A Hidden Derasha Regarding Yonatan ben Uziel?
The other day, we saw a story about Shammai and Yonatan ben Uziel, and how the latter salvaged a third of property for heirs, despite their being cut out of the will. Thus, Bava Batra 133b:
תָּנוּ רַבָּנַן: מַעֲשֶׂה בְּאָדָם אֶחָד שֶׁלֹּא הָיוּ בָּנָיו נוֹהֲגִין כַּשּׁוּרָה, עָמַד וְכָתַב נְכָסָיו לְיוֹנָתָן בֶּן עוּזִּיאֵל. מָה עָשָׂה יוֹנָתָן בֶּן עוּזִּיאֵל? מָכַר שְׁלִישׁ, וְהִקְדִּישׁ שְׁלִישׁ, וְהֶחֱזִיר לְבָנָיו שְׁלִישׁ.
§ The Sages taught: There was an incident involving one man whose children did not act properly. He arose and wrote a document transferring all his property to Yonatan ben Uzziel, one of the Sages, as a gift. What did Yonatan ben Uzziel do? He sold a third of the property for his needs, and consecrated a third of the property, and returned the remaining third to the man’s children.
בָּא עָלָיו שַׁמַּאי בְּמַקְלוֹ וְתַרְמִילוֹ. אָמַר לוֹ: שַׁמַּאי, אִם אַתָּה יָכוֹל לְהוֹצִיא אֶת מַה שֶּׁמָּכַרְתִּי וּמַה שֶּׁהִקְדַּשְׁתִּי – אַתָּה יָכוֹל לְהוֹצִיא מַה שֶּׁהֶחְזַרְתִּי,
Shammai came to Yonatan ben Uzziel with his staff and traveling bag to protest his giving part of the property to the man’s children against the deceased’s wishes. Yonatan ben Uzziel said to him: Shammai, if you can repossess the property that I sold from the purchasers and the property that I consecrated from the Temple treasury, you can repossess what I returned to the man’s children as well;
אִם לָאו – אִי אַתָּה יָכוֹל לְהוֹצִיא מַה שֶּׁהֶחְזַרְתִּי. אָמַר: הֵטִיחַ עָלַי בֶּן עוּזִּיאֵל! הֵטִיחַ עָלַי בֶּן עוּזִּיאֵל!
but if not, as the property is mine and I have the right to do with it whatever I want, you cannot repossess what I returned to the man’s children either. Shammai then said: Ben Uzziel reprimanded me; ben Uzziel reprimanded me, and I have no response.
Tosafot note that the Yerushalmi reverses the actors, Shammai and Yonatan ben Uziel, and have the recipient of the denied inheritance Yonatan ben Uziel himself. Thus, Yerushalmi Nedarim 5:6:
וְאָמַר רִבִּי יוֹחָנָן. נִיכָּר זֶה שֶׁהוּא תַּלְמִיד חָכָם. אָמַר רִבִּי יוֹסֵי בֵּירִבִּי בּוּן. אָכֵין הֲוָה עוֹבְדָא. יוֹנָתָן בַּר עוּזִּיאֵל הִדִּירוֹ אָבִיו מִנְּכָסָיו וְעָמַד וּכְתָבָן לְשַׁמַּי. מַה עָשָׂה שַׁמַּי. מָכַר מִקְצָת וְהִקְדִּישׁ מִקְצָת וְנָתַן לוֹ מַתָּנָה אֶת הַשְּׁאָר וְאָמַר. כָּל־מִי שֶׁיָּבוֹא וִיעַרְעֵר עַל הַמַּתָּנָה הַזֹּאת יוֹצִיא מִיַּד הַלְּקוּחוֹת וּמִיַּד הַהֶקְדֵּשׁ וְאַחַר כָּךְ יוֹצִיא מִיַּד זֶה.
“Rabbi Joḥanan said, it is obvious that this one was learned.” Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Abun said, that is what happened: Jonathan ben Uzziel’s father vowed not to let him have any usufruct from him and in his will gave his part to Shammai. What did Shammai do? He sold some, gave some to the sacred fund, gave him the remainder as a gift, and said: He who wants to attack this gift, let him first get back [the merchandise] from the buyers and from the sacred fund; after that he can get [the remainder] back from this one.
Here, it isn’t a third, but a miktzat, small amount. Thus, symbolically sufficient to show that he was empowered to take the action.
Both sugyot also include mention of how Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai was the smallest of the students and Yonatan ben Uziel was the greatest.
