Eleazar of
Worms (אלעזר מוורמייזא - also מגרמייזא of Garmiza or Garmisa) (c. 1176–1238), or Eleazar ben Judah ben Kalonymus, also sometimes known today as Eleazar Rokeach ("Eleazar the Perfumer" אלעזר רקח) from the title of his Book of the Perfumer (Sefer ha rokeah ספר הרקח)—where the
numerical value of "Perfumer" (in
Hebrew) is equal to Eleazar, was a leading
Talmudist and
Kabbalist,[1] and the last major member of the Hasidei Ashkenaz, a group of German
Jewishpietists.
Biography
Eleazar was most likely born in
Mainz. Through his father
Judah ben Kalonymus, he was a descendant of the great
Kalonymus family of Mainz. Eleazar was also a disciple of
Judah ben Samuel of Regensburg (Judah he-Hasid),[1][2] who initiated him into the study of the
Kabbalah, at that time little known in Germany. According to
Zunz, Eleazar was
hazzan at
Erfurt before he became
rabbi at
Worms. In 1233 he took part in the
Synod of Mainz which enacted the body of regulations known as "
Takkanot Shum" (ShUM = "Speyer, Worms, Mainz"),[1] of which he was a signatory.
According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, Eleazar underwent great sufferings during the
Crusades. The Jewish Encyclopedia states that on the night of 22
Kislev, 1196, he was engaged in his commentary on Genesis (Eleazar relates that he had reached the
parashahVayeshev), when two
Crusaders entered his house and killed his wife
Dulca (Dolce), his two daughters Belet (Belette) and Hannah, and wounded him and his son Jacob who did not escape. His wife had conducted a business in parchment scrolls in order to support the family and enable him to devote all his time to study.[1] Many of the piyyutim he authored protest at Israel's suffering and hope for redemption and revenge against her tormentors. He also recorded the deaths of his family in a moving and poetic eulogy.
Eleazar developed a vigorous activity in many directions. On the one hand, he was a Talmudist of vast erudition, a
liturgist gifted with a clear and easy style, and an
astronomer, and was well versed in the sciences open to the Jews of Germany at that time. At the same time, he was an adventurous mystic who experienced visions, seeing legions of angels and demons. He exerted himself to spread mystical systems which went far beyond the conceptions of the classical authors of Jewish esoterica. In his mystical works he developed and gave a new impulse to the mysticism associated with the letters of the alphabet. By the
gematria and
notarikon systems of interpretation found in the Talmud, Eleazar invented new combinations by which miracles could be performed. The
haggadicanthropomorphism which he had combated in his earlier works (Ha-Roḳeaḥ,Sha'are ha-Sod weha-Yiḥud) occupied later the foremost place in his mystical writings.
Eleazar's great merit therefore lies not only in his new mystical system, but also in his ethical works. In these he shows greatness of soul and a piety bordering upon
asceticism. Though so severely tried by fate, he inculcates cheerfulness, patience, and love for humanity. He died at Worms in 1238.[1]
Ethical works
Ha-Roḳeaḥ, ("The Perfumer"), a halachic guide to
ethics and
Jewish Law for the common reader. The title derives from the numerical value of the word רקח, which corresponds to that of אלעזר. The book is divided into 497 paragraphs containing
halachot and ethics; first published at
Fano, 1505.[3]
Adderet ha-Shem, still extant in manuscript in the
Vatican Library.
Moreh Ḥaṭṭa'im, or Seder ha-Kapparot, on
penitence and
confession of sin, first published at
Venice, 1543. This work, which is included in the Hilkot Teshubah of the Ha-Roḳeaḥ, has been reproduced many times under various titles. It appeared under the title Darke Teshubah at the end of the responsa of
Meir of Rothenburg in the
Prague edition;[4] as Inyane Teshubah, or Seder Teshubah, in the
Sephardic ritual of 1584; as Yesod Teshubah, with additions by Isaac ben Moses Elles, first published in 1583; as Yore Ḥaṭṭa'im ba-Derek; and as Sefer ha-Kapparot. The title adopted here is the same as that given in the Kol Bo, in which the work was reproduced.
Sefer ha-Ḥayyim, treating of the
unity of God, of the soul and its attributes, and of the three stages (recognized by the ancients as "plant, animal, and intellectual") in man's life.
Kether Shem Tov. The Crown Of The Good Name, by
Avraham ben Alexander of Cologne, disciple of Eleazar Ben Yehudah of Worms: Ethical-Kabbalist book.[5]
Pietistic works
Yir'at El, still extant in manuscript in the
Vatican Library, containing mystical commentaries on
Psalm 67, on the
Menorah, and on
Sefirat ha-Omer. In 2001 this work was published as part of the book דרוש המלבוש והצמצום.[6]
Sefer ha-Kabod, mystical explanations of various Biblical passages (
Neubauer, Cat. Bodl. Hebr. MSS. No. 1566, 1).
Perush 'al Sefer Yeẓirah, a commentary on the
Sefer Yetzirah, being extracts from
Shabbethai Donnolo's commentary. Fragments of this work were first published at
Mantua in 1562, later in several other places; a complete edition was printed at
Przemysl, 1883.[9]
Midrash we-Perush 'al ha-Torah, mystical commentary on the
Pentateuch, mentioned by
Azulai, recently printed by klugman.
Sha'are Binah, in which, interpreting Biblical verses by the system of
gemaṭriyyot, he shows the origin of many
haggadot of the Talmud. This work is frequently quoted by
Solomon al-Ḳabiẓ, in his Manot ha-Lewi.
Shi'ur Komah, a commentary on the Shi'ur Komah, the Pirḳe de-Rabbi Yishma'el, and the Merkabah (MS. Michael).
Sefer ha-Ḥokmah, mystical treatise on the various
names of God and of
angels, and on the seventy-three "Gates of the Torah", שערי תורה.
Sefer ha-Shem, mystical dissertations on the names of twenty-two letters, with a table of permutations (Neubauer, ib. No. 1569, 4).
Eser Shemot, commentary on the ten names of God (MS. Michael, No. 175).
Six small cabalistic treatises entitled Sod ha-Ziwwug,Sefer ha-Ne'elam,Sefer Mal'akim,Sefer Tagim,Sefer Pesaḳ, and Sefer ha-Ḳolot, all of which are still extant in manuscript (Neubauer, ib. No. 1566).
Sode Raza, a treatise on the mysteries of the "Merkabah." Part of this work was published at Amsterdam in 1701, under the title Sefer Razi'el ha-Gadol. In the introduction[10] the editor says that he decided to publish this book after having seen that the greater part of it had been produced in French under the title Images des Lettres de l'Alphabet.[1]