CHAPTER XII.
THE AFTER-THROES OF THE WAR
Sufferings of the Prisoners – The Arena – Cruelty of Titus – Enmity of the Antiochians – Triumph of the Emperor on the occasion of the Conquest of Judæa – End of Simon Bar-Giora and John of Gischala – Coins to Commemorate the Roman Triumph – Fall of the Last Fortresses: Herodium, Masada, and Machærus – Resistance of the Zealots in Alexandria and Cyrene – End of the Temple of Onias – The Last of the Zealots – Death of Berenice and Agrippa – Flavius Josephus and his Writings.
70–73 C. E
It would, indeed, be difficult to describe the sufferings of those who were taken captive in the war, estimated at the number of nine hundred thousand. The surviving inhabitants of Jerusalem were driven into the site of the Temple, and placed under the guardianship of a certain Fronto and a freed slave. All those who were recognized as insurgents were crucified, the princes of Adiabene alone being spared and sent as hostages to Rome, to secure the loyalty of the king of Adiabene. Seventeen thousand prisoners died of hunger, many of them being neglected by Fronto, whilst others indignantly refused the food which their conquerors offered them. From amongst the youths above seventeen years of age, the tallest and handsomest were selected for the Roman triumphs, whilst others were sent to labor in the mines for the rest of their lives, or were relegated to the Roman provinces, to take their part in the fights of the arena. Youths under the age of sixteen and most of the female captives were sold into slavery at an incredibly low price, for the market was glutted. How many scenes of horror must have been witnessed and enacted by those unfortunate ones! They had, it is true, one ray of comfort left. Possibly they might be carried to some Roman town where a Judæan community existed; their own people would assuredly give any sum to purchase their freedom, and would then treat them with brotherly sympathy.
Vespasian now declared that all Judæa was his property by conquest, and bade the Roman officials divide the country into lots, offering them to the highest bidder. And why should he not do so? Had he not fertilized the land with blood? Besides which, the sale would realize great profits, and Vespasian cared even more for gold than for honor.
And what was the work of the merciful Titus after ordering the execution of thousands, and consigning thousands to slavery? In his march through Syria he was followed by the most vigorous of his captives in chains. When he held his court in Cæsarea, and entertained his friends in true Roman style, wild beasts were brought into the arena, and Judæan captives fought with them until they were torn to death; or they were forced to fight one against another, dying by each other's hands. Thus at Cæsarea, two thousand five hundred brave Judæan youths perished in this manner to celebrate the birthday of Domitian, the brother of the conqueror. And at Cæsarea Philippi, on Mount Hermon, the residence of King Agrippa, this terrible spectacle was renewed before the eyes of that monarch and of the Princess Berenice. Vespasian's birthday was honored in the same way at Berytus, the sand of the arena being literally soaked with Judæan blood. In fact, the gentleness and humanity of Titus were strangely displayed in all cities of Syria by a repetition of these barbarities. The Judæan communities in Syria, Asia Minor, Alexandria, and Rome, very nearly shared the fate of their brethren in Judæa. For the war had aroused the hatred of the entire heathen world against the unfortunate children of Israel – a hatred which was fanatical in its intensity, its object being the entire destruction of the whole race. Titus' inmost feelings must have coincided with those of his people. But strange to say, his love for Berenice, so deeply implanted in his heart, made him, upon one occasion, extend his mercy to her race. When he approached the city of Antioch, the whole populace turned out to meet him and demanded nothing less than the expulsion of the Judæan colony. But Titus replied that "The Judæans having no country left to them, it would be inhuman to expel them from Antioch – they had no retreat." He even refused sternly to cancel their existing privileges. The Alexandrian Judæans also were left undisturbed in their adopted city.
Titus determined to celebrate his triumph over Judæa in the capital of the empire. For this purpose seven hundred of the flower of the Judæan captives and the two leaders of the Zealots, John of Gischala, who had surrendered to the enemy when fainting with hunger, and Simon Bar-Giora, were sent to Rome. At the close of the siege of Jerusalem the dauntless Simon had leaped, with some of his followers, into one of the vaults beneath the city, and provided with workmen's tools, had attempted to hew his way out; but coming upon a great rock he was prevented from accomplishing his purpose, and his slender stock of provisions failing him, he determined to die as became a hero. In a white robe, covered with a purple mantle, he suddenly appeared before the Roman sentinels who were reposing amongst the ruins of the Temple. They gazed at him with terror. He merely addressed them with the following words: "Take me to your general." When Rufus appeared at the sentinels' call, the leader of the Zealots presented himself before his astonished gaze, saying: "I am Simon Bar-Giora." He was instantly thrown into chains, and calmly awaited the fate that he knew was in store for him.
