Eleazar ben Arach
Rabbinical eras |
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Eleazar ben Arach was one of the tannaim of the second generation (1st century CE).
Teachings
Being first among the disciples of Rabban
Yochanan once asked his students, "What is the best thing, the one that a person should cherish most?" Several solutions were handed in, among them one from Eleazar, who suggested, "A good heart"; thereupon Yochanan remarked, "I prefer Eleazar's solution to all of yours, since yours are included in his".[3] Again, Yochanan asked, "What is the worst thing, the one that a person should shun most?" In this case, also, Eleazar's reply, "An evil heart," was preferred by the teacher because it included all the others.[3]
Eleazar also distinguished himself in the mystical interpretation of the
Later life
Eleazar's name is connected with only a few halakhot, and with only one halakhic midrash. The reason for this paucity of teachings is found in the story of the period immediately succeeding the death of Yochanan ben Zakai. The disciples chose Yavne for their scene of activity, while Eleazar went to Emmaus, the residence of his wife — a particularly healthful place, blessed with good water, a pleasant climate, and warm baths.
Separated from his colleagues, his faculties became stunted, and he is said to have completely forgotten all he had ever learned.[8] In later years he was pointed out as a warning to the self-opinionated; the Talmud applying to him the motto of Nehorai: "Go to a place where the Law is studied, and do not say that the Torah will follow you, for it is your companions who will make it your permanent possession. Do not rely upon your own understanding".[9]
Tomb
References
- Avot of Rabbi Natan14:3
- ^ a b Pirkei Avot 2:8; Avot of Rabbi Natan 14:4
- ^ a b Pirkei Avot 2:9; Avot of Rabbi Natan 14:5
- ^ Jerusalem Talmud, Hagigah 2 77a
- ^ Psalms 1:3
- ^ Midrash Tehillim 1:3
- ^ Pirkei Avot 2:14
- ^ Avot of Rabbi Natan 14:6; Ecclesiastes Rabbah 7:7
- ^ Shabbat 147b; Avot 4:14
- ISBN 978-0-486-42871-0. p. 89.
- ^ Kedar, Benjamin Z. (2005). Holy Men in a Holy Land: Christian, Muslim and Jewish Religiosity in the Near East at the Time of the Crusades. Hayes Robinson Lecture Series No. 9. London: Royal Holloway, University of London. p. 21.
Sources
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Eleazar ben 'Arak". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
- The Jewish Encyclopedia cites the following bibliography:
- Wilhelm Bacher, Die Agada der Tannaïten, i. 74 et seq.
- Jakob Brüll, Mebo ha-Mishnah, i. 87.
- Zecharias Frankel, Darke ha-Mishnah, p. 91.
- Jacob Hamburger, Real-Enzyklopädie für Bibel und Talmud, ii. 155.
- Jehiel ben Solomon Heilprin, Seder ha-Dorot, ii. s.v.
- Isaac Hirsch Weiss, Dor Dor we-Dorshaw, ii. 80.
- Abraham Zacuto, Sefer Hayuhasin. Filipowski edition, p. 35b.