The Courage of Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai

Yohanan ben Zakkai (Hebrew: יוֹחָנָן בֶּן זַכַּאי‎, Yōḥānān ben Zakkaʾy; 1st century CE), sometimes abbreviated as Ribaz (ריב״ז‎) for Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai, was one of the Tannaim, an important Jewish sage during the late Second Temple period and in the transformative post-destruction era. He was a primary contributor to the core text of Rabbinic Judaism, the Mishnah. His name is often preceded by the honorific title, “Rabban.” He is widely regarded as one of the most important Jewish figures of his time, and his escape from the Roman destruction of Jerusalem (which allowed him to continue teaching) may have been instrumental in Rabbinic Judaism’s survival post-Temple. His tomb is located in Tiberias within the Maimonides burial compound. He was the first Jewish sage attributed the title of rabbi in the Mishnah.

Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai (d. c. 85 ce) was one of the most influential figures in ancient Jewish history. Emerging from the ruins of the destroyed Temple, Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai led the Jewish people through the dangerous first years after the devastation of the last remnants of their state by the Romans. A disciple of Hillel, he was of the “national-realist” school that favored tactical surrender to the overwhelming power of the Roman Empire. In his most famous act, he arranged to fake his own death in order to escape his enemies among the Zealots to negotiate a peace treaty with Vespasian, who would later become Emperor. “Give me Yavneh and its scholars,” asked Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai, setting in place the foundation for the existence of Judaism after the Temple could no longer serve as the center of Jewish religious life. 

The Yochanan ben Zakkai Synagogue in Jerusalem’s Old City was established on the same spot where the Second Temple era Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai had his yeshiva. The Gemara states his yeshiva lay in the shadow of the heichal (the main sanctuary) of the Temple. Legend has it there is a tunnel from under the synagogue which leads directly to the Temple Mount.

Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai managed to rescue from the remains of the burning Second Temple, a shofar and jar of anointing oil to be used by Eliyahu the Prophet when welcoming the Messiah in Jerusalem. They remained in his custody and of his followers. Eventually, the items were placed on a shelf in the synagogue that was built much later on the spot where the yeshiva stood.

This was the situation until 1948 when the Jordanian army captured the Old City, ransacked the synagogue and plundered furniture, Torah scrolls, the shofar and the jar of anointing oil. In 1967 the IDF liberated the Old City and in the following years the synagogue was restored.

The shelf stood empty until 1978, when Yitzchak Navon, then President of Israel, visited the synagogue Accompanying him was an elderly Jew who had prayed at the synagogue before the Jordanian occupation in 1947. With pain and disappointment, the man told Navon of the empty shelf with the missing jar of anointing oil and shofar. Later that year, a shofar and jug of oil were placed there by the President of Israel, and they remain on the shelf until today.

For more about the life of Rabban ben Zakkai, click here. Holly Blue Hawkins has some insights relating ben Zakkai’s leadership to today’s challenges in this article.