Vespasian and his two sons, Titus and Domitian, celebrated their triumph over Judæa, in the imperial city of Rome. In front of the emperor were borne the vessels of the Temple, the seven-branched candlestick, the golden table, and a roll of the Law. The Romans were further gladdened by the pageant of a long train of Judæan captives heavily chained, and by the wonderful representations of all the horrors and misery of the war – a kind of theatrical entertainment, devised with much ingenuity for the occasion. Simon Bar-Giora (the terrible foe of the Roman legions), with a halter round his neck, was dragged through the streets of Rome, and finally hurled as a human sacrifice to the gods, from the Tarpeian rock. John of Gischala met with his fate in a dungeon. Tiberius Alexander, the conqueror of his own race, shared in the triumph, and a statue was erected in his honor in the Forum. Josephus was but a spectator of the scene. This magnificent triumph, the like of which had not been witnessed for many years in Rome, was a proof of the exultant joy, which passed like a wave over the heathen world, at the fall of Judæa, for the Roman legions had but rarely met with so obstinate a foe. To commemorate this great victory, coins were struck, upon which Judæa was variously represented, as a sorrowing woman under a palm tree, either standing with fettered hands, or seated in a despairing attitude upon the ground. The coins bore these inscriptions, "the Conquered" or "the Captive Judæa" ("Judæa devicta," "Judæa capta"). Later on, a beautiful arch was erected to Titus, which is still standing, and upon which the carved reliefs of the candlestick and vessels of the Temple are plainly visible. The Roman Judæans, not only at that time, but in years to come, would take a longer or more circuitous route, to avoid seeing this trophy. The rich spoils of the Sanctuary were deposited in the Temple of Peace, and the roll of the Law in the imperial palace; but at a later time, when Rome was expiating her heavy sins, these relics of the glory of Jerusalem were carried to other countries.
Judæa was not yet entirely subjugated, for three strong fortresses were still in arms: Herodium, Machærus, and Masada. The governor, Bassus, sent by Vespasian to Judæa, was commanded to take them. Herodium surrendered immediately, but Machærus offered a stubborn resistance. This fortress, built by Alexander Jannæus, was well defended from the enemy by its natural position. Steep precipices and yawning ravines made it impregnable. But it fell – and in this way: The young commander, Eleazer, a valiant hero, was captured by the Romans, whilst fearlessly standing without the gates, proudly reliant upon the terror of his arms. Bassus ordered him to be scourged within view of the besieged, and then made semblance of having him crucified. A wail of despair went up from the fortress; the besieged, determined to save their beloved comrade, offered to give up their citadel if his life were spared. Bassus agreed to this proposal, and the garrison was saved; but of the inhabitants of the lower town, the men and youths were inhumanly butchered, to the number of 1700, and the women and children sold into slavery.
Three thousand Zealots, under Judas ben Jair, who had escaped by one of the subterranean passages from Jerusalem, were hiding in a wood on the outskirts of the Jordan. There they were, however, discovered and surrounded by the Romans, who mercilessly destroyed them. The death of Bassus, taking place at this time, caused the difficult task of the conquest of Masada to devolve upon his successor Silva. This hill-fortress was, if possible, still more inaccessible than that of Machærus. The garrison consisted of 1000 Zealots, with their wives and children, commanded by Eleazer ben Jair, a descendant of Judas the founder of the Zealots. They were amply provided with provisions, water and weapons, and were, moreover, men of heroic resolve. But a Roman battering-ram destroyed one of the protecting walls, and a second wall of wooden beams, built by the besieged, was set on fire by the assailants. The situation was a hopeless one. Eleazer realized this, and determined upon persuading the garrison to die by their own hands rather than to fall into the power of the Romans. The heroes agreed to this proposal, even with enthusiasm, and on the first day of the great Feast of Passover, after slaying their wives and children, they all perished on their own swords. When the Romans entered the citadel, prepared for the last desperate struggle with their victims, they stood amazed at the ominous silence, and their shouts brought forth only two trembling women and five children, who came creeping out from a cavern. And it was thus that the last Zealots fell on Judæan ground.
