We are in the midst of a technical conversation: The opening mishnah of the tractate taught us that in cases of defiling the Temple or its sacrificial foods in which one had awareness of doing so at the beginning and awareness at the end, but experienced a lapse of awareness in between while they actually transgressed, this person is liable to bring a sliding-scale offering. A beraita asks about the biblical source for this and the Gemara cites another beraita in which Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi provides a helpful answer:
It is as it is taught concerning the verse, “Or if a person will have touched any impure object, whether the carcass of an impure animal (hayya) or the carcass of an impure domesticated animal (behema)” (Leviticus 5:2), Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi says: Since a domesticated animal is also referred to as a hayya, it would be sufficient if I would read only the verse’s clause about a hayya. Why then is an explicit clause about a behema stated? It is in order to derive a verbal analogy. It is stated in this verse: “An impure behema,” and it is stated in the verse below with regard to one who intentionally defiles an offering by partaking of it while he is impure: “An impure behema” (Leviticus 7:21). Just as below the reference is to the defiling of sacrificial foods, so too here, the reference is to the defiling of sacrificial foods.
Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi notes that Leviticus 5:2 uses two different words for animal when one apparently would have sufficed. This allows him to draw a gezeira shavah, a verbal analogy, between Leviticus 7:21 and Leviticus 5:2 to argue the latter verse is the source for this mishnah — even though this is far from apparent on an initial read. Awed by this interpretive brilliance, Rava praises Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, calling him:
“One who draws water from deep wells.” (see Proverbs 20:5)
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This is not the only accolade that Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi earns from his rabbinic colleagues. Here is another we encountered back on Gittin 59a:
Rabba son of Rava, or perhaps Rabbi Hillel son of Rabbi Volas, said: From the days of Moses and until the days of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi we do not find a concentration of Torah knowledge and greatness in any individual.
This is a huge compliment — but is it a tad hyperbolic? How does Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi merit comparison to Moses, over and above the many sages who came in between?
Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi’s origin story shares many elements with that of Moses. The times in which Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi lived were uniquely troubled. He was born during the Hadrianic persecutions, when it was forbidden to circumcise Jewish boys. According to legend, his mother, when ordered to show her infant son to the emperor, switched babies with a compassionate Roman woman, and in this way Yehuda HaNasi’s circumcision went undetected by authorities. The Roman baby grew up to be the emperor Antoninus, who succeeded Hadrian. While the Jews were safer under Antoninus’ rule, perhaps due to the close relationship that developed between him and Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, the persecutions under his predecessor and the increasing dispersion of the Jewish people inspired Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi and his colleagues to start recording the many Jewish legal teachings that, until then, had been transmitted orally. This process culminated with the canonization of the Mishnah.
Like Moses, Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi was born during an era when the future of the Jewish people was threatened. Like Moses, he was saved as a baby by the intervention of a non-Jewish woman and grew up with a close relationship with a future king. Moses is given credit for writing down the first laws of Israel, Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi the second. And just as Moses is known in tradition as Moshe Rabbeinu, Moses our Rabbi, Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi is Rabbeinu HaKodesh, Our Holy Rabbi or, more commonly, simply Rebbe.
Moses was also known for his character, particularly his modesty. Similarly, Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi’s enduring reputation is not only tied to his production and preservation of Jewish law, but also his character. Rabbi Shimon ben Menasya noted that the seven noteworthy attributes of the righteous enumerated by Rabbi Shimon ben Yohai — beauty, strength, riches, honor, wisdom, gray hair and children — were all realized by Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi and his descendants (Mishnah Avot 6:8).
In the midst of today’s lengthy and technical discussion, Rava hits the pause button and turns our attention to the brilliance and enduring legacy of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi. His statement, albeit brief, is an important reminder for all of us to take a moment to appreciate the contributions of others, to highlight their good work and praise them for their admirable attributes.
Read all of Shevuot 7 on Sefaria.
This piece originally appeared in a My Jewish Learning Daf Yomi email newsletter sent on May 8, 2025. If you are interested in receiving the newsletter, sign up here.
