Bible Encyclopedias
Pirḳe de-Rabbi Eli'ezer

i. Ch. i., ii.: Introduction to the entire work, dealing with the youth of R. Eliezer, his thirst for knowledge, and his settlement at Jerusalem.

Contents.

1. Abraham in the furnace
   (2) Jacob's birth (3) Abraham's attainment of manhood (comp. Sanh. 107b) (4) Jacob sneezes and does not die (5) the sun and moon remain immovable at the command of Joshua (6) King Hezekiah becomes ill, but recovers (7) Daniel in the lion's den. Moses is slandered by Aaron and Miriam. Absalom and his death. God's eighth appearance—in punishment of Miriam.
   

Composition.
The Pirḳe appears, according to Zunz, to be incomplete, and to be merely a fragment of a larger work. Sachs, on the other hand, thinks that it was compiled from two previous works by the same author, the relation of the two productions to each other being that of text and commentary, the text giving merely the story of the Bible, which was interrupted by the commentary in the form of the Haggadah, and the commentary being intended for reading during the ten days of penitence. Horwitz thinks that the author developed those Bible stories which bore relation to the entire nation, dealing lightly with those that concerned only individuals.

Jost was the first to point out that in the thirtieth chapter, in which at the end the author distinctly alludes to the three stages of the Mohammedan conquest, that of Arabia (), of Spain (), and of Rome ( 830 C.E. ), the names of Fatima and Ayesha occur beside that of Ishmael, leading to the conclusion that the book originated in a time when Islam was predominant in Asia Minor. As in ch. xxxvi. two brothers reigning simultaneously are mentioned, after whose reign the Messiah shall come, the work might be ascribed to the beginning of the ninth century, for about that time the two sons of Harun al-Rashid, El-Amin and El-Mamun, were ruling over the Islamic realm. If a statement in ch. xxviii. did not point to an even earlier date, approximately the same date might be inferred from the enumeration of the four powerful kingdoms and the substitution of Ishmael for one of the four which are enumerated in the Talmud and the Mekilta.

The author seems to have been a Palestinian this appears not only from the fact that some of the customs to which he refers (in ch. xiii. and xx.) are known only as Palestinian customs, but also from the fact that nearly all the authorities he quotes are Palestinian, the exceptions being R. Mesharshia and R. Shemaiah. In no case can this work be ascribed to R. Eliezer (80-118 C.E. ), since he was a tanna, while in the book itself the Pirḳe Abot is quoted. Late Talmudic authorities belonging to the third century C.E. , like Shemaiah (ch. xxiii.), Ze'era (ch. xxi., xxix.), and Shila (ch. xlii., xliv.), are also quoted.

Customs Mentioned.
The following customs and regulations of the Jews are referred to in the Pirḳe de-Rabbi Eli'ezer: Recitation of Psalm 92 during the Friday evening services (ch. xix. comp. Shab. 118a). The blessing "Bore me'ore ha-esh" (Praised be the Creator of the fire) recited during the Habdalah (ch. xx. comp. Pes. 59a). Contemplation of the finger-nails during this blessing (ch. xx.). After the Habdalah, pouring of the wine upon the table, extinguishing the candle in it, dipping the hands in it, and rubbing the eyes (ch. xx.). The prohibition against women doing fancy-work on the day of the New Moon (ch. xlv.). The blessing of "ṭal" on the first day of the Passover (xxxii.). The sounding of the shofar after the morning services in all the synagogues on the New Moon of the month of Elul (ch. xlvi.). The regulation that during the recitation of the "Kol Nidre" on the Day of Atonement two prominent members of the community shall stand beside the cantor (xliv.), and that on Thursday all worshipers must stand while reciting prayers (ch. xlvi.). The addition of Deuteronomy 11:20 to the daily reading of the "Shema'" (ch. xxiii.). The banquet after the circumcision (ch. xxix. comp. Midr. Teh., ed. Buber, p. 234b). The chair of Elijah during the circumcision (ch. xxix.). The covering of the prepuce with earth (ch. xxix.). The performance of the marriage ceremony under a canopy (ch. xii.). The standing of the ḥazzan beside the bridal couple (ch. xli.). The pronouncing of the blessing upon the bride by the ḥazzan (ch. xii.). The regulations providing that no woman may go out with uncovered head (ch. xiv. comp. Ket. 72a) that the groom may not go out alone on the bridal night (ch. xvi. comp. Ber. 54b) that mourners must be comforted in the chapel (ch. xvii.) that the dead may be buried only in "takrikin" (ch. xxxiii. comp. M. Ḳ. 27a, b) that a person sneezing shall say, "I trust in Thy help, O Lord," while any one hearing him shall say, "Your health!" (ch. lii.)—sickness having been unknown before the time of the patriarch Jacob, whose soul escaped through his nose when he sneezed.

