1. Text of the Mishnah (Berachot 2:7)
“When he died his slave Tavi, Rabban Gamliel accepted condolences as if it were a family member.
His disciples said to him, ‘do you not taught to us by our master, we do not accept condolences for the death of slaves?’
He said: ‘My slave Tavi is not like the others; it was virtuous, and he deserves the same respect that a relative.’”
2. Historical and social context
a) Time
The scene is located in the century, I.e.c.during the Second Temple, in a world where domestic slavery was institution common to both the Roman Empire and among jews.
However, the Torah and halachah rabbinical introduce a humanization gradual of this practice: the Hebrew slaves (עֶבֶד עִבְרִי) and even non-jews (עֶבֶד כְּנַעֲנִי) were protected by ethical standards and legal (Exodus 21, Deuteronomy 15).
(b) Rabban Gamliel
The nasi of the Sanhedrin, a descendant of Hillel, was a model of rigor halachic and ethical sensitivity.
Your slave Tavi it appears in other sources (Suca 20b; Pesajim 88a) as erudite, observant and afraid of God, which explains the exceptional gesture of the teacher.
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3. Regulatory framework: duel and slavery
a) the Halachah general
The Mishnah and the Gemara state that not saved duel formal by slave (or gentiles), as the laws of aveilut apply only to relatives jews free: father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister, and spouse (Moed Katán 27b).
(b) Conduct social standard
The owner do not recite blessings of mourning, do not sit on the ground or you receive a “nichumei avelim” (condolences formal) by the death of a slave.
This is due to the fact that the slave was considered legal ownershipalthough with recognized human rights.
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4. Exception of Rabban Gamliel: the case of Tavi
Rabban Gamliel breaks the protocol and accepts condolences public, justifying:
“Tavi was not like other slaves; he was a virtuoso (kasher has).”
This implies a moral recognition slave as person and a member of spiritual of your home.
In the rabbinical language, “kosher” does not refer here only to law, but to integrity, wisdom and enforcement.
5. Gemara Berachot 16b: development talmudic
In the discussion talmudic raised three points:
- The distinction of Tavi: The Gemara confirms that it was a wise who knew mitzvot and halachah.
— Example: in Suca 20b, Tavi is seen sleeping under the sukkah, and the wise men do not rebuke him because “they knew that it was the slave is instructed”. - The precedent of ethics: The duel of Rabban Gamliel was not a practice mandatory, but a personal gesture of honor to the virtue of the deceased.
- Regulatory limit: The Gemara affirms that, halájicamentethe duel formal does not apply to slaves. What of Rabban Gamliel was a act of mercy (midat jasidut), not a legal obligation.
6. Concept Istenís (the Mishnah earlier) vs. Kosher (in this)
In Berachot 2:6, the key term was istenís —an exception-based personal fitness.
Here, in 2:7, the term is kosher —an exception-based merit moral of the other.
Both show that the Mishnah is weaving a thread of ethics: the halacha recognizes the humanity and flexible standard when there is moral value or tza'ar (suffering).
7. Implications halájicas and ethical
a) the Halachah strict
The Shulchan Aruch, Yore Deah 374:5codes:
“No duel for slave or slaves, although they were straight.
But if they were persons of integrity and fearful of God, the master you can express sadness or praise his virtues publicly.”
The Rema (gloss ashkenazi) added:
“And some tend to pronounce praise (hesped) in private by a slave fair.”
This is direct inheritance in the case of Rabban Gamliel.
b) Ethics of recognition
Rabban Gamliel overthrew the social hierarchy without denying the law: he acknowledged that the virtue exceeds the legal status.
This episode is cited as proof that the halachah is not blind to the moral, but allows you to humanize the relations of power.
c) modern Perspective
Rabbis contemporary (Neusner, Lau, Steinsaltz) point out that this passage he anticipates the beginning of modern human dignity (kavod habriyot), then used to modular prohibitions rabbinical when they are in tension with the basic respect for the person.
8. Read midráshica and philosophical
(a) The duel as the mirror of the soul
Rabban Gamliel did not mourn for a loss, but by a fellow spiritual: Tavi represents the ideal of the righteous servant that, although legally bottom, reflects the divine image (Tzelem Elokim).
(b) re-Reading the ethics of power
The master teaches his students that the hierarchy does not negate the humanity.
Ok condolences is a public statement of moral equality: the value of a life is not dependent on the legal status, but of virtue.
(c) a Prefiguration of universalism rabbinical
This story anticipates the notion later righteous among the nations (haseed umot ha olam): someone non-jew who lives according to the divine justice it deserves honor and memory.
9. Conceptual synthesis
| Axis | General rule | Exception of Rabban Gamliel | Underlying principle |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duel | Not made by slaves | Did it for Tavi, “kasher has” | Personal virtue can justify honors exceptional |
| Reason | Slave is not relative | Tavi was as a member of the house | Kavod habriyot: human dignity |
| Effect | Does not alter the halachah formal | Create a model of ethical sensitivity | Previous individual morality within the legal framework |
10. Conclusion
- Berachot 2:7 closes a triad of examples (boyfriend, suffering, master): all show how the law supports nuances human.
- Rabban Gamliel teaches that the personal virtue exceeds the social status, and that the human dignity you can —without breaking the halachah— raise the ethical treatment towards others.
- In the halachah later, this results in a standard dual: the law maintains its rigor, but allows gestures of honor before the morality and piety individual.