Both sugyot also include a derasha about a specific pasuk, about the greatness of Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai. In Bavli:
אָמְרוּ עָלָיו עַל רַבָּן יוֹחָנָן בֶּן זַכַּאי, שֶׁלֹּא הִנִּיחַ מִקְרָא, וּמִשְׁנָה, תַּלְמוּד, הֲלָכוֹת, וְאַגָּדוֹת, דִּקְדּוּקֵי תוֹרָה, וְדִקְִדּוּקֵי סוֹפְרִים, וְקַלִּין וַחֲמוּרִין, וּגְזֵרוֹת שָׁווֹת, וּתְקוּפוֹת, וְגִמַטְרִיָּאוֹת, וּמִשְׁלוֹת כּוֹבְסִים, וּמִשְׁלוֹת שׁוּעָלִים, שִׂיחַת שֵׁדִים, וְשִׂיחַת דְּקָלִים, וְשִׂיחַת מַלְאֲכֵי הַשָּׁרֵת, וְדָבָר גָּדוֹל, וְדָבָר קָטָן.
The Sages said about Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai that he did not neglect Bible and Mishna; Talmud; halakhot and aggadot; minutiae of the Torah and minutiae of the scribes; and the hermeneutical principles of the Torah with regard to a fortiori inferences; and verbal analogies; and the calculation of the calendric seasons; and numerical values of Hebrew letters [gimatriyot]; and parables of launderers, which are folktales that can be used to explain the Torah, and parables of foxes. In addition, he did not neglect esoteric matters, including the conversation of demons, and the conversation of palm trees, and the conversation of ministering angels, and more generally, a great matter and a small matter.
״דָּבָר גָּדוֹל״ – מַעֲשֵׂה מֶרְכָּבָה, ״וְדָבָר קָטָן״ – הֲוָיוֹת דְּאַבָּיֵי וְרָבָא. לְקַיֵּים מַה שֶּׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״לְהַנְחִיל אוֹהֲבַי יֵשׁ, וְאֹצְרֹתֵיהֶם אֲמַלֵּא״.
The Gemara elaborates: A great matter is referring to the secrets of the Design of the Divine Chariot (see Ezekiel, chapter 1), the conduct of the transcendent universe, and a small matter is, for example, halakhot that were ultimately formulated in the framework of the discussions of Abaye and Rava. He did not neglect any of these disciplines, so as to fulfill that which is stated: “That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance and that I may fill their treasuries” (Proverbs 8:21), as Rabban Yoḥanan was filled with the disciplines of Torah and wisdom.
וְכִי מֵאַחַר דְּקָטָן שֶׁבְּכוּלָּם כֵּן, גָּדוֹל שֶׁבְּכוּלָּם – עַל אַחַת כַּמָּה וְכַמָּה. אָמְרוּ עָלָיו עַל יוֹנָתָן בֶּן עוּזִּיאֵל, בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁיּוֹשֵׁב וְעוֹסֵק בַּתּוֹרָה – כׇּל עוֹף שֶׁפּוֹרֵחַ עָלָיו נִשְׂרָף.
The Gemara adds: And if the least of them was so prolific, the greatest of them was all the more so prolific. The Gemara relates that the Sages said of Yonatan ben Uzziel, the greatest of Hillel’s students, that when he would sit and engage in Torah study, the sanctity that he generated was so intense that any bird that would fly over him would be incinerated.
So לְקַיֵּים מַה שֶּׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״לְהַנְחִיל אוֹהֲבַי יֵשׁ, וְאֹצְרֹתֵיהֶם אֲמַלֵּא״ is said about the greatness of Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai, that he acquired all of these disparate areas of Torah knowledge, and his treasurehouses were filled.
Meanwhile, in the Yerushalmi, also beginning with Rabbi Yochanan praising and then an elaboration. This story actually precedes in Yerushalmi.
הלכה: הַמּוּדָר הֲנָייָה מֵחֲבֵירוֹ כול׳. אָמַר רִבִּי יוֹחָנָן. נִיכָּר הוּא זֶה שֶׁהוּא תַּלְמִיד חָכָם.
HALAKHAH: “If a person who by a vow was forbidden usufruct from another,” etc. Rebbi Joḥanan said, it is obvious that this one was learned.
