Eliezer ben Hurcanus
Encyclopedia
Eliezer ben Hurcanus or Eliezer ben Hyrcanus (the surname coming from the father's Hellenized name) , a Kohen
, was one of the most prominent tannaim
of the 1st and 2nd centuries, disciple of R. Johanan ben Zakkai and colleague of Gamaliel II
, whose sister he married (see Imma Shalom), and of Joshua ben Hananiah
. He is the sixth most frequently mentioned sage in the Mishnah.
. Here he entered Johanan's academy and for years studied diligently, notwithstanding the fact that he had to cope with great privations. It is said that sometimes many days elapsed during which he did not have a single meal. Johanan, recognizing Eliezer's receptive and retentive mind, styled him "a cemented cistern that loses not a drop". These endowments were so pronounced in him that in later years he could declare, "I have never taught anything which I had not learned from my masters".
His father in the meantime determined to disinherit him, and with that purpose in view went to Jerusalem, there to declare his will before Johanan ben Zakkai. The great teacher, having heard of Hyrcanus' arrival and of the object of his visit, instructed the usher to reserve for the expected visitor a seat among those to be occupied by the elite of the city, and appointed Eliezer lecturer for that day. At first the latter hesitated to venture on Johanan's place, but, pressed by the master and encouraged by his friends, delivered a discourse, gradually displaying wonderful knowledge. Hyrcanus having recognized in the lecturer his truant son, and hearing the encomiums which Johanan showered on him, now desired to transfer all his earthly possessions to Eliezer, but the scholar, overjoyed at the reconciliation, declined to take advantage of his brothers, and requested to be allowed to have only his proportionate share. He continued his attendance at Johanan's college until near the close of the siege of Jerusalem, when he and Joshua assisted in smuggling their master out of the city and into the Roman
camp.
Subsequently Eliezer proceeded to Jamnia
, where he later became a member of the Sanhedrin
under the presidency of Gamaliel II
, though he had established, and for many years afterward conducted, his own academy at Lydda
. His fame as a great scholar had in the meantime spread, R. Johanan himself declaring that Eliezer was unequaled as an expositor of traditional law; and many promising students, among them Akiba, attached themselves to his school.
Eliezer became known as "Eliezer ha-Gadol" ("the Great"; generally, however, he is styled simply "R. Eliezer"), and with reference to his legal acumen and judicial impartiality, the Scriptural saying "That which is altogether just [literally "Justice, justice"] shalt thou follow," was thus explained: "Seek a reliable court: go after R. Eliezer to Lydda, or after Johanan ben Zakkai to Beror Hel," etc. Once he accompanied Gamaliel and Joshua on an embassy to Rome.
or the paraphrastic interpretation to pass as authority for religious practice. In this respect he sympathized with the conservative school of Shammai
, which was also opposed to giving too much scope to the interpretation. Hence the assertion that he was a Shammaite, though he was a disciple of Rabbi Johanan ben Zakkai, who was one of Hillel
's most prominent pupils. This brought Eliezer into conflict with his colleagues and contemporaries, who realized that such conservatism must be fatal to a proper development of the oral law. It was also felt that the new circumstances, such as the destruction of the Temple and the disappearance of the national independence, required a strong religious central authority, to which individual opinion must yield.
At last the rupture came. The Sanhedrin
deliberated on the susceptibility to Levitical uncleanness of an 'akhnai-oven (an oven consisting of tiles separated from one another by sand, but externally plastered over with cement). The majority decided that such an oven was capable of becoming unclean, but Eliezer dissented. As he thus acted in direct opposition to the decision of the majority (though, according to the Talmud, God
, a tree, a nearby stream, and the walls of the house of study all agreed with Eliezer's interpretation), it was deemed necessary to make an example of him, and he was excommunicated. Still, even under these circumstances great respect was manifested toward him, and the sentence was communicated to him in a very considerate manner. Akiba, dressed in mourning, appeared before him and, seated at some distance from him, respectfully addressed him with "My master, it appears to me that thy colleagues keep aloof from thee." Eliezer readily took in the situation and submitted to the sentence. According to the Talmud, because Akiba broke the news gently, Eliezer (who had the power to destroy the world) annihilated no more than one-third of crops worldwide and burned only those things that were within his field of view; the tsunami that Eliezer raised that day was easily calmed by Rabbi Gamaliel. Thenceforth Eliezer lived in retirement, removed from the center of Jewish learning, though occasionally some of his disciples visited him and informed him of the transactions of the Sanhedrin.
