Eliezer ben Nathan

Even haEzer 1610.jpg

Eliezer ben Nathan(Hebrew:אליעזר בן נתן) ofMainz(1090–1170), orRa'avan(ראב "ן‎), was ahalakistand liturgical poet. As an earlyRishon,he was a contemporary of theRashbamandRabbeinu Tam,and one of the earliest of theTosafists.He was the son-in-law of Rabbi Eliakim b. Joseph of Mainz, a fellow student ofRashi.Through his four daughters Eliezer became the ancestor of several learned families which exerted a great influence upon religious life in the subsequent centuries. One of his great-grandsons wasAsher b. Jehiel(ROSH), father of R. Jacob, author of theṬurim.

In or around 1160, asynodwas held inTroyesas part of theTakkanot Shum.This synod was led byRabbeinu Tam,his brother, theRashbam,and the Ra'avan. Over 250rabbisfrom communities all overFranceattended as well. A number of communal decrees were enacted at the synod covering both Jewish-Gentilerelations as well as matters relating internally to the Jewish community.

Even haEzer

Eliezer proves himself conscientious and careful in his decisions, and in his reverence for tradition he is inclined to accept extremely rigid interpretations of the Law. He interprets the Biblical injunction "Forsake not the teaching of thy mother,"as meaning, "What the older rabbis have prohibited we must not permit" (No. 10). The chapters on civil law contain many an interesting document, and also a statement of commercial relations occasioned by various trials. They contain precise statements of the prices of goods and accurate information concerning commercial usages in theRhinelandand in distantSlaviccountries; e.g., concerning the golden trade routes inStrasburgandSpeyer(fol. 145b); the coinage of the time;and the export trade withGaliciaand southernRussia(No. 5). Slavicion customs and character are also discussed in connection with ritual matters. Among the decisions are some containing interpretations ofBiblicalandTalmudicsayings; one of them (No. 119) even presenting a connected commentary onProverbs30:1-6, in whichSaadia Gaon's view is cited—namely, that Isthiel and Ucal were the names of two men who addressed philosophical questions toAgur ben Jakeh.

The work mentions the year 1152, and must therefore have been completed after that date. The year 1247, which occurs on two copies, may be credited to later transcribers. In the subsequent centuries Eliezer came to be regarded as a great authority, but his work was little known. Not until its importance had been specially urged by the most influential rabbis of Poland—Mordecai Jafe,Samuel Eliezer Edels(Maharsha),Solomon Ephraim Luntschitz,among others, in a formal appeal issued fromPosenin 1609—was its publication undertaken.

As liturgical poet

Eliezer wrote numerous yoẓerot,seliḥot,and otherpiyyuṭim;very few of them, however, have been incorporated in the German and Polish liturgy. TheAkapperah Pene Melekin the seliḥot to the musaf of theDay of Atonementis an example. His poetical productions are valuable only as an index to his devout nature and to his estimate of the importance of the liturgy. They are distinguished for neither originality, elevation of thought, nor elegance of diction. With their allusions tohaggadicinterpretations, their employment of payyeṭan phraseology, acrostics, rimes, and similar mechanical devices, they differ little from many other liturgical productions. Some of these poems he seems to have written on special occasions. Thus, one piyyuṭ composed for a circumcision occurring on theSabbathbears at the close the cipher "ABN," and the words "Long live my child Eliakim." Altogether twenty-five piyyuṭim of his are known. One of his seliḥot depicts the persecutions of theFirst Crusade(1096); another, those of 1146.

As commentator

To Eliezer is attributed the commentary on theMaḥzorpublished inOstrohin 1830. Some of Eliezer's expositions are mentioned in a commentary on the festal prayers calledḲorban Aharon.Mention is also made of a commentary onAbot,from whichJehiel Morawtschik,in hisMinḥah Ḥadashah,written in 1576 after a manuscript of the year 1145, makes quotations.

As chronicler: persecution of 1096

Eliezer is also supposed to be the author of a history of the terrible events of 1096, the year of theRhineland massacres,part of thePeople's Crusade.It expressed great antipathy towards the Christian crusaders, and wrestled with the matter of whyGodwould allow so manyJewsto be massacred. The persecutions of the Jewish communities in the towns along theRhine,the horrible butcheries that were perpetrated, are faithfully depicted here in chronological order.

In this work various acrostic verses contain the name "Eliezer b. Nathan." In deference to a passage inJoseph ha-Kohen'sEmek haBacha,p. 31, which makes a certain Eleazar ha-Levi the author, some writers (asLandshuthandH. Grätz) have denied Eliezer's authorship of this chronicle. This view, however, was refuted around 1900. The chronicle was first edited byAdolph Jellinek;and was republished asHebräische Berichte über die Judenverfolgungen Während der Kreuzzüge,byA. Neubauerand Stern, together with a German translation.

See also

• Mainz AnonymousandSolomon bar Simson Chronicle

Sources

This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Singer, Isidore;et al., eds. (1901–1906).The Jewish Encyclopedia.New York: Funk & Wagnalls.{{cite encyclopedia}}:Missing or empty|title=(help)It has the following bibliography:

• Leser Landshuth,'Ammude ha-'Abodah, pp. 20–22;
• Michael, Or ha-Ḥayyim,pp. 211–215;
• Moritz Güdemann,Gesch. des Erziehunqswesen und der Cultur, i., passim;
• Zunz,Literaturgesch. pp. 259–262;
• Gross, in Monatsschrift, 1885, p. 310;
• H. Bresslau, in Neubauer and Stern, Quellen, ii., xv.-xvii.L

External links

• Jewish Encyclopedia article for Eliezer ben Nathan,byLouis Ginzbergand A. Kaminka.