The
Talmud notes that he was one of 80 students of
Hillel and
Shammai, the greatest of whom was
Jonathan ben Uzziel. He showed incredible devotion to
Torah study, and the
Talmud reports that he never engaged in idle chatter nor walked even 4
cubits without engaging in
Torah study. The Talmud notes the thoroughness of his study, encompassing all aspects of Torah, including all practical, analytical, and esoteric aspects. The
Talmud reports that, in the mid-first century, he was particularly active in opposing the interpretations of
Jewish law (
Halakha) by the
Sadducees and produced counter-arguments to their objections to the interpretations of the
Pharisees. So dedicated was he to opposing the Sadducean view of Jewish law that he prevented the Jewish
high priest of his time, a Sadducee, from following the Sadducaic interpretation of the
Red Heifer ritual. His home at this time was in
Arraba, a village in
the Galilee, where he spent eighteen years. Although living among them, he found the attitude of Galileans to be objectionable, allegedly exclaiming that they hated the
Torah and would therefore "fall into the hands of robbers." Ben Zakkai correctly predicted that Vespasian would become Emperor and that the
Temple would soon be destroyed. In return, Vespasian granted Yochanan three wishes: the salvation of
Yavne and its sages and the descendants of
Rabban Gamliel, who was of the
Davidic line, and a physician to treat
Rabbi Zadok, who had fasted for 40 years to stave off the destruction of Jerusalem.
Yavne and afterwards Upon the destruction of Jerusalem, Yochanan converted his school at
Yavne into the Jewish religious centre, insisting that certain privileges given by Jewish law uniquely to Jerusalem should be transferred to Yavne. His school functioned as a re-establishment of the
Sanhedrin so that
Judaism could decide how to deal with the loss of the sacrificial altars of the
temple in Jerusalem and other pertinent questions. Referring to a passage in the
Book of Hosea ("I desired mercy, and not sacrifice"), he helped persuade the Sanhedrin to—as the temple had been destroyed—replace
animal sacrifice with prayer, a practice that remains the basis of Jewish worship. Eventually,
Rabbinic Judaism emerged from the council's conclusions. In his last years, he taught at
Bror Hayil, near Yavne. His habit was to wear his
Tefillin (phylacteries) all day, both in summer and winter. However, during the hot summer months, he only wore his arm phylactery (
shel yad). Upon his death, his students returned to Yavneh, and he was buried in the city of
Tiberias; eleven centuries later,
Maimonides was buried nearby. As leader of the Sanhedrin, he was succeeded by
Gamliel II.
Yochanan's encounter with Vespasian The following story is told in the Jewish classic
Avoth deRabbi Nathan (version B) 4:5, about the war with Rome. == Enactments ==