Rabbi Ilai ( he, אלעאי or עילאי), also recorded as Rabbi Ela (אלעא, אילא), Hela, Ilaa, Ili, La, Leia, or Yela,
[Rabbi Il'ai (II) - רבי עילאי](_blank)
sages of the talmud was an ''
amora'' of the
Land of Israel
The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Isra ...
, of the third generation of Amoraim, who lived in the late 3rd-early 4th centuries.
Biography
He was a disciple of R.
Yochanan bar Nafcha
:''See Johanan (name) for more rabbis by this name''.
Johanan bar Nappaha ( he, יוחנן בר נפחא Yoḥanan bar Nafḥa; alt. sp. Napaḥa) (also known simply as Rabbi Yochanan, or as Johanan bar Nafcha) (lived 180-279 CE) was a leading r ...
and R.
Shimon ben Lakish
Shim‘on ben Lakish ( he, שמעון בן לקיש; arc, שמעון בר לקיש ''Shim‘on bar Lakish'' or ''bar Lakisha''), better known by his nickname Reish Lakish (c. 200 — c. 275), was an amora who lived in the Roman province of Judae ...
. Among his disciples, one can find the leading figures of the fourth amoraic generation, such as
Rav Jonah
Rabbi Jonah (Hebrew: רבי יונה) was a Palestinian amora of the 4th century, the leading rabbinical authority in the 4th amoraic generation.
Biography
With Jose bar Zevida, his early schoolmate and lifelong colleague and business partner ...
,
Rav Zeira
Rabbi Zeira ( he, רבי זירא), known before his semicha as Rav Zeira ( he, רב זירא) and known in the Jerusalem Talmud as Rabbi Ze'era ( he, רבי זעירא), was a Jewish Talmudist, of the third generation of amoraim, who lived in th ...
,
Ravin
Ravin may refer to:
*Idan Ravin, basketball coach
*Emilie de Ravin (born 1981), Australian-American actress
*Ravin Bay Ravin Bay () is a small bay between Cape Pepin and the point where Francais Glacier discharges into the sea. Discovered in 184 ...
and more.
In one form or another, his name frequently appears in both Yerushalmi and Bavli, mostly in the field of the halakhah. He was so distinguished that his contemporary and friend Rabbi
Zeira
Rabbi Zeira ( he, רבי זירא), known before his semicha as Rav Zeira ( he, רב זירא) and known in the Jerusalem Talmud as Rabbi Ze'era ( he, רבי זעירא), was a Jewish Talmudist, of the third generation of amoraim, who lived in th ...
, admiring Ela's acumen, exclaimed, "The very air of Palestine imparts wisdom". On two other occasions, the same Zeira entitled him "Bannaya d'Oraita" (Builder of the Law: establisher of fine legal points).
He carried his theoretical knowledge into actual life, so that the very appointments of his house afforded object-lessons in rabbinic rites. It is related that when on a certain Friday his duties detained him at college until late at night, and, returning home, he found the entrance barred and the people asleep, rather than desecrate the Sabbath by knocking at the gate for admission, he spent the night on the steps of his house.
Teachings
In halakhic exegesis Ela laid down the guiding rule, "
choler", which some ascribe to this Ela (Ilai), others ascribe to Rabbi Ilai I.
Eulogizing R. Shimon bar Zevid, Ela skilfully interweaves several verses from the Book of Job, to which he adds simply their application to Shimon's death, thus: "'Where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding?' 'The depth says, It is not in me; and the sea says, It is not with me' 'It is hidden from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air'. The four objects necessary to man, if lost, may be replaced; for 'there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold which they rfine. Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is molten out of the stone'; but when a scholar dies, who can take his place? We have lost Shimon: from where shall we procure his like?"
[Yerushalmi Berachot 3 5c, and parallels]
References
It has the following bibliography:
* Frankel, Mebo, p. 75b;
* Weiss, Dor, iii. 101;
* Brüll, Mebo ha-Mishnah, i. 139;
* Bacher, Ag. Pal. Amor. iii. 699.
{{Amoraim
Talmud rabbis of Syria Palaestina