Eleazar of Modi'im () was a Jewish scholar of the second

tannaitic ''Tannaim'' ( Amoraic Hebrew: תנאים "repeaters", "teachers", singular ''tanna'' , borrowed from Aramaic) were the rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah, from approximately 10–220 CE. The period of the Tannaim, also refe ...

generation (1st and 2nd centuries), disciple of Johanan ben Zakkai, and contemporary of

Joshua ben Hananiah Joshua ben Hananiah ( ''Yəhōšūaʿ ben Ḥănanyā''; 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 eighth-most-frequently mentioned sage in t ...

and Eliezer ben Hyrcanus.

Rabbinic career

Eleazar of Modi'im was an expert aggadist and frequently discussed exegetical topics with his distinguished contemporaries.

Gamaliel II Rabban Gamaliel II (also spelled Gamliel; ; before –) was a rabbi from the second generation of tannaim. He was the first person to lead the Sanhedrin as '' nasi'' after the fall of the Second Temple in 70 CE. He was the son of Shimon ben G ...

often deferred to Eleazar's interpretations, admitting, "The Moda'i's views are still indispensable". Few of his teachings are preserved in ''

halakha ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Judaism, Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Torah, Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is ...

'' and most of what is known about him comes from hearsay. As he lived through the Hadrianic persecutions and the Bar Kokba insurrection, many of his homilies refer, explicitly or implicitly, to existence under such conditions. Eleazar expressed his confidence in Providence in this comment on the

biblical The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...

statement ( Exodus 16:4), "the people shall go out, and gather a certain rate every day" (lit. "the portion of the day on its day," דבר יום ביומו): "He who creates the day creates its sustenance." From this verse he also argued, "He who is possessed of food for the day, and worries over what he may have to eat the next day, is wanting in faith; therefore the Bible adds b. 'that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or not'". Eleazar's final days were during the insurrection headed by Bar Kochba. According to rabbinic tradition, he died in the besieged city of

Betar The Betar Movement (), also spelled Beitar (), is a Revisionist Zionism, Revisionist Zionist youth movement founded in 1923 in Riga, Latvia, by Ze'ev Jabotinsky, Vladimir (Ze'ev) Jabotinsky. It was one of several right-wing youth movements tha ...

: The story adds that a ''bat ḳol'' (heavenly voice) thereupon pronounced the immediate doom of the chief of the insurrection and of the beleaguered city, which soon came to pass.

Jerusalem Talmud The Jerusalem Talmud (, often for short) or Palestinian Talmud, also known as the Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century Jewish oral tradition known as the Mishnah. Naming this version of the Talm ...

Ta'anit A ta'anit or taynis (Biblical Hebrew ''taʿaniṯ'' or צוֹם ''ṣom'') is a fast in Judaism in which one abstains from all food and drink, including water. Purposes A Jewish fast may have one or more purposes, including: * Atonement for si ...

4 68d;

Lamentations Rabbah The Midrash on Lamentations () is a midrashic commentary to the Book of Lamentations. It is one of the oldest works of midrash, along with Genesis Rabbah and the '' Pesikta de-Rav Kahana''. Names The midrash is quoted, perhaps for the first ti ...

2:2

References

Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography

* W. Bacher, Ag. Tan. i. 194; * Brüll, Mebo ha-Mishnah, i. 130; * Z. Frankel, Darke ha-Mishnah, p. 127; * Hamburger, R. B. T. ii. 161; * Heilprin, Seder ha-Dorot, ii., s.v.; *

Weiss, Dor Isaac (Isaak) Hirsch Weiss, also Eisik Hirsch Weiss () (9 February 1815 – 1 June 1905), was an Austrian Talmudist and historian of literature born at Groß Meseritsch, Habsburg Moravia. After having received elementary instruction in Hebre ...

, ii. 130; *

Zacuto Abraham Zacuto (, ; 12 August 1452 – ) was a Sephardic Jewish astronomer, astrologer, mathematician, rabbi and historian. Born in Castile, he served as Royal Astronomer to King John II of Portugal before fleeing to Tunis. His astrolabe of cop ...

, Yuḥasin, ed. Filipowski, p. 33a. {{JewishEncyclopedia, title=Eleazar of Modi'im (Modaim), first1=Solomon , last1=Schechter, author-link1=Solomon Schechter, first2=S. , last2=Mendelsohn, author-link2=S. Mendelsohn, url=https://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/5549-eleazar-of-modi-im-modaim, volume=5, pages=102–103 1st-century rabbis Mishnah rabbis Pirkei Avot rabbis People from Roman Judea