The following chapters close with benedictions from the "Shemoneh 'Esreh": ch. xxvii.: "Praised be Thou, O Lord, the shield of Abraham" ch. xxxi.: "Praised be Thou, O Lord, who revivest the dead" ch. xxxv.: "Praised be Thou, O Lord, Holy God" ch. xl.: "Praised be Thou, O Lord, who dost pardon knowingly" ch. xliii.: "Praised be Thou, O Lord, who demandest penitence." Chapters xvii., xxx., xxxi., xlvi., li., lii., liv. also remind one of the "'Amidah."

The Teḳufot.
The author dwells longest on the description of the second day of Creation, in which the "Ma'aseh Merkabah" (Ezekiel 1 ) is described in various forms, and although this passage recalls Donolo and the Alphabet of R. Akiba, it is evidently much older, since it does not mention the "Hekalot." This description is connected with that of the creation of the seven planets and the twelve signs of the zodiac, the reference to the "maḥzors" and the "teḳufot," and the discussion of the intercalation. In the series of years (3,6, 8,11, 14,17, 19 in the cycle of 19) in which the intercalation takes place the author substitutes the fifth year for the sixth. His cycle of the moon, furthermore, covers twenty-one years, at the end of which period the moon again occupies the same position in the week as at the beginning, but this can happen only once in 689,472 years, according to the common computation.

On the connection of the Pirḳe de-Rabbi Eli'ezer with the Baraita of Samuel, see Sachs in "Monatsschrift" 1:277. Manuscripts of the Pirḳe are found at Parma (No. 541), in the Vatican (No. 303 dated 1509), and in the Halberstam library. The following editions are known: Constantinople, 1518 Venice, 1548 Sabbionetta, 1568 Amsterdam, 1712 Wilna, 1837 Lemberg, 1864. A commentary upon it, by David Luria, is included in the Wilna edition, and another, by Abraham Broydé, in the Lemberg edition.Bibliography : Zunz, G. V. pp. 283 et seq. Jost, Gesch. des Judenthums und Seiner Sekten , p. 35, note 2, Leipsic, 1858 Senior Sachs, in Kerem Ḥemed , 8:34 Ueber das Gegenseitige Verhältniss , etc., in Monatsschrift , 1:277 Teḥiyah , Berlin, 1850, p. 14, note 5 p. 20, note 2 H. Kahana, in Ha-Maggid , 8:6 S. Friedmann, in Rahmer's Jüd. Lit.-Blatt. 8:30-31,34, 37 M. Steinschneider, in Ha-Yonah , 1:17, Berlin, 1851 R. Kirchheim, in Introductio in Librum Talmudicum de Samaritanis , p. 25. Frankfort-on-the-Main, 1851 Meïr ha-Levi Horwitz, Mishnat Rabbi Eliezer , in Ha-Maggid , xxiii., Nos. 8-30 Fuenn, Keneset Yisrael , 1:321-344, Warsaw, 1886 Israel Luria, in Kokebe Yiẓḥaḳ , 25:82 Israel Lévi, in R. E. J. 18:83 Creizenach, in Jost's Annalen , 2:140 Grätz, in Monatsschrift , 1859, p. 112, note 5 Bacher, Ag. Tan. 1:122-123, Strasburg, 1903. J. S. O.