Tavi (; fl. 1st century) was the slave of

Gamaliel II Rabban Gamaliel II (also spelled Gamliel; ; before –) was a rabbi from the second generation of tannaim. He was the first person to lead the Sanhedrin as '' nasi'' after the fall of the Second Temple in 70 CE. He was the son of Shimon ben G ...

. Although a convert to Judaism, he was known for his acquaintance and adherence to

Talmudic law Talmudic law is the law that is derived from the Talmud based on the teachings of the Talmudic Sages. * See Talmud or Talmudical Hermeneutics Talmudical hermeneutics (Hebrew: מידות שהתורה נדרשת בהן) defines the rules and metho ...

and for his piety.jewishencyclopedia.com: Tabi
/ref> Tavi is mentioned in several instances in the

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...

. During the

Feast of Tabernacles Sukkot, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles or Feast of Booths, is a Torah-commanded Jewish holiday celebrated for seven days, beginning on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei. It is one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals on which Israel ...

, he used to sleep under the bed in the

sukkah A or succah (; ; plural, ' or ' or ', often translated as "booth") is a temporary hut constructed for use during the week-long Jewish festival of Sukkot. It is topped with branches and often well decorated with autumnal, harvest or Judaic ...

. In allusion to this habit Gamaliel observed, "Tavi, my slave, is a scholar; he knows that the law of booths does not apply to slaves, and therefore he sleeps under the bed". Yet Tavi used to wear

Tefillin Tefillin (Modern Hebrew language, Israeli Hebrew: / ; Ashkenazim, Ashkenazic pronunciation: ; Modern Israeli Hebrew, Modern Hebrew pronunciation: ), or phylacteries, are a set of small black leather boxes with leather straps containing scrolls o ...

, a duty and privilege of free men; but, his piety being known, he was not interfered with. Wishing to free him, but unable to do so since it would be contrary to the Law, Gamaliel, ostensibly by accident, put out one of his slave's eyes; then, meeting R. Joshua, he expressed his great joy at having found occasion to free his slave. Joshua, however, told him that he was mistaken, since no witnesses had been present and since he had confessed to the act himself. When Tavi died, his master received condolences from his friends, a rare occurrence in the case of slaves. It is said in

Menahem Azariah da Fano Menahem Azariah da Fano (also called Immanuel da Fano, and Rema MiPano () (1548 – 1620) was an Italian rabbi, Talmudist, and Kabbalist. Life He was a disciple of Rabbi Moses ben Jacob Cordovero, to whose widow he offered 1,000 sequins for ...

's ''Gilgule Neshamot'' that Gamaliel's soul emanated from that of

Shem Shem (; ''Šēm''; ) is one of the sons of Noah in the Bible ( Genesis 5–11 and 1 Chronicles 1:4). The children of Shem are Elam, Ashur, Arphaxad, Lud and Aram, in addition to unnamed daughters. Abraham, the patriarch of Jews, Christ ...

, while Tavi's soul emanated from that of

Ham Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in '' Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term '' ...

, who was, according to the Bible,Genesis 9:25 (though this is said of Ham's son Canaan, not Ham himself) destined to be a slave to his brother. Besides, according to the lesser numerical values of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, the names of Ham and Tavi both have the same numerical value, namely, twelve.

References

{{reflist 1st-century Jews 1st-century people Ancient slaves