The Radal mentions that Rebbe Eliezer ben Herkinus's talmidim wrote down the Pirkei DeRebbe Eliezer. Would that make it the earliest book of Torah she'be'al'peh to be written?
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4Not Megillat Taanit?– Double AA ♦Jul 29, 2018 at 1:36
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1@DoubleAA Answer? (When was Megillas Ta’anis written down, anyway?)– DonielFJul 29, 2018 at 1:57
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1Some scholars don't believe all of Pirkei D'Rebbi Eliezer to be composed by that Tanna. Others ascribe later authorship.– ezraJul 29, 2018 at 3:58
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Gerald Friedlander demonstrates in his intro. to PRE that some elements of it date to the ninth century. Regardless, Megillat Taanit (compiled by Hananiah b. Hizkiah; Shab. 13b) would definitely predate REBH's students and so would Megillat Yuhasin probably predate PRE (not to be confused with the later one by Ahimaaz).– OliverJul 29, 2018 at 17:24
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@ShmuelBrin This article claims that R’ Chananya Ben Chizkiya was a contemporary of Hillel and Shammai and a student of Shamaya and Avtalion, placing him squarely ahead of R’ Eliezer.– DonielFJul 29, 2018 at 20:20
1 Answer
Sefer Yetzira was written by Avraham Avinu who was born in 1948 from creation of the world. Though many editions and formations came about after, the basic text was made by him. This is the earliest known midrash available for people nowadays and has many perushim from Rishonim like the Raavad and Ramban.
source: Rav Abraham Azulai(1685). חסד לאברהם, מעין חמישי, נהר נא . It is also written in the appendix of many editions of sefer Yetzira itself.
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1I heard Raziel Hamalach was a forgery. @oliver if you show me a copy of sefer Toldos hoadam that is existent but the medrash implies that Hashem showed it to Moshe Rabeinu and he saw every generation including Rabbi Akiva who darshened the crown's of the letters, but it was not physically written down for us to see nowadays unlike Sefer Yetzira. Jul 29, 2018 at 17:39
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1@DoubleAA read this סֵפֶר רָזִיאֵל אֵינוֹ מֵאָדָם הָרִאשׁוֹן וְלֹא זֶהוּ הַסֵּפֶר שֶׁנָּתַן הַמַּלְאָךְ לְאָדָם הָרִאשׁוֹן וְאֵין בּוֹ כֹּחַ לְהַצִּיל מִשְּרֵפָה, וּכְבָר אֵרַע שֶׁהַסֵּפֶר בְּעַצְמוֹ נִשְֹרַף וְהֶאֱרִיךְ בָּזֶה בִּרְאָיוֹת בְּרוּרוֹת: (ספר חיי מוהר"ן, אות תעח) Jul 29, 2018 at 17:44
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1@yosefkorn So it seems Rebbe Nachman did not view the sefer to be a legitimate work.– ezraJul 29, 2018 at 18:02
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