Elazar Rokeach
Encyclopedia
Eleazar Rokeach also known as Eleazar of Worms or Eleazar ben Judah ben Kalonymus, was a leading Talmudist and mystic
, and the last major member of the Chassidei Ashkenaz
, a group of German Jewish pietists.
. He was a descendant of the great Kalonymus family of Mainz, and a disciple of Judah he-Hasid
, who initiated him into the study of the esoterica, at that time little known in Germany. According to Zunz
, Eleazar was chazzan at Erfurt
before he became rabbi at Worms
. He was a signatory to the Takkanot Shum
. Eleazar underwent great sufferings during the Crusades
. On the night of 22 Kislev, 1196, he was engaged on his commentary on Genesis (he relates that he had reached the parshah Vayeshev), when two crusaders entered his house and killed his wife Dulcina, his two daughters Belat and Hannah, and his son Jacob. His wife had conducted a business in parchment scrolls in order to support the family and enable him to devote all his time to study. Many of the piyyutim he authored protest at Israel's suffering and hope for redemption and revenge against her tormentors.
Eleazar developed a vigorous activity in many directions. On the one hand, he was a Talmudist of vast erudition, a liturgist gifted with a clear and easy style, and an astronomer, and was well versed in the sciences open to the Jews of Germany at that time. At the same time, he was an adventurous mystic who experienced visions, seeing legions of angels and demons. He exerted himself to spread mystical systems which went far beyond the conceptions of the classical authors of Jewish esoterica. In his mystical works he developed and gave a new impulse to the mysticism associated with the letters of the alphabet. By the gematria
and notarikon
systems of interpretation found in the Talmud, Eleazar invented new combinations by which miracles could be performed. The haggadic anthropomorphism which he had combated in his earlier works (Ha-Roḳeaḥ, Sha'are ha-Sod weha-Yiḥud) occupied later the foremost place in his mystical writings.
Eleazar's great merit therefore lies not only in his new mystical system, but also in his ethical works. In these he shows greatness of soul and a piety bordering upon asceticism
. Though so severely tried by fate, he inculcates cheerfulness, patience, and love for humanity. He died at Worms in 1238.
In addition to these works, Eleazar wrote tosafot
to many Talmudical treatises, referred to by Bezalel Ashkenazi
in his Shiṭṭah Meḳubbeẓet; a commentary on "Sheḳalim" in the Palestinian recension, cited by Asheri in his commentary to that treatise in the Babylonian Talmud; thirty-six chapters on the examination of slaughtered animals (MS. Michael No. 307). Zunz enumerates fifty-five liturgical poems and dirges composed by Eleazar and occurring in the Ashkenazic maḥzorim, ḳinot, and seliḥot.
, Z. G. p. 131; idem, Literaturgesch. p. 318; Heinrich Grätz, Gesch. vii. 29; Steinschneider, Cat. Bodl. col. 918; Landshuth, Ammude ha-'Abodah, p. 25; Epstein
, in Monatsschrift, xxxvii. 75; Dukes
, in Orient, Lit. 1844; idem, Zur Kenntniss der Religiösen Poesie, p. 148; Ernest Renan
-Adolf Neubauer
, Les Rabbins Français, pp. 464 et seq.; Michael, Or ha-Ḥayyim, No. 487.
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
, and the last major member of the Chassidei Ashkenaz
Chassidei Ashkenaz
The Chassidei Ashkenaz was a Jewish movement in the 12th century and 13th century founded by Rabbi Judah the Pious of Regensburg, Germany and several other German Jews members of the Lehr family and the Kalonymus family.Rabbi Judah was born in Speyer, Germany in 1150 during a time of persecution...
, a group of German Jewish pietists.
Biography
Eleazar was most likely born in MainzMainz
Mainz under the Holy Roman Empire, and previously was a Roman fort city which commanded the west bank of the Rhine and formed part of the northernmost frontier of the Roman Empire...
. He was a descendant of the great Kalonymus family of Mainz, and a disciple of Judah he-Hasid
Judah ben Samuel of Regensburg
Judah ben Samuel of Regensburg , also called HeHasid or 'the Pious' in Hebrew, was the initiator of the Chassidei Ashkenaz, a movement of Jewish mysticism in Germany....
