One of the areas in which even observant Jews sin is in their attitude towards rabbanim. A rav is not just someone whom we have the right to hire and fire; he is not just a man who gives a speech on Shabbos. He is a teacher and a leader. When he rules on a point of halacha, it is not only our right to listen to him; it is our obligation to do so. If only we realized that the Torah speaks to us only through the mouths of our gedolim, and that on this Earth, they are the interpreters of Divine Law!
This is the essence of many a tale of Talmud. Even when we sincerely think we are right, we are forbidden to go against the ruling of a rav in the community. This is the point of the following story.
A Possible Error
In the days following the destruction of the Second Bais HaMikdash, the Sanhedrin continued to function, and the voice of Torah was not stilled from the Land. In the yeshivas the students continued to learn, and great rabbanim flourished in Israel.
The head of the Sanhedrin at that time was Rabban Gamliel. He was of the house of David and a learned and respected scholar. One year there arose a dispute about when Yom Kippur would fall. Since in those times, there was no fixed calendar, all such problems had to be decided by the Court. After analyzing the evidence and discussing the problem, Rabban Gamliel and the members of the Court decided that it would occur on a certain day.
When Rabi Yehoshua ben Chananya heard this he was greatly disturbed, because according to his sincere opinion, the day came out on a different date. He checked and rechecked and was forced to come to the opinion that his calculation was correct and that of the majority wrong.
A Summons
When Rabban Gamliel heard that Rabi Yehoshua had ruled differently than the rest of the Court, he was greatly troubled:
“The majority of the Court,” he said, “has ruled that Yom Kippur shall fall on a certain day, and Rabi Yehoshua differs with it? This will undermine the authority of the Court.”
He immediately sent a courier to Rabi Yehoshua with the following message: “I command you to come to me, carrying your money and your staff, on the day on which Yom Kippur falls, according to your calculation!” Rabi Yehoshua received the message in stunned silence. How could he violate the sanctity of the holiest day of the year by carrying money and a staff on the day he knew to be Yom Kippur?
Rabi Yehoshua did not know what to do. He finally decided to go to Rabi Dosa and seek his advice.
“Tell me what to do,” asked Rabi Yehoshua, “for I cannot bring myself either to defy the Court or to retreat from what I feel to be the truth.”
The Answer
Rabi Dosa thought for a long moment and then answered: “If we feel we can question the decision of the Court of Rabban Gamliel then we have the right to question the decisions of every Court from the days of Moshe on.”
“The Court that exists is the only authority in Israel.”
When Rabi Yehoshua heard this he knew what his answer must be. On the day that Rabi Yehoshua calculated to be Yom Kippur, Rabban Gamliel looked up to see Rabi Yehoshua standing before him with his moneybag and his staff. The eyes of Rabban Gamliel filled with tears as Rabi Yehoshua said:
“My Master and Teacher, I have done what you have commanded.”
Rising to his feet, Rabban Gamliel kissed Rabi Yehoshua and exclaimed:
“Come in peace, my master and student! My master – in wisdom; my student – that you have obeyed my words. Happy is the generation when the great obey the small.”
Not In Heaven…
The struggle for the supremacy of the Rabbinate and of its majority vote was one that Rabban Gamliel fought for all his life. Perhaps his most difficult moment came when a dispute arose between the Court and Rabi Eliezer Ben Horkanos.
Rabi Eliezer was known as one of the greatest of the gedolim, and in the dispute he brought many proofs to corroborate his position. Nevertheless, the majority continued to hold to the opposite position. Seeing this, Rabi Eliezer rose and declared:
“If I am correct let this tree bring proof!”
Before the eyes of all those assembled the tree uprooted itself and flew through the air for a distance of 400 cubits.
But the others merely shook their heads and said:
“We do not bring proof from the tree.”
Rabi Eliezer thereupon declared:
“If so, let this stream of water be my proof.” And once again, a strange thing happened, and the waters began to bubble and the stream flowed backwards.
But again they answered, “We do not bring proof from a stream of water.”
Rabi Eliezer stood on his feet and pointing to the walls of the House of Study, he cried out,
“Let these walls of the House of Study be my proof.”
Immediately the walls began to tremble and quake, and it appeared as if they would topple to the ground. Seeing this, Rabi Yehoshua leaped to his feet and called out to the walls:
“If scholars are immersed in a halachic discourse, how do you dare inject yourselves into the dispute?”
And so, the walls ceased to shake and in deference to both Rabi Eliezer and Rabi Yehoshua, they neither fell nor stood straight but remained inclined.