Ten Martyrs
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The Ten Martyrs (
Although not killed at the same time (since two of the rabbis listed lived well before the other eight), a dramatic poem (known as
Story as told in the poem Eleh Ezkerah
In the poem,
The poem lists the first two to be executed: Rabban
In the poem, the remaining martyrs listed are Hutzpit the Interpreter, Elazar ben Shamua, Hanina ben Hakinai, Yesheivav the Scribe, Judah ben Dama and Judah ben Baba, in that order. In Midrash Eleh Ezkerah, the order is somewhat different.
Listed Martyrs
- Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel
- Rabbi Ishmael ben Elisha ha-Kohen
- Rabbi Akiva
- Rabbi Haninah ben Teradion
- Rabbi Hutzpit the Interpreter
- Rabbi Elazar ben Shamua
- Rabbi Hanina ben Hakinai
- Rabbi Yesheivav the Scribe
- Rabbi Judah ben Dama
- Rabbi Judah ben Baba
Historical evaluation
Popular imagination seized upon this episode in Jewish history, and embellished it with various stories relating the virtues of the martyrs and the fortitude shown by them during their execution. These legends became in the
Contrary to the accounts given in the Talmud, Midrash Rabbah, and Midrash Eleh Ezkerah,[6] which clearly state that there were intervals between the executions of the ten teachers, the poem Eleh Ezkerah describes their martyrdom as occurring on the same day, probably in order to produce a greater effect upon the mind of the reader.[7]
To this end, while certain accounts of the Ten Martyrs' deaths from these sources are more fragmented than others, they seem to preserve a more historically accurate account of the deaths themselves:
- The Avot of Rabbi Natan states that Shimon ben Gamliel and Ishmael ben Elisha ha-Kohen were executed while in Roman captivity, having drawn lots to determine who would be first to die. When the lots fell on Shimon, he was swiftly decapitated, and as Ishmael grieved over his friend's death, he was quickly decapitated as well.[8]
- The deaths of Rabbi Akiva and Haninah ben Teradion are consistent over practically every source, including the embellished accounts in Eleh Ezkerah.
- All that can be gleaned of the execution of Hutzpit the Interpreter from historical sources is that he was dismembered either during or after his execution,[9] as several sages apparently opined that the sight of Hutzpit's detached tongue lying in the dirt was one of the reasons for Elisha ben Abuyah's apostasy.
- Likewise, it appears that neither Hanina ben Hakinai or Yesheivav the Scribe were counted among the Ten Martyrs until several centuries after their deaths, no contemporary work dealing with the martyrdoms mention them.
- The name "Judah ben Dama" does not appear in history before the Eleh Ezkerah. However, Bahya ben Asher wrote that one Eleazar ben Dama was apparently ordered to be executed by the same decree which sentenced Shimon ben Gamliel, Ishmael ben Elisha ha-Kohen, and Judah ben Baba to death,[10] however even this seems to be inaccurate, as Eleazar's death is attributed to a venomous snake bite in an infamous narrative associated with Jacob the Heretic; and (among other things) Bahya attributes this decree to the "Caesar Lupinos", a Roman emperor who doesn't appear to have ever existed.
- Judah ben Baba, despite being listed among the Ten Martyrs, does not appear to have been executed by order of the emperor himself, though he was, in essence, martyred nonetheless. As opposed to an execution, the Talmud relates that Judah was caught in the act of ordaining his students by Roman soldiers, and himself being an old man, commanded his students to flee and leave him behind, at which point the soldiers killed him using their javelins.[11]
Ultimately, despite contemporary sources maintaining that ten great scholars had been martyred by the Romans,[12] only six of the traditional martyrs seem to have been genuinely martyred.
The identities of some of the lesser known martyrs are also inconsistently reported. In some sources, Jose ben Halafta, Rabbi Tarfon, or Elazar ben Ḥarsum are listed in place of Elazar ben Shamua, Simeon ben Azzai is listed in place of Hanina ben Hakinai, and Judah the Baker or Hanina Segan ha-Kohanim are listed in place of Judah ben Dama.
Use in ritual
The poem Eleh Ezkerah is best known as part of the
A similar poem Arzei haLevanon is recited in the Eastern Ashkenazic rite (kinot #21) as one of the
- places Judah ben Baba and Yesheivav the Scribe in a different order
- says that there are ten, but omits Judah ben Dama and Hanina ben Hakinai
- and adds that
- the body of Yesheivav the Scribe was fed to dogs; he "was not buried in a proper grave."[13]
- Elazar ben Shamua was killed while, on a Friday night, he was saying Kiddush.
See also
- Judea (Roman province)
- Midrash Eleh Ezkera
References
- ^ Text of Eleh Ezkerah poem
- Genesis 37
- ^ According to Jewish law, one who kidnaps his fellow Jew and sells him into slavery is punished with death (Exodus 21:16)
- ^ Deuteronomy 24:16
- ^ Artscroll, p. 933
- ^ Avodah Zarah 17b, 18a; Berachot 61b; Sanhedrin 14a; Lamentations Rabbah 2:2; Proverbs Rabbah 1:13
- ^ a b c Jewish Encyclopedia: The Ten Martyrs. In the Western Ashkenazic rite, it is recited instead in the Selichot of Erev Rosh Hashanah, and in some communities it is also recited at the Mincha service of Yom Kippur.
- ^ Avot D'Rabbi Natan 38:3
- ^ Chullin 142a:9
- ^ Rabbeinu Bahya, Genesis 44:17:4
- ^ Sanhedrin 14a
- ^ Berachot 57b:5
- ^ Artscroll Complete Tisha B'Av Service, p. 255