In the Lion’s Throat

In the days of R. Joshua ben Ḥananiah, the wicked empire [i.e., Rome] decreed that the Temple should be built. Pappas and Lulianus set up tables from Akko to Antioch and provided for those coming from the diaspora [to Jerusalem] gold, silver, and all their needs. The Samaritans went [to the emperor] and said, Let the king know now that, if this city be built, and the walls finished, they will not pay tribute, impost, or toll (Ezra 4:13). Tribute—this refers to the land tax. Impost—this refers to a gold and silver tax. Toll—this refers to a crop tax. [The Roman emperor] said, “What can I do, I have [already] decreed [that the Temple be built]!” [The Samaritans] said to him, “Send [a message] and say to [the Jews] that they should move [the construction site of the Temple] from its place [to a different location] or add five handbreadths to its size or reduce its size by five handbreadths, and they will retract [from building] it of their own accord.”

A crowd [of Jews] gathered together in the valley of Beth Rimon [in the lower Galilee]. When the decree arrived, they burst out crying. They wanted to rebel against the [Roman] Empire. [The sages] said, “Let one wise person go and calm the community.” They said, “Let R. Joshua ben Ḥananiah go, because he is an advocate of the law.” [R. Joshua] came [to the crowd] and lectured, “A lion tears up its prey, and a bone gets stuck in its throat. He [the lion] says, ‘Whoever comes and removes it, I will reward him.’ A certain Egyptian bird with a long beak came and put its beak [in the lion’s mouth] and took it out. [The bird] said to him, ‘Give me my reward.’ He responded, ‘Go and tell [others] that you entered the mouth of the lion in peace and came out in peace.’ Thus, let it be enough for us that this nation [of Rome] came in peace and left in peace, [and let us not rebel against them for preventing us from rebuilding the Temple].”

Translated byMatthew Goldstone.