Horayot 13

Today’s daf includes a story about jealous sages who tried to trick their teacher and publicly shame him in a bid for their own power and recognition.

The story takes place during the late second century, after the Bar Kochba revolt, when the center of rabbinic study was located in the Galilee. The leader of the Jewish community at the time was Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel, also known by the acronym Rashbag. One of the leading sages was Rabbi Meir, and the head of the court was Rabbi Natan. They are the three leading characters in this drama, which unfolds in several acts.

In the first act, Rashbag is disgruntled by the lack of hierarchy in the academy. 

When Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel was there, everyone would rise before him. When Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Natan would enter, everyone would rise before them. Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said: Shouldn’t there be a conspicuous distinction between me and them?

Upset that he wasn’t accorded greater deference, Rashbag instituted a new policy: When he entered, everyone would rise and not sit down until he told them to do so. But when Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Natan entered, everyone was to rise and then sit down immediately. In so doing, Rashbag sought to ensure that everyone would know who was really in power. Needless to say, Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Natan were quite distressed when they caught wind of the new policy. 

Rabbi Meir said to Rabbi Natan: I am the sage and you are the head of the court. Let us devise a matter as he did to us. What shall we do to him? Let us say to him: Reveal to us Uktzin, which he does not know. And once (it is clear to all) that he did not learn, we will say to him: “Who can express the mighty acts of the Lord, shall make all His praises heard?” (Psalms 106:2). For whom is it becoming to express the mighty acts of the Lord? One who is capable of making all His praises heard. We will remove him and I will be head of the court and you will be leader. 

Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Natan plot to ask Rashbag to teach them one of the most notoriously difficult sections in the Mishnah, Tractate Uktzin. They are confident that Rashbag has not fully mastered the tractate. In devising this plot, Rabbi Meir quotes a verse from Psalms stating that only someone who can declare all of God’s praise is fit to utter God’s mighty acts — or, only a person who has mastered all of rabbinic literature is fit to serve as community leader. 

Fortunately for Rashbag, the plot was foiled. Another sage, Rabbi Yaakov ben Karshi, overheard Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Natan’s plot and worried that it would lead to Rashbag’s disgrace. Eager to safeguard Rashbag’s honor, he went and sat behind Rashbag and learned Uktzin aloud. Rashbag realized something was amiss and went to study Uktzin himself. The next day, when Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Natan asked him to teach that tractate, Rashbag was thankfully prepared. But he was also irate, and in his fury, he expelled Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Natan from the academy. 

The drama is not over yet. Torah learning in the academy could not continue without Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Natan, two of the greatest students. So these two rabbis sat outside and would write questions on a tablet and throw it inside. The other sages would answer any questions they could, and if they couldn’t answer, Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Natan would write the answers on the tablet and throw it inside. 

Rabbi Yosei said: Torah is outside and we are inside?

That is, Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Natan are not just great scholars. They are the embodiment of Torah itself. How could they be excluded from the academy? 

Eventually Rashbag agreed to readmit these two sages, but only under the condition that their teachings be quoted anonymously, never in their names. Ultimately, Rabbi Natan sought Rashbag’s forgiveness, but Rabbi Meir refused to do so. Therefore, any anonymous mishnah is thought to be attributed to Rabbi Meir. The message of this story seems to be clear: Torah study should never be about our own honor, but about the honor of the Torah. Whether or not we stand up for a great Torah scholar, we must always stand up for the Torah itself. 

Read all of Horayot 13 on Sefaria.

This piece originally appeared in a My Jewish Learning Daf Yomi email newsletter sent on September 14, 2025. If you are interested in receiving the newsletter, sign up here.