Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, who lived around 100 years after the destruction of the second Bais HaMikdash, was one of the greatest Jewish leaders. He has the distinction of being called Rabbeinu HaKadosh (our holy Rabbi), or simply Rebbe, the quintessential teacher.
Descended from the illustrious lineage of Hillel and Rabbi Gamliel, who were heads of the Sanhedrin, he was famously wealthy yet he was personally content with little. And before his passing, “he raised his fingers Heavenward and said, ‘I did not take pleasure from worldly matters even with my little finger.’”
During his lifetime when Rome governed Israel, the Roman emperor, Antoninus Pius, held Rebbe in high esteem. The two of them held many discussions that are related in the Talmud which contain wisdom, philosophy, word-meanings and even form bases of halachos. The Talmud relates that Rebbe once invited Antoninus for a Shabbat dinner. When Rebbe invited him another time midweek, Antoninus commented that the previous meal had been tastier. Rebbe explained that it was because of the additional spice of Shabbat.
Rebbe is most renowned for compiling and redacting the Mishna, the body of the Oral Law, culled from the learned discussions and rulings that had taken place over centuries. Until then it had been forbidden to write this down. Recognizing that exile and dispersion were taking place, he committed the Oral tradition to writing so it could be studied by all of Israel wherever they would be, as it has been in fact studied for the last two millennia. His precise writing (“He was eloquent above all men in Hebrew” – Maimonides) forms the basis for scholarly discussions in the Talmud, the Talmud being a commentary on the Mishna.