". The suspicion of apostasy and the summons before the dreaded tribunal came, therefore, as just punishment. This event in his life may have suggested to him the ethical rule, "Keep away from what is indecent and from that which appears to be indecent". It is suggested that his sayings, "Instructing a woman in the Law is like teaching her blasphemy", "Let the Law be burned rather than entrusted to a woman", and "A woman's wisdom is limited to the handling of the distaff", also date from that time, he having noticed that women were easily swayed in matters of faith.
The term heresy has been interepreted by Christians as a reference to Christianity. The Kerait
s, a mongolia
n tribe of Nestorian
Christians
, recognise Eliezer ben Hurcanus as one of the Apostles like Luke mentioned in their Lectionary.
, Eliezer passed his last years of life unnoticed and in comparative solitude. It is probably from this melancholy period that his aphorism dates:
When asked how one can determine the one day before his death, he answered: "So much the more must one repent daily, lest he die tomorrow; and it follows that he must spend all his days in piety".
revoked the sentence of excommunication.
Eliezer died on a Friday, and after the following Sabbath
his remains were solemnly conveyed to Lydda
, where he had formerly conducted his academy, and there he was buried. Many and earnest were the eulogies pronounced over his bier. R. Joshua is said to have kissed the stone on which Eliezer used to sit while instructing his pupils, and to have remarked, "This stone represents Sinai
, and he who sat on it represented the Ark of the Covenant
". R. Akiba applied to Eliezer the terms which Elisha
had applied to Elijah, and which Joash
subsequently applied to Elisha himself, "O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof".
Though excommunicated, Rabbi Eliezer is quoted in the Mishnah
, the Baraita
, and the Talmud
more frequently than any one of his colleagues. He is also the putative author of a work known as The Ethics of Rabbi Eliezer
.
Kohen
A Kohen is the Hebrew word for priest. Jewish Kohens are traditionally believed and halachically required to be of direct patrilineal descent from the Biblical Aaron....
, was one of the most prominent tannaim
Tannaim
The Tannaim were the Rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah, from approximately 70-200 CE. The period of the Tannaim, also referred to as the Mishnaic period, lasted about 130 years...
of the 1st and 2nd centuries, disciple of R. Johanan ben Zakkai and colleague of Gamaliel II
Gamaliel II
Rabban Gamaliel II was the first person to lead the Sanhedrin as Nasi after the fall of the second temple, which occurred in 70 CE. Gamliel was appointed nasi approximately 10 years later. Gamaliel II was the son of Shimon ben Gamaliel, one of Jerusalem's foremost men in the war against the...
, whose sister he married (see Imma Shalom), and of Joshua ben Hananiah
Joshua ben Hananiah
Joshua ben Hananiah was a leading tanna of the first half-century following the destruction of the Temple. He was of Levitical descent , and served in the sanctuary as a member of the class of singers . His mother intended him for a life of study, and, as an older contemporary, Dosa b. Harkinas,...
. He is the sixth most frequently mentioned sage in the Mishnah.
Introduction to Torah
His earlier years are wrapped in myths, but from these latter it may be inferred that he was somewhat advanced in life when a desire for learning first seized him, and impelled him, contrary to the wishes of his father, to desert his regular occupation and to depart to Jerusalem to devote himself to the study of the TorahTorah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
. Here he entered Johanan's academy and for years studied diligently, notwithstanding the fact that he had to cope with great privations. It is said that sometimes many days elapsed during which he did not have a single meal. Johanan, recognizing Eliezer's receptive and retentive mind, styled him "a cemented cistern that loses not a drop". These endowments were so pronounced in him that in later years he could declare, "I have never taught anything which I had not learned from my masters".
