Eleazar ben Azariah

R. Eleazar ben Azarja ( Eleazar b. Azarja ) was a highly respected Jewish scholar of antiquity, worked around the year 100 AD and belonged to the so-called 2nd generation of the Tannaites .

He was of priestly descent (which according to some can be traced back to Ezra ) from an elegant, wealthy family and of great erudition, so that as a youth - he is said to have been only 18 years old - instead of Gamliel II, he was the leader of the rabbinical movement in Jawne (in whose tradition, however, he is only a marginal figure; after reconciliation with Gamliel, both led the teaching house together).

He had special knowledge in the area of ​​the Haggadah . His halachot were characterized by mildness and understanding, and his remark against the death penalty ( stoning ) that "a court that imposes the death penalty only once in 70 years is a murderous court" became particularly well known (Makkot I, 10).

Various sayings by colleagues about Eleazar show that Eleazar was held in high esteem even after death. Among other things, it says: "Since the death of Eleazar the crown of wisdom has disappeared" (Bab. Sota 49 b).

literature

• Zacharias Frankel : Hodegetica , Leipzig 1859
• Bacher , The Agada of the Tannaites , 1884 ff.
• Dubnow , Weltgeschichte ... , 1925 ff. (Vol. III.)
• Ludwig A. Rosenthal, Article Eleasar ben Asarja , in: Jüdisches Lexikon , Berlin 1927 (Vol. II.)
• Günter Stemberger : Introduction to the Talmud and Midrash . 8th edition, Munich 1992