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THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Talmudic Legends for Young Readers
By ALLEN A. WARSEN
This book and the two
that follow it are meant to
introduce you to the oral To-
rah: first, to the ancient
sages who formed it; second
to the Mishna, its principal
part; and third, to the Tal-
mud, which explains the
Mishna." (The Gemara ex-
plains the Mishna; the Tal-
mud consists of both the
Mishna and the Gemara.)
The above quotation is
m the preface of Jacob
111 1111Musner's soft-cover 128-
page volume, "Meet Our
Sages" (Behrman House).
This volume, intended for
young readers, consists of
six parts and is composed of
some of the Talmud's most
fascinating legends. Each
legend, published in He-
brew and English, is inter-
preted, illustrated, contains
a vocabulary and a set of
questions.
"Hillel, Shammai and
the Person Who Wanted
to Learn Torah" is the
Talmud's most famous
legend. It is about a hea-
then who came to Sham-
mai and said to him:
"Convert me . on condi-
tion that you teach me the
whole Torah while I
stand on one foot."
Shammai angrily re-
fused. The heathen then
went to Hillel - and re-
peated his request. Hillel
promptly said: "What is
hateful to you, do not do
to your neighbor. This is
the whole Torah, and die
rest is commentary; go
and learn (it)."
This legend sums up
briefly and simply the very
pasian and Saves the To-
essence of Judaism, and is rah" is the dramatic ac-
reminiscent of Micah's
count of the smuggling of
maxim: "It hath been told Rabban Yohanan ben
thee, 0 man, what is good, Zakkai in a coffin out of
and what the Lord doth re- Jerusalem and into the
quire of thee: Only to do
enemy camp where he
justly, and to love mercy,
met Vespasian, the com-
and to walk humbly with mander of the Roman
thy God."
armed forces.
Equally impressive is the
Vespasian who had ad-
legend "Eliezer ben Hyr-
vance information of Rab-
canus Goes to Study Torah."
ban Yohanan's advocacy of
This story in some respects
peace with the Romans,
is similar to those of Hillel
asked: "Tell me, what may I
and Akiva. Like them, give you?" "I ask of you only
Eliezer left home and
Yavneh, where I might go
friends and went to
and teach my disciples and
Jerusalem to study Torah; there establish a prayer
and like them, he experi- (house) and perform all the
enced poverty and suffered commandments." Vespa-
hunger.
sian granted Yohanan's re-
However,
Eliezer's quest.
teacher, Rabban Yohanan
It is well to remember
ben Zakkai, before long, be- that - the school Rabban
came aware of his disciple's Yohanan founded at Yav-
material condition, as he neh became the center of
detected a "bad breath" Jewish learning and reli-
coming out of his mouth. In gious life. It is also notewor-
a fatherly manner Rabban thy that following the
Yohanan inquired: Roman conquest of
"Eliezer, my son, have you Jerusalem, the Great
eaten at all today?" Eliezer Sanhedrin removed to Yav-
remained silent. Some time neh whose head Rabban
later, Rabban Yohanan Yohanan became, and
said: "Even as a bad breath where it continued its func-
came out of your mouth, so tions uninterrupted for
shall your fame go forth in many decades.
Torah."
This forceful utterance Pioneer Women
of Rabban Yohanan ben Facility Opens
Zakkai became one of the
NEW YORK — A
Talmud's often quoted
aphorisms. It affirms the pedagogical center for
Jewish idea- that fame teaching and demonstrat-
comes primarily from ing the latest developments
learning and not neces- in the education of pre-
school children has been
sily from riches.
opened
in Jerusalem by
The legend "Yohanan
Pioneer
Women
ben Zakkai Goes to Ves- Na'amat.
Friday, October 31, 1980 51
SHOW WHO YOU ARE WITH
Incisive is the author's
conclusion: "Vespasian
thought he won when he de-
stroyed Jerusalem. But the
people of Israel survived
and endured. Vespasian did
destroy Jerusalem, but the
Jewish'people took the path
that led to Yavneh. And
that path, in time to come,
would lead back to
Jerusalem."
e lsgifiM Skicke/28-4-
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