The Judæans who had tried to shake off the Roman yoke had, indeed, been severely punished. Not only the inhabitants of Judæa, but also the Judæan community in Rome were made answerable for the rebellion. The two drachmæ which they had annually given to their Sanctuary were now demanded for the Capitoline Jupiter. Vespasian's greed soon caused this tax to be swept into his private treasury; and this first tax, inaugurated and imposed by the emperor upon the Judæans, was called the Judæan fiscal tax (Fiscus Judaicus). On the other hand, those Judæans who had been friendly to Rome, and had given Vespasian assistance during the war, were richly recompensed. Berenice was received with the highest honors at the Imperial court. Titus' passion for this beautiful woman was so great that once, in a fit of jealousy, he ordered the strangulation of a Roman Consul, Cacina, his own table-companion. To flatter his vanity the Council of the Areopagus, the Six Hundred and the people of Athens erected a statue to Berenice, dedicated to "the great Queen, daughter of the great King, Julius Agrippa." He was on the eve of making her his wife, when an indignant outburst from the people of Rome forced him to let her depart. Her brother Agrippa shared her fall.
More fortunate was Josephus, whom Vespasian and Titus could not sufficiently reward for his services. He accompanied the emperors on their triumphal processions, looked on the humiliation of his nation with revolting coldness, and showed undisguised delight in the death of her heroes. Vespasian not only granted him extensive landed possessions, but also placed his private palace at his disposal, and raised him to the citizenship of Rome. So high did he stand in the favor of the imperial house, that he was anxious to adopt their name, and is known to posterity as "Flavius Josephus." On the other hand, he was hated by the Judæan patriots, who exerted themselves to disturb him in the tranquil enjoyment of his possessions.
But the war against the Zealots did not terminate with the fall of the last fortress. They transplanted their hatred of Rome whithersoever their flying feet carried them – to the provinces of the Euphrates, to Arabia, Egypt, and Cyrene. The Zealots who had taken refuge in Alexandria persuaded their co-religionists of that city to revolt against their rulers. Many of the Alexandrian Judæans, still smarting from the severe persecutions which they had suffered some years previously from the Romans, were ready for revolt; but this mad scheme was opposed by the wealthy members of the community and the Council. They turned indignantly upon the Zealots, delivering six hundred into the hands of the governor, Lupus, who executed them upon the spot. Others fled to Thebes, where they were pursued, seized, and put to the torture to make them acknowledge the emperor's authority. But unflinchingly they bore the most horrible agonies, men and boys vying with each other in steadfast adherence to their Zealot principles, and dying at last under torture. Vespasian, fearing that Egypt might become a new center of revolt, ordered the Temple of Onias to be closed, thus taking from the people their religious focus. The annual gifts, dedicated to the service of the Sanctuary, found their way, as a matter of course, into the imperial treasury.
Some of the Zealots who had fled to the towns of Cyrenaica, now attempted to endanger their peace. Jonathan, one of their number, collected a multitude of the lower classes about him, and leading them into the Lybian Desert, announced some miraculous interposition. But here, again, the chief Judæans denounced their fanatical brethren to Catullus, the Roman governor, who seized them, and had many of them executed. Jonathan, however, evaded their pursuit for some time, and at last, when captured, revenged himself by accusing many of the wealthy Judæans of being his accomplices. He was thrown into chains and sent to Rome. In the imperial city he ventured to declare that Josephus and some of the Roman Judæans were disloyal to the emperor. Titus indignantly refused to believe this, and appeared to defend his favorite, whose innocence, together with that of his co-religionists, he clearly established. Jonathan was then scourged and burnt alive.
Thus ended the Zealot movement which had spread with evil results among a large portion of the Judæan people in the Roman Empire. But the Zealots who had escaped to North Arabia to the vicinity of Medina were the most fortunate; for they succeeded in founding a community of their own, which lasted until the seventh century. Upon another occasion, they played no unimportant part.
