Nasi (Hebrew title)

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Nāśī’ (נָשִׂיא) is a Hebrew title meaning "prince" in Biblical Hebrew, "Prince [of the Sanhedrin]") in Mishnaic Hebrew, or "president" in Modern Hebrew.

Usage

Genesis and ancient Israel

The noun nasi occurs 132 times in the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible, and in English is usually translated "prince," occasionally "captain." The first use is for the twelve "princes" who will descend from Ishmael, in Genesis 17, and the second use, in Genesis 23, is the Hethites recognising Abraham as "a godly prince" (nasi elohim נְשִׂיא אֱלֹהִים).

In the book of Leviticus, in the rites of sacrifices for leaders who err, there is the special offering made by a "nasi". The Talmudic book of Horayot actually defines this to mean the king.

In the book of Numbers, the leaders of each tribe is referred to as a nasi, and each one brings a gift to the Tabernacle, 12 consecutive days, with each one being listed individually by name even though they all brought the same set of gifts.

Later in the history of ancient Israel the title of nasi was given to the political ruler of Judea - e.g. Lev 4:22; Ezek 44:2–18; Ezra 1:8 (comp. Yer. Hor. 3:2).

Second Temple period

During the Second Commonwealth (c. 530 BCE - 70 CE), the nasi was the highest-ranking member and president of the Sanhedrin, or Assembly, including when it sat as a criminal court. The position was created in c. 191 BCE when the Sanhedrin lost confidence in the ability of the High Priest to serve as its head.[1] The Romans recognised the nasi as Patriarch of the Jews, and required all Jews to pay him a tax for the upkeep of that office, which ranked highly in the Roman official hierarchy.

Late Roman empire to medieval period

This position as patriarch or head of court was reestablished by the Romans after the Bar-Kokhba revolt in 135 CE.[citation needed] This made the nasi a power which both Jews and Romans respected. The Jewish community in Babylonia also recognized him. The nasi had controlled leadership and served as a political representative to the authorities while the religious leadership was led by Torah scholars. The nasi had the power to appoint and suspend communal leaders inside and outside of Israel. The Romans respected the nasi and gave extra land and let control of own self-supported taxes. Under Jewish law, the intercalary thirteenth month in the Hebrew calendar, Adar Bet, was announced by the nasi.[2]

Gamaliel VI was the last nasi. He died in 425 CE, after which Emperor Theodosius II[citation needed] suppressed the office of the patriarchate. The patriarchal tax was diverted to the Roman treasury from 426.

The term nasi was later applied to those who held high offices in the Jewish community, and Jews who held prominence in the courts of non-Jewish rulers. Certain great figures from Jewish history have used the title, including Judah the Prince (Judah haNasi), the chief redactor of the Mishnah.

The nasi were also prevalent during the 8th-century Frankish kingdom. They were a highly privileged group in Carolingian France. The Jews have collaborated with King Pepin to end Muslim rule over their city in 759. The Jews accepted surrender and Pepin was able to hold off the Saracens in Spain. Pepin rewarded the Jews with land and privileges such as the right to judicial and religious autonomy under rule of their own leadership. The heirs of the King and nasi held a close relationship until the tenth century.

Modern Hebrew

In Modern Hebrew, nasi means "president", and is not used in its classical sense. The word for prince is now nasich.

Much more recently, Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz has taken the title nasi, in an attempt to re-establish the Sanhedrin in its judicial capacity as the Supreme Court of Judaism.

Nasi of the Sanhedrin

The office has been filled as follows:

Nasi Term in office
Yose ben Yoezer 170 BCE 140 BCE
Joshua ben Perachyah 140 BCE 100 BCE
Simeon ben Shetach 100 BCE 60 BCE
Sh'maya 65 BCE c. 31 BCE
Hillel the Elder c. 31 BCE 9 CE
Rabban Shimon ben Hillel 9 9
Rabban Shammai 9 30
Rabban Gamaliel the Elder 30 50
Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel 50 80
Rabban Gamaliel II of Yavne 80 118
Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah 118 120
Interregnum (Bar Kokhba revolt) 120 142
Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel II 142 165
Rabbi Judah I haNasi 165 220
Gamaliel III 220 230
Judah II Nesi'ah 230 270
Gamaliel IV 270 290
Judah III Nesi'ah 290 320
Hillel II 320 365
Gamaliel V 365 385
Judah IV 385 400
Gamaliel VI c. 400 425

Nasi of the State

The office has been filled as follows:

Nasi Elected
(Term)
No. Portrait Name
(Birth–Death)
Term of Office Political Party
(at time of appointment)
1 Weizmann 1948.jpg Chaim Weizmann
חיים עזריאל ויצמן

(1874–1952)

17 February 1949 25 November 1951 None 1949 (1st)
25 November 1951 9 November 1952[1] 1951 (2nd)
2 Yitzhak Ben-Zvi.jpg Yitzhak Ben-Zvi
יצחק בן צבי

(1884–1963)

16 December 1952 28 October 1957 Mapai 1952 (3rd)
28 October 1957 30 October 1962 1957 (4th)
30 October 1962 23 April 1963[2] 1962 (5th)
3 Zalman Shazar.jpg Zalman Shazar
זלמן שז"ר

(1889–1974)

21 May 1963 26 March 1968 Mapai 1963 (6th)
26 March 1968 24 May 1973 1968 (7th)
4 EKatzir771.jpg Ephraim Katzir
אפרים קציר

(1916–2009)

24 May 1973 29 May 1978 Alignment 1973 (8th)
5 Yitzhak Navon 1.jpg Yitzhak Navon
יצחק נבון

(1921–2015)

29 May 1978 5 May 1983 Alignment 1978 (9th)
6 Chaim Herzog portrait.jpg Chaim Herzog
חיים הרצוג

(1918–1997)

5 May 1983 23 February 1988 Alignment 1983 (10th)
23 February 1988 13 May 1993 1988 (11th)
7 Ezer Weizman 1978-2.jpg Ezer Weizman
עזר ויצמן

(1924–2005)

13 May 1993 4 March 1998 Labor 1993 (12th)
4 March 1998 13 July 2000[3] 1998 (13th)
8 Moshe Katsav 2, by Amir Gilad.JPG Moshe Katsav
משה קצב

(1945–)

1 August 2000 1 July 2007[4][5] Likud 2000 (14th)
9 Shimon Peres by David Shankbone.jpg Shimon Peres
שמעון פרס

(1923–)

15 July 2007 24 July 2014 Kadima 2007 (15th)
10 Reuven Rivlin 2011 crop.jpg Reuven Rivlin
ראובן ריבלין

(1939–)

24 July 2014 Incumbent Likud 2014 (16th)

Titles

Rabban was a higher title than rabbi and was given to the nasi starting with Gamaliel the Elder.

The title rabban was restricted in usage to the descendants of Hillel the Elder, the sole exception being Rabban Yochanan ben Zakai (c. 30 BCE - 90 CE), the leader in Jerusalem during the Siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE and who safeguarded the future of the Jewish people after the Great Revolt by pleading with the Emperor Vespasian.

Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah, who was nasi between 118 and 120 CE, was not given the title rabban, perhaps because he only occupied the office of nasi for a short while, after which it reverted to the descendants of Hillel.

Prior to Rabban Gamliel the Elder, no titles were used before anyone's name, in line with the Talmudic adage "Gadol miRabban shmo" ("Greater than the title rabban is a person's own name"). For this reason, Hillel the Elder has no title before his name: his name is in itself a title. Similarly, Moses and Abraham have no titles before their names, but an epithet is sometimes used to differentiate between biblical and historic personages, hence Avraham Avinu (Abraham 'Our Father') and Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses 'Our Teacher').

Starting with Rabbi Judah I haNasi (born 135 CE), not even the nasi was given the title rabban. In its place, Judah haNasi was given the lofty accolade Rabbeinu HaKadosh ('Our Holy Teacher').[3]

See also

References

  1. Goldwurm, Hersh and Holder, Meir, History of the Jewish People, I "The Second Temple Era" (Mesorah Publications: 1982) ISBN 0-89906-454-X.
  2. Steinsaltz, Adin, The Essential Talmud: Thirtieth-anniversary Edition, trans. Chaya Galai (Basic Books: 2006) ISBN 0-465-08273-4, 16 - 18.
  3. Goldwurm and Holder, 322

Jeremy Cohen, "The Nasi of Narbonne: A Problem in Medieval Historiography," AJS Review, 2 (1977): pp. 45-76,

Jones, Lindsay, ed. Encyclopedia of Religion. Detroit: Gale, 2005. s.v. "Yehudah Ha-Nasi."

Pearl, Chaim, ed. The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life and Thought. New York: Digitalia, Inc., 1996. s.v. "Judah the Prince (Judah Ha-Nasi)."

Pearl, Chaim, ed. The Encyclopedia of Jewish Life and Thought. New York: Digitalia, Inc., 1996. s.v. "Prince (Heb. Nasi)."

External links