, who initiated him into the study of the esoterica, at that time little known in Germany. According to Zunz
Zunz
Zunz, Zuntz is a Yiddish surname: , Belgian pharmacologist* Leopold Zunz , German Reform rabbi* Gerhard Jack Zunz , British civil engineer- Zuntz :* Nathan Zuntz , German physiologist...
, Eleazar was chazzan at Erfurt
Erfurt
Erfurt is the capital city of Thuringia and the main city nearest to the geographical centre of Germany, located 100 km SW of Leipzig, 150 km N of Nuremberg and 180 km SE of Hannover. Erfurt Airport can be reached by plane via Munich. It lies in the southern part of the Thuringian...
before he became rabbi at Worms
Worms, Germany
Worms is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Rhine River. At the end of 2004, it had 85,829 inhabitants.Established by the Celts, who called it Borbetomagus, Worms today remains embattled with the cities Trier and Cologne over the title of "Oldest City in Germany." Worms is the only...
. He was a signatory to the Takkanot Shum
Takkanot Shum
The ' , or Enactments of SHU"M were a set of decrees formulated and agreed upon over a period of decades by the leaders of three of the central cities of Medieval Rhineland Jewry: Speyer, Worms, and Mainz. The initials of the Hebrew names for these cities, , , and form the initials...
. Eleazar underwent great sufferings during the Crusades
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
. On the night of 22 Kislev, 1196, he was engaged on his commentary on Genesis (he relates that he had reached the parshah Vayeshev), when two crusaders entered his house and killed his wife Dulcina, his two daughters Belat and Hannah, and his son Jacob. His wife had conducted a business in parchment scrolls in order to support the family and enable him to devote all his time to study. Many of the piyyutim he authored protest at Israel's suffering and hope for redemption and revenge against her tormentors.
Eleazar developed a vigorous activity in many directions. On the one hand, he was a Talmudist of vast erudition, a liturgist gifted with a clear and easy style, and an astronomer, and was well versed in the sciences open to the Jews of Germany at that time. At the same time, he was an adventurous mystic who experienced visions, seeing legions of angels and demons. He exerted himself to spread mystical systems which went far beyond the conceptions of the classical authors of Jewish esoterica. In his mystical works he developed and gave a new impulse to the mysticism associated with the letters of the alphabet. By the gematria
Gematria
Gematria or gimatria is a system of assigning numerical value to a word or phrase, in the belief that words or phrases with identical numerical values bear some relation to each other, or bear some relation to the number itself as it may apply to a person's age, the calendar year, or the like...
and notarikon
Notarikon
Notarikon is a method of deriving a word, akin to the creation of an acronym, by using each of its initial or final letters to stand for another word, forming a sentence or idea out of the words. Another variation entails using the first and last letters, or the two middle letters of a word,...
systems of interpretation found in the Talmud, Eleazar invented new combinations by which miracles could be performed. The haggadic anthropomorphism which he had combated in his earlier works (Ha-Roḳeaḥ, Sha'are ha-Sod weha-Yiḥud) occupied later the foremost place in his mystical writings.
Eleazar's great merit therefore lies not only in his new mystical system, but also in his ethical works. In these he shows greatness of soul and a piety bordering upon asceticism
Asceticism
Asceticism describes a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from various sorts of worldly pleasures often with the aim of pursuing religious and spiritual goals...
. Though so severely tried by fate, he inculcates cheerfulness, patience, and love for humanity. He died at Worms in 1238.
