In this lesson we will study the tenth Mishnah in chapter 2. It is worth noting at the outset that in some versions this Mishnah is still included within Mishnah 8, while we will study it on its own. It is a short Mishnah, and it deals with the five students of Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai.
The wording of the Mishnah: "Chamishah talmidim hayu lo l'Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai" - Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai had five students. In some versions the word "lo" does not appear at all.
The Mishnah does not mean that he had only five students. Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai was the head of the yeshivah for all of Israel in the aftermath of the destruction, and he had many students. Rather, these five were his students in the fullest sense - they embodied within themselves everything he had to teach.
"V'eilu hen" - and these are the five students:
Rabbi Eliezer ben Hurkanos - referred to throughout the Mishnayos simply as "Rabbi Eliezer," and sometimes as "Rabbi Eliezer the Great." He was one of the giants of the world, and the disputant of Rabbi Yehoshua. The two of them were the leaders of the generation in the time of Rabban Gamliel, in the earlier generation of Yavneh. It is worth noting that Rabbi Eliezer ben Hurkanos began learning at the age of twenty eight - a late age, and most impressive. But as we will see in the next Mishnah, he was blessed with a photographic memory, an extraordinary memory. He is also credited with the authorship of the work "Pirkei d'Rabbi Eliezer," a separate midrashic work from the era of the Tannaim.
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananyah - he is the "Rabbi Yehoshua" of the Mishnayos, and the disputant of Rabbi Eliezer. These two were the leaders of the generation, and they were the teachers of Rabbi Akiva, who carried on their tradition in the following generation. Rabbi Yehoshua was the second man under Rabban Gamliel, in the capacity of av beis din; Rabban Gamliel of Yavneh was the Nasi, but Rabbi Yehoshua was the greater of the two in Torah.
There is the well known story in which Rabban Gamliel pressed Rabbi Yehoshua very hard on three separate occasions, with the aim of preventing the Torah from splitting into several streams as had happened before the destruction. Rabban Gamliel told him that he must come on his own Yom Kippur, since Rabbi Yehoshua held that Yom Kippur fell on the following day, and similar cases. These matters are brought in Maseches Rosh Hashanah. In the end, when Rabbi Yehoshua came, Rabban Gamliel kissed him on his head and said to him: "Thank you for coming, my teacher and my student. My teacher - in that you are the greater sage, my student - in that you honored my ruling upon you." The main story is brought in Maseches Berachos, page 28.
Rabbi Yosi the Kohen - he is mentioned a number of times in Shas. Some understand that he is Rabbi Yosi HaGlili, and according to this he would be mentioned in Shas far more often, but this does not seem correct. The Abarbanel holds that he is Rabbi Yosi the Kohen who is Yosef ben Gurion, who is also mentioned in Shas several times. Whatever the case may be, this is a less prominent figure in the story of the Talmud.
Rabbi Shimon ben Nesanel - he too was a Kohen, and he was married to the daughter of Rabban Gamliel the Elder, the grandfather of Rabban Gamliel of Yavneh. Beyond that, there is not much information about him in Shas.
Rabbi Elazar ben Arach - a very prominent Tanna, mentioned in many places. According to some opinions he is the "Nehorai" mentioned in Shas, while other opinions hold that "Nehorai" is Rabbi Meir or Rabbi Nechemyah, and this matter too is not clear.
In summary: in this Mishnah, the Mishnah listed the five primary students of Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai - those students who embodied within themselves all of his Torah: Rabbi Eliezer ben Hurkanos, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananyah, Rabbi Yosi the Kohen, Rabbi Shimon ben Nesanel and Rabbi Elazar ben Arach.
The Mishnah will go on to compare these five students to one another, and that is what we will deal with in the next section.