His father in the meantime determined to disinherit him, and with that purpose in view went to Jerusalem, there to declare his will before Johanan ben Zakkai. The great teacher, having heard of Hyrcanus' arrival and of the object of his visit, instructed the usher to reserve for the expected visitor a seat among those to be occupied by the elite of the city, and appointed Eliezer lecturer for that day. At first the latter hesitated to venture on Johanan's place, but, pressed by the master and encouraged by his friends, delivered a discourse, gradually displaying wonderful knowledge. Hyrcanus having recognized in the lecturer his truant son, and hearing the encomiums which Johanan showered on him, now desired to transfer all his earthly possessions to Eliezer, but the scholar, overjoyed at the reconciliation, declined to take advantage of his brothers, and requested to be allowed to have only his proportionate share. He continued his attendance at Johanan's college until near the close of the siege of Jerusalem, when he and Joshua assisted in smuggling their master out of the city and into the Roman
Roman army
The Roman army is the generic term for the terrestrial armed forces deployed by the kingdom of Rome , the Roman Republic , the Roman Empire and its successor, the Byzantine empire...
camp.
Subsequently Eliezer proceeded to Jamnia
Yavne
Yavne is a city in the Central District of Israel. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics , at the end of 2009 the city had a population of 33,000.-History:...
, where he later became a member of the Sanhedrin
Sanhedrin
The Sanhedrin was an assembly of twenty-three judges appointed in every city in the Biblical Land of Israel.The Great Sanhedrin was the supreme court of ancient Israel made of 71 members...
under the presidency of Gamaliel II
Gamaliel II
Rabban Gamaliel II was the first person to lead the Sanhedrin as Nasi after the fall of the second temple, which occurred in 70 CE. Gamliel was appointed nasi approximately 10 years later. Gamaliel II was the son of Shimon ben Gamaliel, one of Jerusalem's foremost men in the war against the...
, though he had established, and for many years afterward conducted, his own academy at Lydda
Lod
Lod is a city located on the Sharon Plain southeast of Tel Aviv in the Center District of Israel. At the end of 2010, it had a population of 70,000, roughly 75 percent Jewish and 25 percent Arab.The name is derived from the Biblical city of Lod...
. His fame as a great scholar had in the meantime spread, R. Johanan himself declaring that Eliezer was unequaled as an expositor of traditional law; and many promising students, among them Akiba, attached themselves to his school.
Eliezer became known as "Eliezer ha-Gadol" ("the Great"; generally, however, he is styled simply "R. Eliezer"), and with reference to his legal acumen and judicial impartiality, the Scriptural saying "That which is altogether just [literally "Justice, justice"] shalt thou follow," was thus explained: "Seek a reliable court: go after R. Eliezer to Lydda, or after Johanan ben Zakkai to Beror Hel," etc. Once he accompanied Gamaliel and Joshua on an embassy to Rome.
Eliezer's conservatism
Rabbi Eliezer was very severe and somewhat domineering with his pupils and colleagues, a characteristic which led occasionally to unpleasant encounters. The main feature of his teaching was a strict devotion to tradition: he objected to allowing the MidrashMidrash
The Hebrew term Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible....
or the paraphrastic interpretation to pass as authority for religious practice. In this respect he sympathized with the conservative school of Shammai
Shammai
Shammai was a Jewish scholar of the 1st century, and an important figure in Judaism's core work of rabbinic literature, the Mishnah....
, which was also opposed to giving too much scope to the interpretation. Hence the assertion that he was a Shammaite, though he was a disciple of Rabbi Johanan ben Zakkai, who was one of Hillel
Hillel the Elder
Hillel was a famous Jewish religious leader, one of the most important figures in Jewish history. He is associated with the development of the Mishnah and the Talmud...
