IT was 68AD. Jerusalem was besieged by the Roman army under the command of General Vespasian. It seemed that the full might of the Roman empire was given the task to surround Jerusalem. The other nations conquered by the Romans were watching with incredulity as the Judeans fought against the Roman Goliath. The Jews came so close to winning the war that Rome was forced to use its full military might against them in order to ensure victory where normally only a small expedition would have sufficed. The Romans knew that the world was watching and stakes were high. So they proceeded with a extreme ruthlessness.
Slowly, but surely as the war stretched into its third year, Vespasian gained ground. By the year 68AD he had captured Judea, but not Jerusalem. Every attack was proving futile, making the legion unable to capture the city. As the only alternative Vespasian thought that by starving the population he would be able to make them surrender to him. Eventually, the war came to a standstill.
At that time Jerusalites were divided into two main groups: the Zealots, or the war party, and the Liberals, or the peace party. Among peace party members, there was a prominent figure named Rabbi Yochanan bin Zakkai (also Jochanan), a Pharisee by origin and second head of Sanhedrin — the supreme judicial body. He was convinced that any stand taken by the Zealots could only lead to tragedy. To prevent his cultural, national and religious heritage from annihilation, he became obsessed with the idea that he must form a theological seminary or an academy of religious studies.
How practically this idea was materialized marks the typical Jewish cunningness and self preservation. Surprisingly, he planned to seek the help of Vespasian. For this he had to get out of the doomed Jerusalem and reach Vespasin. How he was able to do that is one of the most remarkable events of ancient Jewish history.
Jerusalem had become an abyss of hell. Thousands of people were dying of famine and different diseases. Leaving the city was strictly forbidden as the control of the city was in the hands of the Zealots. Suspected peace party members and anyone trying to escape was thrown from the wall of the city. To outwit the Zealots, Yochanan bin Zakai thought of a trick. He took a few of his disciples and shared his plan with them. Then according to the plan his disciples went out into the streets, tore their clothes and mournfully announced the death of their teacher from plague. They then requested the Zealots to carry his dead body out of the city for burial to prevent the spread of plague. With a great show of grief, crying and weeping, clad in torn clothes the disciples carried the sealed coffin with the rabbi in it, out of Jerusalem and to the tent of Vespasian. There they opened the coffin and the rabbi came out.
Vespasian was stunned to see a bearded man in a traditional tunic, trying to understand the motive of this trick. He gave the rabbi a chance to speak. The rabbi said that he had a prophecy to tell along with a request. Boldly Yochanan bin Zakkai prophesied that Vespasian would soon become the emperor. And if that happened, would the general grant him and his few disciples a piece of land in Jerusalem where they could study old Jewish scriptures in peace? Illiterate and superstitious, Vespasian agreed.
Was that a false statement aimed at exploiting the superstitious nature of the Romans or a true prophecy?
Actually the rabbi had made a very shrewd and well-calculated guess. At that time, Nero, the emperor, had committed suicide. As the Romans had no law of succession in place, conventionally throne would go to the strongest successor. Of course, Vespasian was the strongest of the Roman generals. The prophecy eventually came true. The throne of Rome was disturbed by three military coups that year and each emperor was killed after three or four months. In 68AD the Roman senate announced that Vespasian would be the emperor of Rome. Vespasian recalled the prophecy of the old rabbi and kept his promise. And then at Jebneh, northwest of Jerusalem, the first yeshiva — the Jewish academy of religious studies — was founded by the rabbi and his disciples.
At this yeshiva the canonization of Torah took place and the foundation of Talmud, Jewish law, was laid. Two important things were also witnessed. First: collectively the Jews formed themselves into a cathedocracy; they would be ruled from the teacher’s chair. And the second thing was the writing of hitherto forbidden oral laws.
These days, according to archeological evidence, the academy is located on the Miishmeret Kehuna street of the old city of present-day Jeruslaem.
