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40-664: The spiritual leadership of UOHC is in the hands of its rabbinate, led by the Av Beis Din . Its first head was Rabbi Avigdor Schonfeld. He was succeeded by his son, Solomon Schonfeld , who also founded the Jewish Secondary School Movement. From 1955 to 2000, the Av Beis Din was the posek , Rabbi Chanoch Dov Padwa . The lay management is its executive committee, elected triennially by the UOHC, whose members are appointed by

80-474: A decision reached after "extensive investigations, including interviews with alleged victims", and the rabbi was forced to resign from all public positions, including his position on the Beth Din . After accusations of attempting a whitewash, and a growing fear among the UOHC that Golders Green synagogues would secede from the union in protest at its handling of the case, the union expelled the rabbi's synagogue from

120-458: A heathen on the way from Acre to Ecdippa . On the Sabbath he sat upon the benches of heathen merchants. Still, Gamaliel and his sister, Ima Shalom , chided with the growing local Christian population, even mocking a certain gentile judge who had adjudicated in an inheritance case, in which Ima Shalom had made herself the make-believe claimant in the case. When the judge at first ruled in favor of

160-451: A national Jewish community. It can also refer to the most senior member of the court. Although the title av beit din historically is higher than that of rosh beit din , the rankings are sometimes reversed. The London Beth Din specifically addresses this, saying: "The Chief Rabbi formally holds the title of Av Beth Din" but that "Due to his extensive workload as well as convention of his office" he's "not generally personally involved;"

200-455: A new centre of Judaism arose under the leadership of the aged Johanan ben Zakkai , a school whose members inherited the authority of the Sanhedrin of Jerusalem. He was appointed nasi in approximately the year 80 CE. Gamaliel II became Johanan ben Zakkai's successor, and rendered immense service in the strengthening and reintegration of Judaism, which had been deprived of its former basis by

240-722: A question which he answered by letter after his return home. There are also records of Gamaliel's stay in Kfar Uthnai, in Emmaus , in Lod , in Jericho in Samaria , and in Tiberias . He was on friendly terms with many non-Jews, and was so warmly devoted to his slave Tavi that when Tavi died he mourned for him as for a beloved member of his own family. A friendly conversation is recorded which he had with

280-506: Is opposed to that of Joshua ben Hananiah and sometimes Gamaliel holds a middle position between the stricter opinion of the one and the more lenient view of the other. Gamaliel assented to certain principles of civil law which have been transmitted in the name of Admon , a former judge in Jerusalem, and which became especially well known and were authoritative for ensuing periods. Various details have been handed down by tradition concerning

320-514: Is predominantly Hasidic. In 2013, a Channel 4 exposé secretly filmed the head of the UOHC, Ephraim Padwa , instructing a person claiming to have been sexually abused as a child not to go to the police, as it would violate the prohibition of mesirah . Subsequently, a spokesman for Padwa doubted the credibility of the alleged victim, claiming the allegations had already been dismissed by social services as "malicious". The Union denied claims that it did not deal with such allegations seriously, and on

360-603: The nasi . The av beit din was known as the "Master of the Court;" he was considered the most learned and important of these seventy members. Menahem the Essene served as av beit din in the 1st century BCE before abdicating to "serve the King" in 20 BCE. The House of Shammai attained complete ascendency over the Sanhedrin from 9 CE until Gamaliel became nasi in 30 CE. The post of av beit din

400-595: The war against the Romans , and grandson of Gamaliel I . To distinguish him from the latter he is also called Gamliel of Yavne . He seemed to have settled initially in Kefar 'Othnai in Lower Galilee, but with the outbreak of the war with Rome, he fled to Jerusalem. From there, he moved to Yavne . In Yavne, during the siege of Jerusalem , the scribes of the school of Hillel had taken refuge by permission of Vespasian , and

440-535: The "min," or philosopher, who maliciously concluded from Hosea 5:6 that God had completely forsaken Israel. The memory of the destroyed Temple was especially vivid in Gamaliel's heart. Gamaliel and his companions wept over the destruction of Jerusalem and of the Temple when they heard the noise of the great city of Rome, and at another time when they stood on the Temple ruins. Gamaliel died around c.  118 , which

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480-515: The Babylonian Talmud has Eleazar ben Azariah remaining as a co-nasi with Gamaliel. In modern times the title is often used as an honorific for the presiding rabbi of a beth din "rabbinical court", who is typically the salaried rabbi of the local Jewish community and usually a posek or "decisor" of Halakha . It is also abbreviated as avad when it is after the name of the Chief Rabbi of

520-441: The blog If You Tickle Us which suggested that Chaim Halpern, rabbi of a UOHC synagogue and a member of the UOHC rabbinate, was accused of inappropriate sexual conduct. It later became clear that the accusation was of sexual impropriety with around thirty women that came to him for counselling. A group of London rabbis and religious judges issued a statement stating that the rabbi was "not fit and proper to act in any rabbinic capacity",

