Ishmael ben Elisha (90 - 135 CE, commonly known as 'Rabbi Ishmael') was a Tanna of the first and second centuries (third tannaitic generation). A Tanna (plural, Tannaim) is a Jewish rabbinic sage whose views are recorded in the Mishnah. For other uses, see number 90. ... For other uses, see number 135. ... The Mishnah (Hebrew משנה, Repetition) is a major source of rabbinic Judaisms religious texts. ... The 1st century was that century which lasted from 1 to 100 according the Gregorian calendar. ... The 2nd century is the period from 101 - 200 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era. ... The word Jew ( Hebrew: יהודי) is used in a wide number of ways, but generally refers to a follower of the Jewish faith, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity and often a combination... Rabbi (Classical Hebrew רִבִּי ribbÄ«;; modern Ashkenazi and Israeli רַבִּי rabbÄ«) in Judaism, means teacher, or more literally great one. The word Rabbi is derived from the Hebrew root-word RaV, which in biblical Hebrew means great or distinguished, (in knowledge). In the ancient Judean schools (and among Sefaradim today) the sages... The Mishnah (Hebrew משנה, repetition) is a major source of rabbinic Judaisms religious texts. ...

Life

Ishmael was a descendant of a wealthy priestly family in Upper Galilee, and presumably the grandson of the high priest of the same name. As a youth, he was carried away by the Romans, but Joshua ben Hananiah, succeeding in purchasing his liberty, restored him to Palestine, where he rapidly developed him into an accomplished scholar. Of his teachers, only Neḥunya ben ha-Ḳanah is expressly mentioned (Sheb. 26a), but he doubtless learned much from his benefactor, between whom and himself grew up a close friendship; Joshua called him "brother" (Ab. Zarah ii. 5; Tosef., Parah x. [ix.] 3), a term by which he was afterward known to his colleagues (Yad. iv. 3; Sanh. 51b). The Roman Empire was a phase of the ancient Roman civilization characterized by an autocratic form of government. ... Map of the British Mandate of Palestine. ...

Ishmael was one of the prominent members of the Sanhedrin at Yavneh (Eduy. ii. 4), and when that august body was forced by circumstances to move to Usha, Ishmael attended its sessions there (B. B. 28b), though his residence was at Kefar 'Aziz, on the borders of Idumæa, where Joshua ben Hananiah once visited him (Kil. vi. 4; Ket. v. 8). For the tractate in the Mishnah, see Sanhedrin (tractate). ... Yavne (Hebrew יבנה, Arabic يبنة Yibnah) is a city in the Center District of Israel in Israel. ... Usha was a city in the Western part of Galilee. ... Edom (אֱדוֹם, Standard Hebrew Edom, Tiberian Hebrew ʾĔḏôm, Assyrian Udumi, Syriac ܐܕܘܡ), a Hebrew word meaning red, is a name given to Esau in the Hebrew Bible, as well as to the nation that purportedly traced their ancestry to him. ...

In the book, " 'The Written' as the Vocation of Conceiving Jewishly," [McGinley, 2006]there is an interesting, albeit controversial, hypothesis offered concerning the historical identity of Rabbi Ishmael. The suggestion offered there is that "Rabbi Ishmael ben Elisha" is a Rabbinic cognomen for the famous and officially discredited tannaitic apostate, Elisha ben Abbuyah. The contention is that through this ruse the Rabbis were able to give expression to the vast halakhic and hermeneutic rulings and achievments of the otherwise discredited "Akher." The hypothesis brings with it a radically innovative approach for understanding the relationship between "The School of Aqiba" in the "School of Ishmael" in the earliest strata of the Halakhic Midrashim produced in the decades immediately following upon the destruction of the Temple.

Disposition

Ishmael's teachings were calculated to promote peace and goodwill among all. "Be indulgent with the hoary head;" he would say, "and be kind to the black-haired [the young]; and meet every man with a friendly mien" (Ab. iii. 12).

What he taught he practised. Even toward strangers, he acted considerately. When a heathen greeted him, he answered kindly, "Thy reward has been predicted"; when another abused him, he repeated cooly, "Thy reward has been predicted." This apparent inconsistency, he explained to his puzzled disciples by quoting Gen. xxvii. 29: "Cursed be every one that curseth thee, and blessed be he that blesseth thee" (Yer. Ber. viii. 12a; Gen. R. lxvi. 6). Heathen is a term used both to describe a person who does not follow an organized religion, and also a modern practitioner of Heathenry. ... Look up Curse in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Ismael was fatherly to the indigent, particularly to poor and plain maidens, whom he clothed attractively and provided with means, so that they might obtain husbands (Ned. ix. 10; 66a). One Friday night, while absorbed in the study of the Bible, he inadvertently turned the wick of a lamp; and he vowed that when the Second Temple was rebuilt, he would offer there an expiatory sacrifice (Shab. 12b). 11th century manuscript of the Hebrew Bible with Targum This article discusses usage of the term Hebrew Bible. For the article on the Hebrew Bible itself, see Tanakh. ... Drawing of the Second Temple in Jerusalem during the time of Herod the Great A stone (2. ...

