Eliezer ben Samuel

Eliezer ben Samuel (* around 1115 in Metz ; † around 1198 in Mainz ) was a rabbi .

Life

Elieser, which means something like "My God (is) help", was born around 1115 in Metz. He was a student of Jakob ben Meir , from whom he was trained as a recognized Tosafist . Elieser ben Samuel stayed in contact with him throughout his life. After completing his studies in Metz, he went to the rabbinical court in Mainz.

In Mainz, Elieser acted as a teacher for some important rabbis of the time, such as B. Baruch ben Samuel from Mainz, Elieser ben Joel ha-Levi from Bonn, Simcha ben Samuel from Speyer, Eleasar ben Jehuda ben Kalonymos from Worms and Samuel ben Baruch from Bamberg.

In addition to various glosses and a Tossafot collection, Elieser is best known for his main work “Sefer Jereim” (Book of the Fearful of God). In this work, which was probably written between 1170 and 1179, Eliezer ben Samuel deals with the commandments and prohibitions of the Torah , observance of which, according to his teaching, leads to the fear of God.

Within the Mainz Jewish community, Elieser held the office of almsman . The fact that this office was only given to proven rabbis shows the high reputation of Elieser in the Jewish community. In addition to the office of almsman, he earned his living by lending money.

The main work of Elieser, "Sefer Jereim", received a lot of attention in the scholarly world and was partly revised and republished. B. 1892 by Abraham Abba ben Elijahu Schiff under the title “Sefer Jereim ha-Shalem” (Complete Book of the Fearful of God).

Only a few of Elieser's glosses and responses have survived.

literature

• Bruno, Johannes: Elieser ben Samuel, in: ders .: Die Weisen von Speyer or Jewish scholars of the Middle Ages at the local Talmud school (= series of publications of the city of Speyer 14), Speyer 2004, pp. 103-105.
• Article: Elieser ben Samuel, in: Klatzkin, Jakob / Elbogen, Ismar (ed.): Encyclopaedia Judaica : Judaism in Past and Present, Berlin: Eschkol Publikations Gesellschaft, 1928–1934, Volume 6, pp. 477f.