Joshua Ben Levi
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Joshua ben Levi or Yehoshua ben Levi was an amora (Rabbi of the Jewish Talmud) who lived in the Land of Israel, of the first half of the third century. He headed the school of Lydda in southern Palestine. He was an elder contemporary of Johanan bar Nappaha and Resh Lakish, who presided over the school in Tiberias. (Genesis Rabbah 94.) With Johanan bar Nappaha, Joshua often engaged in homiletic exegetical discussions (Babylonian Talmud Bava Batra 116a; Megillah 27a; Shevuot 18b).
Background and character
Little is known about Joshua ben Levi's background. It is doubtful that the name "ben Levi" meant that he was the son of Levi ben Sisi, the disciple of Judah haNasi. He may have been a descendant of the tribe of Levi, or simply the son of a man named Levi who is otherwise unknown.
Joshua studied under Shimon Bar Kappara, the talented poet and storyteller, whom he often quoted. However, Joshua considered his greatest teacher to be Rabbi Judah ben Pedaiah, from whom he learned a great number of legal rulings. (Exodus Rabbah 6; Ecclesiastes Rabbah 7:7; Genesis Rabbah 94.) Another of his teachers was Rabbi Phinehas ben Jair of Lydda, whose piety and sincerity exerted a powerful influence upon the character of Joshua.
Joshua be Levi possessed gentle disposition and became well known for his modesty and piety. His reputation was such that whenever he instituted public fasting and prayer, the community winningly responded to his appeals. (Jerusalem Talmud Taanit 66c.)
He was also a lover of peace who refrained as much as possible from rancorous disputes. Unlike some of his contemporaries, he made no attacks against the Christian theology that was then gaining ground throughout the Roman Empire. He was even tolerant of Jewish Christians, despite their denunciations of their fellow Jews for not accepting Jesus. Instead of cursing a certain Jew who had gone over to the Christians, he famously recited Psalm 145:9: "God's mercies extend over all His creatures." (Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 7a; Avodah Zarah 4b.) His love of justice and his concern that the innocent might suffer on account of the guilty led him to speak against the custom then prevailing of removing from office a reader who, by omitting certain benedictions, had aroused the suspicion of heresy. (Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 9c.)
Representative position
A man of considerable wealth, Joshua devoted much of his time to furthering the public welfare (Ecclesiastes Rabbah 7:7). His son Joseph became the son-in-law of the patriarch Judah haNasi. Joshua be Levi's striking appearance and erudition won him the respect of the Roman authorities, who recognized him as a representative of Palestinian Jewry. With his friend Rabbi Hanina he interceded on behalf of the Jews before the Roman proconsul in Caesarea, who accorded Joshua and his colleague much honor and respect. (Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 9a.) When his his counselors asked the governor which he treated the two Jews so respectfully, he reportedly replied: "They have the appearance of angels."
On another occasion, when the city of Lydda was besieged because a political fugitive had found refuge there, Joshua saved the city and its inhabitants by surrendering the refugee (Jerusalem Talmud Terumot 46b; Genesis Rabbah 94). He also made a journey to Rome, although his mission there is not known (Genesis Rabbah 33).
However, although he was connected through family ties with the patriarchal house and always showed respect for its members (Babylonian Talmud Kiddushin 33b), it was largely due to Joshua ben Levi that the southern rabbinical schools and the patriarchal house of Judah haNasi diminished. The issue which brought about this animosity was the fact that Joshua took the step of ordain his own disciples as rabbis (Babylonian Talmud Nedarim 42b), thus assuming a power that hitherto had lain in the hands of the head of the Sanhedrin alone.
In the field of legal interpretation, Joshua rulings came to have considerable importance, his decisions being generally declared valid even when disputed by his contemporaries, the great rabbis Yochanan bar Nafcha and Resh Lakish. Joshua devoted himself to the elucidation of the Mishnah, and his legal interpretations are noted for their succinctness. He was also known for his leniency, not so much regarding moral law, but especially in cases where cleanliness and the preservation of health were involved. (Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 121b; Jerusalem Talmud Yoma 44d.)
