A student asked Rebbe Yehoshua: "Is the evening prayer optional or mandatory?"
He replied: "Optional."
The student then asked Rabban Gamliel: "Is the evening prayer optional or mandatory?"
Rabban Gamliel replied: "Mandatory."
The student said: "But Rebbe Yehoshua told me that it's optional."
Rabban Gamliel replied: "Just wait till the shield masters get here."
When the shield masters arrived, the student stood and asked: "Is the evening prayer optional or mandatory?"
Rabban Gamliel replied: "Mandatory." He then turned to The Sages and asked: "Does anybody here have a problem with that?"
Rebbe Yehoshua said: "No."
Rabban Gamliel said: "Is that so? And what would you say if I told you that I heard in your name that the evening prayer is optional? Yehoshua, stand up and let them testify against you!"
Rebbe Yehoshua said: "If the troublemaker were to drop dead, I could deny everything, because a living man can contradict a dead man. But he is alive and I am alive, and a living man cannot contradict another living man."
Rabban Gamliel continued sitting and lecturing. He did not give Rebbe Yehoshua permission to sit back down. The people began to murmur in indignation. They called out to Chutzpit the Announcer, and said: "Stop!" And Chutzpit the Announcer stopped announcing.
They said: "How long will Rabban Gamliel go on humiliating Rebbe Yehoshua? He humiliated Rebbe Yehoshua last year on Rosh Hashana, he humiliated him in the incident of Rebbe Tzadok and the firstborn, and now he is humiliating him again. Rabban Gamliel must go!"
Who will we appoint as the new Rosh Yeshiva? We can't appoint Rebbe Yehoshua, because he was personally involved in the incident. We can't appoint Rebbe Akiva, since he doesn't have meritorious forefathers, and he may be susceptible to punishment. So let's appoint Rebbe Elazar ben Azarya. He's intelligent, he's rich, and he's the tenth generation from Ezra.
He is intelligent: when someone asks him a question, he will be able to answer.
He is rich: he will be able serve Caesar if necessary.
He is the tenth generation from Ezra: he has the merit of righteous forefathers, so he is not susceptible to punishment.
So they came to Rebbe Elazar ben Azarya and said: "Want to be the new Rosh Yeshiva?"
He said to them: "Let me get back to you on that." He went home and asked his wife what she thought about the whole situation.
His wife said: "Easy come, easy go. What makes you think they won't depose you like they just deposed Rabban Gamliel?"
He replied: "And what if they do? Drink from the precious glass cup when you can, and let it break tomorrow."
His wife said: "But you have no gray hair."
That day, Rebbe Elazar ben Azarya was 18 years old. A miracle occurred for him and 18 rows of hair in his beard turned gray.
That is why, in the Haggada, Rebbe Elazar ben Azarya is quoted as saying "I am like 70 years old," and not saying, "I am 70 years old."
It was taught in a Braita: that day they removed the guard, and all students were permitted to enter. When Rabban Gamliel had been the Rosh Yeshiva, anyone whose inner self did not match his public demeanor was not allowed to enter the Bet Midrash.
That day many benches were added to the Bet Midrash. Rebbe Yochanan said: Abba Yosef ben Dostai and The Rabbis disagree about how many. One says 400 benches were added, and one says 700 benches were added.
When Rabban Gamliel saw this, he began to doubt himself, saying: "Maybe, God forbid, I have withheld the Torah from Israel..." So they showed him a dream white pitchers filled with ash. (Not because he was right, though. It was just to make him feel better.)
The Braita says: The tractate of Eduyot (testimonies) was taught on that day. And anywhere the Mishna says "on that day", it is referring to that day. On that day, all the open halachic questions were resolved.
Rabban Gamliel couldn't stay away from the Bet Midrash for even a single hour, as it says in a Mishna: On that day, Yehuda the Ammonite convert came to the Bet Midrash and said: "May I marry a Jewish woman?"
Rabban Gamliel said no. Rebbe Yehoshua said yes.
Rabban Gamliel said: "Neither an Ammonite nor a Moabite may enter the congregation of Hashem." (Dvarim 23:4)
Rebbe Yehoshua asked: "Do the real Ammonites and Moabites still reside in their lands? But Sancheriv, King of Assyria, confused all the nations, as Sancheriv himself declares in the book of Yishayahu: I have erased the borders of the nations, and plundered their treasures. (Yishayahu 10:13) Since the majority of modern-day residents of the land of Ammon are not true Ammonites, we do not need to apply the prohibition to Yehuda."
Rabban Gamliel replied: "Well, according to Yirmiyahu, Hashem will return the captives of Ammon. (Yirmiyahu 49:6) By this time they're probably all back, don't you think?"
Rebbe Yehoshua replied: "Is that so? Don't forget the prophecy of Amos, where Hashem says: I will return the captives of My people Israel. (Amos 9:14) When the captives of Israel return, you can start telling me about the captives of Ammon."
Immediately, they permitted Yehuda to marry a Jewish woman.
Rabban Gamliel said to himself: "It's really been one of those days. I'd better go and apologize to Rebbe Yehoshua."
He went to Rebbe Yehoshua's house and saw that his walls were black.
Rabban Gamliel said to Rebbe Yehoshua: "From the walls of this house, I'd guess that you're probably a blacksmith."
Rebbe Yehoshua replied: "How can you be the Gadol Hador if you don't know about the suffering of Torah Scholars? You have no idea what we go through to make ends meet and put food on the table."
Rabban Gamliel said: "Look, I realize now that I kind of overdid it with the whole mandatory prayer thing. Please, forgive me."
Rebbe Yehoshua refused.
Rabban Gamliel said: "Forgive me! In the name of my father!"
Rebbe Yehoshua said: "OK fine."
They decided to see if they could convince The Rabbis to reinstate Rabban Gamliel as the Rosh Yeshiva.
The laundryman said: "I'll talk to them. What do you want me to say?"
Rebbe Yehoshua said: "Tell them that he who wears the uniform should wear the uniform. And he who doesn't wear the uniform, well, let's just say that he shouldn't take the uniform from the other guy."
When Rebbe Akiva heard this, he said: "Lock the doors, so Rabban Gamliel doesn't send any more of his servants to drey our kop."
Rebbe Yehoshua saw that he would have to talk to The Rabbis in person. He went to the Bet Midrash and knocked on the door. "The sprinkler son of a sprinkler should sprinkle. And don't start telling the sprinkler son of a sprinkler that his water is cave water and his ashes are cinders."
Rebbe Akiva said: "So, Rebbe Yehoshua, you have forgiven Rabban Gamliel? The only reason we removed Rabban Gamliel was the affront to your honor. Tomorrow, I will go with you to his door."
They said: "Now what?"
Can we depose Rebbe Elazar ben Azarya?
No, because we learned that it's improper to demote people in matters of holiness.
Can we set up a rotating Rosh Yeshivaship, where each Rosh Yeshiva presides every other week?
No, that would create jealousy.
Rather, we will set up a rotating Rosh Yeshivaship, where Rabban Gamliel presides for three weeks, and Rebbe Elazar presides for one week.
As The Master said: Whose week was it? The week of Rebbe Elazar ben Azarya.
By the way, the student who originally asked the question about the evening prayer was Rebbe Shimon bar Yochai.
(Brachot 27b - 28a)
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