Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer

Pirke de-Rabbi Eliezer (PRE, Aramaic: פרקי דרבי אליעזר, or פרקים דרבי אליעזר, Chapters of Rabbi Eliezar) is an aggadic-midrashic work on the Torah containing exegesis and retellings of biblical stories. The composition enjoyed widespread circulation and recognition throughout Jewish history, and continues to do so in the present. Traditionally, PRE has been understood to be a tannaitic composition which originated with the tanna Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus, - a disciple of Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai and teacher of Rabbi Akiva - and his disciples.

Leopold Zunz has suggested that the book has had interpolations made to copies owned by private citizens in the 8th century.Isaak Jost first noticed the inclusion of 8th century interpolations.

The work is quoted by important Jewish scholars, and is referred to by various names, including:

The topic of chapters one and two of the composition is the beginnings of Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrkanus; it is due to them that medieval sages attributed the entire work to him. However, Zunz conclusively proved that this traditional ascription is not historically accurate. Based on an ancient list of works found in the Cairo Genizah scholars have posited that these chapters were transferred to PRE from Avot de-Rabbi Natan, version II, chapter 13, and that they were not originally part of the composition that we now call PRE. This is further proved by one manuscript which places the title “Pirkei R. Eliezer ben Hyrkanus” and begins the chapter numbering only after chapter two. Nevertheless, it is critical to note that both chapters are found in all full manuscripts of the composition, which increases the likelihood that they have always been part of the composition. Furthermore, examination of the language of these chapters also points to the fact that these chapters are properly considered part of the composition. PRE contains distinct literary phrases which appear and reappear throughout the entire work. Despite the fact that the core language of these two chapters is almost identical to that found in Avot de-Rabbi Natan, a unique phrase found in PRE, absent from the parallel in Avot de-Rabbi Natan, is present here as well.

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