Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar רבי שמעון בן אלעזר
disciple of Rabbi Meir, Tanna of the last generation
Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar was a Tanna of the fifth generation, constantly transmitting "in the name of Rabbi Meir": through him came much of the master's teaching that never entered the Mishnah and settled in the baraitot.
With his words the Talmud teaches urgency while life allows: "do while you can find, while you have, and while it is yet in your hand" (Shabbat 151b). His too is the craftsman's consolation: "have you ever seen a beast or a bird with a trade?—yet they are fed without toil; but I have spoiled my deeds—and so I eat in toil" (Kiddushin 82b).
The sources give no years of life; the window of activity is set by generation, following Aharon Hyman's Toldot Tannaim ve-Amoraim.
On the timeline
Related
Sources
Chazal: Mishnah, Talmud, midrash, Zohar
- Shabbat 151b — «do while you can find»
- Kiddushin 82b — on the trades of beasts and birds
Basis: Talmud and midrash.