Ethical works
- Ha-Roḳeaḥ, ("The Perfumer"), a halachic guide to ethicsEthicsEthics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
and Jewish LawHalakhaHalakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...
for the common reader. The title derives from the numerical value of the word הרקח, which corresponds to that of אלעזר. The book is divided into 497 paragraphs containing halachot and ethics; first published at Fano, 1505. - Adderet ha-Shem, still extant in manuscript in the VaticanVatican CityVatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
Library. - Moreh Ḥaṭṭa'im, or Seder ha-Kapparot, on penitence and confession of sin, first published at Venice, 1543. This work, which is included in the Hilkot Teshubah of the Ha-Roḳeaḥ, has been reproduced many times under various titles. It appeared under the title Darke Teshubah at the end of the responsa of Meir of RothenburgMeir of RothenburgMeir of Rothenburg was a German Rabbi and poet, a major author of the tosafot on Rashi's commentary on the Talmud...
in the Prague edition; as Inyane Teshubah, or Seder Teshubah, in the Sephardic ritual of 1584; as Yesod Teshubah, with additions by Isaac ben Moses Elles, first published in 1583; as Yore Ḥaṭṭa'im ba-Derek; and as Sefer ha-Kapparot. The title adopted here is the same as that given in the Kol Bo, in which the work was reproduced. - Sefer ha-Ḥayyim, treating of the unity of God, of the soul and its attributes, and of the three stages (recognized by the ancients as "plant, animal, and intellectual") in man's life.
- Sha'are ha-Sod ha-Yiḥud weha-Emunah, a treatise on the unity and incorporeality of God, combating the anthropomorphism of the Haggadah (published by Adolf JellinekAdolf Jellinek----Adolf Jellinek |Drslavice]], nearby Uherské Hradiště, Moravia - December 28, 1893, Vienna) was an Austrian rabbi and scholar...
in the Kokabe Yiẓḥaḳ collection [xxvii.].
Pietistic works
- Yir'at El, still extant in manuscript in the VaticanVatican CityVatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
Library, containing mystical commentaries on Psalm lxvii., on the Menorah, and on Sefirat ha-OmerCounting of the OmerCounting of the Omer is a verbal counting of each of the forty-nine days between the Jewish holidays of Passover and Shavuot...
. - Sefer ha-Kabod, mystical explanations of various Biblical passages (Neubauer, Cat. Bodl. Hebr. MSS. No. 1566, 1).
- Yayin ha-Reḳaḥ, mystical commentaries on the five Megillot. Those on Book of RuthBook of RuthThe Book of Ruth is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible, Tanakh, or Old Testament. In the Jewish canon the Book of Ruth is included in the third division, or the Writings . In the Christian canon the Book of Ruth is placed between Judges and 1 Samuel...
and the Song of SongsSong of songsSong of Songs, also known as the Song of Solomon, is a book of the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament. It may also refer to:In music:* Song of songs , the debut album by David and the Giants* A generic term for medleysPlays...
were published at Lublin, 1608. - A commentary on Psalm cxlv. (MS. De Rossi No. 1138).
- A commentary on the prayers mentioned by Joseph Solomon DelmedigoJoseph Solomon DelmedigoJoseph Solomon Qandia Delmedigo was a rabbi, author, physician, mathematician, and music theorist....
in his Maẓref la-Ḥokmah (p. 14b). - Ta'ame we-Sodot ha-Tefillah (Neubauer, ib. No.1575.)
- Perush 'al Sefer Yeẓirah, a commentary on the Sefer YetzirahSefer YetzirahSefer Yetzirah is the title of the earliest extant book on Jewish esotericism, although some early commentators treated it as a treatise on mathematical and linguistic theory as opposed to Kabbalah...
, being extracts from Shabbethai DonnoloShabbethai DonnoloShabbethai Donnolo was an Italian physician, and writer on medicine and astrology born at Oria. When twelve years of age he was made prisoner by the Arabs under the leadership of the Fatimite Abu Ahmad Ja'far ibn 'Ubaid, but was ransomed by his relatives at Otranto, while the rest of his family...
's commentary. Fragments of this work were first published at Mantua in 1562, later in several other places; a complete edition was printed at Przemysl, 1889. - Midrash we-Perush 'al ha-Torah, mystical commentary on the Pentateuch, mentioned by AzulaiChaim Joseph David AzulaiChaim Joseph David Azulai ben Isaac Zerachia , commonly known as the Chida , was a Jerusalem born rabbinical scholar, a noted bibliophile, and a pioneer in the publication of Jewish religious writings.- Biography :Azulai was born in Jerusalem, where he received his education...
