Sometimes an event is so significant that all your memories of that time are colored by it. That seems to be what is happening here in Zevachim:

“Shimon ben Azzai said: I received from seventy-two elders, on the day that they installed Rabbi Elazar at the head of the yeshiva and ruled that all the slaughtered offerings that are eaten that were slaughtered not for their sake are fit, but these offerings did not satisfy the obligation of the owner, except for the Paschal offering and the sin offering.” (Zevachim 11b)

This same statement, that these laws were said “on that day”, בו ביום, is also in Mishnah Yadayim (4:2) and other places as well. Many halachot were said “on that day:”

“It was taught: Eduyyot was taught that day. And everywhere that they say: On that day, it is referring to that day.” (Berachot 28a)

What is this momentous day that the Sages are referring to? The story is told in Masechet Berachot (27b-28a). In the late first century CE after the destruction of the Temple, the Sages reconvened in Yavneh. The Nasi, Rabban Gamliel, tries to unite the people around their shared ideals and enforces his rule so that there will not be sectarianism, as there was in Temple times (see here). He quells any dissension with an iron hand and in doing so he embarrasses Rabbi Yehoshua. This insult finally causes the people to rebel. They vote to depose Rabban Gamliel and choose a new Nasi. Their choice is a young man named Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya. He has the qualities necessary for a Nasi:

“He is wise, rich, and a tenth generation descendant of Ezra.” (Berachot 27b)

Tel Yavne

  Pikiwiki Israel, CC BY 2.5 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5>, via Wikimedia Commons

Rabbi Elazar consults with his wife. The end of their dialogue has a passage familiar to us from the Passover Haggadah:

“They came and said to him: Would the Master consent to being the Head of the Yeshiva? He said to them: I will go and consult with my household. He went and consulted with his wife. She said to him: Perhaps they will remove you. He said to her: Let a person use an expensive goblet one day and let it break tomorrow. She said to him: You have no white [hair], That day, he was eighteen years old, a miracle transpired for him and eighteen rows of hair turned white. That explains that which Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya said: I am as one who is seventy years old and he did not say: I am seventy years old,” (Berachot 27b)

Rabbi Elazar’s grave in Upper Galilee

Ariel Palmon, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

What do we know about this Rabbi Elazar, besides his youth? The story tells us he is rich, and indeed in other places in Rabbinic literature he is the exemplar of wealth. He has thousands of heads of cattle (Shabbat 54b) and he sold wine and oil (Bava Batra 91a). He is so rich that he becomes the symbol of wealth:

“[one who sees in a dream] Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya should anticipate wealth,” (Berachot 57b)

 Rabbi Elazar’s wealth is so great that almost no one can really be compared to him:

 “[Be betrothed to me] on the condition that I am wealthy, one does not say he must be as wealthy as Rabbi Elazar ben Ḥarsom or as wealthy as Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya, but anyone who is honored by the members of his town due to his wealth.” (Kiddushin 49b)

He also comes from a very prestigious family. Berachot tells us that he is a descendant of Ezra the scribe, and therefore also a Kohen. In case you think that ancestry is nice but does not influence your personality,  Rabbi Dosa ben Hyrcanos says he has similarities to Ezra:

“He [Dosa ben Hyrcanos] saw Rebbi Eleazar ben Azariah and said to him: “I was a youth but became an elder.” I know of him that he is the tenth generation from Ezra and their eyes are similar.” (Yerushalmi Yevamot 1:6)

Wealth and family are important but they would be worthless if Rabbi Elazar was not also a scholar. We have many statements that show his way of studying Torah, if not many halachot. Perhaps his most enduring principle, one adopted by Rabbi Yishmael (in opposition to Rabbi Akiva’s methodology), is to say that not every word in the Torah must to be used to teach a halacha, rather Torah uses the normal syntax of human language:

“The Torah spoke in the language of people,” (Kiddushin 17b)

Another important principle is the use of proximity סמוכין, if two verses are placed next to each other, one will often teach something about the other (Pesachim 118a). Perhaps connecting to his own background, Rabbi Elazar also teaches us the oft – quoted principle, אם אין קמח אין תורה, i.e., without money you cannot have learning:

“Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah said: Where there is no Torah, there is no right conduct; where there is no right conduct, there is no Torah. Where there is no wisdom, there is no fear of God; where there is no fear of God, there is no wisdom. Where there is no understanding, there is no knowledge; where there is no knowledge, there is no understanding. Where there is no flout, there is no Torah; where there is no Torah, there is no flour.” (Avot 3:17)

When Rabbi Elazar assumes the position of Nasi, he sets about changing Rabban Gamliel’s study hall. Instead of Rabban Gamliel’s elitist approach, he throws the doors open wide and allows in anyone who wants to learn. Eventually Rabban Gamliel is returned and they share the position of Nasi. However, Rabbi Elazar’s willingness to hear any and all opinions remains a powerful legacy. When Rabbi Yehoshua hears the teachings of Rabbi Elazar about inviting everyone into the Bet Midrash he responds with great praise:

“[Rabbi Elazar taught] So too you, make your ears like a funnel and acquire for yourself an understanding heart to hear both the statements of those who render objects ritually impure and the statements of those who render them pure; the statements of those who prohibit actions and the statements of those who permit them; the statements of those who deem items invalid and the statements of those who deem them valid. [Rabbi Yehoshua] said to them in these words: No generation is considered orphaned, if Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya dwells among it” (Hagigah 3a)

Diversity of opinions, along with the ability to make good choices, remain hallmarks of a strong Bet Midrash until today. Perhaps that is why “that day” really did change everything.