1)R. YEHUDA BEN BAVA ORDAINS FIVE SAGES
וחד לא סמיך והא אמר רב יהודה אמר רב ברם זכור אותו האיש לטוב ורבי יהודה בן בבא שמו שאילמלא הוא נשתכחו דיני קנסות מישראל נשתכחו נגרוסינהו אלא בטלו דיני קנסות מישראל שפעם אחת גזרה מלכות הרשעה גזירה על ישראל שכל הסומך יהרג וכל הנסמך יהרג ועיר שסומכין בה תיחרב ותחומין שסומכין בהן יעקרו מה עשה יהודה בן בבא הלך וישב לו בין שני הרים גדולים ובין שתי עיירות גדולות ובין שני תחומי שבת בין אושא לשפרעם וסמך שם חמשה זקנים ואלו הן ר״מ ור׳ יהודה ור׳ שמעון ור׳ יוסי ור׳ אלעזר בן שמוע רב אויא מוסיף אף ר׳ נחמיה כיון שהכירו אויביהם בהן אמר להן בניי רוצו אמרו לו רבי מה תהא עליך אמר להן הריני מוטל לפניהם כאבן שאין לה הופכים אמרו לא זזו משם עד שנעצו בו שלש מאות לונביאות של ברזל ועשאוהו ככברה רבי יהודה בן בבא אחריני הוו בהדיה והאי דלא חשיב להו משום כבודו דרבי יהודה בן בבא ור״מ ר׳ יהודה בן בבא סמכיה והא אמר רבה בר בר חנה אמר רבי יוחנן כל האומר ר״מ לא סמכו ר׳ עקיבא אינו אלא טועה סמכיה ר׳ עקיבא ולא קיבלו סמכיה ר׳ יהודה בן בבא וקיבלו
Translation: And one judge cannot ordain? But Rav Yehuda said that Rav said: However, may that man be remembered for good, and his name is R. Yehuda ben Bava, if it was not for him, the laws of penalties would have been forgotten by the Jewish people. Forgotten? We could have learned them and they would have been remembered again! Rather, the laws of penalties might have been abolished from the Jewish people. Because once, the Wicked Kingdom (Rome, during the reign of Hadrian) made a decree on the Jewish people that anyone who ordains will be executed, and whoever is ordained will be executed, and the city in which the ordination took place will be destroyed, and the boundaries of that city in which the ordination took place (the 2000-amah techum boundary surrounding the city, where one may walk on Shabbos) will be uprooted. What did R. Yehuda ben Bava do? He went and sat between two great mountains, that lay between two large cities, between two Shabbos boundaries between the cities of Usha and Shefar'am, (Both in the Galil. His purpose was that no city or region should suffer.) and there he ordained five elders. And they are: R. Meir, and R. Yehuda, and R. Shimon, and R. Yosi, and R. Eliezer ben Shamua. Rav Avia adds also R. Nechemiah to the list. As soon as their enemies discovered them, he (R. Yehuda ben Bava) said to them, My children, flee. They said to him, Rebbi, what will become of you? I lie before them like a stone that no one is interested to overturn. (Something worthless. Let them do with me what they want.) They said about R. Yehuda ben Bava's death: The enemy did not move from there until they pierced his body with 300 iron spears and made him like a sieve. (From this, we see that even one person can ordain.) R. Yehuda ben Bava had others with him, and they were not mentioned out of respect for R. Yehuda ben Bava. Was R. Meir indeed ordained by R. Yehuda ben Bava? But Rabbah bar Bar Chanah said that R. Yochanan said: Whoever says that R. Meir was not ordained by R. Akiva is nothing but mistaken. R. Akiva indeed ordained him, but it was not accepted. (Because of R. Meir's youth at the time. - Rashi) Later, R. Yehuda ben Bava ordained him, and it was accepted.
(a)Why did the Romans specifically decree against Semicha (ordination) and why were they so extreme in the punishment that they threatened for doing it?
1.Ben Yehoyada: A decree on other aspects of Judaism would not be permanent as they could be revived after the Caesar dies when the decree is revoked. But they thought that by decreeing against Semicha, they could break the chain and permanently stop that aspect of Judaism.
2.B'Shaarei Yisachar (Avoda Zara 8b): They specifically targeted Semicha, as it was needed to for Dayanim to make rulings of Kenasos - penalties. An underlying principle of Kenasos is that the Torah gives a fix amount to pay, irrelevant of who the offender and the victim are. This was something unique to the Jews, that all Jews, from the aristocracy down to the lowly beggar, are all equally beloved before Hash-m. The Romans wanted to wipe out this outlook.
