Don’t jump to conclusions TB Yevamot 16

After my father died I observed the traditional signs the mourning by not shaving for the first 30 days or so. Somebody complained to my president how slovenly and inappropriately I looked. My president had to tell him that I was in mourning. If he had only had approached me and asked me why I looked the way I did instead of complaining, he would not have jumped to those wrong conclusions.

Some things never change. Rumors swirl and people jump to conclusion without investigating the facts. Rabbi Dosa ben Harkinas was one of the first tannaim. He lived in the time before the Second Temple was destroyed and was considered an outstanding scholar. Because he lived in the same generation as Rabbi Yokhanon ben Zakkai and was involved in the discussions with Rabban Gamliel in Yavneh, we can surmise that he lived to be over 100 years old! I think we can assume that in the following story that he was blind due to old age. Apparently in the beginning of the story, the sages were upset because they heard that Rabbi Dosa ben Harkinas ruled that in a case of a tzarat ’erva according to the opinion of Beit Shammai and not Beit Hillel.

“In the time of Rabbi Dosa ben Harkinas the Sages permitted the rival wife of a daughter to the brothers. In other words, it became known that Rabbi Dosa ben Harkinas deemed permitted a daughter’s rival wife. And this matter was difficult in the eyes of the Rabbis because he was a great Sage and his decision in favor of Beit Shammai carried great weight. They could not approach him immediately, as he was very old and his eyes had dimmed so much that he was incapable of coming to the study hall.

“They said: And who will go and notify him that this matter requires clarification? Rabbi Yehoshua said to them: I will go. They asked: And who shall go after him? They selected Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya, who was one of the great Sages of the generation, notwithstanding his youth. They further inquired: And who after him? Rabbi Akiva. They went and stood at the entrance of Rabbi Dosa ben Harkinas’s house. His maidservant entered and said to him: Rabbi, the Sages of Israel have come to you. He said to her: Let them enter, and they entered.

“Rabbi Dosa ben Harkinas grabbed Rabbi Yehoshua, with whom he was already acquainted, and sat him on a bed of gold, as Rabbi Dosa was extremely wealthy. Rabbi Yehoshua said to him: Rabbi, call your other disciple so that he may sit. He asked him to call the other Sage as well, as it is a mark of respect when speaking to a great scholar to call every other Sage his disciple. He said to him: Who is it? Rabbi Yehoshua replied: Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya. Rabbi Dosa said: And does our colleague Azarya have a son? Due to his old age and prolonged absence from the study hall he had not heard of him.

“Rabbi Dosa ben Harkinas recited this verse about Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya: “I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread” (Psalms 37:25). He interpreted this verse to mean that the son of a Torah scholar also becomes a Torah scholar. He grabbed him and sat him on a bed of gold. Rabbi Yehoshua said to him: Rabbi, call your other disciple so that he may sit. He said to him: Who is that? He said to him: Akiva ben Yosef. Rabbi Dosa said to him: You are Akiva ben Yosef, whose name has spread from one end of the world to the other? Even Rabbi Dosa had heard of Rabbi Akiva’s reputation as a great man. Sit, my son, sit. May the likes of you multiply in Israel.

“Out of courtesy, they did not wish to broach the subject immediately. Rather, they began to encircle him with deliberations on different halakhot, until they came to the case of the rival wife of a daughter. They said to him: What is the halakha with regard to the rival wife of a daughter? He said that it is a matter of dispute between Beit Shammai and Beit Hillel. They asked him: According to whose statement is the halakha? He said to them: The halakha is in accordance with the opinion of Beit Hillel. They said to him: But didn’t they say in your name that the halakha is in accordance with the opinion of Beit Shammai?

“He said to them: Did you hear that Dosa ben Harkinas issued this ruling, or did you hear that it was stated by ben Harkinas? They said to him: On your life, Rabbi, we heard simply ben Harkinas. He said to them: If so, it is no wonder, as I have a younger brother who is the firstborn of the Satan, i.e., he is extremely sharp and as brazen as a demon (meaning he was stubborn as all get out-gg). And his name is Yonatan, and he is among the disciples of Shammai. It is he who issued this ruling.

“Rabbi Dosa ben Harkinas added: And beware that he not batter you with halakhot in this matter, as he has with him three hundred proofs with regard to the rival wife of a daughter that she is permitted. However, you need not worry about the issue itself, as I call as witnesses before me the heavens and the earth that on this very mortar, which was preserved in my house due to its historical importance, Haggai the prophet sat, and I have a tradition that he said three matters of halakha: First, that the rival wife of a daughter is forbidden…” (Sefaria.org translation)

Apparently Rabbi Dosa ben Harkinas’ younger brother Yonatan was the one who ruled according to Beit Shammai. Rabbi Dosa ben Harkinas held Beit Hillel’s opinion that a tzarat ’erva also falls into the category of a prohibited marriage; consequently, she is free to marry eligible man because no yibum or halitza is necessary. The moral of the story is one should never jump to conclusions because you may land where you don’t want to be.

Bonus. See how Rabbi Akiva responded to Yonaton's insult. Not only did he held his own in the debate, he answered him with such humility that Yonatan couldn't retort back with anything.