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Hillula de-Rabbi Meir, R. Meir bat Eyin, Djerba 1925

הלולא דרבי מאיר [מאיר בת עין]

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Details
  • Lot Number 48029
  • Title (English) Hillula de-Rabbi Meir
  • Title (Hebrew) הלולא דרבי מאיר [מאיר בת עין]
  • Author R. Meir bat Eyin
  • City Djerba
  • Publisher David Adyan
  • Publication Date 1925
  • Estimated Price - Low 200
  • Estimated Price - High 500

  • Item # 1428279
  • End Date
  • Start Date
Description

Physical Description

[2], 72 ff., octavo, 202:130 mm., nice margins, light age staining. A good copy not bound.

 

Detail Description

On the festivity (hillula) associated with R. Meir Ba'al ha-Nes, observed on the 14th of Iyyar, the anniversary of the death of his death at his graveside in Tiberias, in Galilee. Outside Palestine, this anniversary was observed with great solemnity in the Jewish community of Djerba (Tunisia) as was that of R. Shimon bar Yohai on Lag a-Omer. A similar hillula was observed in Libya and Morocco (and now in Israel) on the first day after Passover, called Maimuna in honor of the anniversary of the death of Maimonides, who died on Passover. The title page describes it as the collected halakhot of the holy Tanna R. Meir Ba'al ha-Nes, brought in the Mishnah, Gemarra, and Midrashim that it is customary to learn by all who come on the night of Pessah Sheni (14 Iyyar) by his grave to bring comfort to him so that his lips should move, this righteous one should rejoice, and be a good intercessor four us. The text is comprised of material from the sources mentioned above and pizmonim (liturgical verse) related to R. Meir Ba'al ha-Nes.

The second century tanna, R. Meir, was one of the leaders of the post-Bar Kokhba generation. Essentially a halakhist, he played a decisive part in the development of the Mishnah. According to the aggadah, Meir was a descendant of proselytes. One tradition holds that his real name was Nehorai (or Mesha; the Aramaic form of Meir), but that he was called Meir ("the illuminator") because he "enlightened the eyes of the sages of the halakhah". His main teacher was R. Akiva, but he also studied under R. Ishmael and R. Elisha b. Avuyah. One of the five ordained by R. Judah b. Bava during the persecutions following the Bar Kokhba revolt, he was also ordained by R. Akiva. In the account of this ordination it is emphasized that he was given precedence over R. Simeon b. Gamaliel, which is indicative of his status and importance. The persecutions compelled him to flee from Erez Israel. On his return after the savagery had abated, he was among the sages who assembled in the Valley of Rimmon to intercalate the year; afterward he was one of those who convened at Usha for the assembly that led to the renewal of the office of nasi and of the Sanhedrin, which had been abolished during the revolt and the subsequent oppression.

R. Meir was the spiritual father of the Kehilla Kaddisha de-vi-Yrushalayim, which in its way of life calls to mind the havurot of the Temple period. The three fundamental tenets of the Kehilla Kaddisha, study, work, and prayer were highly extolled by him. The importance he attached to knowledge comes to the fore in his comment on the mishnaic provision (Hor. 3:8) that a mamzer who is a scholar takes precedence over a high priest who is an ignoramus. R. Meir goes further and says that even a gentile who occupies himself with the Torah is the equal of a high priest (BK 38a.; Av. Zar. 3a). Meir uses strong language to express his contempt for the ignoramus: "Whosoever marries his daughter to an am ha-arez is as though he bound her and laid her in front of a lion" (Pes. 49b). His extreme attitude in demanding study of Torah emerges clearly in the saying: "Whoever forgets one word of the Torah is accounted by Scripture as if he had forfeited his life" (Avot 3:8). He required that one should not be satisfied with acquiring knowledge of the Torah, but should also teach it to others (Sanh. 99a). Together with the study of Torah, Meir stresses the importance of labor: "A blessing rests only upon labor" (Tosef. Ber. 7:8); "A man should always teach his son a clean craft" (Kid. 4:14). He similarly stresses the importance of prayer: "'And it came to pass as she prayed long' [I Sam. 1:12] this implies that whoever prays long is answered" (TJ, Ber. 4:17c; et al.). Punctiliousness in ritual purity was another major concern of Meir. In a discussion in connection with the ritual purity demanded of the havurot of Temple times and the concept of am ha-arez as regards tithes and purity, R. Meir takes a more stringent view than his colleagues. According to him anyone not eating ordinary food in ritual purity belongs to the category of the am ha-arez while his colleagues apply the term only to someone who disregards the duty of giving tithes. Such stringency with regard to abstinence and ritual purity apparently was part of the principles of the Kehilla Kaddisha. As Meir not only preached these standards of purity but carried them out in practice, he was accorded the epithet of "holy," granted to only a few in the Talmud. His contemporary, R. Yose b. Halafta, called him: "A great man, a holy man, a modest man" (TJ, Ber. 2:7, 5b), while Simeon b. Lakish called him "holy mouth" (Sanh. 23a).

 

Hebrew Description

...והוא ליקוטי הלכות של התנא... רבי מאיר בעל הנס... הסה"ק [הספר הקדוש]... כבר יצא לאור פעמים שלש...ראינו...להדפיסו עוד הפעם... דברי המו"ל ע"ה כ'רייף עשוש ס"ט, ע"ה כמייס עשוש ס"ט, בני... ה"ר מניני עשוש תנצב"ה... שנת ת'פ'ר'"ה'

דף [2]: בן יכבד אב, מאת כמייס עשוש. הפזמונים נשמטו מהוצאה זו.

 

References

Bibliography of the Hebrew Book 1470-1960 #000145324