Tannaim

Six Orders of Mishnah in the "Kehati" Edition with Commentary by Rabbeinu Ovadiah MiBartenura

Tannaim were the Torah sages who taught the Mishnah. The word "Tanna" means "repeater" in Aramaic. They lived during the time of the Second Temple.

The Gravesite of the Tanna Rabbi Meir Baal HaNes

Various Halachic Positions

During the Tannaitic period, there was an accepted division of three levels of Torah honor among the sages according to their teaching positions. These were Nasi (President), Av Beit Din (Head of Court), and Chacham (Sage). When the Nasi entered, all people would stand and not sit until he told them to be seated. When the Av Beit Din entered, they would form one row on this side and one row on that side until he sat in his place. When a Chacham entered, one would stand and one would sit until he sat in his place.

In the time of Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel, for example, the division was as follows: Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel was Nasi, Rabbi Meir was Chacham, and Rabbi Natan was Av Beit Din.

The Rebbe explains that the Nasi was the head of the sages, similar to Moshe Rabbeinu, and the Av Beit Din was a leader of Israel. This does not contradict the known principle that "there is only one leader for a generation," since Torah authority and leadership are two separate types of authority that do not contradict each other at all.

The Tannaim in Chassidic Teaching

The root of most Tannaim's souls is in the world of Beriah (Creation), because the root of the Mishnah itself is in Yetzirah (Formation), and the Tanna who is the "master of the Mishnah" is of a higher level, in Beriah.

Generally, the most lenient of the Tannaim had their soul root from the upper world, where there is not as much loss or damage from the nourishment of the external forces as there is below where greater restrictions are needed. For this reason, we find that specifically the most important Tannaim are the most lenient.

But despite their high soul root, the halacha is not according to them, because according to Torah ruling - "follow the majority," and most of the generation is from the lower world, where the halacha of clarifications is different.

For this reason, generally the highest and most elevated souls of the Tannaim, such as Rabbi Meir, Rabbi Eliezer, and Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, the halacha is not according to them.

Disputes Among Tannaim

There are often disputes between Tannaim and Amoraim in the Mishnah or Gemara. In each dispute, the halacha is decided by the Tannaim or Amoraim who came after them.

Nevertheless, the second opinion is not nullified by the decision, since the decision is only in the world of action, but in the world of attributes the opinion still remains. For example, even when Tiferet makes a decision between Chesed and Gevurah, this does not mean that the attributes themselves were nullified, but rather that this is a practical and temporary decision.

Indeed, in the future time, the halacha will be according to Beit Shammai, even though in this world the halacha was generally decided according to Beit Hillel.

The Ten Martyrs

Ten of the Tannaim were killed for the sanctification of God's name by the government, and it is traditionally held that the reason for this was because they were equivalent in their generation to the ten tribes who sold Joseph the Righteous, and therefore they were killed.

Among these Tannaim were Rabbi Yishmael the High Priest, Rabbi Akiva ben Yosef, Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel, Rabbi Chanina ben Teradion, Rabbi Yeshevav the Scribe, Rabbi Chutzpit the Interpreter, and some say also Rabbi Chanina Segan HaKohanim.