The 5 Pairs of Rabbis (Zugot) in Pirkei Avot

In this introductory class, I discuss the chain of transmission stated in the first chapter and a half of Pirkei Avot. Before we begin speaking about the zugot (pairs) of rabbis, I first want to address the following questions:

1.Why is Rabban Gamliel of Yavneh not mentioned at all in Avot?

2.Why does the mishna stop with “received” after Hillel and Shammai?

3.Why did the era of Zugot end with Hillel and Shammai?

4.Why is Pirkei Avot in Nezikin?

1.Who were the Men of the Great Assembly?

2.What was their role?

3.What did they do?

4.Why are they so significant in the history of Judaism?

This class looks at one of the pivotal people in the transition from prophecy to rabbinic scholarship. He was the last of the Men of the Great Assembly. He was the paradigm of a High Priest and defended Jerusalem and the Temple. So how did his son come to built a replica temple on the Nile Delta, which stood for over two centuries and challenged the Jerusalem Temple for supremacy?

1.Why was Shimon Hatzadik so significant?

2.How did he become the epitome of a High Priest?

3.How did he defend Jerusalem and the Temple?

4.What is the story of his son setting up a rival temple in Egypt?

In this class I look at the following issues:

1.Why did machloket appear in this generation?

2.Why did they create a second head of the Sanhedrin in his lifetime?

3.How was he the end of an era?

4.What were his halachic rulings?

5.How did the Greek rulers impact Judaism at that time?

Almost nothing is known about Nitai the Arbelite, and not very much about Yehoshua ben Perachia. Except that according to one Talmudic story, he was the teacher of Jesus. In this class I will attempt to answer some of these questions:

1.Why was Yehoshua ben Perachia associated with Jesus?

2.How do we reconcile the anachronistically of Jesus being a student of Yehoshua ben Perachia?

3.Who worships a brick?

4.Do we know anything else about Nitai the Arbelite?

Some of the questions we will answer in this class

1.Who was Yochanan Cohen Gadol – a good guy or a bad guy?

2.Who was King Yannai?

3.What was the relationship between Shimon ben Shetach and King Yannai?

4.Why did King Yannai kill all the rabbis?

1.How did Shimon ben Shetach influence the Sanhedrin and legal system?

2.Why did he kill the witches of Ashkelon?

3.Why did he purge the Sanhedrin?

4.Who was Choni Hamaagal (the Circle-Drawer)?

In this class we’ll finish up talking about Choni Hamaagal, and then learn about Shamay and Avtalyon, who were the heads of the Sanhedrin after Shimon Hatzadik and Yehuda ben Tabbai, and who were the teachers of Hillel and Shammai.

1.Who were Shamaya and Avtalyon?

2.How can converts lead the Sanhedrin?

3.Who was the political leader at that time and how did it affect their religious leadership?

In less than two hours I’ll be giving shiur on WebYeshiva.org about a very turbulent time for the Jewish people — the first half of the first century BCE. During this time there were civil wars, destruction of the walls of Jerusalem, the Romans conquered the Temple, the gradual transition of power from the Hasmonean dynasty to Antipater the Idumean, and much chaos and confusion.

In this class, I attempt to answer the following questions and more:

1.Who was Menachem and where did he go?

2.What were Hillel’s seven midot and why were they so revolutionary?

3.What were the different character traits between Hillel and Shammai?

In this class we learn about Hillel and Shammai, their character traits and their disputes. We also look at Herod, who ruled Judea during Hillel and Shammai’s tenure.