רבי יהודה הנשיא

Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, called by all simply 'Rebbi,' is the man who saved the Oral Torah from being forgotten. After generations of decrees and persecutions, fearing that the oral tradition would be lost in exile, Rebbi gathered all the laws, sorted and arranged them, and composed the Mishnah, six orders that are the backbone of the entire Oral Torah to this day.

Rebbi combined two opposites within himself: immense wealth and deep humility. He was very rich, wealthier than kings, and yet he said, 'whoever says he has nothing but Torah, does not even have Torah,' while he himself took no pleasure at all from this world. On his deathbed he raised his ten fingers and said: 'it is revealed and known before You that I did not benefit from this world even with my little finger' (Ketubot 104a).

He was close to the Roman government, and his friendship with the emperor 'Antoninus' was renowned, and the two of them discussed together deep questions of faith, about the soul, the evil inclination, and the resurrection of the dead (Avodah Zarah 10b). A bridge of respect between Torah and empire.

For many years Rebbi suffered severe afflictions, and accepted them with love, and during those years the rains did not cease and no harm was seen in the world, in his merit. The body ached, and the spirit shone.

His teaching opens his chapter of Avot: 'which is the straight path that a person should choose? Whatever is a credit to the one who does it and brings him credit from others' (Pirkei Avot 2:1). A balance between inner and outer, between Heaven and people.

Rebbi teaches that one can hold wealth and power and greatness and remain a servant of God who takes nothing for himself; and that a single act of arranging and writing, at the right moment, can save a Torah of thousands of years.