ChaBaD Jewish Calendar Tuesday, 15 Kislev, 5784 November 28, 2023
ChaBaD Jewish Calendar Tuesday, 15 Kislev, 5784 November 28, 2023 Jewish History Rabbi Judah the Prince (188 CE) Rabbi Judah the Prince -- also known as Rabbeinu Hakadosh ("our holy master"), or simply as "Rabbi" -- was elected nasi -- spiritual and civil head of the Jewish community at large -- after the death of his father, Rabbi Simeon ben Gamliel . Foreseeing that due to the tribulations of the Exile which the Jewish nation was about to endure it was likely that many of the sacred laws would be forgotten, Rabbi Judah decided to gather, record, edit, and organize the statements of the earlier sages, setting the Oral Law down in writing for very the first time, in the form of the Mishnah . He passed away around 188 CE; some say it was around 219 CE. Although he was extremely wealthy and on friendly terms with the Emperor Antoninus, in his dying hour he lifted both his hands to Heaven, swearing that he had not benefited from his wealth even with his littl