person · P0137
Rabbi Yose HaKohen רבי יוסי הכהן
One of the five principal students of Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai, characterized by his master as a chasid — a man of exceptional piety. His maxim in Avot: let your fellow's property be as dear to you as your own, prepare yourself to study Torah for it is not yours by inheritance, and let all your deeds be for the sake of Heaven. He appears among the circle engaged in the mystical exposition of the maaseh merkavah.
I. Who
- Hebrew
- רבי יוסי הכהן
- Also known as
- Yose HaKohen, Jose the Priest
- Era
- tannaim
- Generation
- T2
- Received the mesorah from
- Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai
- Teachers
- Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai
- Colleagues
- Rabbi Elazar ben Arach, Rabbi Shimon ben Netanel, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananiah
II. When
- Traditional
- c. 3800–3870 AM
- Academic
- c. 40–110 CE
- Lifespan (traditional)
- ≈70 years
- Precision
- approximate
V. How do we know
| Claim | Evidence | Confidence | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Counted among the five students of Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai, who characterized him as a chasid (pious one). | rabbinic | ★★★★★ | |
| Taught: "Let your fellow's property be as dear to you as your own; prepare yourself to study Torah, for it is not an inheritance to you; and let all your deeds be for the sake of Heaven." | rabbinic | ★★★★★ | |
| Appears in the traditions of the exposition of the maaseh merkavah among the students of Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai's circle, alongside Rabbi Yehoshua. | rabbinic | ★★★★☆ | |
| It was said of him that his handwriting was never found in the hand of a gentile — cited in the sugya on not sending letters with a gentile before Shabbat, as a mark of his scrupulousness.
The Bavli attributes the report to Rabbi Yose HaKohen, "and some say of Rabbi Yose the Chasid."
|
rabbinic | ★★★★☆ | |
| Traditional placement c. 3800–3870 AM (c. 40–110 CE), as a member of the circle of Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai's students spanning the destruction of the Temple.
Schematic traditional dating. |
tradition reconstruction | ★☆☆☆☆ |