Rabbi Yishmael ben Elisha Nachmani (
Hebrew: רבי ישמעאל בן אלישע), often known as Rabbi Yishmael and sometimes given the title "Ba'al HaBaraita" (Hebrew: בעל הברייתא), was a
rabbi
A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as '' semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form o ...
of the 1st and 2nd centuries (third generation of
tannaim).
[
]
Life
He was a descendant of a wealthy priestly family in Upper Galilee. His year of birth was 90 CE. He was captured by the Romans as a young boy, but redeemed by R' Joshua ben Hananiah
Joshua ben Hananiah ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ ben Ḥánanyāh''; d. 131 CE), also known as Rabbi Yehoshua, was a leading tanna of the first half-century following the destruction of the Second Temple. He is the seventh-most-frequently mentioned sage in ...
. R' Nehunya ben HaKanah became his teacher, and he remained a close colleague of Rabbi Joshua
Joshua ben Hananiah ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ ben Ḥánanyāh''; d. 131 CE), also known as Rabbi Yehoshua, was a leading tanna of the first half-century following the destruction of the Second Temple. He is the seventh-most-frequently mentioned sage i ...
. He is likely the grandson of the high priest of the same name.[ He lived in ]Kfar Aziz
Kfar Aziz () was a Jewish village from the period of the Mishna. It is identified with ''Hurbat al Aziz'', in the southern part of Yatta, Hebron, Yatta in the southern West Bank,Daat: Encyclopedia YehuditKfar Aziz/ref> lying at an elevation of ab ...
, south of Hebron.
Some suppose that he was among the martyrs of Betar
The Betar Movement ( he, תנועת בית"ר), also spelled Beitar (), is a Revisionist Zionist youth movement founded in 1923 in Riga, Latvia, by Vladimir (Ze'ev) Jabotinsky. Chapters sprang up across Europe, even during World War II. After t ...
. The more generally received opinion, however, is that one of the martyrs was a namesake (Rabbi Ishmael's death is mentioned in ''Nedarim
In Judaism, a neder (נדר, plural ''nedarim'') is a kind of vow or oath. The neder may consist of performing some act in the future (either once or regularly) or abstaining from a particular type of activity of the person's choice. The concept o ...
'' 9:10).
''Jewish Encyclopedia'' bibliography:
*Bacher Bacher is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Adam Bacher (born 1973), South African cricketer
* Ali Bacher (born 1942), South African cricketer and cricket official
* Dominik Bacher (born 2002), German footballer
* Edvard Bacher ( ...
, ' i. 210 et seq.;
*Brüll Brüll or Bruell is a surname.
The British surname Bruell has been identified as a variation of Brewell, derived from the village of Braithwell, West Yorkshire.
Other variants of this surname include Briel Brill and Bril
Notable people with ...
, ''Mebo ha-Mishnah'', i. 103 et seq.;
* Frankel, ''Darke ha-Mishnah'', pp. 105 et seq.;
* Grätz, ' iv. 60;
*, ' ii. 526 et seq.;
*Heilprin
Heilprin ( he, היילפרין) is a Jewish surname with many variants.
Origins
Some people with the name derive it from the town of Heilbronn, Germany. "Heilbronn" means "healing well".
Besides the numerous Heilbrons, Heilbronners, Heilpruns, ...
, ''Seder ha-Dorot'', ii.;
* Hoffmann, ''Einleitung in die Halachischen Midraschim'', p
5
et seq.;
* Weiss, ', i. 101 et seq.;
**idem, Introduction to his edition of Mekilta, x. et seq.;
* Zacuto, ''Yuḥasin'', ed. Filipowski, p. 25.
Disposition
Yishmael's teachings were calculated to promote peace and goodwill among all:[ "Be indulgent with the hoary head;" he would say, "and be kind to the black-haired ]he young
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' i ...
and meet every man with a friendly countenance".
What he taught he practised. Even toward strangers, he acted considerately. When a non-Jew greeted him, he answered kindly, "Your reward has been predicted"; when another abused him, he repeated coolly, "Your reward has been predicted." This apparent inconsistency, he explained to his puzzled disciples by quoting : "Cursed be one who curses you, and blessed be one who blesses you".
He was fatherly to the indigent, particularly to poor and plain maidens, whom he clothed attractively and provided with means, so that they might obtain husbands.
One Friday night, while absorbed in the study of the Bible, he inadvertently turned the wick of a lamp; and he vowed that when the Temple was rebuilt, he would offer there an expiatory sacrifice.
Views on marriage
Yishmael opposed the refusal of the ultra-patriotic to beget children under the Roman sway. Even under the conditions then existing, he recommended early marriage. He said, "The Scripture tells us, 'Thou shalt teach them Horeb">Mount_Horeb.html" ;"title="he things thou hast seen at Mount Horeb">Horebto thy sons and to thy sons' sons;' and how may one live to teach his sons' sons unless one marries early?"
Halakhic exegesis
Yishmael gradually developed a system of halakha">halakhic
''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 ...
exegesis which, while running parallel with that of Rabbi Akiva, is considered the more logical of the two. Indeed, Yishmael established the principles of the logical method by which laws may be deduced from laws and important decisions founded on the plain phraseology of the Scriptures. Like Akiva, he opened up a wide field for halakhic
, but, unlike Akiva, he required more than a mere jot or a letter as a basis for making important rulings.