Yose ben Yochanan of Jerusalem יוסי בן יוחנן איש ירושלים
av beit din of the first pair
Yose ben Yochanan of Jerusalem is the second of the first pair: under Yose ben Yoezer, who was nasi, he held the office of av beit din, head of the court (Chagigah 2:2).
His saying in Avot 1:5 stands beside his partner's and reads like its completion — a debate about what a sage's house should be: «Let your house be open wide, and let the poor be members of your household.» One called in the sages, the other the destitute; together they make the full measure of hospitality.
The two Yoses also open the history of dispute in Jewish law: Chagigah 2:2 reports that the first disagreement among the sages concerned semichah — whether one may lay hands on an offering during a festival. Yose ben Yoezer forbade it, Yose ben Yochanan permitted it. By the Mishnah's own reckoning, the chain of disputes begins here and runs through four pairs to the houses of Hillel and Shammai.
His dates are unknown; he was active in the middle of the second century BCE.
On the timeline
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
- Avot de-Rabbi Natan 7 — the exposition of his saying about the house kept open wide
Basis: Talmud and midrash.