's most prominent pupils. This brought Eliezer into conflict with his colleagues and contemporaries, who realized that such conservatism must be fatal to a proper development of the oral law. It was also felt that the new circumstances, such as the destruction of the Temple and the disappearance of the national independence, required a strong religious central authority, to which individual opinion must yield.
At last the rupture came. The Sanhedrin
Sanhedrin
The Sanhedrin was an assembly of twenty-three judges appointed in every city in the Biblical Land of Israel.The Great Sanhedrin was the supreme court of ancient Israel made of 71 members...
deliberated on the susceptibility to Levitical uncleanness of an 'akhnai-oven (an oven consisting of tiles separated from one another by sand, but externally plastered over with cement). The majority decided that such an oven was capable of becoming unclean, but Eliezer dissented. As he thus acted in direct opposition to the decision of the majority (though, according to the Talmud, God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
, a tree, a nearby stream, and the walls of the house of study all agreed with Eliezer's interpretation), it was deemed necessary to make an example of him, and he was excommunicated. Still, even under these circumstances great respect was manifested toward him, and the sentence was communicated to him in a very considerate manner. Akiba, dressed in mourning, appeared before him and, seated at some distance from him, respectfully addressed him with "My master, it appears to me that thy colleagues keep aloof from thee." Eliezer readily took in the situation and submitted to the sentence. According to the Talmud, because Akiba broke the news gently, Eliezer (who had the power to destroy the world) annihilated no more than one-third of crops worldwide and burned only those things that were within his field of view; the tsunami that Eliezer raised that day was easily calmed by Rabbi Gamaliel. Thenceforth Eliezer lived in retirement, removed from the center of Jewish learning, though occasionally some of his disciples visited him and informed him of the transactions of the Sanhedrin.
Charge of heresy
Eliezer was charged for being a heretic, and was summoned before the penal tribunal. Being asked by the Roman governor, "How can a great man like thee engage in such idle things?" he simply replied, "Blessed is the True Judge". The judge, thinking that Rabbi Eliezer was speaking about him, released him, while Rabbi Eliezer understood by "judge" God, justifying the judgment of God which had brought this trial upon him. That he should be suspected of apostasy grieved him sorely, and though some of his pupils tried to comfort him, he remained for some time inconsolable. At last he remembered that once, while at Sepphoris, he had met a Christian who communicated to him a singular halakhah in the name of Ben Pandera, (Jesus) that he had approved of the halakhah and had really enjoyed hearing it, and, he added, "Thereby I transgressed the injunction, 'Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house,' which the Rabbis apply to sectarianism as well as to heresyHeresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
". The suspicion of apostasy and the summons before the dreaded tribunal came, therefore, as just punishment. This event in his life may have suggested to him the ethical rule, "Keep away from what is indecent and from that which appears to be indecent". It is suggested that his sayings, "Instructing a woman in the Law is like teaching her blasphemy", "Let the Law be burned rather than entrusted to a woman", and "A woman's wisdom is limited to the handling of the distaff", also date from that time, he having noticed that women were easily swayed in matters of faith.
The term heresy has been interepreted by Christians as a reference to Christianity. The Kerait
Kerait
The Kereit tribe was one of the five major tribal confederations in Mongolian plateau in the 12th century, and dominant in the area and, as allies of Genghis Khan, influential in the rise of the Mongol Empire...
s, a mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
n tribe of Nestorian
Nestorianism
Nestorianism is a Christological doctrine advanced by Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople from 428–431. The doctrine, which was informed by Nestorius's studies under Theodore of Mopsuestia at the School of Antioch, emphasizes the disunion between the human and divine natures of Jesus...
Christians
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, recognise Eliezer ben Hurcanus as one of the Apostles like Luke mentioned in their Lectionary.
Censured
Separated from his colleagues and excluded from the deliberations of the SanhedrinSanhedrin
The Sanhedrin was an assembly of twenty-three judges appointed in every city in the Biblical Land of Israel.The Great Sanhedrin was the supreme court of ancient Israel made of 71 members...
