Ḥiyya bar Abba (

Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...

: רבי חייא בר אבא), Ḥiyya bar Ba (

: רבי חייא בר בא), or Ḥiyya bar Wa (

: רבי חייא בר ווא) was a third generation ''

amoraic ''Amoraim'' (Aramaic: plural or , singular ''Amora'' or ''Amoray''; "those who say" or "those who speak over the people", or "spokesmen") refers to Jewish scholars of the period from about 200 to 500 CE, who "said" or "told over" the teachi ...

'' sage of the Land of Israel, of priestly descent, who flourished at the end of the third century.

Biography

In both Talmuds he is frequently called merely ''R. Hiyya''. He may have briefly studied with

Samuel of Nehardea Samuel of Nehardea or Samuel bar Abba, often simply called Samuel (Hebrew: שמואל) and occasionally Mar Samuel, was a Jewish Amora of the first generation; son of Abba bar Abba and head of the Yeshiva at Nehardea, Babylonia. He was a teacher ...

in Babylon, his native land. When he was still very young, Hiyya migrated to Israel where he studied under Hanina and

Joshua ben Levi Joshua ben Levi (Yehoshua ben Levi) was an amora, a scholar of the Talmud, who lived in the Land of Israel in the first half of the third century. He lived and taught in the city of Lod. He was an elder contemporary of Johanan bar Nappaha an ...

. He may also have been influenced by

Shimon ben Lakish Shim‘on ben Lakish ( he, שמעון בן לקיש; arc, שמעון בר לקיש ''Shim‘on bar Lakish'' or ''bar Lakisha''), better known by his nickname Reish Lakish (c. 200 — c. 275), was an amora who lived in the Roman province of Juda ...

. Hiyya was also a student of Rabbi Johanan. After Rabbi Johanan's death, Hiyya and his friends Rav Ammi and Rav Assi became recognized as some of Israel's brightest halakhic scholars. Hiyya was distinguished for the care with which he noted the sayings of his masters. When questions arose about being faithful to tradition, Hiyya's interpretation was widely accepted. Though he was the author of many aggadot, he denounced every attempt to collect and commit his tales to writing. Whenever he came upon such a collection, Hiyya cursed the hand that wrote it. His focus was squarely on

Halakhah ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...

. The

Jerusalem Talmud The Jerusalem Talmud ( he, תַּלְמוּד יְרוּשַׁלְמִי, translit=Talmud Yerushalmi, often for short), also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century ...

relates that when the Roman emperor Diocletian visited Tyre, Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba went so far as to "trample over graves" to go out and see him. With the help of Ammi and Assi, Hiyya formed a court of law. One day a woman named Tamar came before the court. Her case was a difficult one. The sentence handed down was controversial; Hiyya and his associates might have suffered disastrous consequences if

Abbahu Rabbi Abbahu ( he, אבהו) was a Jew and Talmudist of the Talmudic Academies in Syria Palaestina from about 279-320 and is counted a member of the third generation of Amoraim. He is sometimes cited as Rabbi Abbahu of Kisrin ( Caesarea). Biogra ...

himself had not come to their assistance. Hiyya was forced to lecture from town to town in an effort to make ends meet. He even had to leave Israel temporarily. During these travels, when another lecturer on aggadah drew a bigger crowd than he did, Hiyya couldn't hide his annoyance. To improve his circumstances, Hiyya accepted a commission from

Judah II Judah II or Nesi'ah I was a Jewish sage who lived in Tiberias in the Land of Israel, in the middle of the third century CE. He is mentioned in the classical works of Judaism's Oral Torah, the Mishnah and Talmud. There he is variously called "Ju ...

to collect money to help rebuild the decaying

patriarchate Patriarchate ( grc, πατριαρχεῖον, ''patriarcheîon'') is an ecclesiological term in Christianity, designating the office and jurisdiction of an ecclesiastical patriarch. According to Christian tradition three patriarchates were est ...

. The esteem in which Hiyya was held is evident in a letter of introduction Eleazar ben Pedath provided for him: "Behold, we have sent you a great man, our envoy. Until his return he possesses all the powers that we do." According to another version, the introduction read: "Behold, we have sent you a great man. His greatness consists in this, that he is not ashamed to say 'I know not'." Hiyya, Ammi, and Assi visited various communities in Israel at the behest of Judah II who entrusted them with reawakening interest in the study of Jewish Law.

, ''Hagigah'' 1 (76c) Hiyya had several brothers: R. Nathan ha-Kohen, also known as R. Kohen (or R. Nathan) b. Abba; Rabbannai, or R. Bannai; and R. Simeon ben Abba. He had several children, including R. Abba, R. Kahanah, and R. Nehemiah.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hiyya 3rd-century rabbis Talmud rabbis Year of birth unknown