He was even more influential, however, in his exegesis of non-legal aspects of the classical Jewish texts (aggadah), having a particularly a high opinion of that study. For example, he explained Psalm 28:5—"the works of God"—as referring to aggadic exegesis (Midrash Tanhuma 28:5). Similarly in Proverbs 21:21, he identified "glory" (kavod) with homiletic exegesis (Babylonian Talmud Bava Batra 9b). Joshua also used his homiletic interpretations to deduce legal rulings, and some of his explanations informed later commentators as well.
Maxims
Joshua ben Levi’s emphasis on study is demonstrated in his referring to God as saying to David (Psalm 84:11) that "better" in God’s sight is "one day" of study in the Law "than a thousand" sacrifices (Babylonian Talmud Makkot 10a; Midrash Tehillim 122:2).
Though learning was of paramount importance (Babylonian Talmud Megillah 27a), Joshua also insisted on piety. He emphasized regular attendance at public prayer, saying that those who attend the synagogue service morning and evening will have their days prolonged (Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 8a) and those who move their lips in prayer will surely be heard (Leviticus Rabbah 16; Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 9d). He instituted a number of rules regulating the reading of the Law in the synagogue on weekdays (Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 8a) and other matters relating to the service, many of which are to this day observed in Orthodox synagogues (Babylonian Talmud Sotah 39b).
Some of Joshua's philosophical and theological opinions are also recorded. Speaking of the attributes of God, he represented God as "great, mighty, and awe-inspiring" (Deut. 10:17). (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 69b; Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 11c; Jerusalem Talmud Megillah 74c.) He conceived the relation between Israel and God as an intimate bond of father and son: "Not even a wall of iron could separate Israel from his Father in heaven." (Babylonian Talmud Pesachim 85b; Sotah 38b.)
In his doctrine of future reward and punishment, Joshua taught that Paradise will receive those who have performed the will of God, while the netherworld becomes the habitation of the wicked. (Babylonian Talmud Eruvin 19a). In Psalm 84:5 he found Biblical authority for the the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 91b). He expressed the liberal view that immortality is the portion not only of Israel, but of all other nations as well (Genesis Rabbah 26).
In legend
Rabbi Joshua ben Levi was a favorite hero in legend. He was often made to be the companion of the prophet Elijah in the latter's wanderings on earth. (Pesikta 36a.) One tradition holds that Joshua ben Levi walked and talked with Elijah on a daily basis. On one occasion, Joshua inquired as to when the Messiah would come, and Elijah directed him to ask this of the Messiah in person. Learning of the Messiah's location, when Joshua finally found the him, he asked about the moment of the anointed one's advent. "Today! Even today..." the Messiah replied. Overjoyed, Joshua returned to a Elijah to tell him the good news. Elijah, however, explained to Joshua that this answer means that the Messiah will come as soon as all the Jews repent and return to God by practicing fully the commandments of the Torah (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 98a).
Joshua ben Levi also had legendary dealings with the Angel of Death (Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 51a). While yet alive, he was permitted to visit Paradise and the Sheol. He sent a description of what he saw there to Rabban Gamaliel IV, the son of Judah haNasi, using the obedient Angel of Death as his messenger. (Derek Eretz Zuta 1.)
Death and legacy
Rabbi Joshua ben Levi reportedly lived to a very old age. It was related that when he entered Paradise, joining the patriarchs and other saintly souls in the presence of God, his old friend the prophet Elijah ran ahead of him, calling out: "Make room for the son of Levi!" Many of the legends relating to Joshua have been collected in separate small works entitled Ma'aseh de-Rabbi Yehoshua' ben Lewi and Masseket Gan 'Eden we-Gehinnom.
Joshua ben Levi was one of the first generation of the Amoraim (approx. 230–250 C.E.) along with such notables Abba Arika, known as Rav, founder of the great yeshiva at Sura, Babylonia; and Shmuel the disciple of Judah haNasi who became the dean of the yeshiva at Pumbedita. As one of the Amoraim, Joshua be Levi took his place among the great rabbis who "told over" the teachings of the Oral law from about 200 to 500 C.E. in Babylonia and the Land of Israel. Their legal discussions and debates were eventually codified in the Gemara, which forms part of the core teachings of the Talmud.
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