Judah II or Nesi'ah I was a Jewish sage who lived in Tiberias in the Land of Israel, in the middle of the third century CE. He is mentioned in the classical works of Judaism's Oral Torah, the Mishnah and Talmud. There he is variously called "Judah," "Judah Nesi'ah" (= "ha-Nasi"), and occasionally "Rabbi" like his grandfather, Judah haNasi. As Judah III is also designated as "Judah Nesi'ah," it is often difficult, sometimes impossible, to determine which one of these patriarchs is referred to. Biography Youth Various stories of Judah's youth, referring to him and his brother Hillel, have been preserved. As youths, Judah and Hillel visited Cabul and Biri, each time behaving in ways which offended the local population. Relations with other scholars He had especially friendly relations with Hoshaiah. Together with Rabbi Joshua ben Levi, he assisted at Laodicea in the reception of a female proselyte into Judaism. Jonathan b. Eleazar was his companion at the baths of Gadara. The relations between the patriarch and Rabbi Yochanan, the leader of the Academy of Tiberias, seem to have been friendly; Yochanan accepted the regular material support offered to him by Judah. Yochanan also induced Judah to visit Shimon ben Lakish, who had fled from Tiberias in consequence of having made offensive remarks in regard to the dignity of the patriarchate, and invite him to return. On another occasion, it was Shimon ben Lakish who succeeded in softening Judah's indignation toward a daring preacher, Jose of Maon, who had denounced the rapacity of the patriarchal house. Shimon ben Lakish, moreover, seems to have exhorted the patriarch to unselfishness, saying "Take nothing, so that you will have to give nothing [to the Roman authorities]". Simeon ben Lakish also reminded Judah of the need of providing for elementary education in the various cities, referring to the saying, "A city in which there are no schools for children is doomed to destruction". Standing among other scholars Judah's authority as patriarch was not absolute: he could not carry out his intention of omitting the fast-day of Tisha B'Av when it fell on the Sabbath. He was not regarded by his contemporaries as their equal in scholarship, as appears from a curious meeting between him and R. Yannai. However, Judah was not so unimportant as might appear from this, since Shimon ben Lakish (who was not his pupil) hands down a whole series of halakhic