“The one who seeks justice for himself will lose it; those who are looking for the neighbour, shall find it.”

Rabbi Eleazar ben Shimon (רבי אלעזר בן שמעון) — Tannaita of the 5.Th generation

Historical context, life, work and teachings

Identity and time

Rabbi Eleazar ben Shimon (sources: “R. Eleazar bar R. Elazar b. R. Shimon”) was a wise tannaita of the fifth generation (century II d. C.), the son of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai (RaShBI) and a contemporary of Rabbi Yehuda hanassi. His teachings appear in the Mishnah in a timely manner and, with greater density, baraitot and passages of the Talmud of Babylon and Jerusalem.

not to be confused with Eleazar ben Simonleader zelota of the First War Judeo-Romana (s. I. d. C.), a character different historical and above.

Life: milestones

Youth in the cave, and training with his father

After the edicts of the romans, RaShBI and his son Eleazar hid for years in a cave, dedicated to the study. Classical narration is in Shabbat 33b, and is taken up again in midrashim and in the subsequent literature.

Back to the public life and relationship with Yehuda hanassi

Return to public life, Eleazar he attended the academy of the patriarch (Shimon ben Gamliel II) and was colleague —and sometimes rival— of Yehuda hanassi. The tradition underlines both their closeness as certain strains academic.

Service to the roman government and controversy

Unlike his father, he accepted a position under the roman administration to suppress crime (arrest of thieves). That's why he was severely reprimanded by R. r. joshua ben Korjá with the phrase¡vinegar, son of wine!”; Eleazar was defended with the metaphor “I'm clearing away the thorns from the vineyard”. The story is in Bava Metziá 83b and in summaries halachic-aggádicos.

Voluntary penance and suffering

The sources describe that took sufferings for fear of having caused harm to the innocent by using her position; the sugyá detailing drastic measures and episodes of healing and prosperity later. See the versions in Bava Metziá 84b-85a and translations/explanations modern.

Death, “a voice from the attic” and sepultura

After his death, his wife kept the body without burying for a long time —according to the aggadá, an “opinion” out from the attic resolving lawsuits— until, in the midst of local disputes, he was buried in Meron next to his father. Sources: Bava Metziá 84a-b and Jewish Encyclopedia.

“I am not afraid of the judgment of men, when I know that heaven watching my intentions.”
— I paraphrase her response to him, Rabbi, r. joshua ben Korjá, who called it ' vinegar the son of wine”.

Work: where are his teachings

1. Mishnah (explicit evidence):
   • Beitzá 4:5: allows you to driving an animal with a rod on Yom Tov (dispute with the Tannaím).
   • Temurá / Menajot: its position is cited in technical discussions (e.g., Menajot 22a about the suitability of wood communal).
   (It appears less than other tanaítas; many of his positions are circulating on the baraitot and in the guemarot.)
2. Talmud (Bavlí and Yerushalmí): large passages of narrative and halájicos in Bava Metziá 83b–85a (charge roman, penance, death), in addition to appointments scattered in other treaties.
3. Midrashim and mystical tradition: as companion of RaShBI, figure in stories associated with the circle of the Zohar, where RaShBI and his “jabraya” (companions) —between them his son Eleazar— discuss about the secrets of the Torah. (On the literary context of the Zohar and your personajería, see Encyclopedia.com).

Intellectual profile and features of the method

• Composed by RaShBIwith a style that combines firmness legal with strong images (e.g., “the thorns of the vineyard” for criminals), and a asceticism intense that results in the penance narrated by the Talmud.
• Recognized by his peers as scholar versatile: “well versed in Scripture and in the traditional Law, a poet of liturgy, officiated and preached” according to the summary classic Leviticus Rabbah 30:1 cited by Jewish Encyclopedia.

“The pain that purifies is stronger than the iron that hurts.”

Teachings and selected positions

1. Yom Tov and handling of animals
   Allows guide the animal with a stick on Yom Tov, against the position restrictive of the Tannaím anonymous in the mishnah. Mishnah Beitzá 4:5.
2. Temple/korbanot — Timber and supplies
   In Menajot 22a quoted its opinion on the suitability of the wood for the altar when it comes from funds communaleven if it is not “new”, showing their discretion on the resources from the public in the cult.
3. Public order and denunciation to the authorities
   The famous sugyá of Bava Metziá 83b tells his performance as a government agent to catch thieves, the rejection of rabbinical that caused and defense (“clearing the thorns”). This discussion is key for subsequent debates about collaboration with authorities not jewish.
4. Teshuvah and suffering are self-imposed
   In Bava Metziá 84b-85a agree yisurín (suffering), as an atonement. The gemara describes episodes of healing and abundance later, and their return to the study with new prestige.
5. Charismatic authority post-mortem
   The reason for the opinion from the attic reflects a memory charismatic and the respect for enduring his judicial authority, even after the death, according to Bava Metziá 84a.

“The judge must clean up the field of evil, even when your hands dirty with earth.”
— Inspired by Bava Metziá 83b–84a, showing its conception, hard, but the morality of justice.

Relationships and circle of peers

• RaShBI (father): link master-disciple very narrow; both share the tradition of the cave (Shabbat 33b).
• Yehuda hanassi: colleague and partner academic; fonts mentioned rivalry and, at the same time, admiration (“Eleazar was greater than I”, according to the stories late BM 84).
• Other tanaím: appears with R. Meir, R. Yose, R. Yehuda in discussions halájicos, and anecdotes with R. Ishmael b. Yose (e.g., descriptions, satirical bodied in the passages aggádicos).

Death, transfer and tomb

Died in Akbará (Galilee); for years was not buried (according to the aggadá). When the wise men resolved to bury him, neighbors opposed by believing that their presence protected against wild beasts; finally he was taken to Meron and buried next to RaShBI.

How to read your legacy

1. A tannaita semordnilap:
   • Asceticism and radicalism (cave, penance),
   • Pragmatism legal (permissiveness in Beitzá 4:5; focus on the functioning of the Temple),
   • Voltage ethics between purity community and state collaboration, a topic still debated.
2. Memory mystical and popular:
   Their presence in the stories of the circle of RaShBI fueled the subsequent tradition of the Zohar, where he appears as partner the master (without proof of personal authorship).

Bibliography minimum reliable and primary sources

• Primary sources (Talmud/Mishna):
  Shabbat 33b (cave); Bava Metziá 83b–85a (charge roman, penance, death); Mishnah Beitzá 4:5 (allows you to drive with a rod); Menajot 22a (wood communal).
• Synthesis classics:
  Jewish Encyclopedia, “Eleazar ben Simon: biography, controversies, transfer, and burial.
• Panoramas and study materials contemporaries:
  Hadran (literary context of BM 83-85); Daf Yomi/Steinsaltz/OU (summaries and notes of the sugyot).

“I pull the thorns from the vineyard.”
— Bava Metziá 83b
(His defense against those who criticized by collaborating with the roman authorities to eliminate corruption and crime.)

In summary

Rabbi Eleazar ben Shimon it was a complex figure: exemplary disciple of RaShBI, a lawyer with his own opinion (e.g., on Yom Tov and themes of worship), officer controversial under Rome reworked his biography by a severe teshuvah. His legacy is preserved least “works” signed and more sugyot exploring authority, justice and penance, and in the memory mystical it is located next to his father in the forge of the imaginary rabbinic.