Views on marriage

Ishmael manifested the same spirit of hope in declining to countenance the refusal of the ultra-patriotic to beget children under the Roman sway. Even under the conditions then existing, he recommended early marriage. He said, "The Scripture tells us, 'Thou shalt teach them [the things thou hast seen at Horeb] to thy sons and to thy sons' sons;' and how may one live to teach his sons' sons unless one marries early?" [Deut. 4:9, Hebr. see Samuel Edels ad loc.] Torah () is a Hebrew word meaning teaching, instruction, or law. It is the central and most important document of Judaism revered by Jews through the ages. ... Horeb, Chorevin Hebrew, is a range of mountains in Egypts Sinai Peninsula of which Mount Sinai is the most prominent. ... Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible. ...

Halakhic exegesis

Ishmael gradually developed a system of halakhic exegesis which, while running parallel with that of Rabbi Akiva, is admitted to be the more logical. Indeed, he established the principles of the logical method by which laws may be deduced from laws and important decisions founded on the plain phraseology of the Scriptures. Like Akiva, he opened up a wide field for halakhic induction, but, unlike Akiva, he required more than a mere jot or a letter as a basis for making important rulings (comp. Sanh. 51b). Halakha (Hebrew: הלכה; also transliterated as Halakhah, Halacha, Halakhot and Halachah) is the collective corpus of Jewish religious law, including biblical law (the 613 mitzvot) and later talmudic and rabbinic law as well as customs and traditions. ... This article discusses textual hermeneutics. ... Akiba ben Joseph (or Rabbi Akiva, Rebbi Akiva, c. ... Induction or inductive reasoning, sometimes called inductive logic, is the process of reasoning in which the premises of an argument are believed to support the conclusion but do not ensure it. ...

Ishmael was of opinion that the Torah was conveyed in the language of man (see Yer. Yeb. viii. 8d; Yer. Ned. i. 36c), and that therefore a seemingly pleonastic word or syllable can not be taken as a basis for new deductions. In discussing a supposititious case with Akiva, he once exclaimed, "Wilt thou indeed decree death by fire on the strength of a single letter?" (Sanh. 51b). The plain sense of the Scriptural text, irrespective of its verbal figures, was by him considered the only safe guide. Torah () is a Hebrew word meaning teaching, instruction, or law. It is the central and most important document of Judaism revered by Jews through the ages. ... Pleonasm is the use of more words than necessary to express an idea. ...

Hermeneutic rules

To consistently carry out his views in this direction, Ishmael formalized a set of 13 hermeneutic rules by which halakha was derived from the Torah. As a basis for these rules he took the seven rules of Hillel, and on them built up his own system, which he elaborated and strengthened by illustrating them with examples taken from the Scriptures (see Baraita of R. Ishmael; Talmud; comp. Gen. R. xcii. 7). Even these rules, he would not permit to apply to important questions, such as capital cases in which no express Scriptural warrant for punishment existed; he would not consent to attach a sentence of death, or even a fine, to a crime or misdemeanor on the strength of a mere inference, however logical, where no such punishment is clearly stated in Scripture (Yer. 'Ab. Zarah v. 45b), or to draw a rule from a law itself based on an inference (Yer. Ḳid. i. 59a). His rules were universally adopted by his successors, tannaim, as well as amoraim, although occasionally he himself was forced to deviate from them (see Sifre, Num. 32). Halakha (Hebrew: הלכה; also transliterated as Halakhah, Halacha, Halakhot and Halachah) is the collective corpus of Jewish religious law, including biblical law (the 613 mitzvot) and later talmudic and rabbinic law as well as customs and traditions. ... Halakha (Hebrew: הלכה; also transliterated as Halakhah, Halacha, Halakhot and Halachah) is the collective corpus of Jewish religious law, including biblical law (the 613 mitzvot) and later talmudic and rabbinic law as well as customs and traditions. ... Torah () is a Hebrew word meaning teaching, instruction, or law. It is the central and most important document of Judaism revered by Jews through the ages. ... Hillel is a Hebrew name that has been held by many famous Jewish rabbis and thinkers. ... A misdemeanors (or misdemeanour), in many common law legal systems, is a lesser criminal act. ... Inference is the act or process of deriving a conclusion based solely on what one already knows. ... Logic (from ancient Greek λόγος (logos), meaning reason) is the study of arguments. ... The Mishnah (Hebrew משנה, repetition) is a major source of rabbinic Judaisms religious texts. ... Amora, plural Amoraim, (from the Hebrew root amar to say or tell over), were renowned Jewish scholars who said or told over the teachings of the Oral law, from about 200 to 500 CE in Babylonia and Israel. ...

