[Avodah] Alav Hashalom - Eved Hashem (R' Broyde)

[Jonathan Baker]

From: "SBA" <sba at sba2.com>
> From: "Micha Berger" <>

>> Moslems use p.b.u.h -- peace be upon him (alav hashalom).
 
> Anyone know the earliest source for alav hashalom?

I knew we were going to come back to this.

R' Michael Broyde has an article in the third Hakirah about this.

Nineteen people and 4 categories are titled 'eved hashem' in Chazal's
literature, mostly listed in Sifre Pesikta 27, ARN B ch. 43, and 
Midrash tehillim Buber 18:4.  There are plenty of places where
"alavashalom" is spelled out in the Midrashim, but only applying
to this group of 23, which implies that it was an abbreviation
E"H for Eved Hashem, that was only expanded by a later editor
as Alavashalom because the previous distinction had been forgotten.

Other Distinguished Deceased People are referred to as Z"L in the
literature.

A study of Jewish tombstones from 300 BCE through 700 CE (2nd Temple
through early Geonim) shows NO epitaphs of E"H or Alavashalom, and
many ZL or ZTL.

Rashi/Tosfos are completely consistent, using EH for the 23 listed,
and ZL/ZTL for everyone else.  Jewish tombstones from early Christian
Europe use "yanuach beshalom" or "menuchato kavod", similar to Latin
"requiescat in pace" or "pax vobiscum", and zero E"H.  Meanwhile,
Judeo-Arabic writers, from the Geonim through Rambam and beyond, used
Aleih Alsalaam (abbreviated E"S), and Alavashalom as a direct translation.
Rambam apparently never uses Alavashalom in Hebrew writings, as
inappropriate for Hebrew; he probably was still aware of the Eved Hashem
designation.

The list:

Persons: Abraham, Jacob, Moses, David, Isaiah, Samuel, Samson, Solomon,
Job, Joshua, Caleb, Eliakim, Zrubabel, Daniel, Hannaiah, Mishael, Azariah,
Nebuchadnezzar, Isaac.

Groups: Early Prophets, Jewish People, Messiah, Angels.

No manuscript spells out Alavashalom in Hebrew until 1400 or so.  The
tombstones indicate that nobody used it for dead people until the
Muslim expansion, and then only in Muslim countries.  So it seems
pretty clear that Alavashalom was remapped onto E"H, which originally
stood for Eved Hashem, and originally only applied to 23 persons or
groups.

The article circulated in manuscript for some years before he
found a publisher, so there are earlier references to this idea
in the Avodah archives.

--
        name: jon baker              web: http://www.panix.com/~jjbaker
     address: jjbaker at panix.com     blog: http://thanbook.blogspot.com