. - Sha'are Binah, in which, interpreting Biblical verses by the system of gemaṭriyyot, he shows the origin of many haggadot of the Talmud. This work is frequently quoted by Solomon al-Ḳabiẓ, in his Manot ha-Lewi.
- Shi'ur Komah, a commentary on the Shi'ur Komah, the Pirḳe de-Rabbi Yishma'el, and the Merkabah (MS. Michael).
- Sefer ha-Ḥokmah, mystical treatise on the various names of God and of angels, and on the seventy-three "Gates of the Torah", שערי תורה.
- Sefer ha-Shem, mystical dissertations on the names of twenty-two letters, with a table of permutations (Neubauer, ib. No. 1569, 4).
- Eser Shemot, commentary on the ten names of God (MS. Michael, No. 175).
- A commentary on the piyyuṭ "Ha-Oḥez."
- Six small cabalistic treatises entitled Sod ha-Ziwwug, Sefer ha-Ne'elam, Sefer Mal'akim, Sefer Tagim, Sefer Pesaḳ, and Sefer ha-Ḳolot, all of which are still extant in manuscript (Neubauer, ib. No. 1566).
- Liḳḳuṭim, mystical fragments, mentioned by Recanate.
- Sode Raza, a treatise on the mysteries of the "Merkabah." Part of this work was published at Amsterdam in 1701, under the title Sefer Razi'el ha-Gadol. In the introduction the editor says that he decided to publish this book after having seen that the greater part of it had been produced in French under the title Images des Lettres de l'Alphabet.
In addition to these works, Eleazar wrote tosafot
Tosafot
The Tosafot or Tosafos are medieval commentaries on the Talmud. They take the form of critical and explanatory glosses, printed, in almost all Talmud editions, on the outer margin and opposite Rashi's notes...
to many Talmudical treatises, referred to by Bezalel Ashkenazi
Bezalel Ashkenazi
Bezalel ben Abraham Ashkenazi was a rabbi and talmudist who lived in Ottoman Palestine during the 16th century. He is best known as the author of Shittah Mekubetzet, a commentary on the Talmud. He is very straightforward in his writings and occasionally offers textual amendments to the Talmud...
in his Shiṭṭah Meḳubbeẓet; a commentary on "Sheḳalim" in the Palestinian recension, cited by Asheri in his commentary to that treatise in the Babylonian Talmud; thirty-six chapters on the examination of slaughtered animals (MS. Michael No. 307). Zunz enumerates fifty-five liturgical poems and dirges composed by Eleazar and occurring in the Ashkenazic maḥzorim, ḳinot, and seliḥot.
Sources
Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography: Zacuto, Yuḥasin, p. 221; ZunzZunz
Zunz, Zuntz is a Yiddish surname: , Belgian pharmacologist* Leopold Zunz , German Reform rabbi* Gerhard Jack Zunz , British civil engineer- Zuntz :* Nathan Zuntz , German physiologist...
, Z. G. p. 131; idem, Literaturgesch. p. 318; Heinrich Grätz, Gesch. vii. 29; Steinschneider, Cat. Bodl. col. 918; Landshuth, Ammude ha-'Abodah, p. 25; Epstein
Abraham Epstein
Abraham Epstein was a Russo-Austrian rabbinical scholar born in Staro Constantinov, Volhynia.Epstein diligently studied the works of Levinsohn, Krochmal, and S. D. Luzzatto, and when he traveled in western Europe for the first time in 1861, he made the acquaintance of J. L. Rapoport, Z. Frankel,...
, in Monatsschrift, xxxvii. 75; Dukes
Dukes
-Albums:-EPs:-Singles:...
, in Orient, Lit. 1844; idem, Zur Kenntniss der Religiösen Poesie, p. 148; Ernest Renan
Ernest Renan
Ernest Renan was a French expert of Middle East ancient languages and civilizations, philosopher and writer, devoted to his native province of Brittany...
-Adolf Neubauer
Adolf Neubauer
Adolf Neubauer was sublibrarian at the Bodleian Library and reader in Rabbinic Hebrew at Oxford University....
, Les Rabbins Français, pp. 464 et seq.; Michael, Or ha-Ḥayyim, No. 487.