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Jose ben Zimra (orJose b. Zimra;Hebrew:רבי יוסי בן זמרה) was Jewish rabbi of the 2nd-3rd centuries (sixth generation oftannaim), who lived during the transition period between the eras of thetannaim and theamoraim.
He was akohen.[1] He came from a privileged background family and his son marriedJudah haNasi's daughter.[2] According to some, he was a descendant ofKing David.[3]
Most of his teachings deal with theaggadah, and most of them were delivered by his studentEleazar ben Pedat, in Jose's name.
He spoke frequently against the sin oflashon hara.[4]
ThemoshavKerem Ben Zimra is named after him, due to a modern tradition that he is buried in that area. Beginning in the 14th century, a certain "Zimra" is attributed to the area, which eventually evolved into a tradition that Jose ben Zimra was buried there. The 14th-centuryTravelogue of a Student of Nachmanides records:
We traveled two parasangs fromGush Halab toAlma, and by the road, half a parasang from Gush Halab, was Rabbi Zimra.[5]
Moses Bassola (1523) wrote:
We went to the place called Ras al-Ahmar, and there on a tall hill is Rabbi Zimra with a tomb built over him, from which one can see most of the Galilean heights.[5]
This tradition was later expanded to included Jose ben Zimra as well. Moses Yerushalmi (1769) wrote:
Ras al-Ahmar: The village is a ruin, but Rabbi Zimra and his son Rabbi Yose ben Zimra are buried there beneath a cairn, and not far from there is a cave in which twenty geonim are buried.[6]
