Matteya ben Heresh

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Matteya ben Heresh or Mattithiah (Hebrew: מתיא בן חרש) was a Roman tanna of the 2nd century.

Tannaim were the Rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah, from approximately 10-220 CE. The period of the Tannaim, also referred to as the Mishnaic period, lasted about 210 years. It came after the period of the Zugot ("pairs"), and was immediately followed by the period of the Amoraim ("interpreters").

Contents

Biography

He was born in Judea, probably a pupil of R. Ishmael, and certainly a contemporary and friend of his pupils R. Josiah and R. Jonathan.

Judea The mountainous southern part of the region of Palestine

Judea or Judæa is the ancient Hebrew and Israelite biblical, the exonymic Roman/English, and the modern-day name of the mountainous southern part of the region of Palestine. The name originates from the Hebrew name Yehudah, a son of the Jewish patriarch Jacob/Israel, and Yehudah's progeny forming the biblical Israelite tribe of Judah (Yehudah) and later the associated Kingdom of Judah, which the 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia dates from 934 until 586 BCE. The name of the region continued to be incorporated through the Babylonian conquest, Persian, Hellenistic, and Roman periods as Yehud, Yehud Medinata, Hasmonean Judea, and consequently Herodian Judea and Roman Judea, respectively.

After his ordination Mattithiah went to Rome, apparently on account of the persecution by Hadrian; there he founded a school and a Jewish court which soon became prominent.

Hadrian 2nd-century Roman Emperor

Hadrian was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born Publius Aelius Hadrianus in Italica, near Santiponce, Spain into a Hispano-Roman family. His father was of senatorial rank and was a first cousin of Emperor Trajan. He married Trajan's grand-niece Vibia Sabina early in his career, before Trajan became emperor and possibly at the behest of Trajan's wife Pompeia Plotina. Plotina and Trajan's close friend and adviser Lucius Licinius Sura were well disposed towards Hadrian. When Trajan died, his widow claimed that he had nominated Hadrian as emperor immediately before his death.

He associated with the Judean scholars who visited Rome and sought instruction from them—from R. Simeon bar Yoḥai and R. Eleazar ben Jose, for instance. A later legend in the Midrash Abkir represents him as victoriously resisting a temptation placed in his path by Satan.

Rome Capital city and comune in Italy

Rome is the capital city and a special comune of Italy. Rome also serves as the capital of the Lazio region. With 2,872,800 residents in 1,285 km2 (496.1 sq mi), it is also the country's most populated comune. It is the fourth most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. It is the centre of the Metropolitan City of Rome, which has a population of 4,355,725 residents, thus making it the most populous metropolitan city in Italy. Rome is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio (Latium), along the shores of the Tiber. The Vatican City is an independent country inside the city boundaries of Rome, the only existing example of a country within a city: for this reason Rome has been often defined as capital of two states.

Midrash Abkir midrash on Genesis and Exodus; lost except for 50 excerpts and other citations; name is an acronym of “אמן בימינו כן יהי רצון”, a closing formula for homilies

Midrash Abkir is one of the smaller midrashim, the extant remains of which consist of more than 50 excerpts contained in the Yalkut Shimoni and a number of citations in other works. It dealt, according to all accessible evidence, only with the first two books of the Pentateuch.

Satan Figure in Abrahamic religions

Satan, also known as the Devil, is an entity in the Abrahamic religions that seduces humans into sin or falsehood. In Christianity and Islam, he is usually seen as either a fallen angel or a jinn, who used to possess great piety and beauty, but rebelled against God, who nevertheless allows him temporary power over the fallen world and a host of demons. In Judaism, Satan is typically regarded as a metaphor for the yetzer hara, or "evil inclination", or as an agent subservient to God.

Teachings

Halakhic sentences by him have been preserved which show his desire to make the Sabbath laws less rigorous insofar as their fulfillment by the sick was concerned. He seems, however, to have devoted himself chiefly to the Aggadah; a number of his homiletic sentences, especially to the Book of Exodus, are extant. He has a maxim in the Pirkei Avot: "Meet each man with friendly greeting; be the tail among lions rather than the head among foxes". [1]

Shabbat Jewish day of rest; Jewish Sabbath

Shabbat or Shabbos, or the Sabbath is Judaism's day of rest and seventh day of the week, on which religious Jews, Samaritans and certain Christians remember the Biblical creation of the heavens and the earth in six days and the Exodus of the Hebrews, and look forward to a future Messianic Age. Shabbat observance entails refraining from work activities, often with great rigor, and engaging in restful activities to honor the day. Judaism's traditional position is that unbroken seventh-day Shabbat originated among the Jewish people, as their first and most sacred institution, though some suggest other origins. Variations upon Shabbat are widespread in Judaism and, with adaptations, throughout the Abrahamic and many other religions.

Aggadah non-legalistic exegetical texts in the classical rabbinic literature

Aggadah refers to non-legalistic exegetical texts in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism, particularly as recorded in the Talmud and Midrash. In general, Aggadah is a compendium of rabbinic texts that incorporates folklore, historical anecdotes, moral exhortations, and practical advice in various spheres, from business to medicine.

Book of Exodus second book of the Bible

The Book of Exodus or Exodus is the second book of the Torah, the Hebrew Bible, and the Old Testament immediately following Genesis.

