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Concept
Judah ha-Nasi
Summary
Judah ha-Nasi (יְהוּדָה הַנָּשִׂיא, Yəhūḏā hanNāsīʾ; Yehudah HaNasi or Judah the Prince) or Judah I, known simply as Rebbi or Rabbi, was a second-century rabbi (a tanna of the fifth generation) and chief redactor and editor of the Mishnah. He lived from approximately 135 to 217 CE. He was a key leader of the Jewish community in Roman-occupied Judea after the Bar Kokhba revolt.
The title nasi was used for presidents of the Sanhedrin. He was the first nasi to have this title added permanently to his name; in traditional literature he is usually called "Rabbi Yehuda ha-Nasi." Often though (and always in the Mishnah) he is simply called Rabbi "my lord" (רבי), the master par excellence. He is occasionally called Rabbenu "our master". He is also called "Rabbenu HaQadosh" "our holy master" (רבנו הקדוש) due to his deep piety.
Judah the Prince was born in 135 CE to Simeon ben Gamaliel II. According to the Talmud, he was of the Davidic line. He is said to have been born on the same day that Rabbi Akiva died as a martyr. The Talmud suggests that this was a result of Divine Providence: God had granted the Jewish people another leader of great stature to succeed Rabbi Akiva. His place of birth is unknown.
Judah spent his youth in the city of Usha. His father presumably gave him the same education that he himself had received, including Koine Greek. This knowledge of Greek enabled him to become the Jews' intermediary with the Roman authorities. He favoured Greek as the language of the country over Jewish Palestinian Aramaic. In Judah's house, only the Hebrew language was spoken, and the maids of the house became known for their use of obscure Hebrew terminology.
Judah devoted himself to the study of the oral and the written law. He studied under some of Akiva's most eminent students. As their student and through converse with other prominent men who gathered about his father, he laid a strong foundation of scholarship for his life's work: the editing of the Mishnah.
Official source
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