Pinchas ben Yair
Rabbinical eras |
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Pinchas ben Yair (
Biography
His piety
An aggadah gives the following illustration of Pinchas' scrupulous honesty: Once two men deposited with him two seahs (a quantity) of wheat. After a prolonged absence of the depositors, Pinchas sowed the wheat and preserved the harvest. This he did for seven consecutive years, and when at last the men came to claim their deposit he returned them all the accumulated grain.[3]
Pinchas is said never to have accepted an invitation to a meal and, after reaching the age of majority, to have refused to eat at the table of his father. The reason given by him for this behavior was that there are two kinds of people: (1) those who are willing to be hospitable, but can not afford to be so, and (2) those who have the means but are not willing to extend hospitality to others.
Pinchas gave special weight to the laws of
Pinchas was a
Description of his era
Pinchas drew a gloomy picture of his time: "Since the destruction of the Temple, the members and freemen are put to shame, those who conform to the
Miracles attributed to him
The
Tomb
Pinchas was buried in
Teachings
To Pinchas is attributed the authorship of a later midrash entitled , from which the work derives its name, and (2) that its seventh chapter commences with a saying of his on the tree of knowledge.
Quotes
- Heedfulness leads to cleanliness, and cleanliness leads to purity, and purity leads to abstinence, and abstinence leads to holiness, and holiness leads to humility, and humility leads to the shunning of sin, and the shunning of sin leads to saintliness, and saintliness leads to [the gift of] the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit leads to the resurrection of the dead, and the resurrection of the dead shall come through Elijah of blessed memory.[15]
References
- Shabbat33b
- ^ a b One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: W. B. I. Br. (1901–1906). "PHINEHAS BEN JAIR". In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. Retrieved Apr 18, 2016.
- ^ Deuteronomy Rabbah 3
- ^ a b Hullin 7b
- Avot of Rabbi Natan8, end
- Ta'anit3:1
- Babylonian TalmudShabbat 14a
- ^ Jerusalem Talmud Shevi'it 6:1
- Sotah49a
- ^ Pesikta Rabbati 22, end; Midrash Tehillim to Psalms 91:15
- ^ see infra
- Yerushalmi Demai1:3
- ^ Hullin 7a
- ^ Burial Places of the Fathers, published by Yehuda Levi Nahum in book: Ṣohar la-ḥasifat ginzei teiman (Heb. צהר לחשיפת גנזי תימן), Tel-Aviv 1986, p. 252
- ^ Mishnah Sotah 9:15; Avodah Zarah 20b
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Wilhelm Bacher; Isaac Broydé (1901–1906). "Phinehas ben Jair". In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. It has the following bibliography:
- Heilprin, Seder ha-Dorot ii.;
- Jellinek. B. H. iii. 164 et seq., vi. 29;
- Ben Chananja, iv. 374;
- W. Bacher, Ag. Tan. ii. 495 et seq.;
- Isaac Halevy, Dorot ha-Rishonim, ii. 48;
- Braunschweiger, Die Lehrer der Mischna, p. 241, Frankfort-on-the-Main, 1903;
- A. Epstein, Beiträge zur Jüdischen Alterthumskunde, i., p. x.