Related Research Articles

According to Jewish tradition the Men of the Great Assembly or Anshei Knesset HaGedolah, also known as the Great Synagogue, or Synod, was an assembly of 120 scribes, sages, and prophets, in the period from the end of the Biblical prophets since the early Second Temple period to the early Hellenistic period. It comprised such prophets as Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah, Nehemiah b. Hachaliah, Mordechai and Zerubabel b. Shaaltiel, among others. Sometimes, the Great Assembly is simply designated as "Ezra and his court of law".

Simeon ben Shetach, or Shimon ben Shetach or Shatach, circa 120-40 BCE, was a Pharisee scholar and Nasi of the Sanhedrin during the reigns of Alexander Jannæus and his successor, Queen Salome Alexandra, who was Simeon's sister. He was therefore closely connected with the court, enjoying, at least initially, the favor of Alexander.

Simeon ben Azzai or simply Ben Azzai was a distinguished tanna of the first third of the 2nd century.

Simeon ben Gamliel (I) was a Tanna sage and leader of the Jewish people. He served as President of the Great Sanhedrin at Jerusalem during the outbreak of the First Jewish Revolt, succeeding his father in the same office after his father's death in 52 CE and just before the destruction of the Second Temple.

Jose ben Halafta or Yose ben Halafta was a tanna of the fourth generation. He is the fifth most frequently mentioned sage in the Mishnah. Of the many Rabbi Yose's in the Talmud, Yose Ben Halafta is the one who is simply referred to as Rabbi Yose.

Jose b. Abin was a Jewish Talmudist, known as an amora of the fifth generation who lived in the Galilee in the Land of Israel. He was the son of Rabban Abin I and the teacher of Abin II. He was at first the pupil of Rabbi Jose of Yodqart, but the latter's indifference to his own family caused Jose to leave him and follow Assi. Jose was the most important among the last Halakhists of the amoraim of the Land of Israel. He had a thorough knowledge not only of the Judean customs and halakhot, but of the Babylonian, a fact that has led some scholars to maintain that Jose must have resided at some time in Babylonia. It is probable, however, that he derived his knowledge of Babylonian teaching from his father, who had traveled in Babylonia.

Hanina ben Dosa was a first-century Jewish scholar and miracle-worker and the pupil of Johanan ben Zakai. He is buried in the town of Arraba in northern Israel.

Avot of Rabbi Natan Minor tractate of the Talmud.

Avot de-Rabbi Nathan, usually printed together with the minor tractates of the Talmud, is a Jewish aggadic work probably compiled in the geonic era. Although Avot de-Rabbi Nathan is the first and longest of the "minor tractates", it probably does not belong in that collection chronologically, having more the character of a late midrash. In the form now extant it contains a mixture of Mishnah and Midrash, and may be technically designated as a homiletical exposition of the Mishnaic tractate Pirkei Avot, having for its foundation an older recension (version) of that tractate. It may be considered as a kind of "tosefta" or "gemarah" to the Mishna Avot, which does not possess a traditional gemarah. Avot de-Rabbi Nathan contains many sentences, proverbs, and incidents that are not found anywhere else in the early rabbinical literature. Other rabbinical sayings appear in a more informal style than what is found in the canonical Mishna Avot redacted by Judah I.

Eliezer ben Hurcanus, variant spelling, Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, was a kohen, and one of the most prominent Sages (tannaim) of the 1st and 2nd centuries in Judea, disciple of Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai and colleague of Gamaliel II, whose sister he married, and of Joshua ben Hananiah. He is the sixth most frequently mentioned sage in the Mishnah.

Joshua ben Hananiah, also known as Rabbi Yehoshua, was a leading tanna of the first half-century following the destruction of the Temple. He is the seventh most frequently mentioned sage in the Mishnah.

Nathan the Babylonian, also known as Rabbi Nathan, was a tanna of the third generation.

Chaninah, also called Haninah, Chananiah, etc. was a Tanna of the 2nd century, contemporary of Judah ben Bathyra, Matteya ben Ḥeresh, and Jonathan. Who his father was is not stated; nor is anything known of his early years. He was named after his grandfather, Hananiah, and educated by his uncle, from whom he received his cognomen. In some baraitot, however, he is cited by his prænomen alone.

For other people named Eleazer. see: Eleazar (name)

Rabbi Jonathan was a tanna of the 2nd century and schoolfellow of R. Josiah, apart from whom he is rarely quoted.

Midrash Aseret ha-Dibrot Midrash devoted to Shavuot

Midrash Aseret ha-Dibrot or Midrash of the Ten Statements is one of the smaller midrashim which dates, according to A. Jellinek, from about the 10th century, and which is devoted entirely to the Feast of Weeks, being actually called in a Vatican library manuscript "a haggadah for Shabu'ot."

Nehunya ben HaKanah was a tanna of the 1st and 2nd centuries.

Eleazar ben Arach was one of the tannaim of the second generation.

For other people named Eleazer. see: Eleazar (name)

Eleazar b. Judah of Bartota was a Jewish rabbi of the first and second centuries.

References

  1. ↑ Pirkei Avot 4:15

Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography

Paul Warren Rieger was Mayor of Palmerston North from 1985 to 1998. He is now deputy chairman of Horizons Regional Council.

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