person · P0149
Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel II רבן שמעון בן גמליאל
Son of Rabban Gamliel of Yavneh and father of Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi, he restored the Hillelite patriarchate at Usha after the Bar Kokhba catastrophe, presiding over the rebuilt Sanhedrin with Rabbi Natan as Av Beit Din and Rabbi Meir as Chacham. His mishnaic rulings carry near-decisive weight: wherever he taught in the Mishnah, the halakhah follows him, with three named exceptions.
I. Who
- Hebrew
- רבן שמעון בן גמליאל
- Also known as
- RaShBaG, Shimon ben Gamliel II, Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel of Usha
- Era
- tannaim
- Generation
- T4
- Received the mesorah from
- Rabban Gamliel of Yavneh
- Transmitted the mesorah to
- Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi
- Parents
- Rabban Gamliel of Yavneh
- Children
- Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi
- Colleagues
- Rabbi Natan, Rabbi Meir, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Korcha
II. When
- Traditional
- c. 3860–3925 AM
- Academic
- c. 100–165 CE
- Lifespan (traditional)
- ≈65 years
- Precision
- approximate
IV. What
- Events
- Bar Kokhba Revolt
V. How do we know
| Claim | Evidence | Confidence | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| As Nasi at the rebuilt Sanhedrin he instituted graded protocols of honor distinguishing the Nasi from the Av Beit Din (Rabbi Natan) and the Chacham (Rabbi Meir); the two slighted sages plotted to depose him with questions in Uktzin, and the plot was foiled.
Aggadic court narrative; institutional details (the three offices, Usha setting) are consistent with the wider tradition.
|
rabbinic | ★★★★☆ | |
| Rabbi Yochanan's rule of decision: wherever Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel taught in our Mishnah, the halakhah follows him, except for "arev" (the guarantor), Tzidon, and "the latter proof." | rabbinic | ★★★★★ | |
| Taught: "On three things the world endures — on justice, on truth, and on peace."
Avot's "Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel" here is traditionally identified with this sage by many, though some assign the saying to his grandfather Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel I.
|
rabbinic | ★★★☆☆ | |
| He later readmitted the two plotters but ordered that their statements not be cited in their own names; Rabbi Meir was thereafter cited as Acherim ("Others") and Rabbi Natan as Yesh Omrim ("Some say").
The passage says Rabbi Natan personally sought reconciliation. |
rabbinic tradition | ★★★★☆ | |
| He proclaimed a communal fast and attempted to provide the impoverished Rabbi Yehudah bar Ilai with a cloak when told that Rabbi Yehudah lacked suitable clothing.
Concrete exercise of communal leadership and patronage. |
rabbinic tradition | ★★★★☆ | |
| Traditional placement c. 3860–3925 AM (c. 100–165 CE): presided as Nasi when the Sanhedrin sat at Usha in the generation after the Bar Kokhba revolt.
Schematic traditional dating. |
tradition reconstruction | ★★☆☆☆ |