It is therefore problematic to deal with the historical figure, since it can cause great offense to mainstream Judaism.
The Talmud tells a most iconic story of ben Zakkai, which can be seen as both genius and the opposite, and these views are expressed by the Rabbis themselves:
The Gemara (Gittin 56a-b) recounts:
The biryonim (a group of Zealots) were then in the city. The Rabbis said
to them: “Let us go out and make peace with them [the Romans].” They would not
let them, but on the contrary said, “Let us go out and fight them.” The Rabbis
said: “You will not succeed.” They [i.e., the biryonim] then rose up and
burnt the stores of wheat and barley so that a famine ensued [and the Jews would
be forced to fight]...
Abba Sikra, the leader of the biryonim of Jerusalem, was the nephew of Rabban Yochanan ben
Zakkai. [Rabban Yochanan] sent to him, saying, “Come privately to me.” When he
came, [Rabban Yochanan] said to him: “How long will you continue this say and
kill everyone with starvation?”
He [Abba Sikra] said to him, “What can I do? If I say anything to them [i.e., to
the other biryonim], they will kill me!”
He said to him, “Devise some way for me to escape [the besieged city of
Jerusalem]; perhaps I shall be
able to save a small portion.” [Rabban Yochanan then escaped and met with the
Roman general Vespasian.] …
[Vespasian] said to [Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai]: “I am going now and someone
else will come in my place. But you may make a request of me, and I shall grant
it.”
He said, “Give me Yavneh and its scholars, and the dynasty of Rabban Gamliel,
and doctors to heal Rabbi Tzadok.”
The Gemara goes on to give voice to criticism of Rabban Yochanan:
Rabbi Yosef – some say Rabbi Akiva – applied to him [Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai]
the verse: “[God] turns wise men backwards and makes their knowledge foolish” (Yeshayahu
44:25). For he should have said to [Vespasian], “Let [the Jews] off this time.”
But [Rabban Yochanan] thought that so much would not be granted him, such that
[if he were to make such a request] even a little would not be saved.
http://etzion.org.il/vbm/english/3weeks/tisha71ral.htm
This story is also attributed to Josephus, however that is a different discussion.
In this specific tragedy, we see R' Yosef/ Akiva saying that B. Zakkai had lost his wisdom in this event (they would not however, agree that to be the case in his actions agasint the Priesthood).
Nevertheless, perhaps we can try to understand the kind of pressure he was under, before attributing to him treachery (as was done by his own cousins, the Pharisee Zealots).
He saw the city under siege and under attack. People were starving, and being slaughtered, partly from the actions of the Zealots (rather than the Sadducees he was fighting). His own life was under threat from both the Romans and the sectarian Zealots, who were related to him. He has to escape in a coffin, and meet with an enemy General.
The deal he negotiated was a bad one. It did serve the interests of the Pharisee sect, however he was under extreme duress, fear and terror. It is not clear what was his state of mind when he made this deal. However, the verse that his wisdom was turned backwards still applies. One should be very careful to judge figures of history, with the benefit of hindsight, when one was not in the same situation. This does not mean we cannot put our case forward.
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