Eleazar ben Perata I (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: אלעזר בן פרטא) was a tanna of the third generation (2nd century), junior contemporary of

Eleazar of Modi'im Eleazar of Modi'im ( he, אלעזר המודעי) was a Jewish scholar of the second tannaitic generation (1st and 2nd centuries), disciple of Johanan ben Zakkai, and contemporary of Joshua ben Hananiah and Eliezer ben Hyrcanus. Rabbinic career ...

and of

Jose the Galilean Jose the Galilean ( he, רַבִּי יוֹסֵי הַגְּלִילִי, ''Rabbi Yose HaGelili''), d. 15 Av, was a Jewish sage who lived in the 1st and 2nd centuries CE. He was one of the Tannaim, the rabbis whose work was compiled in the Mishn ...

Biography

Eleazar lived through the period when, according to a younger contemporary, the performance of

circumcision Circumcision is a surgical procedure, procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin ...

was punished by the Romans with the sword; the study of Jewish law, with the stake; the celebration of

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday that celebrates the The Exodus, Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Ancient Egypt, Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew calendar, He ...

, with crucifixion; and the observance of the Feast of Booths, with the scourge. Still, Eleazar faithfully adhered to the teachings of his religion. Once he was arrested and cast into prison, where he met

Hananiah ben Teradion Rabbi Haninah ben Teradion ( he, ''Ḥănīnāʾ ben Təraḏyōn'') or Hananiah ( ''Ḥănanyā'') ben Teradion was a teacher in the third Tannaitic generation (2nd century). He was a contemporary of Eleazar ben Perata I and of Halafta, toge ...

. He tried to instill hope into his fellow prisoner's breast, because there was only one charge against him, that of teaching the Law, while himself he considered lost, because there were five counts against him. Hananiah, on the contrary, thought that Eleazar's chances of escape were better than his own; and the sequel proved that he was right. Hananiah was condemned to a terrible death, while Eleazar was acquitted.

Teachings

Eleazar's studies embraced both

halakah ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...

and

aggadah Aggadah ( he, ''ʾAggāḏā'' or ''Haggāḏā''; Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: אַגָּדְתָא ''ʾAggāḏəṯāʾ''; "tales, fairytale, lore") is the non-legalistic exegesis which appears in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism, ...

, mostly the latter. One of his homilies warns against calumny in these words: "Observe how mighty are the consequences of the evil tongue. Learn them from the fate of the spies. Of the spies it is related, 'Those men who made evil report regarding the land, died by the plague before the Lord.' And of what had they spoken evil? Of trees and of stones. If, now, those who slandered dumb objects were punished so severely, how much greater must be the punishment of him who slanders his neighbor, his equal!" He drew practical lessons also from

Scriptural Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual prac ...

texts. On a certain

Sabbath In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, commanded by God to be kept as a holy day of rest, as G ...

some prominent Jews, having just learned that the Romans were seeking them, applied to Eleazar for legal advice as to the permissibility of flight from danger on the Sabbath. Eleazar referred them to Scriptural history: "Why do you inquire of me? Look at Jacob, at

Moses Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...

, and at

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, and see what they did under similar circumstances!"

Tanhuma Midrash Tanhuma ( he, מִדְרָשׁ תַּנְחוּמָא) is the name given to three different collections of Pentateuch aggadot; two are extant, while the third is known only through citations. These midrashim, although bearing the name of ...

Masei 1;

Numbers Rabbah Numbers Rabbah (or Bamidbar Rabbah in Hebrew) is a religious text holy to classical Judaism. It is a midrash comprising a collection of ancient rabbinical homiletic interpretations of the book of Numbers (''Bamidbar'' in Hebrew). In the first prin ...

23:1

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eleazar Ben Perata 01 Mishnah rabbis 2nd-century rabbis