Who was Alexa? Why was he mourned so?
Yehuda
Joel P. Wiesen, Newton, Massachusetts
I'm not sure; nobody seems to know. (I didn't find any information on him in the Seder ha'Doros, other than a quote from our Gemara.)
In Yerushalmi Kesuvos 9:8 it seems that there was a famous Roman magistrate by that name. For some reason I had the impression that here, too, it is some well-known, powerful and respected gentile to which the Gemara is referring. (If it were a Talmid Chacham, "Ein Moed Bifnei Talmid Chacham," as we found in Moed Katan 27b.)
-Mordecai
Dear Kolel,
OTZAR YISROEL ENCYCLOPEDIA (YERUSHALAYIM IN HEBREW): Under Alechsa says: according to Rappoport, he is also Alechsis husband of Shulamis sister of Hurdus.
Hurdus decreed in his will to have all the imprisoned chachamim killed when he died. Alechsa and Shulamis alterd the will thus saving the chachamim when Hurdus died. (See Yosefus Kadmoniyios 17 4,8).For this good deed they respected him (a Goy AN ATTORNEY OR A ROMAN JUDGE) and wished to accord him a Hesped
when Rav Tarfon intervened due to SH'YOM TEVOACH HAYA.
Isaac
In a message dated 11/25/99 10:22:33 PM Eastern Standard Time,
kornfeld@netvision.net.il writes:
In Yerushalmi Kesuvos 9:8 it seems that there was a famous Roman magistrate by that name. For some reason I had the impression that here, too, it is some well-known, powerful and respected gentile to which the Gemara is referring.
However the Pnei Moshe there says that the one mentioned in Y. was an Amoiroh from Bavel (it definitely can't be the same one as here as this happened in Lud and in the time of Rabi Tarfon), this is also how he Teitches in Y. Shvuois 7:7 (as an aside the reference to Reish Perek Af Al Pi IMHO is supposed to be in Yerushalmi (vs. Bavli) as it is found in Yerushalmi Ksubois
5:1).
(If it were a Talmid Chacham, "Ein Moed Bifnei Talmid Chacham," as we found in Moed Katan 27b.)
Good point! he could have been though a rich and powerful Yid, (as in Y. Ksubois 5:1 it was a Jewish name).
Kol Tuv
Yitzchok Zirkind