When Rabbi Me'ir died the allegorists ceased. When ben-Azzai died the diligently studious ceased. When ben-Zoma died the hermeneutists ceased. When Rabbi Yehoshu'a died goodness stopped in the world. When Rabban Shim'on ben-Gamli'el died Govai came and troubles multiplied. When Rabbi El'azar ben-Azaryah died wealth stopped among the sages. When Rabbi Akiva died the honour of Torah ceased. When Rabbi Ĥanina ben-Dosa died activists died. When Rabbi Yosé Katnuta died the pious stopped. (And why was he named Katnuta? – because he was the least of the pious.) When Rabban Yoĥanan ben-Zakkai died the shining of wisdom ceased. When Rabban Gamli'el the elder died the honour of Torah ceased and ritual purity and separateness died. When Rabbi Yishma'el ben-Pabi died the shining of the priesthood ceased. When Rabbi died humility and fear of sin ceased.
1:
It is almost universally accepted among scholars that we are not dealing here with an original mishnah, but with a baraita that was tacked on to the end of Tractate Sotah. It may be that it was felt, at some stage after Rabbi had published his Mishnah, that this material fitted in well with the almost dirge-like pessimism of the last few mishnayot of the tractate. It is very long, so I have divided it into parts for the sake of convenience. I shall not comment on every part of the text, as I usually do, since this would not be productive. Instead, I shall give notes on some of the personalities mentioned.
2:
Rabbi Me'ir was a student of Rabbi Akiva. In the aftermath of the Bar Kokhba revolt (135 C.E.), when the centre of Jewish religious life moved north from devastated Judah to the Galilee, the Gallilean village of Usha where Rabbi Me'ir lived became the centre of rabbinic activity and the temporary seat of the Sanhedrin. According to Talmudic tradition, most of the anonymous statements in the Mishnah reflect the views of Rabbi Me'ir, an assertion that is widely understood to imply that it is the Mishnah of Rabbi Me'ir (based on that of his teacher Rabbi Akiva) which served as the source for the Mishnah of his student, Rabbi Yehudah, the President of the Sanhedrin. Rabbi Me'ir also studied with Elisha ben-Abuyah, who, after many years as a renowned Torah scholar, lost his faith to Greek philosophy. The Talmud relates that even after his teacher had abandoned his Judaism, Rabbi Me'ir continued to visit him. Our mishnah shows that he was also a renowned allegorist.
3:
Our mishnah refers to Rabban Shim'on ben-Gamli'el. Unfortunately, it is not possible to determine which of the sages who bore this name is referred to here. Was it Rabban Shim'on ben-Gamli'el who was the son and successor of Rabban Gaml'iel the elder? According to Josephus this Rabban Shim'on ben-Gamli'el was assassinated by zealots during the first great war against the Romans, approximately in the year 68 CE. Or perhaps it is his grandson who was the President of the Sanhedrin in the terrible times that followed the collapse of the Bar-Kokhba revolt. This second sage of that name was the father of Rabbi, the editor of the Mishnah. The term 'Govai' which occurs in our mishnah in connection with this sage is a reference to Amos 7:1 in the bible, where it refers to a plague of locusts which devour the land. The prophet Joel also refers to a plague of locusts: Joel symbolically describes an invading, attacking army as a swarm of locusts. So it could well be that the phrase "Govai came and troubles multiplied" could refer to the Roman army. But, of course, this would be true of both the latter sage and his grandfather.
4:
Rabbi Ĥanina ben-Dosa was sage who lived in the lower Galilee during the 1st century CE. He was a student-colleague of Rabban Yoĥanan ben-Zakkai. Ĥanina was distinguished for his extreme piety, and for his zealous observance of religious precepts. This is the meaning of the description of him in our mishnah as an 'activist'. The sages held him up as an example of a completely righteous man. For example, because of his righteousness his prayers were regarded as being especially acceptable and potent, and as a result he was frequently requested to pray for the sick and those in trouble. The aggadah speaks extensively of the miracles that happened for him; in fact, more has been transmitted about his pious deeds and his wonders than about his religious rulings and dicta. Of his wife, too, it was said that she resembled her husband in piety and, like him, was "accustomed to miracles."
5:
Rabbi Yishma'el ben-Pabi was a High Priest during the last decades before the destruction of the Bet Mikdash. According to the Talmud he served for a period of ten years. During his time the ceremony of the preparation of the ashes of the Red Heifer was performed for the seventh and last time in Israel's history.
6:
The last sage mentioned in the first part of our mishnah is Rabbi himself, the editor of the Mishnah. Since he is here described as being endowed with 'humility and fear of sin' it is highly unlikely that he is the author of this mishnah! And in that case it must be a later addition, as I suggested above, and it is therefore a baraita and not a mishnah. (When we studied it we saw that the last mishnah of Tractate Tamid was also a baraita.)
To be continued.