שְׁמוֹנִים זוּג שֶׁלְּתַלְמִידִים הָיוּ לוֹ לְהִלֵּל הַזָּקֵן. גָּדוֹל שֶׁבָּהֶן יוֹנָתָן בֶּן עוּזִּיאֵל. וְהַקָּטָן שֶׁבָּהֶן רַבָּן יוֹחָנָן בֶּן זַכַּאי. פַּעַם אַחַת חָלָה וְנִכְנְסוּ כוּלָּן לְבַקְּרוֹ. עָמַד לוֹ רַבָּן יוֹחָנָן בֶּן זַכַּאי בֶּחָצֵר. אָמַר לָהֶן. הֵיכַן הוּא הַקָּטָן שֶׁבָּכֶם שֶׁהוּא אַב לְחָכְמָה וְאַב לְדוֹרוֹת. אֵין צָרִיךְ לוֹמַר הַגָּדוֹל שֶׁבָּכֶם. אָֽמְרוּ לוֹ. הֲרֵי הוּא בֶחָצֵר. אָמַר לָהֶן. יִכָּנֵס. כֵּיוָן שֶׁנִּכְנַס אָמַר לָהֶן. לְהַנְחִיל אוֹהֲבַיי יֵשׁ וְאוֹצְרוֹתֵיהֶם אֲמַלֵּא.
Hillel the Elder had eighty pairs of students. The greatest among them was Jonathan ben Uzziel, the least important Rabban Joḥanan ben Zakkai. Once he fell sick and all came to visit him. Rabban Joḥanan ben Zakkai waited in the courtyard. He said to them, where is the least important among you who is a head in wisdom and a head for generations? Unnecessary to speak of the greatest among you! They said, he is in the courtyard. He said to them, let him enter. When he entered, he said to them “to let my lovers inherit substance; their treasuries I shall fill.”
Again the same verse. This is Hillel who applies the verse to Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai. The “Unnecessary to speak of the greatest among you” I suppose would obliquely reference Yonatan ben Uziel?
Anyway, as I said, this story precedes in the Yerushalmi. So right after כֵּיוָן שֶׁנִּכְנַס אָמַר לָהֶן. לְהַנְחִיל אוֹהֲבַיי יֵשׁ וְאוֹצְרוֹתֵיהֶם אֲמַלֵּא, we get the observation that Yonatan ben Uziel was a Talmid Chacham, with the story justifying it involving Shammai rescuing Yonatan ben Uziel’s property.
If so, I have painted myself into a corner and don’t understand what in the world is happening. Recall that Rabbi Yochanan began with נִיכָּר זֶה שֶׁהוּא תַּלְמִיד חָכָם. And then, מַר רִבִּי יוֹסֵי בֵּירִבִּי בּוּן. אָכֵין הֲוָה עוֹבְדָא works to explain the incident which caused Rabbi Yochanan to say this.
But, if it was Shammai who was halachically clever, how in the world does this demonstrate that Yonatan ben Uziel was a talmid chacham?!
Two answers come to mind.
We are dividing the text wrong. I reproduced the text above via copy/paste from Sefaria. But take this statement of נִיכָּר זֶה שֶׁהוּא תַּלְמִיד חָכָם and append it to the preceding, and it is about Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai. That is how Korban HaEidah explains it: ניכר זה שהוא ת"ח. שריב"ז הוא הגדול שבכולם א"נ שהוא כמו גופא א"ר יוחנן לפי שהפסיק בענין הלל שיונתן בן עוזיאל היה הגדול שבתלמידיו חוזר לראשונות לדברי מתני' ועמד עוזיאל אביו. וכתב הנכסים לשמאי הזקן:
There was a scribal error in Yerushalmi — as is often the case in Yerushalmi, that it has lots of corrupted text. It didn’t receive as much attention as Bavli by commentators. The Yerushalmi should be flipped to match the Bavli, and now we see why Yonatan ben Uziel was such a Torah scholar.
Finally, because these stories bound each other, a thought about the verse. Might it actually be applied to Yonatan ben Uziel? Consider it again:
לְקַיֵּים מַה שֶּׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״לְהַנְחִיל אוֹהֲבַי יֵשׁ, וְאֹצְרֹתֵיהֶם אֲמַלֵּא״.
So as to fulfill that which is stated: “That I may cause those that love me to inherit substance and that I may fill their treasuries” (Proverbs 8:21),
We are dealing with a nachalah, going to Shammai (or to Yonatan ben Uziel). And that Tanna would not have inherited anything, but he managed to cause (לְהַנְחִיל as the causative) the other beloved Talmid Chacham to inherit, thus filling his treasurehouses.