RABBI JOCHANAN THE SHOEMAKER.
Speaking of Alexandria reminds us of another worthy of that city, the famous Jewish Rabbi Jochanan Sandalarius, or the shoemaker. Learned Rabbins were common enough in Alexandria from the time of its foundation by Alexander the Great, 332 b.c., down to its capture by the Arabs in the seventh century a.d. And as it was the custom with even the most learned Rabbins to learn a trade, it can be no matter of surprise that many of the most eminent leaders of thought among the Jews were employed in what are now regarded as very humble occupations. The Delegate Chief Rabbi of Great Britain, in an interesting article in the Nineteenth Century,[79] tells us that “in the grand basilica synagogue of Alexandria, separate portions of the building were assigned to the silversmiths, weavers, and other trades.... The Rabbins, the authorized expounders of the law, deemed it derogatory to receive any reward for the exercise of their spiritual, doctrinal, or judicial functions, and maintained themselves by the labor of their hands. And thus in the Talmud we meet, in curious juxtaposition, the Rabbi and his trade in such phrases as these: “It was taught by Rabbi Jochanan the shoemaker.” This illustrious Rabbi came from Alexandria to Palestine, attracted by the great name of Akiba Ben Joseph, the famous Rabbi, who was the chief teacher of the rabbinical school at Jaffa at the close of the first century and the beginning of the second. In this school there were said to be no less than 24,000 pupils. Akiba sided with Bar Cocheba in his revolt against Rome, 132 a.d., acknowledged him as the Messiah, and became his armor-bearer. On the death of Bar Cocheba and the destruction of his army, Akiba was taken prisoner, and remained in the hands of the Romans for a long time, until his cruel death under Severus. During his imprisonment Jochanan managed to get access to his cell, and receive instructions from him on questions which had not been settled. Through Jochanan and Meir, Akiba greatly influenced the teachers of the next generation. Jochanan was certainly one of his most illustrious pupils, taking a leading part in the theological discussions of the Tanaim, the authors of the Mishna and Gamara, where his opinions are frequently quoted. In the Mishna Aboth[80] “Rabbi Jochanan the shoemaker” is reported to have made the following sensible remark, which reminds one of the counsel of Gamaliel to the Sanhedrim at Jerusalem:[81] “An association established for a praiseworthy object must ultimately succeed; but an association established without such an object cannot succeed.”