(c.40-c. 120 CE). Tanna of the second generation, also known as R. Eliezer the Great, the outstanding pupil of Johanan Ben Zakkai (whom he helped smuggle out of Jerusalem during the Roman siege). Because of his phenomenally retentive memory, R. Johanan compared him to "a plastered cistern that never loses a drop" and declared that he outweighed all the other sages put together (Avot 2:8). Over 300 halakhot of his are recorded in the Mishnah and an equal number in the Tosefta and the baraitot. After the destruction of the Second Temple, R. Eliezer was among the sages who transferred their activities to the new Academy of Yavneh, but established one of his own in Lydda (Lod; see Academies). His wife, Imma Shalom, was the sister of the patriarch Gamaliel II (Rabban Gamliel); and it was in an effort to alleviate the condition of their community that these two great scholars led a delegation to Rome (c.95 CE).
Unyielding and conservative in his opinions, R. Eliezer tended to interpret Scripture with extreme literalness. Unlike all of his colleagues, for example, he insisted that biblical "eye for an eye" retribution (Ex. 21:23-24) (see Retaliation) should be taken literally. This tendency brought him into sharp conflict with other sages, including his pupil R. Akiva, who favored a broader view of the law. When the conflict led Eliezer to defy the unanimous opinion of his colleagues, who even ignored a Bat Kol (heavenly voice) on this particular issue, he was subjected to a partial ban of Excommunication (BM 59b). They dubbed him a Shammuti, one who obstinately followed the view of Shammai's school, even though the Halakhah had been established in accordance with the opposing view of Hillel's disciples (see Bet Shammai and Bet Hillel). Various midrashic works, notably the Pirké De-Rabbi ELIEZER, are attributed to him. Despite the ban, R. Eliezer was universally esteemed. After his death, the ban was revoked and the sages mourned his passing.
