Joshua ben Levi

But Joshua considered his greatest indebtedness to Rabbi Judah ben Pedaiah, from whom he learned many legal rulings.

[5] Another of his teachers was Pinchas ben Yair, whose piety and sincerity must have exerted a powerful influence upon the character of Joshua.

[7] His love of justice and his concern that the innocent might suffer on account of the guilty[8] led him to speak against the custom then prevailing of removing from office a reader who, by omitting certain benedictions, had aroused the suspicion of heresy.

He was recognized as a representative of the Land of Israel Jewry, for he was found in company with his friend Rabbi Hanina interceding on behalf of his people before the proconsul in Caesarea, who accorded Joshua and his colleague much honor and respect.

[12] On another occasion, when Lod was besieged because a political fugitive had found refuge there, Joshua saved the city and its inhabitants by surrendering the refugee.

[16] Joshua was the first to ordain his pupils in all cases where ordination was requisite,[17] thus assuming a power that hitherto had lain in the hands of the head of the Sanhedrin alone.

[22] Many of the legends relating to Joshua have been collected in separate small works entitled "Ma'aseh deRabbi Yehoshua ben Levi" and "Massekhet Gan Eden veGehinnom."

The site of his grave is unknown, but Mitch Pilcer of Tzipori claims to have found Rabbi Joshua ben Levi's gravesite while constructing his property there.

[23][24] Joshua was of considerable importance in legal interpretation, his decisions being generally declared valid even when disputed by his contemporaries Rabbi Johanan and Resh Lakish.

He said that those who attends the synagogue service morning and evening will have their days prolonged,[34] and those who move their lips in prayer will surely be heard.

[40] In Psalm 84:5 he found Biblical authority for the resurrection of the dead,[41] and in Genesis Rabbah 26 he expressed the liberal view that immortality is the portion not only of Israel but of all other nations as well.

In a legend, Joshua inquired of the Messiah when he was coming, and Elijah answered that it would be when Israel heeds God's voice.