Ben Bag Bag

During the Second Temple period, he was Rabbi Yohanan Ben Bag Bag, who lived during the Generation of the Pairs, in the time of Hillel and Shammai [דור ז', קבלה לג']. In his generation were Yonatan ben Uzziel, Hillel's great disciple; Rabbi Nehunia ben HaKanah, who wrote the Sefer HaBahir; Baba ben Buta; Rabbi Yehudah ben Beteira; Rabbi Yohanan HaHorani; Rabban Gamliel the Elder; and Nahum HaLavlar.

His Sayings

Ben Bag Bag says: “Turn it over and turn it over (meaning, persist and review your Torah study), for everything is in it (you will find everything in it), and through it you will see (and you will see the truth with your mind’s eye), and grow old and worn out in it (even in old age, do not abandon it), and do not stir from it (and do not depart from it, for Rabbi Yehoshua was asked: What is the ruling regarding teaching one's son Greek wisdom? He answered them: He should teach him at a time that is neither day nor night, and it is understood that such a thing does not exist, and it is written: 'You shall meditate on it day and night'). There is no better quality than it.” (Because all qualities are arranged within it and preserved within it, and all the wisdoms of the world are included in the Torah, as it is said: there is nothing that is not alluded to in the Torah, all events and all revelations are found in the Torah). Rashi explains: Ben Bag Bag, and Ben Heh Heh were sons of converts, and they were the children of Abraham and Sarah to whose names the letter “Heh” was added, and similarly, Bag in Gematria is “Heh” – and because the words of Torah are necessary for everyone, he would say them in Aramaic, a language everyone knew after the Babylonian exile. [אבות פ"ה מכ"ב, רע"ב, עיקר תוי"ט, מדרש שמואל] We learned in a Baraita, Ben Bag Bag says: From where do we know that the Tamid offering requires inspection, meaning: it must be guarded and examined for flaws four days before its slaughter, like other consecrated offerings? Because it is called a Pesach offering. The matter is as follows: regarding the Tamid offering, it is stated: “Be careful to present My offering, My food for My fire offerings of pleasing aroma, at their appointed time” [במדבר כח,ב]. Similarly, regarding the Egyptian Pesach, the verse states: “You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, and then the whole assembly of the community of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight” [שמות יב,ו]. The Sages derived the term “guarding” through a Gezerah Shavah: Just as in the Egyptian Pesach the term “guarding” is used, indicating that it requires inspection four days before slaughter, so too here, regarding the Tamid offering, the term “guarding” is used. Therefore, the Tamid offering requires inspection four days before slaughter. From Ben Bag Bag’s words, we learn: Even though it is written concerning the inspection of the Egyptian Pesach “this,” nevertheless, this does not exclude all other offerings from it, for we learn from it that the Tamid offering requires inspection for four days! Therefore, it must be said: that even the Pesach for generations was not excluded by the word “this.” [פסחים צו.]

His Greatness

Ben Bag Bag – “Bag” is an acronym for “Ben Ger” (son of a convert), and “Bag” is an acronym for “Bat Giyoret” (daughter of a convert). He referred to himself this way so that people would not slander him and reveal that he converted, joined the Jewish people, and became a Tanna. The words of Rambam are well-known, that anyone whose saying is mentioned in the Mishnah and Gemara possessed divine inspiration and could revive the dead. Yohanan Ben Bag Bag sent a question to Netzivin to Rabbi Yehudah ben Beteira: I heard about you that you say: a betrothed Israelite woman who was betrothed to a Kohen eats Terumah even though she is not yet married. Did you indeed say this?! Rabbi Yehudah ben Beteira sent Ben Bag Bag a response through a messenger: And you, do you not say this?! For I am confident that you are proficient in the inner depths of Torah. [קידושין י:]