Ishmael ben Johanan ben Beroka

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ISHMAEL BEN JOHANAN BEN BEROKA

ISHMAEL BEN JOHANAN BEN BEROKA (middle of the second century), tanna. He was a contemporary of *Simeon b. Gamaliel ii, and he is often quoted as being in agreement or disagreement with him (Tosef., Er. 5 (4):2; Tosef., Yev. 13:5). He is mentioned three times in the Mishnah (bk 10:2, San 11:1, Avot 4:5), about 30 times in the Tosefta, in all areas of halakhah, and about the same number of times in Babylonian Talmud and the Jerusalem Talmud. He is mentioned several times in connection with the scholars of Jabneh (Tosef., Yev. 6:6, 10:3). His only aggadic teaching is included in Avot (4:5): "He who learns in order to teach, Heaven will grant him the opportunity both to learn and to teach; but he who learns in order to practice, Heaven will grant him the opportunity to learn and to teach, to observe and to practice."

bibliography:

Bacher, Tann; Frankel, Mishnah, 195f.; Weiss, Dor, 2, 149f.

[Harry Freedman]