So great was the sensation produced throughout the Roman Empire by this long and desperate resistance of the Judæans, that several writers felt themselves called upon to give a detailed description of the war. The heathen authors were, of course, partial in their treatment of the subject; and, with due deference to the feelings of the Roman generals, underrated the heroism of the Judæans. But Josephus, who, in spite of his Roman proclivities, had some spark of patriotism left, could not brook hearing his people stigmatized as cowards; so, collecting all the facts of the long struggle that had come under his own notice, he wrote an account of the war in seven books, at first in the Syro-Chaldaic tongue, and afterwards in Greek (75–79). But this version could not turn out to be any more impartial, seeing how deeply his own interests had been involved. He laid his work before Titus, who gave him permission to offer it to the public, a clear proof that the Emperor was satisfied with its tendency. Justus of Tiberias had preceded Josephus with a history of the Judæan war, in which he accused that historian of hostility to Rome, of having been party to the revolt in Galilee, and of having invented his descent from the Hasmonæan house.
When the war of the sword was at an end, the war of the pen was carried on by the two writers. But Justus can hardly be commended for exemplary conduct; for he had once led a revolt in Galilee, and had then headed a sally against the neighboring Greek population; after which he presented himself boldly before Agrippa. Berenice having obtained his pardon, he was taken into the king's service and most generously treated. But for some later offense he was imprisoned, and banished, then recalled, pardoned, and made the king's secretary. He was at length banished again for some unknown reason. Justus, having received a thoroughly Greek education, was able to write the history of the war in a more correct and elegant style than it was possible for Josephus to do.
Jeremiah, uttering his lamentations amidst the ruins of Jerusalem, fitly ends the first period of Jewish history; whilst Flavius Josephus, writing the story of his people in the quiet of Cæsar's palace, concludes the second period.
THE TALMUDIC EPOCH.
CHAPTER XIII.
THE SYNHEDRION AT JABNE
Foundation of the School at Jabne – Jochanan ben Zakkai – The Last of the Herodians – Judæa and Rome – The Tanaites – Gamaliel II. appointed Patriarch – The Power of Excommunication – Deposition and Restoration of the Patriarch – Steps towards Collecting the Mishna – Eliezer ben Hyrcanus – Joshua ben Chananya – Akiba and his System – Ishmael – Condition of the Synhedrion.
70–117 C. E
The disastrous result of the war which had been waged against the Romans during a period of four years, the destruction of the State, the burning of the Temple, the condemnation of the prisoners to labor in the lead-works of Egypt, to be sold in the slave-markets, or to become victims in the fights with wild beasts in the arena – all these calamities came with such crushing force on the remaining Jews that they felt utterly at a loss as to what they should do. Judæa was depopulated; all who had taken up arms, whether in northern or southern, whether in cis- or trans-Jordanic Judæa, were either dead or enslaved and banished. The infuriated conquerors had spared neither the women nor the children. The third banishment – the Roman Exile (Galut Edom), under Vespasian and Titus – had commenced amid greater terror and cruelty than the Babylonian Exile under Nebuchadnezzar. Only a few were spared – those who openly or secretly sided with the Romans, partisans of Rome, who, from the very commencement, had been devoid of patriotic feelings; the friends of peace, who thought that Judaism had a different task from that of combating the Romans by force of arms, thoughtful and careful men, who looked upon a contest with Rome as national suicide; and lastly those who, through party strife, had been forced to lay down their arms and to make separate terms with the Romans. This small remnant in the land of Judæa and the Jews of Syria, who had always hoped that Titus would respect the Temple (the center of worship and religion), were moved deeply, and thrown into despair at the destruction of the sanctuary protected by God. Their despair led to various results. Some were driven to lead an ascetic life, to deny themselves meat and wine; others were led thereby to join Christianity, seeking thus to fill the void in their hearts which was caused by the cessation of burnt-offerings. Judaism was threatened by the greatest danger; deprived, as it was, of its support and rallying-point, it appeared in imminent danger of stagnation or of falling to pieces. The communities in Syria, Babylon, and Persia, in Asia Minor, Rome, and in Europe generally, had until now turned their eyes to Jerusalem and the Temple, whence they drew their instructions and laws. The only independent congregation, that of Alexandria, had become helpless through the destruction of the Temple of Onias. What was to be the future of the Jewish nation, of Judaism? The Synhedrion, which had given laws to the entire community, and had regulated its religious life, had disappeared with the fall of Jerusalem. Who would step into the breach, and render a continued existence a possibility? There now appeared a man who seemed made to save the essential doctrines of Judaism, to restore some amount of strength to the nation, so that it might continue to live, and the threatened decay be averted.
