person · P0139
Shmuel HaKatan שמואל הקטן
Sage of the Yavneh generation famed above all for humility — his epithet "the Small" was understood as a mark of his self-effacement. At Rabban Gamliel's request he composed the birkat haminim, the blessing against the sectarians added to the Amidah at Yavneh. A heavenly voice declared him worthy that the Divine Presence rest upon him, and at his death he was eulogized as "the humble one, the pious one, a student of Hillel."
I. Who
- Hebrew
- שמואל הקטן
- Also known as
- Samuel the Small, Shmuel HaKattan
- Era
- tannaim
- Generation
- T2
- Colleagues
- Rabban Gamliel of Yavneh
II. When
- Traditional
- c. 3790–3870 AM
- Academic
- c. 30–110 CE
- Lifespan (traditional)
- ≈80 years
- Precision
- approximate
III. Where
- Places
- Yavneh
V. How do we know
| Claim | Evidence | Confidence | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| At Rabban Gamliel's request at Yavneh — "Is there anyone who knows how to compose the blessing of the heretics?" — Shmuel HaKatan stood and composed the birkat haminim; the following year he forgot it while leading prayer, yet was not removed, for he himself had composed it. | rabbinic | ★★★★★ | |
| Taught (citing Mishlei): "When your enemy falls, do not rejoice, and when he stumbles, let your heart not exult, lest the Lord see and it be evil in His eyes."
The mishnah records the verse (Mishlei 24:17–18) in his name; the commentators explain that this verse was his constant maxim.
|
rabbinic | ★★★★☆ | |
| A heavenly voice (bat kol) at Yavneh declared that there was one present worthy that the Divine Presence rest upon him, but his generation did not merit it — and the sages set their eyes on Shmuel HaKatan; at his death he was eulogized: "the humble one, the pious one, a student of Hillel."
Aggadic tradition; a parallel bat kol account appears in Sanhedrin 11a (where the comparison "like Moshe Rabbeinu" is attached to the earlier Hillel episode). "Student of Hillel" in the eulogy is understood by many as a characterization of his humility rather than a literal teacher-student chain.
|
rabbinic tradition | ★★★☆☆ | |
| At the hour of his death he said in Aramaic: "Shimon and Yishmael are for the sword, their colleagues for execution, the rest of the people for plunder" — understood as foretelling the coming persecutions.
Aggadic deathbed prophecy; a parallel appears in Sotah 48b. The referents of "Shimon and Yishmael" are traditionally identified with the martyred sages.
|
rabbinic tradition | ★★★☆☆ | |
| Traditional placement c. 3790–3870 AM (c. 30–110 CE): active at Yavneh under Rabban Gamliel and eulogized by the sages of that generation.
Schematic traditional dating. |
tradition reconstruction | ★★☆☆☆ |