Ben Judah was a Kabbalist, religious scholar, and poet; the last major figure in the school of medieval German Jewish pietists (the Hasidim of Ashkenaz).
Background
He belonged to a distinguished family of scholars and his main teacher was Judah ben Samuel he-Hasid.
He was born in Mainz, from which he had to flee as a result of Christian attacks, and settled in Worms, where he lived most of his life.
Career
After the Crusaders in the Holy Land lost Jerusalem to Saladin, Jews were attacked by Christians in Europe. In 1196 two Crusaders burst into Eleazar’s home in Worms, killing his wife and two daughters before his eyes, seriously injuring Eleazar and mortally wounding his son. Eleazar mourned his wife and children for the rest of his life and wrote a moving elegy for them. From 1201 he served as rabbi in Worms and was one of the leading figures in Rhineland Jewry.
Through is many writings, he introduced the mysticism of teh Ashkenazic pietists to a broad circle. His major mystical composition, "Sodei Razayya" (Secrets of Secrets) was strongly influenced by German kabbalists.
Views
He explained the secrets of existence through wordplay and letter combinations. God must be sought through the pious life, involving saintliness and humility, sincere prayer, and a truly ethical life.
Quotations:
• Envy a man nothing — except his virtue.
• The most beautiful thing a man can do is forgive.
• All blessings begin “Blessed be Thou,” as though the person making the blessing was addressing a close friend.
• Accept your afflictions with love and joy.
• No monument sheds such glory as an untarnished name.