Thus, his name became permanently associated with the halakha; but in the province of the Haggadah also, it occupies a prominent place (M. Ḳ. 28b). In answer to the question whether future punishment will be limited to the spirit or to the body, or whether in equity, any punishment at all should be inflicted on either, seeing that neither can sin when separated from the other, Ishmael draws this parallel: Haggadah for Passover, 14th century Haggadah in Hebrew means Telling. ... The Court of Chancery, London, early 19th century This article is about concept of equity in Anglo-American jurisprudence. ...

A king, owning a beautiful orchard of luscious fruit, and not knowing whom to trust in it, appointed two invalids — one lame, and the other blind. The lame one, however, tempted by the precious fruit, suggested to his blind companion that he ascend a tree and pluck some; but the latter pointed to his sightless eyes. At last the blind man raised his lame companion on his shoulders, and thus enabled him to pluck some of the fruit.

When the king came, noticing that some fruit had disappeared, he inquired of them which was the thief. Vehemently asserting his innocence, each pointed to the defect which made it impossible for him to have committed the theft. But the king guessed the truth, and, placing the lame man on the shoulders of the other, punished them together as if the two formed one complete body. Thus, added Ishmael, will it be hereafter: soul and body will be reunited and punished together (Lev. R. iv. 5; comp. Sanh. 91a et seq.).

Ishmael laid the foundation for the halakhic midrash on Exodus, the Mekhilta; and a considerable portion of the similar midrash, the Sifre on Numbers, appears also to have originated with him or in his school, known as "Debe R. Ishmael". Some suppose that he was among the martyrs of Betar (comp. Ab. R. N. xxxviii. [ed. Schechter, p. 56b]). The more generally received opinion, however, is that one of the martyrs, a high priest, was a namesake (Ned. ix. 10). Midrash (Hebrew: מדרש; plural midrashim) is a Hebrew word referring to a method of exegesis of a Biblical text. ... Exodus is the second book of the Torah, the Tanakh, and the Old Testament. ... Mekilta, Mekhilta // First Mention The halakic midrash to Exodus. ... Sifre (סִפְרֵי siphrÄ“y, Sifre, Sifrei) is a Midrash halakhah originated from Devarim and Shmot. ... Numbers can mean: Number The Book of Numbers, the fourth book of the Bible NUMB3RS, a CBS television show This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Betar was the last standing Jewish fortress in the Bar Kochba revolt of the 2nd century CE, destroyed by the Roman army on Tisha Bav. ...

External links

• http://www.x-moto.net/articles/Ishmael_ben_Elisha
• http://concise.britannica.com/ebc/article?tocId=9368238&query=null&ct=null
• Ishmael B. Elisha Jewish Encyclopedia article

The Jewish Encyclopedia was an encyclopedia originally published between 1901 and 1906 by Funk and Wagnalls. ...

References

• Wilhelm Bacher, Die Agada der Tannaïten i. 210 et seq.;
• Nehemiah Brüll, Mebo ha-Mishnah, i. 103 et seq.;
• Zecharias Frankel, Darke ha-Mishnah, pp. 105 et seq.;
• Heinrich Graetz, Geschichte iv. 60;
• Hamburger, R. B. T. ii. 526 et seq.;
• Jehiel Heilprin, Seder ha-Dorot, ii.;
• David Hoffmann, Einleitung in die Halachischen Midraschim, pp. 5 et seq.;
• Isaac Hirsch Weiss, Dor Dor we-Dorshaw, i. 101 et seq.;
  • idem, Introduction to his edition of Mekilta, x. et seq.;
• Abraham Zacuto, Sefer haYuhasin, ed. Filipowski, p. 25.S. S. M.

This article incorporates text from the 1901–1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, a publication now in the public domain. Nehemiah Brüll (born March 16, 1843 at Neu-Raussnitz, Moravia, died February 5, 1891 at Frankfort-on-the-Main) was a Rabbi and versatile scholar. ... Zecharias Frankel was a German rabbi and a historian who studied the historical development of Judaism. ... Heinrich Graetz (October 31, 1817 - September 7, 1891) was the first historian to write a comprehensive history of the Jewish people from a Jewish perspective. ... Hoffman, Hoffmann, or Hofmann may refer to several things, such as surnames, place names which are derived from these surnames (mainly German), and other things, names of which are derived from these surnames. ... Abraham Zacuto (אברהם זכות) (portuguese: Abraão ben Samuel Zacuto) was a Spanish astronomer, mathematician and historian who served as Royal Astronomer in the 15th Century to King John II of Portugal. ... The Jewish Encyclopedia was an encyclopedia originally published between 1901 and 1906 by Funk and Wagnalls. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...