This man was Jochanan, the son of Zakkai. He labored, like the prophets during the first exile in Babylon, but by other means, to maintain the life of the Jewish nation; he reanimated its frozen limbs, and infusing fresh energy into its actions, consolidated its dispersed members into one whole. Jochanan, if not a disciple of Hillel, was yet an heir to his mind. For forty years he is said to have been a tradesman. In other cases, too, we shall see that the great leaders in Jewish history did not follow the study of the Law as a means of subsistence or of gain. During the existence of the State, Jochanan sat in the Synhedrion, or taught within the shadow of the Temple: his school at Jerusalem is said to have been an important one. He was the first man who successfully combated the Sadducees, and who knew how to refute their arguments. During the stormy days of the revolution, he, owing to his peaceful character, joined the party of peace, and on several occasions he urged the nation and the Zealots to surrender the town of Jerusalem, and to submit to the Romans. "Why do you desire to destroy the town, and to give up the Temple to the flames?" he would say to the leaders of the revolution.
Notwithstanding the respect in which he was held, his well-meant admonitions were ignored by the Zealots. The spies whom the Roman general placed in the besieged city of Jerusalem, and who reported to him what took place, did not fail to announce that Jochanan belonged to the friends of Rome, and that he counseled the chiefs to make peace. The news from the town was conveyed on small pieces of paper, which were shot on arrows into the Roman camp. Induced either by fear of the Zealots, or by the desire of obtaining a place of safety for the Law, Jochanan formed the idea of taking refuge in the camp of Titus. To depart from the town was, however, very difficult, as the Zealots kept up a constant watch; Jochanan, therefore, aided by a leader of the Zealots, named Ben-Batiach, determined to have himself conveyed out of the town as a corpse. Having been placed in a coffin he was carried out of the city gates, at the hour of sunset, by his pupils Eleazer and Joshua. Titus received the fugitive in a friendly manner, and gave him permission to make some request of him. Jochanan modestly requested that he might be permitted to establish a school at Jamnia (Jabne), where he could give lectures to his pupils. The district in which this town lay belonged to the private domains of the imperial house, to which it had been bequeathed by the last will of Salome, the sister of Herod. Titus had nothing to urge against the harmless wish of Jochanan, for he could not foresee that by this unimportant concession he was enabling Judaism, feeble as it then appeared, to outlive Rome, which was in all its vigor, by thousands of years.
Jochanan settled with his disciples in Jamnia, a city not far from the Mediterranean Sea, and situated between the port Joppa, and the former city of the Philistines, Ashdod. Jochanan was unable to settle down to his occupation for some space of time, during which the bitter strife was raging before the walls of Jerusalem, and within its streets and its Temple. When the news arrived that the city had fallen, and that the Temple was in flames, Jochanan and his disciples mourned and wailed as if they had lost a dear relative through death. Jochanan, however, unlike his followers, did not despair, for he recognized the truth that Judaism was not indissolubly bound up with its Temple and its altar. He rather consoled his mourning disciples for the loss of the place of expiation with the fitting remark that charity and love of mankind would take the place of burnt-offerings, as it is said in the Bible – "for I take pleasure in mercy and not in burnt-offerings." This liberal view of the value of burnt-offerings made it clear, however, that it was absolutely necessary for a fresh center to be established in lieu of the Temple. Jochanan therefore formed a sort of Synhedrion in Jabne, of which he was at once recognized as the President. The newly created Synhedrion was certainly not composed of seventy members, and no doubt had a totally different sphere of action from the one in Jerusalem, which during the revolution had exercised control over the most important political events. The Synhedrion of Jamnia in the first place gave to its founder plenary power in all religious matters such as the Council had possessed in Jerusalem, and with this were connected the judicial functions of a supreme court. It was only by unbounded authority that Jochanan could compass the formation and consolidation of a Synhedrion, under the unfavorable conditions of the time. Jochanan had to oppose the general opinion that the Synhedrion as a body should have control only in the hewn-stone hall of the Temple, and that outside this spot it lost its judicial character and ceased to be the representative of the nation. When, therefore, Jochanan dissociated the functions of the Synhedrion from the site of the Temple, and removed it to Jabne, he had actually released Judaism from the observance of the rite of burnt-offerings, and rendered it independent. Without any opposition whatsoever, Jabne by this means took the place of Jerusalem, and became the religious national center for the dispersed community. The important functions of the Synhedrion, by which it exercised a judicial and uniting power over the distant congregations, such as the fixing of the time for the new moon and the festivals, proceeded from Jabne. It enjoyed some of the religious privileges of the Holy City. The Synhedrion now bore the name of the Beth-Din (Court of Justice) – the President was called Rosh-beth-din, and was honored by the title of Rabban (general teacher). Jochanan gave over to the Court of Justice the supervision of arrangements for the calendar, which had formerly been one of the offices of the President. By this means the watchers who were looking out for the reappearance of the new moon needed no longer follow the President about in order to give him the information, but had only to attend the sittings of the assembly. This change was an important step, as it rendered the Synhedrion independent of the person of its President.
