Hanina ben Dosa

Hanina ben Dosa (1st century, CE) (Hebrew: חנינא בן דוסא‎‎) was a Jewish scholar and miracle-worker, and the pupil of Johanan ben Zakkai (Berakhot, 34b). He is buried in the town of Arraba in northern Israel.

Hanina ben Dossa lived in the Galilee, attracted by the fame of Johanan ben Zakkai (Berakhot, 34b). There he served as an example of Sabbath observance (Yerushalmi Berakhot, iv. 7c), and there he and his wife were buried.

While he is reckoned among the Tannaim and is quoted in connection with a school and its disciples, no halachot and but few aggadot are preserved as from him (Baraita of R. Eliezer xxix., xxxi.; Midr. Mishle x. 2). He is "remembered more for his conduct than for his halakhic teachings. There are no laws quoted in his name." His popularity, however, which he enjoyed throughout his life, and which rendered him immortal among the mystics, rests not on his scholarship, but on his saintliness and supposed thaumaturgic powers. From the several maxims attributed to him it may be seen that he was a member of the ancient Hasidim: "Whosoever's fear of sin precedes his wisdom, his wisdom will endure; but where wisdom precedes fear of sin, wisdom will not endure"; "Where a man's works are greater than his learning, his learning will stand; but where his learning is greater than his works, his learning will not stand"; "Whosoever earns the good-will of humanity is loved of God; but whoso is not beloved of man is not beloved of God" (Avoth, iii. 9, 10; Avot of Rabbi Natan, xxii. 1 [ed. Schechter, p. 35a]). There are, also, other teachings which betray his Hasidic schooling. Hanina, like all the ancient Hasidim, prayed much, and by his prayers he is said to have effected many miracles.

There is a story which relates that when the son of Johanan ben Zakkai was very sick, the father solicited the prayers of Hanina. Hanina readily complied, and the child recovered. The overjoyed father could not refrain from expressing his admiration for his wonderful pupil, stating that he himself might have prayed the whole day without doing any good. His wife, astonished at such self-abasement on the part of her famous husband, inquired, "Is Hanina greater than thou?" To this he replied, "There is this difference between us: he is like the body-servant of a king, having at all times free access to the august presence, without even having to await permission to reach his ears; while I, like a lord before a king, must await an opportune moment" (Berakhot, 34b). Another tale states that, at the solicitation of Gamaliel II, Hanina entreated mercy for that patriarch's son, and at the conclusion of his prayers assured Gamaliel's messengers that the patient's fever had left him. This assurance created doubt in the minds of the messengers, who promptly asked, "Art thou a prophet?" To this he replied, "I am neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet; but experience has taught me that whenever my prayer flows freely it is granted; otherwise, it is rejected." The messengers thereupon noted down Hanina's declaration, and the exact time when it was made; on reaching the patriarch's residence they found that Hanina had spoken truly (ibidem; compare Berakhot, v. 5 and Yerushalmi Berakhot, v. 9d).

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