Early years Johanan's early years were spent in
Sepphoris in the
Roman-ruled Galilee (then part of
Syria Palaestina province). He traced his descent from the tribe of Joseph. His father, a blacksmith, died prior to his birth, and his mother died soon after; he was raised by his grandfather in Sepphoris.
Judah ha-Nasi took the boy under his wing and taught him
Torah. Due to the disparity in ages, though—Johanan was only fifteen years old when Judah died—Johanan was not one of Judah's prime students; rather, he studied more under Judah's students. It is said that initially he sat seventeen rows behind
Abba Arikha in the school taught by Judah, and could not comprehend the discussions. In later life, Johanan recalled teachings that he had gleaned from the early Sages who moved to
Usha.
Hanina bar Hama taught him homiletic Bible interpretation—except of the books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes—and probably medicine, in which he became skilled. He studied Torah diligently all his life, even selling a field house and an olive shed that he had inherited from his parents in order to be able to devote his time to study. As he expressed it, he exchanged the things that God created in six days for the things the delivery of which required forty days. After that was spent, he lived a life of poverty. For some time, he was compelled to work to support himself. But soon he felt impelled to return to his school, where he earned, not without a struggle, the encomiums of his masters. At last, owing to the universal homage paid to him, the patriarch accorded him a pension, and soon a lecturer's place was found for him.
Leadership In Sepphoris, Johanan quickly became popular for his lectures, with crowds flocking to hear him. It is doubtful whether they ever met again. However, Johanan maintained close relations with his other teachers to the end of their days. This was particularly the case with
Hoshaiah Rabbah. He, too, moved from Sepphoris to
Caesarea, where he opened a college and whither Johanan often went from Tiberias to consult him on difficult problems. Johanan continued these visits during the last 13 years of Hoshaiah's life, but they were merely social visits, Johanan no longer needing Hoshaiah's help: "He that pays his respects to his teacher is considered as one waiting on the Divine Presence". Rabbi Johanan was sitting [and] reading in the synagogue of the Babylonians in Sepphoris. There passed in front of him a governor [with the rank of] Minister, but he (R. Johanan) did not stand up before him. They sought to have him beaten. He (the governor) said to them: 'Leave him alone. He was busy in what concerns the law (custom) of his Creator'. In the 3rd-century CE, Johanan officiated in the synagogue of
Maon and was called to render a decision in the case of a ritual slaughterer (
shochet) who had improperly slaughtered a chicken and whether or not he was to be held liable on that account. Johanan opened an academy in Tiberias, and let anybody in if they wanted to learn, a controversial move at the time. The academy soon drew large numbers of gifted students, native and foreign, among them
Abbahu,
Rabbi Ammi,
Rabbi Assi,
Eleazar ben Pedat,
Hiyya bar Abba,
Jose bar Hanina,
Shimon bar Abba, and
Rabbi Isaac Nappaha. As many of his disciples accepted and taught his decisions, and as he himself visited and lectured at other places, his fame spread far and wide. In the Diaspora, whither his teachings were carried by his students, his authority was almost as great as in his native land, and few contemporary scholars in
Babylonia opposed him. Johanan himself recognized no foreign authority except that of
Rav, his senior schoolmate under
Judah haNasi. Johanan kept up a correspondence with Rav, and addressed him as "our master in Babylonia." After Rav's death Johanan wrote to Rav's colleague
Samuel of Nehardea, but addressed him as "our colleague in Babylonia." Samuel sent him a complete calendar covering the intercalations for a period of sixty years; Johanan, however, admitted merely that Samuel was a good mathematician. But when Samuel transmitted to him a mass of disquisitions on the dietary laws, Johanan exclaimed, "I still have a master in Babylonia!" He even resolved to pay him a visit, but rumor made him believe that Samuel had in the meantime died. Johanan was long considered the greatest rabbi in the
Land of Israel, and after the deaths of Rav and Samuel, the greatest authority recognized by Babylonian Jews as well. Because of the principle of ''halacha k'battra'i
(the halachic
ruling being according to the rabbi with the latest ordination from the Land of Israel in those days, felt to be uninterrupted from the direct line from the Sanhedrin''), he is quoted so many times and one will notice that every 'participant' in that discussion attempts to align themselves with his opinion. In a sense, once his name is mentioned in a discussion on halachic ruling, it 'kills the discussion', as his ruling are considered final.
Personal details Johanan is the subject of many stories. He treated his servants with great kindness: "Did not He that made me in the womb make him?" He was blessed with many children, but lost ten sons. The last one is said to have died by falling into a caldron of boiling water. The bereft father preserved a joint of the victim's little finger, which he exhibited to mourners in order to inspire resignation. "This is a bone from the body of my tenth son," he would say. However, he himself was not resigned at the death of his brother-in-law
Shimon ben Lakish, his fellow amora, whom he affectionately called "my counterpart". He mourned for him long and deeply, weeping often and crying, "Bar Lakish, where art thou? O Bar Lakish! " At last he became melancholy, and for three years and a half could not attend his college; but it seems that he finally recovered his health and resumed his labors. It is said that Johanan had an agreeable presence and a pleasing disposition; he was considered kind and considerate to the stranger as well as to his brethren; to the non-observant as to the pious; to the
am ha'aretz as to the
haver; for this he was beloved by his teachers and honored by all. He is believed to have never left Israel in all his life, a rare feat for rabbis in those days, who frequently visited
Babylonia. He was known for being healthy and beautiful, and reportedly lived more than one hundred years. The Talmud relates of him: "He that wishes to see the beauty of Rabbi Johanan, let him bring a silver chalice when it comes out of the silversmith's refinery, and let him fill it with the red kernels of a pomegranate, and then let him adorn the chalice around its brim with red roses, and then place it between the sunlight and the shade. The emanating radiance would be somewhat similar to the beauty of Rabbi Johanan."
Death On his death-bed he ordered that he should be dressed neither in white nor in black, but in scarlet, so that on awaking after death he would not feel out of place in the company either of the pious or of the wicked.
Eleazar ben Pedat succeeded Yohanan as head of the Tiberias school. ==Teaching==