When the Romans executed the Ten Martyrs — the greatest sages of Israel — two of the first to die were Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel, the Nasi (prince) of the Sanhedrin, and Rabbi Ishmael ben Elisha, the High Priest. They were led out together, bound in chains, condemned by an empire that saw their Torah as a threat.
Rabban Shimon wept. Not from fear of death, but from confusion. "Why is this happening to me?" he cried. "Am I a murderer? Am I a thief? What sin have I committed to deserve execution?"
Rabbi Ishmael turned to him and asked: "Did it ever happen that someone came to you for a legal judgment or a question, and you made them wait while you finished your drink, or tied your sandal, or put on your cloak?" Even a moment of delay — making a petitioner wait unnecessarily — could be counted as a sin deserving the harshest punishment.
Rabban Shimon fell silent. He accepted the rebuke and went to his death with composure.
But when Rabban Shimon was beheaded first, Rabbi Ishmael lifted the severed head, held it to his chest, and wept: "O holy mouth! O faithful tongue that spoke words of Torah! Now you lie in the dust, and who will gather the ashes?" The Talmud in Sanhedrin (11a) and the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) Ele Ezkera preserve this scene as one of the most devastating moments in Jewish martyrology. Even in the face of imperial slaughter, the sages measured themselves not against Rome's cruelty, but against their own impossible standards of righteousness.