אלא סומכין בארץ ונסמכין בחוצה לארץ מאי ת״ש דרבי יוחנן הוה מצטער עליה דרב שמן בר אבא דלא הוה גבייהו דליסמכיה ר״ש בן זירוד וחד דעימיה ומנו ר׳ יונתן בן עכמאי ואמרי לה רבי יונתן בן עכמאי וחד דעימיה ומנו ר״ש בן זירוד חד דהוה גבייהו סמכוהו וחד דלא הוה גבייהו לא סמכוהו ר׳ חנינא ורבי הושעיא הוה קא משתקיד רבי יוחנן למיסמכינהו לא הוה מסתייעא מילתא הוה קא מצטער טובא אמרו ליה לא נצטער מר דאנן מדבית עלי קאתינן דא״ר שמואל בר נחמן א״ר יונתן מניין שאין נסמכין לבית עלי שנאמר לא יהיה זקן בביתך כל הימים מאי זקן אילימא זקן ממש והכתיב כל מרבית ביתך ימותו אנשים אלא סמיכה
Translation: But if the ones who are ordaining are in the Land and the ordained are outside of the Land, what is the Halachah? Come and hear: R. Yochanan was pained over Rav Shemen bar Abba, that he was not with them in Eretz Yisrael, to ordain him. R. Shimon ben Zirud and another who was with him, and who was he? R. Yonasan ben Achmai, and some say it was R. Yonasan ben Achmai and another who was with him, and who was he? R. Shimon ben Zirud said: (The order shows who was the one ordaining and who was his assistant.) One scholar who was with them was ordained, and the other scholar, who was not with them was not ordained. (We see that if the scholar is not present, he cannot be ordained.) R. Yochanan was very anxious to ordain R. Chanina and R. Hoshaya, but the matter was not accomplished. It pained R. Yochanan very much. They said to him: Master, do not be distressed, we are descendants of the house of Eli. And R. Shmuel ben Nachman said that R. Yonasan said: From where do we learn that none of the house of Eli will be ordained? As it is said, 'There will be no 'Zaken' (literally: old man) in your house forever.' (Shmuel I 2:32.) What does the word 'Zaken' mean here? If you say it means literally, an old man, but it is written immediately afterwards, 'And all the children of your house will die young men!' Rather, it must refer to ordination. ('Zaken' referring to a wise man. There will be no ordained Rabbi in your house.)
(a)If R. Chanina and R. Hoshaya were never ordained, why does the Gemara refer to each of them as Rebbi?
1.Maharsha: An ordained Chacham is referred to by the word Rebbi, and then his name. These were referred to by people as Rebbi without mentioning their names. Alternatively, the text of the Gemara must be changed to give each the title of Rav, rather than Rebbi, so it is Rav Chanina and Rav Hoshiya. This is also the way they are referred to elsewhere (such as in Sanhedrin 65b and in the Sefer Yuchsin of Rav Avraham Zakuto).
(b)Is it actually a prohibition to ordain one who is from the house of Eli?
1.Rashi: (No,) it means that the descendants of Eli will not merit to be ordained.
3)ORDAINING R' ZEIRA, R' AMI AND R' ASI
רבי זירא הוה מיטמר למיסמכיה דאמר רבי אלעזר לעולם הוי קבל וקיים כיון דשמעה להא דא״ר אלעזר אין אדם עולה לגדולה אלא א״כ מוחלין לו על כל עונותיו אמצי ליה אנפשיה כי סמכוה לר׳ זירא שרו ליה הכי לא כחל ולא שרק ולא פירכוס ויעלת חן כי סמכוה לרבי אמי ולרבי אסי שרו להו הכי כל מן דין כל מן דין סמוכו לנא לא תסמכו לנא לא מסרמיטין ולא מסרמיסין ואמרי לה לא מחמיסין ולא מטורמיסין ר׳ אבהו כי הוה אתי ממתיבתא לבי קיסר נפקי מטרוניתא דבי קיסר ומשריין ליה רבה דעמיה מדברנא דאומתיה בוצינא דנהורא בריך מתייך לשלם
Translation: R. Zeira used to hide himself to avoid being ordained, because R. Elazar said: Always remain obscure (literally: in the dark) and you will live. But after he heard what R. Elazar said: A man does not rise to greatness unless all his sins are forgiven, he strove to have himself ordained (in order to have his sins forgiven). When they ordained R. Zeira, the community sang this about him: No eye makeup (literally: blue), and no rouge and no hair dye, and yet she radiates charm. (A song sung at weddings in honor of the bride. - Rashi) When they ordained R. Ami and R. Asi, the community sang this about them: Anyone like these, anyone like these, ordain for us, do not ordain for us neither Sarmisin (fools) nor Sarmitin (rags), or as some say, neither Chamisin (robbers) nor Turmisin (the definition of this word is unknown). When R. Avahu went from the Beis Midrash to the Emperor's court, the noblewomen of the court went out to greet him, and sang this about him: Prince of his people, leader of his nation, lamp of light, may your coming be blessed with peace.
(a)Why did they praise R. Zeira in that way?
1.Yad Ramah: A bride who is particularly beautiful has this appearance even without wearing make up. So too with R. Zeira, even though he was modest and did not wear important garments, his outstanding character traits beautify him.
2.Maharsha: The Gemara in Sotan 22b discusses 'seven abstainers' - people who, through their behavior, create a false impression of piety. The Gemara says there that King Yannai told his wife, "... beware of the hypocrites ('Tzavuim' - lit. 'colored ones') who appear like abstainers, as their actions are like the act of the (wicked) Zimri and they request a reward like that of Pinchas. This indicates that those that color themselves could be trying to create a false impression about themselves. However, the people praised R. Zeira that he did not do this in any way, as he himself was gracious without it.
(b)Other than Rashi's understanding (as above), what other possible meanings are given for the words Sarmisin, Sarmitin, Chamisin and Turmisin?
1.Chasam Sofer (explaining the Aruch): Sarmisin - mixed up (tangled) like tangled threads of wool. Sarmitin - confused like threads that overlap, although they are not as tangled as Sarmisin. Chamisin - those who interrupt when others are speaking and do not wait until they are finished speaking. Tarmisin - those who are unable to express themselves clearly to others. The Aruch gives an alternative list of explanations - Sarmisin - those who learn only one part of a Masechta rather than learning it in its entirety. Sarmitin - those who learn only one or several Halachos from a Masechta. Chamisin - those who learn one fifth of the Masechta. Tarmisin - those who learn two-thirds of the Masechta.
