Rabbi Ilai ( or ), also recorded as Rabbi Ela (אלעא, אילא), Hela, Ilaa, Ili, La, Leia, or Yela,
[Rabbi Il'ai (II) - רבי עילאי](_blank)
sages of the talmud was an ''
amora'' of the
Land of Israel
The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine. The definition ...
, of the third generation of Amoraim, who lived in the late 3rd–early 4th centuries.
Biography
Rabbi Ilai II was a disciple of R.
Yochanan bar Nafcha
:''See Johanan (name) for more rabbis by this name''.
Johanan bar Nappaha ( Yoḥanan bar Nafḥa or Napaḥa), also known simply as Rabbi Yochanan or Johanan bar Nafcha (180–279 CE), was a leading rabbi and second-generation '' Amora'' duri ...
and R.
Shimon ben Lakish
Shimon ben Lakish (; ''Shim‘on bar Lakish'' or ''bar Lakisha''), better known by his nickname Reish Lakish (c. 200 — c. 275), was an amora who lived in the Roman province of Judaea in the third century. He was said to be born in Bosra, eas ...
. Among his disciples, one can find the leading figures of the fourth amoraic generation, such as
Rav Jonah,
Rav Zeira
Rabbi Zeira (), known before his ''semikhah'' as Rav Zeira () and known in the Jerusalem Talmud as Rabbi Ze'era (), was a Jewish Talmudist of the third generation of ''Amoraim'' who lived in the Land of Israel.
Biography
He was born in Babyloni ...
,
Ravin
Ravin may refer to:
*Idan Ravin, basketball coach
*Emilie de Ravin (born 1981), Australian-American actress
*Ravin Bay, bay in Antarctica
*A spelling variation of Raven
A raven is any of several large-bodied passerine bird species in the genus ...
and more.
In one form or another, his name frequently appears in both Yerushalmi and Bavli, mostly in the field of the halakhah. He was so distinguished that his contemporary and friend Rabbi
Zeira
Rabbi Zeira (), known before his '' semikhah'' as Rav Zeira () and known in the Jerusalem Talmud as Rabbi Ze'era (), was a Jewish Talmudist of the third generation of '' Amoraim'' who lived in the Land of Israel.
Biography
He was born in Babylo ...
, admiring Ela's acumen, exclaimed, "The very air of Palestine imparts wisdom". On two other occasions, the same Zeira entitled him "Bannaya d'Oraita" (Builder of the Law: creator of fine legal points).
He carried his theoretical knowledge into actual life, so that the very appointments of his house afforded object-lessons in rabbinic rites. It is related that when on a certain Friday his duties detained him at college until late at night, and, returning home, he found the entrance barred and the people asleep, rather than desecrate the Sabbath by knocking at the gate for admission, he spent the night on the steps of his house.
Teachings
In halakhic exegesis Ela laid down the guiding rule, "
choler", which some ascribe to this Ela (Ilai), others ascribe to Rabbi Ilai I">anger">choler", which some ascribe to this Ela (Ilai), others ascribe to Rabbi Ilai I.
Eulogizing R. Shimon bar Zevid, Ela skilfully interweaves several verses from the Book of Job, to which he adds simply their application to Shimon's death, thus: "'Where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding?' 'The depth says, It is not in me; and the sea says, It is not with me' 'It is hidden from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air'. The four objects necessary to man, if lost, may be replaced; for 'there is a vein for the silver, and a place for gold which they rfine. Iron is taken out of the earth, and brass is molten out of the stone'; but when a scholar dies, who can take his place? We have lost Shimon: from where shall we procure his like?"
[Yerushalmi Berachot 3 5c, and parallels]
References
It has the following bibliography:
* Frankel, Mebo, p. 75b;
* Weiss, Dor, iii. 101;
* Brüll, Mebo ha-Mishnah, i. 139;
* Bacher, Ag. Pal. Amor. iii. 699.
{{Amoraim
Talmud rabbis of Syria Palaestina