560-480: The constituent synagogues. In July 2006, The Jewish Chronicle wrote that the UOHC's accounts appeared to show it had given a London-based charity associated with Neturei Karta more than £58,000 in grants. This prompted some members of the Hendon Adath Yisroel Synagogue to review its affiliation with the UOHC. The synagogue resolved to remain affiliated. In October 2012, a blog post appeared on

600-681: The destruction of the Second Temple and by the entire loss of its political autonomy. He put an end to the division which had arisen between the spiritual leaders of Judaism by the separation of the scribes into the two schools called respectively after Hillel and Shammai , and took care to enforce his own authority as the president of the chief legal assembly of Judaism with energy and often with severity. He did this, as he himself said, not for his own honor nor for that of his family, but in order that disunion should not prevail in Israel. Gamaliel's position

640-530: The destruction of the Temple. According to tradition, a voice from heaven was heard in Yavneh, declaring that although the views of both schools were justifiable in principle (as "words of the living God"), in practice the views of Hillel's school are authoritative. Many of Gamaliel's decisions in religious law are connected with his stay in some place in the Holy Land. In Ecdippa the archisynagogue Scipio asked him

680-418: The distress and corruption of the times in a remarkable speech which concludes with an evident reference to the emperor Domitian . He says: "Since lying judges have the upper hand, lying witnesses also gain ground; since evil-doers have increased, the seekers of revenge are also increasing; since shamelessness has augmented, men have lost their dignity; since the small says to the great. 'I am greater than thou,'

720-551: The eve of the broadcast of the Dispatches episode, it announced the establishment of a child protection committee. Av Beis Din The av beit din ( Hebrew : אָב בֵּית דִּין , romanized :  ʾāḇ bēṯ din , lit.   'chief of the court, chief justice' ), abbreviated abd ( אב״ד avad ), was the second-highest-ranking member of the Sanhedrin during the Second Temple period and served as an assistant to

760-460: The following prayer: "Lord of the world, it is manifest and known to Thee that I have not done it for my own honor nor for that of my house, but for Thy honor, that factions may not increase in Israel." A story which confirms Gamaliel's claim to modesty is told, in which he, standing, served his guests himself at a feast. Gamaliel's greatest achievement was ending of the opposition between the schools of Hillel and Shammai , which had survived even

800-480: The head, he greeted him with the words: "Welcome, my master and my pupil: my master in learning; my pupil in that you submit to my will." Similarly, he was implicated in the 'excommunication' of his own brother-in-law, Eliezer ben Hyrcanus . His goal was to strengthen the authority of the assembly at Yavneh as well as his own authority, and thus brought upon himself the suspicion of seeking his own glory. However, Gamaliel describes his motivations in this episode as in

840-511: The holy day which according to Rabbi Joshua's calculation was Yom Kippur . Later on, another dispute broke out regarding the status of the nightly prayer, and he humiliated him again by asking him to stand up, and to remain standing while teaching his students. This incident shocked the Rabbis, and subsequently is said to have led to a rabbinic revolt against Gamaliel's leadership of the Sanhedrin . The Sanhedrin installed Rabbi Eleazar Ben Azariah as

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880-419: The journey of these learned men to Rome and their sojourn there. The impression made by the capital of the world upon Gamaliel and his companions was an overpowering one, and they wept when they thought of Jerusalem in ruins. In Rome, as at home, Gamaliel often had occasion to defend Judaism in polemical discussions with pagans , and also with professed Christians . He may have been the first to receive

920-462: The latter, Gamaliel's son Simon relates that many children were instructed in his father's house in "Greek wisdom." He directed Simeon ha-Pakoli to edit the Amidah and make it a duty, incumbent on every one, to recite the prayer three times daily. Also, he directed Samuel ha-Katan to write another paragraph against informers and heretics. Another liturgical institution goes back to Gamaliel—that of

960-522: The memorial celebration which takes the place of the sacrifice of the Passover lamb on the first evening of Passover. Gamaliel instituted this celebration, which may be regarded as the central feature of the Passover Haggadah , on an occasion when he spent the first Passover night with other scholars at Lydda in conversing about the feast and its customs. Gamaliel uses striking comparisons in extolling

1000-497: The new Nasi. After reconciling with Rabbi Joshua, Rabban Gamaliel was reinstated as Nasi, with Rabbi Eleazar serving along with him in a rotation every third week. According to the version recorded in the Jerusalem Talmud , Rabbi Eleazar served as Av Beit Din , a viceregent. Gamaliel, however, showed that with him it was only a question of principle, and that he had no intention of humiliating Joshua; for, rising and kissing him on

1040-421: The religious practises of Gamaliel and his house. In Gamaliel's house it was not customary to say "Marpe'!" (Recovery) when any one sneezed, because that was a heathenish superstition. Two concessions were made to Gamaliel's household in the way of relaxing the severity of the rules set up as a barrier against heathendom: permission to use a mirror in cutting the hair of the head, and to learn Greek. In regard to

1080-544: The rich die and leave their wealth to their sons; but Samuel haKaton has taken with him the most precious thing in the world—his wisdom—and is departed". The Roman yoke borne by the Jewish people of Palestine weighed heavily upon Gamaliel. In one speech he portrays the tyranny of Rome that devours the property of its subjects. He reflects on the coming of the Messiah, and describes the period which shall precede His appearance as one of

