Long before the destruction of Jerusalem at the hand of the Roman oppressors, Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai had foreseen the city's tragic fate. He was detached from all political entanglements, yet, when he saw the futility of the struggle against Rome and realized the inevitability of the fall of Jerusalem, he determined to establish a place of refuge for Judaism.
One day, Rabbi Yochanan called to his nephew, Abba Sikra. Abba Sikra was the head of the zealots - a faction of Jews adamantly against any type of dialogue with the Romans. "How long are you going to let your people die of hunger in the streets?" Rabbi Yochanan asked Abba Sikra. "These matters are no longer in my hands," was Abba Sikra's sorry reply.
"Will you help me, then, to get out of the city and try to speak with the Roman general Vespacian?" Rabbi Yochanan appealed.
Sikra agreed to help. He suggested that Rabbi Yochanan pretend to be ill. He would "die" and could then be taken out of the city to be buried. From there he could stealthily make his way to the Roman general. And so it was. But when Rabbi Yochanan's students carried his coffin near the gates of the city, the zealots stopped the procession.
"Let us stab the coffin with our swords to make sure the Rabbi is truly dead," they said.
Abba Sikra intervened. "Surely it is not befitting a great and holy sage like Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai to behave in such a manner." The zealots hesitated and finally agreed to let them go. Rabbi Yochanan was able to enter the Roman camp.
"Peace unto you, king," Rabbi Yochanan greeted Vespacian.
"You are guilty of treason for calling me king," replied the general.
"Ah, but I know through prophecy that Jerusalem will only fall by the hands of a king. You, certainly, will soon become the Caesar."
While they were yet speaking, a messenger came, informing Vespacian that the Caesar had died and he had been chosen the new ruler of the Roman Empire.
It is said that Vespacian received this news when he had one boot on, and one off. When he tried to remove his boot, he couldn't. And when he attempted to put on the other boot, he couldn't do that either. Rabbi Yochanan explained that "Good tidings makes one's bones fat" (Proverbs 18:5), and that if he were to look at someone he didn't like, his feet would return to normal.
Vespacian was so impressed by Rabbi Yochanan's wisdom that he offered, "Ask of me anything that your heart desires and I will fulfill your wishes."
Rabbi Yochanan's first request was that the city of Yavneh become a place of refuge and an academy be established there. Second, to spare the life of the descendants of Rabbi Gamliel, so that the royal House of David shouldn't be destroyed. (The Roman custom was to liquidate the entire ruling family). Finally, Rabbi Yochanan requested the services of a physician to cure Rabbi Tzadok - a great sage who fasted for 40 years to try and save Jerusalem from destruction.
Vespacian readily granted these seemingly modest requests, not realizing their far-reaching implications for the survival of the Jewish people. The establishment of the new Torah center in Yavneh set the foundations for the spiritual rebirth of the Jewish nation even after its national independence was lost to the mighty Roman Empire - an empire which has since been wiped off the map.
