Nehunia ben Hakkanah said: whoever takes upon himself the yoke of the Torah, they remove from him the yoke of government and the yoke of worldly concerns, and whoever breaks off from himself the yoke of the Torah, they place upon him the yoke of government and the yoke of worldly concerns. One interpretation of this statement is that one who takes upon himself the yoke of Torah…

English Explanation of Pirkei Avot 3:5:1-2

The Diversity of Thought Among the Sages

HALAKHAH

The Sages teach that just as people's faces are different, so too are their minds and opinions, highlighting the diversity of thought and individuality of intellect. Rabbi J. David Bleich's series, 'Contemporary Halakhic Problems,' explores modern issues in Jewish law, reflecting the value placed on varied interpretations and opinions within Jewish legal discourse.

To be sure, not all minds think alike. As expressed long ago by the Sages, "Just as their countenances are not similar one to another, so are their intellects not similar one to another" (Palestinian Talmud, Berakhot 1:9). One person may regard an argument as compelling; another may not. One person may assign greater weight to a precedent or to the position of a given authority while another may assign lesser weight to the same precedent or position. Each may regard his assessment as crystal clear and regard the opposing view as ill-informed.

Contemporary Halakhic Problems, Vol V, Introduction 6

The Art of Questioning and Answering

COMMENTARY

Role-playing through questions and answers is a profound method to clarify complex topics. In the 18th-century work 'Pat Lechem,' Rabbi Chaim Avraham Katz emphasizes the importance of wise inquiries and thorough responses in dialectical learning.

The role-playing through questions and answers, as if two people are debating, one asking and the other answering, is a deep method of clarifying a topic, to one who contemplates it. Because the way of the questioner is to strive to ask a powerful, wise question, and the Sages say (Mivchar hapeninim 1:3) "the question of the wise man is half of the wisdom". While the way of the answerer is to strive to heal the illness of the questioner by refuting it to the best of his ability.

Pat Lechem, Third Treatise on Service of God 5:1

Jews studying Torah in Sana'a (Yemen) by Hermann Burchadt. 1926, PD

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