''For other people named Eleazer. see:

Eleazar (name) Eleazar ( he, אלעזר, meaning "God has helped", ''el'azár'') is a common Jewish given name for a male. People with this name The first male known to be given the name was Eleazar, son of Aaron and Kohen Gadol, High Priest of Israel. Other ...

'' Eleazar Chisma (Ḥisma; he, אלעזר חסמא, ''"Eleazar Chasma''", or אלעזר בן חסמא, "''Eleazar ben Chasma''") was a tanna (sage) of the second and third generations (2nd century). He was a disciple of Joshua ben Hananiah and

Gamaliel II Rabban Gamaliel II (also spelled Gamliel; he, רבן גמליאל דיבנה; before -) was a rabbi from the second generation of tannaim. He was the first person to lead the Sanhedrin as '' nasi'' after the fall of the Second Temple in 70 CE. ...

Etymology

He is sometimes referred to as "Eleazar Chisma" and sometimes as "Eleazar ben Chisma"; however, the insertion of the word "ben" seems justifiable.Jewish Encyclopedia
ELEAZAR (ELIEZER) B. HISMA
/ref> "Ḥisma" is not an adjectival

cognomen A ''cognomen'' (; plural ''cognomina''; from ''con-'' "together with" and ''(g)nomen'' "name") was the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. Initially, it was a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became here ...

(like the similar nickname acquired by

Eleazar ben Shammua ''For other people named Eleazer. see: Eleazar (name)'' Eleazar ben Shammua or Eleazar I (Hebrew: אלעזר בן שמוע) was a rabbi of the 2nd century (4th generation of tannaim), frequently cited in rabbinic writings as simply Rabbi Eleaza ...

), but an indication of location, the place probably being Hizma; hence "ben Ḥisma" means "son of "native of"Ḥisma".

Teachings

Several ''

halakhot ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical command ...

'' are preserved under Eleazar's name in the

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Tor ...

. He takes part in halakhic disputes with

Eleazar ben Azariah Eleazar ben Azariah ( he, אלעזר בן עזריה) was a 1st-century CE Jewish tanna, i.e. Mishnaic sage. He was of the second generation and a junior contemporary of Gamaliel II, Eliezer b. Hyrcanus, Joshua b. Hananiah, and Akiva. Bio ...

and

Rabbi Akiva Akiva ben Yosef (Mishnaic Hebrew: ''ʿĂqīvāʾ ben Yōsēf''; – 28 September 135 CE), also known as Rabbi Akiva (), was a leading Jewish scholar and sage, a '' tanna'' of the latter part of the first century and the beginning of the second c ...

and with

Eliezer ben Jacob I Eliezer ben Jacob I (Hebrew: אליעזר בן יעקב) was a Tanna of the 1st century; contemporary of Eleazar Chisma and Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, and senior to Judah ben Ilai. Of his personal history nothing is known, except that he had seen t ...

. To him is ascribed the economic rule that the employee is not entitled to a proportion of his employer's produce greater than the amount of his wages. Some ''

aggadot Aggadah ( he, ''ʾAggāḏā'' or ''Haggāḏā''; Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: אַגָּדְתָא ''ʾAggāḏəṯāʾ''; "tales, fairytale, lore") is the non-legalistic exegesis which appears in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism, ...

'' also are ascribed to him. Together with Rabbi Joshua, he gives an allegorical reason for why Amalek's attack on Israel occurred when it did. Citing

Job Work or labor (or labour in British English) is intentional activity people perform to support the needs and wants of themselves, others, or a wider community. In the context of economics, work can be viewed as the human activity that contr ...

8:11, "Can a rush grow up without mire? Can the flag grow without water?" he remarks, "Even so is it impossible for Israel to flourish without the Law; and since they had neglected the Law, an enemy was ordered out to war against them." Elsewhere, he cites

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "the ...

43:22, "But thou hast not called on me, O Jacob," and applies it to those who are not devout in their prayers, but communicate with their neighbors by sign language while reciting the

Shema ''Shema Yisrael'' (''Shema Israel'' or ''Sh'ma Yisrael''; he , שְׁמַע יִשְׂרָאֵל ''Šəmaʿ Yīsrāʾēl'', "Hear, O Israel") is a Jewish prayer (known as the Shema) that serves as a centerpiece of the morning and evening Jewis ...

Scientific knowledge

Not only was Chizma possessed of wide rabbinic learning, but he was also an adept in the sciences. Joshua, introducing him and Johanan ben Nuri to the notice of Patriarch

, remarked of them that they could approximately calculate the number of drops contained in the ocean. As they were very poor, Gamaliel appointed them to remunerative offices in the academy. Probably it was here—because the academicians sought from him instruction in secular science—that Eleazar remarked, "The laws concerning birds' nests and those concerning the incipient uncleanness of women are elements of the Law, while astronomy and geometry are only condiments of wisdom".

Pirkei Avot Pirkei Avot ( he, פִּרְקֵי אָבוֹת; also transliterated as ''Pirqei Avoth'' or ''Pirkei Avos'' or ''Pirke Aboth''), which translates to English as Chapters of the Fathers, is a compilation of the ethical teachings and maxims from ...

3:18; Avot of Rabbi Natan 27:2

References

It has the following bibliography: *Bacher, Ag. Tan. i. 374; * Brüll, Mebo a-Mishnah, i. 149; *Frankel, Darke a-Mishnah, p. 134; *Geiger, Schriften, iv. 343; *Heilprin, Seder a-Dorot, ii., s.v.; *Weiss, Dor, ii. 122; *Zacuto, Yuḥasin, ed. Filipowski, p. 41b. {{Tannaim Mishnah rabbis 2nd-century mathematicians 2nd-century rabbis