SIMEON BEN ḤALAFTA

SIMEON BEN ḤALAFTA
SIMEON BEN ḤALAFTA (end of the second century C.E.), tanna in the transition period between the tannaim and the amoraim. Nothing is recorded concerning him in the Mishnah or the Tosefta, except for the one dictum: "The Holy One found no vessel that could contain Israel's blessing save that of peace" (Uk. 3:12), which was appended to the tractate Ukẓin and is thus the concluding statement of the whole Mishnah. Simeon lived in Ein-Te'enah, between Sepphoris and Tiberias (TJ, Ta'an. 4:2). He studied under Meir, and his colleagues   Ḥiyya and Simeon b. Rabbi (Judah ha-Nasi) were the outstanding scholars of the transition period. He frequented the home of Judah ha-Nasi (MK 9b), who also supported him financially in such a way as to cause him no embarrassment (Ruth R. 5:7). Most of his statements belong to the sphere of aggadah and he is in fact called "a tanna of the aggadah." Many remarkable stories are related about him (Eccles. R. 3:4), and about his sustenance which came in a miraculous manner, such as (Ruth. R. 3:4) when "a hand came down to him from heaven," or when he was attacked by hungry lions and two pieces of flesh came down from heaven, one of which satisfied its hunger, and the other was declared apparently suitable for his own consumption (Sanh. 59b). He supported himself by means of a field that he leased from Ḥiyya (Ruth R. 5:12). He apparently was accustomed to examine independently the veracity of traditional statements regarding flora and fauna. Thus he investigated the truth of the verse in Proverbs (6:6–7) on the wisdom of the ant in order to arrive at its meaning (Ḥul. 57b). Similarly concerning the laws of terefah in birds, he sought to prove that defects which according to other scholars rendered the bird terefah because their injuries were fatal could in fact be cured. He is also found exaggerating about unusual phenomena in the plant world: "I had a single pepper stalk in my property and climbed it as if climbing to the top of a fig tree" (TJ, Pe'ah 7:3). His inclination toward independent "empirical" investigation is also reflected in the story that he went out to listen to the vernacular employed by the common people in order to learn from it the meaning of difficult biblical words (Gen. R. 79:7). His wife bore their poverty with courage and even prevented him from using the gift he received miraculously from heaven (v. supra) in order not to diminish the reward preserved in the hereafter (Ruth R. 3:4). (Israel Burgansky)

Encyclopedia Judaica. 1971.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Jose ben Halafta — Rabbi Jose ben Halafta or Yose ben Halafta (Hebrew: רבי יוסי בן חלפתא) was a Tanna of the fourth generation (2nd century CE). Jose was a student of Rabbi Akiba and was regarded as one of the foremost scholars of halakha and aggadah of his day. He …   Wikipedia

  • YOSE BEN ḤALAFTA — (mid second century C.E.), tanna; the R. Yose mentioned in the Talmud without patronymic. Yose was one of the leaders of the generation after the persecutions which followed the Bar Kokhba War. He was born in sepphoris , where his father was one… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Yose ben-Halafta — (mid 2nd century)    Tanna. Rabbi Yose was born in Sepphoris, Palestine, and after having been taught by his father, also a rabbi, he became a pupil of the great AKIBA. At the age of thirteen, in spite of the Roman command against it, he was… …   Who’s Who in Jewish History after the period of the Old Testament

  • Siméon II ben Gamaliel — Shimon ben Gamliel II …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Haninah ben Teradion — Rabbinical Eras Chazal Zugot Tannaim Amoraim Savoraim Geonim Rishonim Acharonim Rabbi Haninah ben Teradion or Hananiah ben Teradion (Hebrew: חנניה בן תרדיון) was a teacher in the third Tannaitic generation (2nd century). He was a contemporary of… …   Wikipedia

  • Hanina ben Hakinai — Rabbinical Eras Chazal Zugot Tannaim Amoraim Savoraim Geonim Rishonim Acharonim Hanina ben Hakinai or Hanania ben Hakinai (Hebrew: חנינא בן חכינאי) was a Tanna of the 2nd century; contemporary of Ben Azzai and Simon the Temanite (Tosef., Ber. iv …   Wikipedia

  • Matteya ben Heresh — Rabbinical Eras Chazal Zugot Tannaim Amoraim Savoraim Geonim Rishonim Acharonim Matteya ben Heresh or Mattithiah (Hebrew: מתיא בן חרש) was a Roman tanna of the 2nd century. He was born in Judea, probably a pupil of R. Ishmael, and certainly a… …   Wikipedia

  • Akabia ben Mahalalel — Akavia redirects here. For the Israeli writer and translator, see Miriam Akavia. Rabbinical Eras Chazal Zugot Tannaim Amoraim Savoraim Geonim Rishonim Acharonim Akabia ben Mahalalel (Hebrew: עקביא בן מהללאל‎), was a Jewish religious teacher,… …   Wikipedia

  • Nehunya ben ha-Kanah — Rabbinical Eras Chazal Zugot Tannaim Amoraim Savoraim Geonim Rishonim Acharonim Nehunya ben ha Kanah (Hebrew: נחוניה בן הקנה) was a Tanna of the 1st and 2nd centuries. It appears from B. B. 10b that Neḥunya was a contemporary, but not a pupil, of …   Wikipedia

  • Hanina ben Dosa — Rabbinical Eras Chazal Zugot Tannaim Amoraim Savoraim Geonim Rishonim Acharonim Hanina ben Dosa (1st century, CE) (Hebrew: חנינא בן דוסא‎) was a scholar and miracle worker, and the pupil of Johanan ben Zakkai (Berakhot, 34b). He is buried in the… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”