When the Romans decided to wreak their vengeance upon the Jewish People, the slaughter of tens of thousands of Jews wasn’t enough. Their goal was to totally eradicate the Torah. To achieve that goal they instituted a decree: Anyone caught learning or teaching Torah would be put to death. Rabi Chutzpit the Interpreter was one of the Ten Martyrs the Romans arrested and killed, and whose death we recall on Yom Kippur, during the reading of the moving piyyut Eleh Ezkerah.
Rabi Chutzpit lived at a time when hope was in short supply. The Beit HaMikdash had been destroyed. Jerusalem was in ruins. Although Rabi Yochanan ben Zakkai had established a flourishing yeshiva in Yavneh and reestablished the Sanhedrin, there were those who doubted that the Torah way of life could withstand the blow dealt to the nation. Without Jerusalem and the Beit HaMikdash, the heart and soul of the Jewish people, what was the point? How could Torah survive?
But by the time that Rabban Gamliel II, a descendant of Hillel, came to Yavneh and assumed the position of Nasi, most recognized that it had become a viable center of Torah learning. It was in Rabban Gamliel’s yeshiva that Rabi Chutzpit performed his duties as interpreter.
During this time, a meturgeman (interpreter) might perform one of two roles. In the beit knesset, his job was to translate the Torah reading into the vernacular—Aramaic—one pasuk at a time, so that everyone could understand what the ba’al koreh had justread in Hebrew. Today, of course, when sefarim are common, those who don’t understand Hebrew can buy a Chumash with a translation in their native tongue. But during the time of the Mishnah, it was the meturgeman who provided the people with a verbal translation.
The other type of translation work took place in the yeshiva, which could be quite large. In the days before there were microphones and loudspeakers, the rosh yeshiva would quietly say his shiur in Hebrew to the meturgeman, who would then loudly “broadcast” the lecture in Aramaic to the talmidim. However, this was not just a word-for-word translation. The interpreter was expected to be a talmid chacham himself and be able to also offer explanations and clarifications to the students.
Rabi Chutzpit is mentioned by name in the Talmud (Berachot 27b-28a) concerning a halachic dispute that occurred between Rabban Gamliel II and Rabi Yehoshua at the yeshiva. When Rabban Gamliel made Rabi Yehoshua stand during his lecture, the talmidim took umbrage at the insult. They shouted to Rabi Chutzpit to stop translating Rabban Gamliel’s words, and Rabi Chutzpit stopped.
Although not all interpreters were highly respected, it seems that Rabi Chutzpit was beloved by all. He was fluent in seventy languages, and he had such a beautiful voice that people would come to the beit medrash just to hear him speak. He was also very handsome, and according to Midrash Eleh Ezkerah, his deeds matched his beautiful appearance.
Rabi Chutzpit was already an old man—almost 130 years old!—when he was captured by the Romans. According to Midrash Eleh Ezkerah, there were some Roman officers who asked their ruler to spare the elderly scholar because of his great age. Before the emperor would agree, he questioned Rabi Chutzpit.
“How old are you?” he asked.
Rabi Chutzpit replied, “I am one day short of my 130th birthday.” Rabi Chutzpit then pleaded to be allowed to finish the year.
“What difference does it make if you die tomorrow or today?” asked the emperor.
Rabi Chutzpit replied that he wished to fulfill two more mitzvot. “I wish to say the Shema in the evening and in the morning, so that I can proclaim the majesty of the great, awesome and unique God.”
