“Don't try to appease thy neighbour in time of his wrath.”
(Pirké Avot 4:18)

1) Identity, chronology and environment

• Time and generation: Tanaita of end of the century II – early III (fourth/fifth generation of Tanaim), active in the circle that prepares the wording of the Mishnah and in the transition to the era amoraica. Was a direct disciple of Rabbi Meir and a contemporary of Rabbi Yehuda hanassi.
• Family origin (discussion): The sources are not unanimous: the Jewish Encyclopedia considered “probably” the son of Eleazar ben Shammua; the Encyclopedia.com links with Eleazar of Bartota. The lack of uniformity reflects fragmentation of the biographical data.
• Place of activity: Tiberias figure as his vital area; Rabbi Yochanan what reminded “of his youth” in there, which puts Shimon ben Elazar in the human landscape of the pop-up center galileo.

2) Teachers, colleagues, and transmission

• Primary master: Rabbi Meir; Shimon ben Elazar transmits halachot and aggadot in your name and, having served close, he met practices and opinions that is not always circulated in the bet midrash.
• Peer network: Figure next to Yehuda hanassi and other recent tanaim; his voice appears in baraitot and Tosefta, and dating talmudic (e.g., Shabbat 134a; Ḥulín 6a; ‘Eruvín 29a, referenced by the classic literature).

3) textual Sources and corpus

The teaching more famous that bears his name is in Pirké Avot 4:18 (sometimes numbered 4:23 editions of the west:

“Don't try to appease your neighbor in their time of wrath; nor comfort him while his dead lies before him; or to ask you [vote] at the time of his vow; nor seek to see him in his hour of misfortune.”

Other related parts:

• Tosefta Sanhedrin 4:4 (chain of transmission) quotes on the writing of the Torah (‘ashurit’) and issues of textual tradition.
• Thematic compilations modern (Sefaria “Topics”) are as disciple, devotee of R. Meir and polemicist against samaritansuseful for tracking occurrences and leaves of sources.

4) ethical Doctrine (Pirké Avot 4:18): meaning and scope

The maximum is organized around the opportunity (זמן) of the intervention ethics:

1. Not to appease the wrath: recognizes cognitive limits of who is choleric; the repair requires desescalamiento temporary prior to that argument.
2. Not comforting to the body present: bans trivialization of the duel immediately; endorse a ethics of silence and the presence.
3. Not questioning your vote: avoid forcing retractaciones when there is emotional pressure; protect the autonomy and the honor of the other.
4. Don't look for it in your fall: not recommended voyeurism moral; pattern respectful distance to to preserve the dignity of the fallen.

Projection practice

• Bereavement and support: foundation classic nihum aveilim prudent and the containment of the speech “consolatorio” early.
• Conflict management: it is used in musar guides and contemporary as the principle of timing relational.

“Do not comfort the suffering while his dead lies before him.”
(Pirké Avot 4:18)

5) Halacha and tradition: thematic lines where it appears

• Written tradition of the Torah: his appointment in Tosefta links to Shimon ben Elazar with discussions on scriptio (ashurit vs. old paleohebreo)an axis of identity of the transmission mosaic according to the chain rabbinic.
• Practices learned from the master: sources point out that, for personal service to R. Meir, Shimon ben Elazar retained customs halájicas not recorded in the study to the public, and failed in result when appropriate.

6) Agadá and character formation

The story of the “man with a very ugly” (as recounted in compendiums classical) portrays Shimon ben Elazar becoming euphoric study; belittles a passerby, who replies: “Go and tell the Craftsman who made me”; the wise man repents and learn a principle of humility and respect for the tzelem Elohim. This story is central to your ethos of moral perfection.

7) intellectual Profile and traits of style

• Emphasis on the character and the opportunity: its ethical message is not maximalist but located; know when to remain silent or to postpone it is virtue.
• Faithfully to the tradition received: its authority halachic is supported in direct transmission R. Meir and living tradition, rather than in systematization of theoretical.

“Not interrogues to the man about his vote at the time on which it has been pronounced.”
(Pirké Avot 4:18)

8) Reception and memory rabbinical

• In repertoires and comments Pirké Avothis teaching became topic tag moral jewish, cited frequently in education and musar.
• Study sites and modern biographies are as a tanna of the fifth generation, a disciple of R. Meir, with mentions sporadic in Mishnah and more dense in baraitot/Tosefta.

9) Differentiation of homonyms and possible confusion

• Not to be confused to Shimon ben Elazar with Elazar ben Shimon (the son of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai), the other tanna, widely cited, and the protagonist of stories famous; they are wise different.
• Some sources ancient and medieval relocated his generation or affiliation; there is a hypothesis two sages with the same name in generations contiguous to resolve discrepancies (an idea that discuss summaries of academic modern).

10) Selection of primary sources for study

• Pirké Avot 4:18 (text base and variants).
• Tosefta Sanhedrin 4:4 (string on the writing of the Torah).
• Passages in talmudic where is the citation (e.g., Shab 134a; Ḥul 6a; ‘Er 29a, according to references of the classic literature).

“Do not look to man in the hour of his disgrace.”
(Pirké Avot 4:18)

11) secondary Bibliography recommended

• Jewish Encyclopedia, voice “Simeon b. Eleazar” (a biographical synthesis of classical with the story of ethics).
• Encyclopedia.com, “Simeon ben Eleazar” (profile, location in Tiberias and relationship with R. Meir).
• Sefaria (text and ‘topics’) for access to sources, translations, and study sheets on its maximum and other particulars.
• Modern commentaries to Avot they develop the notion of “times” of the word (e.g., essays, teaching contemporary).

Conclusion

Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar embodies the profile a faithful disciple of Rabbi Meir that, at the hinge between the Tanaim and Amoraim, leaves a trace ethics, very accurate: wisdom is not only what say, but when. His legacy combines tradition halachic received in direct sequence and a pedagogy of the opportunity that remains a pillar of ethics rabbinic classic.

“The wise man does not only measure their words; also measures the time in which he says them.”