person · P0146
Rabbi Yose ben Chalafta רבי יוסי בן חלפתא
The plain "Rabbi Yose" of the Mishnah — student of Rabbi Akiva and of his own father Chalafta, and the leading sage of Sepphoris (Tzippori) in the Usha generation. Tradition credits him with the chronological work Seder Olam, and the halakhah follows him against each of his colleagues, his reasoning being praised as "nimuko imo."
I. Who
- Hebrew
- רבי יוסי בן חלפתא
- Also known as
- Rabbi Yose, Yose ben Halafta
- Era
- tannaim
- Generation
- T4
- Received the mesorah from
- Rabbi Akiva
- Transmitted the mesorah to
- Rabbi Yishmael beRabbi Yose
- Teachers
- Rabbi Akiva
- Colleagues
- Rabbi Yehudah bar Ilai, Rabbi Meir, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, Rabbi Elazar ben Shammua, Rabbi Nechemiah
- Children
- Rabbi Yishmael beRabbi Yose
- Students
- Rabbi Yishmael beRabbi Yose
II. When
- Traditional
- c. 3860–3940 AM
- Academic
- c. 100–180 CE
- Lifespan (traditional)
- ≈80 years
- Precision
- approximate
III. Where
- Places
- Tzippori
V. How do we know
| Claim | Evidence | Confidence | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat (taught) in Sepphoris: "after Rabbi Yose to Tzippori" is the Talmud's directive for one seeking to follow him to his court. | rabbinic | ★★★★★ | |
| Rabbi Yochanan identifies him as the tanna of Seder Olam, the foundational rabbinic chronology: "Who taught Seder Olam? Rabbi Yose."
Attribution of the transmitted work; the extant Seder Olam Rabbah shows later editing.
|
rabbinic tradition | ★★★★☆ | |
| In disputes among the students of Rabbi Akiva, the halakhah follows Rabbi Yose against Rabbi Yehudah (and likewise against Rabbi Meir), per the rules of decision transmitted in tractate Eruvin. | rabbinic | ★★★★★ | |
| Rabbi Yose worked as a tanner or leather processor.
His son Rabbi Yishmael explicitly states, "My father was a tanner" (shalcha).
|
rabbinic | ★★★★★ | |
| The Roman authorities exiled him to Tzippori because he remained silent during the discussion criticizing Roman public works.
The account presents Tzippori as the destination of a punitive exile.
|
rabbinic tradition | ★★★★☆ | |
| He was among the sages ordained by Rabbi Yehudah ben Bava between Usha and Shefaram during the Roman ban on ordination, and escaped when Roman forces discovered the group.
The passage calls him simply Rabbi Yose; he is conventionally identified as Rabbi Yose ben Chalafta.
|
rabbinic tradition | ★★★★★ | |
| The Bavli names five sons: Rabbi Yishmael, Rabbi Elazar, Rabbi Chalafta, Rabbi Avtilas, and Rabbi Menachem, who was also called Vardimas because of his rose-like appearance.
The passage explicitly identifies the five as Rabbi Yose's sons. |
rabbinic | ★★★★★ | |
| Traditional placement c. 3860–3940 AM (c. 100–180 CE): among the five later students of Rabbi Akiva, active in the Galilee after the Bar Kokhba revolt.
Schematic traditional dating. |
tradition reconstruction | ★★☆☆☆ |