, Eliezer passed his last years of life unnoticed and in comparative solitude. It is probably from this melancholy period that his aphorism dates:
When asked how one can determine the one day before his death, he answered: "So much the more must one repent daily, lest he die tomorrow; and it follows that he must spend all his days in piety".
His death
When his former colleagues heard of his approaching dissolution, the most prominent of them hastened to his bedside at Cæsarea. When they appeared before him he began to complain about his long isolation. They tried to mollify him by professing great and unabated respect for him, and by averring that it was only the lack of opportunity that had kept them away. He felt that they might have profited by his teaching. Thereupon they besought him to communicate to them laws concerning certain points, particularly touching Levitical purity and impurity. He consented, and answered question after question until all breath left him. The last word he uttered was "tahor" ("pure"), and this the sages considered as an auspicious omen of his purity, whereupon they all rent their garments in token of mourning, and Joshua ben HananiahJoshua ben Hananiah
Joshua ben Hananiah was a leading tanna of the first half-century following the destruction of the Temple. He was of Levitical descent , and served in the sanctuary as a member of the class of singers . His mother intended him for a life of study, and, as an older contemporary, Dosa b. Harkinas,...
revoked the sentence of excommunication.
Eliezer died on a Friday, and after the following Sabbath
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
his remains were solemnly conveyed to Lydda
Lod
Lod is a city located on the Sharon Plain southeast of Tel Aviv in the Center District of Israel. At the end of 2010, it had a population of 70,000, roughly 75 percent Jewish and 25 percent Arab.The name is derived from the Biblical city of Lod...
, where he had formerly conducted his academy, and there he was buried. Many and earnest were the eulogies pronounced over his bier. R. Joshua is said to have kissed the stone on which Eliezer used to sit while instructing his pupils, and to have remarked, "This stone represents Sinai
Mount Sinai
Mount Sinai , also known as Mount Horeb, Mount Musa, Gabal Musa , Jabal Musa meaning "Moses' Mountain", is a mountain near Saint Catherine in the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt. A mountain called Mount Sinai is mentioned many times in the Book of Exodus in the Torah and the Bible as well as the Quran...
, and he who sat on it represented the Ark of the Covenant
Ark of the Covenant
The Ark of the Covenant , also known as the Ark of the Testimony, is a chest described in Book of Exodus as solely containing the Tablets of Stone on which the Ten Commandments were inscribed...
". R. Akiba applied to Eliezer the terms which Elisha
Elisha
Elisha is a prophet mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and the Qur'an. His name is commonly transliterated into English as Elisha via Hebrew, Eliseus via Greek and Latin, or Alyasa via Arabic.-Biblical biography:...
had applied to Elijah, and which Joash
Jehoash of Israel
Jehoash , whose name means “Yahweh has given,” was a king of the ancient Kingdom of Israel and the son of Jehoahaz. He was the 12th king of Israel and reigned for 16 years. William F. Albright has dated his reign to 801 BC – 786 BC, while E. R. Thiele offers the dates 798 BC – 782 BC...
subsequently applied to Elisha himself, "O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof".
Though excommunicated, Rabbi Eliezer is quoted in the Mishnah
Mishnah
The Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...
, the Baraita
Baraita
Baraita designates a tradition in the Jewish oral law not incorporated in the Mishnah. "Baraita" thus refers to teachings "outside" of the six orders of the Mishnah...
, and the Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
more frequently than any one of his colleagues. He is also the putative author of a work known as The Ethics of Rabbi Eliezer
Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer
Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer is an aggadic-midrashic work on Genesis, part of Exodus, and a few sentences of Numbers, ascribed to R. Eliezer ben Hyrcanus , a disciple of Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai and teacher of Rabbi Akiva. It comprises fifty four chapters...
.
External links
- ELIEZER (LIEZER) BEN HYRCANUS at jewishenyclopedia.com