1120-469: The rosh beth din runs the court. The holder of the title rosh beth din (Hebrew: ראש בית דין , lit.   'Head of the Court';, abbreviated ראב״ד ravad ) is often the person to whom outsiders look for rulings. In 1934, Yehezkel Abramsky was given this title. Federation of Synagogues ' Yisroel Yaakov Lichtenstein used this title when he published a major response in 2009, even though he

1160-414: The tanna Haninah ben Gamaliel was a son of Gamaliel II; this is more likely to be true of Judah ben Gamaliel, who reports a decision in the name of Haninah ben Gamaliel. Aside from his official position, Gamaliel stood in learning on an equal footing with the legal teachers of his time. Many of his halakhic opinions have been handed down. Sometimes the united opinion of Gamaliel and Eliezer ben Hyrcanus

1200-401: The text. There are records of four such discussions, which all end with Gamaliel's expressed desire to hear the opinion of the eminent aggadist Eleazar of Modi'im . The lament over his favorite pupil, Samuel haKatan, which he made in common with Eleazar b. Azariah, is very touching: "It is fitting to weep for him; it is fitting to lament for him. Kings die and leave their crowns to their sons;

1240-480: The title "nasi" (prince; later replaced by "patriarch"), given to raise him in public estimation and to revive the Biblical designation for the head of the nation. This title later became hereditary with his descendants. Gamaliel was a controversial leader. In a dispute about fixing the calendar, Rabban Gamaliel humiliated Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah by asking him to show up with his "stick and satchel" (weekday attire) on

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1280-612: The union. However, the union later retracted its expulsion, saying it was the result of a "misunderstanding". One synagogue left the union because its "lack of willingness or ability" to deal with the issue was "a matter of great embarrassment". The saga exposed deep divisions between the Haredim in Golders Green, whose local rabbis attempted to remove the rabbi from all positions of authority, and those in Stamford Hill, whose Jewish community

1320-408: The value of handiwork and labor and in expressing his opinion on the proper training of the mind. Gamaliel's appreciation of the virtue of mercy is well illustrated by a saying of his in allusion to Deuteronomy 13:18: "Let this be a token unto thee! So long as thou thyself art compassionate God will show thee mercy; but if thou hast no compassion, God will show thee no mercy". Gamaliel II portrays

1360-467: The woman, he quickly rescinded the verdict in favor of Gamaliel after being given a bribe by Rabban Gamaliel. The story includes a reference to the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:17, with one possible reading of the story indicating that it was Gamaliel making this reference. This episode, as also another described elsewhere, are some of the first encounters with Christianity, during which Rabban Gamliel debated

1400-465: The years of men are shortened; since the beloved children have angered their Father in heaven, He has placed a ruthless king over them [with reference to Job 34:20]. Such a king was Ahasuerus , who first killed his wife for the sake of his friend, and then his friend for the sake of his wife". He loved discussing the sense of single portions of the Bible with other scholars, and made many fine expositions of

1440-513: Was ABD . In smaller communities, the avad also serves as the ravad . Gamaliel II Rabban Gamaliel II (also spelled Gamliel ; Hebrew : רבן גמליאל דיבנה ; before c.  80 – c.  118 ) was a rabbi from the second generation of tannaim . He was the first person to lead the Sanhedrin as nasi after the fall of the Second Temple in 70 CE. He was the son of Shimon ben Gamaliel , one of Jerusalem 's foremost men in

1480-531: Was attained; his example became the rule. Of Gamaliel's children, one daughter is known, who answered in a very intelligent fashion two questions addressed to her father by a Gentile. Two of Gamaliel's sons are mentioned as returning from a certain feast. One son, Simon , inherited his office long after his father's death, and after the Hadrianic persecutions, which thenceforward his descendants handed on from father to son. It cannot be regarded as proved that

1520-431: Was before the insurrections under Trajan had brought fresh unrest into Israel. At his funeral the celebrated proselyte Aquila , reviving an ancient custom for the burial of kings, burned costly materials to the value of seventy minae . Gamaliel himself had directed that his body be wrapped in the simplest possible shroud. By this he wished to check the extravagance which had become associated with funerals, and his end

1560-643: Was eventually filled since the Babylonian Talmud states that Joshua ben Hananiah was the av beit din in Baba Kamma 74b and Nathan the Babylonian was av beit din in Horayot 13b in the Babylonian Talmud . The Jerusalem Talmud tells the story of how Gamaliel II was deposed and Eleazar ben Azariah replaced him as Nasi. After Gamaliel was reinstated, Eleazar ben Azariah was made av beit din. The parallel story in

1600-500: Was recognized by the Roman government also, and he journeyed to Syria for the purpose of being confirmed in office by the governor. Towards the end of Domitian 's reign (c. 95 CE), he went to Rome in company with the most prominent members of the school of Yavneh, in order to avert a danger threatening the Jews from the action of the emperor. Many interesting particulars have been given regarding

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