Jochanan made altogether nine changes, most of which affected such arrangements as had been rendered valueless through the destruction of the Temple. He, however, retained various religious customs as a remembrance of the Temple. He promoted the continuance and preservation of Judaism through the renewal of the study of the Law, and thus rendered firmer the weakened foundations of Jewish communal life. The school at Jabne he influenced through his disciples, whom he imbued with his spirit and his learning. Five of his distinguished pupils are known to us by name, but only three of them won lasting renown – Eliezer, and Joshua (who had carried Jochanan in a coffin out of Jerusalem), and also Eleazer ben Arach. The latter was the most eminent and important amongst them, and of him it was said, "If weighed in the scale, he would outweigh all his fellow-scholars." Jochanan loved to incite them to independent thought by deep-reaching questions. Thus he gave them as a theme for thought, "What should man endeavor most eagerly to obtain?" The one answered "a genial manner," the other "a noble friend," a third "a noble neighbor," the fourth "the gift of knowing in advance the result of his actions." Eleazer answered that "man's best possession is a noble heart." This remark won the approval of his master; it was an answer after his own mind, for in it all else was included.
What was the character of the teachings which Jochanan imparted to his pupils in the school? Hillel, the most respected of the teachers of the Law, the highly-honored ideal in times to come, had given to Judaism a special garb and form, or rather had given it the character of the Law, which had always been peculiar to it. He was the first to develop and confirm a special theory, a sort of Jewish theology or nomology (science of religious laws). He was the founder of Talmudic Judaism. From the midst of contending parties, which were tearing one another to pieces, Hillel had drawn the Law into the quiet precincts of the school-house, and had endeavored to bring into harmony those precepts which were apparently opposed to the Law. Those which had been considered as only customary and traditional were regarded as human laws, and were looked upon by the Sadducees as innovations. Hillel had shown these to be of Biblical origin. His seven explanatory rules, or laws of interpretation, had on the one hand confirmed the laws which had been introduced by the Sopheric and Pharisaic teachers, and on the other hand had given them new scope to develop.
The written Law (that of the Pentateuch) and the oral Law (the Sopheric) from his time ceased to be two widely sundered branches, but were brought into close relations with each other, although the new rendering certainly did violence to the words of Scripture. But as the text was explained, not on a philological basis, but in order to elucidate the laws, it was not possible to keep simply to the written words; it was necessary to interpret them so as to render them suited to the new conditions of life. Under the term Oral Law was included everything which had been handed down from the Fathers, and it formed to a certain extent a hereditary law. The various restrictions which the Sopheric teachers had placed around the Law, the legal decisions which had been introduced by the Synhedrion, the customs which had been observed from generation to generation, the extensions deduced from meager verses of the Pentateuch, all these elements were not written down, but were committed to memory. They were put into the form of short sentences, called "Halacha." They were not arranged or classified according to subjects, but were strung together without connection, or handed down separately, sometimes joined to the name of the authority from whom they were derived. A marvelous memory was needed to retain these Halachas or oral teachings. Jochanan ben Zakkai was the man who best knew these laws. He handed them down to his pupils, and pointed out to them their connection with the written law; he showed them how to draw deductions therefrom, the laws handed down being the material, and their mode of treatment the form. These deductions were obtained by two methods, the one showing how the ordinances of the Law were to be obtained from the words of Scripture (Midrash), and the other served to apply the oral Law to new questions as they arose (Talmud). Thus a fruitful field for the extension of the Law and for ingenious combinations was opened, which was later on freely cultivated. Jochanan ben Zakkai, however, thought much more of the material of the Law than of its form.