"That which is hateful to you, do not do unto your fellow. That is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn." - Hillel the Elder.
Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai, was one of the Tannaim, an important Jewish sage during the late Second Temple period and in the transformative post-destruction era. He was a primary contributor to the core text of Rabbinic Judaism, the Mishnah. His name is often preceded by the honorific title, "Rabban." He is widely regarded as one of the most important Jewish figures of his time, and his escape from the Roman destruction of Jerusalem (which allowed him to continue teaching) may have been instrumental in Rabbinic Judaism's survival post-Temple. His tomb is located in Tiberias within the Maimonides burial compound.
. . .During the siege of Jerusalem in the First Jewish–Roman War, he argued in favour of peace; according to the Talmud, when he found the anger of the besieged populace to be intolerable, he arranged a secret escape from the city inside a coffin, helped by his nephew and Zealot leader Ben Batiach, so that he could negotiate with Vespasian (who, at this time, was still just a military commander).[6][8] Yochanan correctly predicted that Vespasian would become Emperor, and that the temple would soon be destroyed; in return, Vespasian granted Yochanan three wishes: the salvation of Yavne and its sages, the descendants of Rabban Gamliel, who was of the Davidic dynasty, and a physician to treat Rabbi Tzadok, who had fasted for 40 years to stave off the destruction of Jerusalem.
Upon the destruction of Jerusalem, Yochanan converted his school at Yavne into the Jewish religious centre, insisting that certain privileges, given by Jewish law uniquely to Jerusalem, should be transferred to Yavne. His school functioned as a re-establishment of the Sanhedrin, so that Judaism could decide how to deal with the loss of the sacrificial altars of the temple in Jerusalem, and other pertinent questions. Referring to a passage in the Book of Hosea, "I desired mercy, and not sacrifice", he helped persuade the council to replace animal sacrifice with prayer, a practice that continues in today's worship services; eventually Rabbinic Judaism emerged from the council's conclusions.
Few Jewish Sages have the privilege of being known for saving the entire Torah world. Rabban ben Zakkai is one such individual, who studied under Hillel the Elder, this man lived in a time of unprecedented persecution and destruction of the Jewish nation. Due to his ability to read the terrain correctly, he embarked on a courageous mission to preserve the Torah in the face of complete annihilation.
