Nittai of Arbela ניתאי הארבלי
av beit din of the second pair
Nittai of Arbela is the second of the second pair. The name points to Arbela, a town in the Galilee near what would become Tiberias; he is the first sage of the chain tied not to Jerusalem but to the Galilee.
His saying in Avot 1:7 is sharper than his partner's gentle words: "Keep away from a bad neighbour, do not consort with the wicked, and do not despair of retribution." Commentators long ago noticed the contrast: Yehoshua ben Perachya urged judging people favourably, Nittai urged distance. Both spoke in the same years, when John Hyrcanus turned from the Pharisees, and the second half of the saying—do not despair—reads as a direct word to his own in a hard time.
His dates are unknown; his office and place in the chain come from Chagigah 2:2 and Avot 1:7.
Chain of transmission
Yose ben Yochanan of Jerusalem, Yose ben Yoezer of Tzereda → Nittai of Arbela (together with Yehoshua ben Perachya) → Shimon ben Shetach, Yehuda ben Tabbai
A link in Maimonides is a court, not a man, and more than one name may stand in a single link.
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Sources
Chazal: Mishnah, Talmud, midrash, Zohar
- Mishnah Avot 1:4–1:12 — the list of the five pairs and each man's saying
- Mishnah Chagigah 2:2 — who in each pair was nasi and who av beit din, and the dispute over laying hands on a festival
- Jerusalem Talmud, Chagigah 2:2 (76d) — the order of the pairs and the division of offices
Basis: Talmud and midrash.