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eleazar ben simeon
ELEAZAR BEN SIMEON, tanna of the end of the second
century C.E.; son and pupil of *Simeon b. Yoḥai (Suk.
45b). He is mentioned by name very rarely in the Mishnah,
though amoraim ascribe several anonymous mishnayot to
him (Bek. 51b, et al.). He is quoted frequently in the beraitot,
as well as approximately 75 times in the Tosefta, especially
those of Zevaḥim and Menaḥot. His aggadic statements are
few (e.g., Kid. 40b; Yev. 65b; Gen. R. 20:6). Later Palestinian
sources state that after his death his contemporaries eulogized
him as a biblical scholar, a student of the Mishnah,
a preacher, and a poet (Lev. R. 30:1), this last remark causing
him to be incorrectly identified with the paytan Eleazar
*Kallir (Tos. to Hag. 13a). The Babylonian Talmud incorporates
accounts of his youth into stories related to his father.
According to the well known aggadah, he escaped with his father
from the Romans by hiding in a cave for 13 years (Shab.
33b; BM 85a). This story, mentioned in the introduction to the
*Zohar (1:11a), provided the literary framework for this pseudoepigraphic
work of the 13th century, and caused its composition
to be ascribed to them. According to the Talmud,
Eleazar later became a noted scholar who engaged in halakhic
controversy with his colleague, Judah ha-Nasi (BM 84b; et
al.), as well as in halakhic and aggadic discussions with older
scholars, such as Judah, Yose, and Meir (Sot. 34a; RH 4b; et al.).
In contrast to his father’s unyielding defiance of the Roman
authorities, it is told that he accepted under compulsion a
position in the Roman administration as an official responsible
for the apprehension of thieves and robbers – a position
that his grandfather, Yoḥai, had at one time held (Pes. 112a).
Among others who reportedly censured him for this activity
was his teacher, Joshua b. Karḥah, who reprimanded him by
exclaiming: “Vinegar, the son of wine! How long will you continue
to hand over the people of our God to be killed?” (BM
83b; et al.). It is related of his son Jose that he grew up without
sufficient surveillance and was on the brink of turning to
a life of crime. Judah ha-Nasi, however, placed him under the
care of R. Simeon ben Issi, his maternal uncle, who directed
and taught him, and he ultimately became the disciple of
R. Judah ha-Nasi.
Bibliography: Bacher, Tann, 2 (1890), 400–7; Krauss, in:
MGWJ, 38 (1894), 151–6; Weiss, Dor, 2 (19044), 165; Gutmann, in: Zion,
18 (1953), 1–5; Alon, Meḥkarim, 2 (1958), 88–91.
[Shmuel Safrai]
ELEAZAR BEN YOSE I (second half of second century
C.E.), tanna. Eleazar was the second son of *Yose b. Ḥalafta
of Sepphoris (Shab. 118b; TJ, Yev. 1:1, 2b). He attained distinction
as a scholar during the lifetime of his father, who quotes
him and praises his statements (Sif. Deut. 148; cf. Pes. 117a;
Yoma 67a). He cooperated with his father in intercalating the
year (Tosef., Sanh. 2:1). The Talmud counts him among the
scholars of the academy of Jabneh (Shab. 33b) and reports that
*Simeon b. Yoḥai held him in high esteem (Me’il. 17b). His
halakhot are found in the Tosefta and beraitot but he is not
mentioned in the Mishnah. Nevertheless, many statements
in the Mishnah which are quoted anonymously may in fact
derive from the Mishnah of Eleazar b. Yose (Kelim 11:3;
cf. Tosef., Kelim; BM 1:2; Nid. 8:1). Tannaitic sources relate
that he gave rulings in Rome in connection with ritual purity
(Tosef., Nid. 7:1; Mik. 4:7), and while there he saw the vessels
plundered from the Temple at the time of its destruction.
He testified that the veil was spattered with blood from the
sacrifices of the Day of Atonement (Tosef., Yoma 3 end).
Talmudic tradition explains that Eleazar journeyed to Rome
together with Simeon b. Yoḥai in an attempt to persuade
the emperor to abrogate the edicts against Jewish religious
practices that were reinstituted in the period of the Antonines
(Me’il. 17a; see Alon, Toledot, 2 (19612), 61). According
to the aggadah, they were helped by a miracle. A demon
possessed the emperor’s daughter and they succeeded in
exorcising it. The emperor took them into his treasure chamber
and invited them to take whatever they desired. They
saw the text of the edict, and consigned it to flames (ibid.).
We are also told that while in Rome Eleazar had discussions
with *Mattiah b. Heresh, the leading scholar of the capital
(Yoma 84b; Me’il. id), and saw the high priest’s gold plate
inscribed with the words “holy to the Lord” (the Tetragrammaton)
in one line (Suk. 5a; et al.). According to the aggadah
he also saw the insect that entered the nostrils of Titus and
penetrated to his brain (Gen. R. 10:7, ed. Theodor Albeck,
82, note 3), as well as fragments of Solomon’s throne that
had been carried off by Nebuchadnezzar and taken from
one nation to another until it reached the treasure house of
Rome (Esth. R. 1:12). Eleazar also was reported to have visited
Alexandria where an old Egyptian showed him hair and
bones reputedly of the enslaved children of Israel embedded
in a building from before the exodus from Egypt (Sanh. 111a
and Dik. Sof. ibid.). He disputed with Samaritans and Sadducees,
proving to them that their copies of the Torah scroll
were forged and their commentaries false (Sot. 33b; Sanh.
90b). In addition to his halakhic powers he was also a gifted
aggadist. He is quoted as saying: “All the charity and kindness
practiced by Israel in this world bring abundant peace
and serve as powerful advocates between Israel and its Father
in heaven” (BB 10a).
Bibliography: Hyman, Toledot, 177–80; Epstein, Tanna’im,
178f.; Bacher, Tann. s.v.
[Yitzhak Dov Gilat]
ELEAZAR BEN YOSE II (c. early fourth century), Palestinian
amora. He may have been the son of the amora Yose who,
together with Jonah, headed the academy at Tiberias. In any
event Eleazar discussed halakhic problems with Yose, frequently
put questions to him (TJ, Ber. 1:8, 3d; TJ, Ta’an. 2:2, 65c
et al.), and expounded before him (TJ, Kil. 8:2, 31c; Ned. 4:9,
38d). Eleazar frequently quotes the statements of other amoraim
such as Avin, Rav, Tanḥum b. Hiyya (TJ, Ma’as. 1:3, 49a;
2:1, 49c; Ber. end of ch. 7, 11d; RH 4:8, 59c et al.). His own deeds
and sayings are also reported. For example, he, Abba b. Mari,
and Mattaniah permitted a gift (of bread) to be carried to the
308 ENCYCLOPAEDIA JUDAICA, Second Edition, Volume 6