Rabbi Yeshevav the Scribe

That day he was killed, it was a Monday, and he was observing a fast. His disciples said to him: Our Rabbi, do you wish to taste something before you are killed? He said to them, I wish to be like Rabbi Yehudah ben Baba, my colleague, who was killed while fasting. It is said – “The Emperor commanded to kill him at the moment he was reciting the Shema, and when he reached: 'and the Lord said to Moses, saying' to the children of Israel and tell them and they shall make for themselves fringes Numbers 15:38 his soul departed.” A heavenly voice came forth and said: Fortunate are you, Rabbi Yeshevav, who left nothing of the Torah of Moses except prophecy. They killed him and threw him to the dogs; he was neither eulogized nor buried.

<h4>Rabbi Elazar ben Shamua</h4> That day he was killed, it was the eve of Shabbat. He said to them: Allow me to fulfill the mitzvah of Shabbat. They said to him: You rely on Shabbat?! What is the mitzvah of Shabbat? He said to them: It is a small mitzvah and its name is "Shabbat," and the Lord our God commanded, "whoever desecrates it shall be put to death" Exodus 31:14. They said to him: Your God is a great King in heaven and on earth, if so, why does He not save His servants from the kingdom? He said to them: So that He may demand our blood from your hands.

They went and told the king. The king sent for him and brought him before him. He said to him: Impudent man, you are about to die, and you still persist in your impudence?! He said to him: It is better that I die by your hand than that I die by a heavenly death. He said to him: If your God is great, why does He not save you from the kingdom? He said to him: I already told you, to exact our blood from your hands. He said to him: Let Him exact it from now. Rabbi Elazar said to him: And what about those who destroyed His house and burned His sanctuary, He prolonged His anger toward them; with you, how much more so?! The king commanded and had him removed from his presence and carried out his judgment.

After he was led out, his disciples said to him: Our Rabbi, you should have flattered him in this matter. He said to them: Elazar must be like his colleagues, who died for the sanctification of Heaven's name.

When they were commanded to kill him, he began to recite the Kiddush for Shabbat. He said to the executioner: Allow me to finish! When he reached: "which God created to make" Genesis 2:3 he was struck and his soul departed at the word "God." A heavenly voice came forth and said: "Fortunate are you, Elazar my son, in this world you were like God, and your soul departed at the word 'God.'"