JUDAICA - Wisdom In Torah

ELIEZER BEN SAMSON (fl. 12th century), paytan and rabbi
in Cologne; a pupil of R. Isaac b. Asher ha-Levi in Speyer. He
exchanged responsa with R. *Abraham b. Nathan, who referred
to him with admiration. Many of his decisions were used as
precedents by early authorities (Mordecai Ket. 219, Kid. 515,
Shev. 761; and R. Isaac b. Moses Or Zaru’a). He composed a
number of liturgical poems including a reshut in Aramaic to
the Sukkot haftarah, which described the era between the creation
of the world and the revelation at Mount Sinai.
Bibliography: Landshuth, Ammudei, 23ff.; Fuenn, Keneset,
133; Germ Jud, 74; Kohn, in: MGWJ, 27 (1878), 44ff.; Zunz, Lit Poesie,
176; Davidson, Oẓar, 4 (1933), 365.
ELIEZER BEN SAMUEL HA-LEVI (d. 1357), German Jew,
son of Samuel b. Yakar, the ḥazzan of Mayence (also known as
Tov Elem). Eliezer, who was not a rabbi, but was titled *ḥaver,
is known from his ethical will, which is preserved in several
manuscripts and first published in 1870 in a German translation
(ed. by A. Berliner in Juedische Presse, 1 (1870), 90f., 99).
The Hebrew original was afterward published by M. Guedemann
(Guedemann, Quellenschr, 295–8) and again, along
with an English translation by I. Abrahams (Hebrew Ethical
Wills, 2 (1926), 1207–18). In this touching document Eliezer
requests that his children walk in God’s ways, that they fulfill
strictly all the mitzvot, that they be not mercenary, and if possible,
live among Jews.
ELIEZER BEN SAMUEL OF METZ (c. 1115–c. 1198), tosafist
and halakhic authority. Eliezer was a pupil of Jacob *Tam (see
Sefer ha-Yashar, ed. by F. Rosenthal (1898), 128 n. 57), as well
as of *Samuel b. Meir, and Ḥayyim Cohen of Paris. Among
his disciples were some of the greatest German rabbis, such
as *Eliezer b. Joel *ha-Levi and *Eleazar b. Judah of Worms,
author of the Roke’aḥ. He thus served as an intermediary between
the centers of study in France and those in Germany.
Eliezer obtained his livelihood by moneylending, and was in
charge of the distribution of charity. His daughters died during
his lifetime. Little else is known of him. Eliezer’s most
important work is his Sefer Yere’im, written between 1171 and
1179, a work on the 613 precepts according to the enumeration
of the *Halakhot Gedolot. It was abridged by Benjamin
b. Abraham *Anav, who divided it into 12 “Pillars,” in which
form it was published in Venice in 1566, and in many later
editions. The complete book (464 paragraphs) was published
from a Paris manuscript in Vilna (1892–1902) by Abraham
Abba Schiff who added a commentary entitled To’afot Re’em.
Other commentaries have also been written. Although essentially
a halakhic work, Sefer Yere’im includes ethical maxims
and homilies on the true service of God. Halakhic discussions
are sometimes preceded by rhymed introductions. The rulings
of Sefer Yere’im as well as those in Eliezer’s commentaries on
the Talmud were accepted as authoritative by the rishonim.
Eliezer is also an author of tosafot and novellae. Mention is
made of his commentary to Berakhot, Shabbat, Zevaḥim, and
Nedarim. Ḥayyim Joseph David *Azulai was in possession of
eliezer ben yose ha-gelili
a manuscript by him on Ḥullin. Very few of his responsa have
been preserved.
Bibliography: Gross, in: MGWJ, 34 (1885), 506f.; V. Aptowitzer,
Mavo le-Sefer Ravyah (1938), 246f., 312–5; H. Tchernowitz,
Toledot ha-Posekim, 2 (1947), 78–87; M. Reich, in: Sinai Sefer Yovel
(1958), 356–72; Urbach, Tosafot, 132–40.
[Israel Moses Ta-Shma]
ELIEZER BEN SAMUEL OF VERONA (early 13th century),
Italian tosafist. Eliezer was a pupil of Isaac b. Samuel of Dampierre
(Roke’aḥ 377) and the teacher of *Avigdor b. Elijah Kohen
Ẓedek of Vienna. He was a colleague of *Eleazar b. Judah of
Worms and of Abraham b. Moses of Regensburg. He wrote tosafot
to the Talmud, and those to Bava Batra (from 144b ff.) in
particular are attributed to him. One of his rulings gave rise to
considerable controversy. He permitted the widow of a certain
Solomon b. Jacob to remarry, seven years after he had disappeared
when the ship in which he was sailing sank near Pesaro
in 1214. He sent his ruling to “the communities of the Rhine
and of Cologne,” but Baruch b. Samuel of Mainz forbade the
agunah to remarry. After Baruch’s death, Abraham b. Moses
of Mainz sent Eliezer’s ruling to Eliezer b. Joel ha-Levi, but
he confirmed the prohibition (Sefer Ravyah, 4 (1965), 133–43).
Eliezer’s responsa to *Isaac b. Moses of Vienna (Or Zaru’a) are
quoted in Zedekiah b. Abraham’s Shibbolei ha-Leket (ed. by S.
Buber (1886), nos. 13, 237, and 247) and in Sefer Issur ve-Hetter
(no. 9) by the same author (published in Ha-Segullah, 1,
1934). There is also mention of his biblical exegesis (Zunz, in
HB, 7 (1864), 20ff.). Isaac Or Zaru’a calls Eliezer and *Isaiah
di Trani the Elder “the two kings of Israel.” *Hillel of Verona
was his grandson.
Bibliography: Zunz, Schr, 3 (1876), 250f.; S. Buber (ed.),
Shibbolei ha-Leket ha-Shalem (1886), introd., 9; V. Aptowitzer, Mavo
le-Sefer Ravyah (1938), 195, 311f., 429–32; Urbach, Tosafot, 357–9,
504f.
[Yehoshua Horowitz]
ELIEZER (Eleazar) BEN YOSE HA-GELILI (“of Galilee”;
fl. second century C.E.), tanna. Eliezer is mentioned only once
in the Mishnah, but more than ten times in the Tosefta, and
even more frequently in the tannaitic Midrashim. Almost all
of his dicta in both Talmuds, in beraitot, and in Midrashim
are aggadic. According to the Talmud, R. Eleazar b. Simeon
said of him: “Whenever you find the words of Eliezer b. Yose
in the aggadah, bend your ear attentively” (Ḥul. 89a). The
Baraita of the Thirty-Two Rules, which defines the hermeneutical
rules for the aggadic exposition of scripture, is ascribed
to him, though in its present form this is highly unlikely (see:
*Baraita of the Thirty-Two Rules). Among his statements are:
“A person in distress is forbidden to pray” (TJ, Ber. 5:1, 8d);
“Even if nine hundred and ninety-nine argue against a man
[in the Heavenly Cause], while one argues in his favor, he is
acquitted” (Shab. 32a). He applied the well-known saying of
R. Eleazar b. Azariah, to the effect that the full praise of a person
should not be uttered in his presence, to teach that “one
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