Song of Songs Rabbah to 2:5 (no. 3): The Sages of Usha

This midrashic text testifies to the immediate effect made after the defeat of Bar Kokhba to reinstate Torah study at Usha, the new seat of the Rabbinic academy.

At the end of the Persecution, 155 our teachers gathered at Usha, and these are they- Rabbi Judah, Rabbi Nebemiah, Rabbi Meir, Rabbi Yose, Rabbi Simeon bar Yohai, Rabbi Eliezer ben Rabbi Yose the Galilean, and Rabbi Eliezer ben Jacob. They sent to the Elders of the Galilee saying, “Whoever has learned, let him come and teach; whoever has not learned, let him come and learn.” They gathered, and learned, and they took care of all their needs. 156

154. Trans. S. Berrin.

155. The Hadrianic persecutions connected with the aftermath of the Bar Kokhba Revolt. After Hadrian’s death in 138 C.E., the persecutions ended

156. Taking the steps necessary to restore the orderly function of the halakhic system