After Raban Gamliel came and was mefayes Reb Yehoshua, Reb Yehoshua was mochel Rabon Gamliel because of his zchus avos. Why then did he go further and reinstate him as nasi?? Wasnt the mechila enough?
Avraham Tzvi R, Lakewood, USA
It seems to me from the Gemara that Rebbi Yehoshua was of the opinion that Rabban Gamliel should not have been removed from his position in the first place. We see this from his comments that one who always wore the cloak of the Nasi should continue to do so, and one who does not wear the cloak of the Nasi should not tell the one who does to remove his cloak. This seems to indicate that Rebbi Yehoshua did not agree with Raban Gamliel's removal.
It is also possible that Rebbi Yehoshua agreed with the Chachamim originally that Raban Gamliel should be removed, but was saying that now that he had apologized, he should return. We see that this was also the position of the other Chachamim, as expressed by Rebbi Akiva in our Gemara.
Dov Freedman