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Levi ben Sisi or Levi bar Sisi (Sisyi, Susyi,
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
: לוי בר סיסי) was a
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
scholar, one of the semi-
tannaim
''Tannaim'' ( Amoraic Hebrew: תנאים , singular , ''Tanna'' "repeaters", "teachers") were the rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah, from approximately 10–220 CE. The period of the ''Tannaim'', also referred to as the Mis ...
of the late 2nd century and early 3rd century.
Biography
He was a student of the patriarch
Judah haNasi
Judah ha-Nasi ( he, יְהוּדָה הַנָּשִׂיא, ''Yəhūḏā hanNāsīʾ''; Yehudah HaNasi or Judah the Prince) or Judah I, was a second-century rabbi (a tanna of the fifth generation) and chief redactor and editor of the ''Mis ...
, and studied together with Judah's son
Simeon
Simeon () is a given name, from the Hebrew (Biblical ''Šimʿon'', Tiberian ''Šimʿôn''), usually transliterated as Shimon. In Greek it is written Συμεών, hence the Latinized spelling Symeon.
Meaning
The name is derived from Simeon, son ...
.
He assisted Judah in the compilation of the
Mishnah
The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Torah ...
, and composed his own collection of
baraitot
''Baraita'' (Aramaic: "external" or "outside"; pl. ''Barayata'' or ''Baraitot''; also Baraitha, Beraita; Ashkenazi: Beraisa) designates a tradition in the Jewish oral law not incorporated in the Mishnah. ''Baraita'' thus refers to teachings "ou ...
. Many of Levi's baraitot were eventually embodied in a compilation known as ''Kiddushin de-Bei Levi''.
In the
Babylonian Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...
Levi is seldom quoted with his
patronymic
A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor.
Patronymics are still in use, including mandatory use, in many countries worldwide, alt ...
, and neither in the Babylonian nor in 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 ...
nor in the
Midrashim
''Midrash'' (;["midrash"]
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...
is he quoted with the title of "Rabbi". Thus, one can determine whether the name "Levi" without a patronymic refers to Levi bar Sisi or to a younger namesake (
Levi II
Levi II, or Rabbi Levi was a Jewish scholar of the 3rd century (third generation of amoraim). In a few cases he is quoted as Levi bar Laḥma (Hama). In later midrashim the title "Berabbi" is sometimes added to his name.
Biography
He was a contem ...
) who is almost always cited as "R. Levi".
Although Levi bar Sisi is not given the title "Rav," he was highly esteemed among scholars. Where an anonymous passage is introduced with the statement למדין לפני חכמים (= "it was argued before the sages"), the implication is that the argument was advanced by Levi before
Judah haNasi
Judah ha-Nasi ( he, יְהוּדָה הַנָּשִׂיא, ''Yəhūḏā hanNāsīʾ''; Yehudah HaNasi or Judah the Prince) or Judah I, was a second-century rabbi (a tanna of the fifth generation) and chief redactor and editor of the ''Mis ...
.
Judah haNasi
Judah ha-Nasi ( he, יְהוּדָה הַנָּשִׂיא, ''Yəhūḏā hanNāsīʾ''; Yehudah HaNasi or Judah the Prince) or Judah I, was a second-century rabbi (a tanna of the fifth generation) and chief redactor and editor of the ''Mis ...
later spoke of Levi bar Sisi as of an equal. At the request of a congregation at
Simonias
Tel Shimron (Hebrew: תל שמרון) is an archaeological site and nature reserve in the Jezreel Valley.
Shimron was the name of a major city in the north of Israel throughout antiquity. It is mentioned in the Bible by this name, and in othe ...
to send a man who could fulfill the duties of a preacher, judge, beadle, scribe and teacher, and supervise general congregational affairs, Judah sent Levi. When Levi took up his position, he failed to satisfy the first requirement. Questions of law and of exegesis were addressed to him, and he left them unanswered. The Simonias congregation charged the patriarch with sending someone unfit for the job, but he responded that Levi was as able as himself. He summoned Levi and asked the same questions, which Levi answered all correctly. Judah inquired why he did not do so before and Levi answered that his courage had failed him. A late
midrash
''Midrash'' (;["midrash"]
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...
speaks of him as a
Biblical
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
scholar and fine preacher.
Several stories are told of his prayers in times of distress, which were immediately answered.
After Judah haNasi's death,
Epes the Southerner
Epes the Southerner ( he, , translit: ''Efes ha-Daromi'') or Rabbi Epes, was a scholar of the 3rd century, secretary to the patriarch Judah haNasi, and one of the last tannaim. After Judah's death, while Efes conducted a college in southern Judea, ...
was made head of the academy, which led Levi and
Hanina bar Hama
Hanina bar Hama (died c. 250) ( he, חנינא בר חמא) was a Jewish Talmudist, halakhist and aggadist frequently quoted in the Babylonian and the Jerusalem Talmud, and in the Midrashim.
He is generally cited by the name R. Hanina, but somet ...
to avoid the academy. When Epes later died and Hanina became head of the academy, Levi moved to
Babylonia
Babylonia (; Akkadian: , ''māt Akkadī'') was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Syria). It emerged as an Amorite-ruled state c. ...
, whither his fame had preceded him. He died in Babylonia, and was greatly mourned by scholars.
Abba bar Abba
Abba bar Abba (Aramic: אבא בר אבא, or Father of Samuel, Aramic: אבוה דשמואל; Cited in the Jerusalem Talmud as Abba bar Ba, Aramic: אבא בר בא) was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Babylonia in the 2nd-3rd centuries (first ge ...
eulogized him, saying that Levi alone was worth as much as the whole of humanity.
[Yerushalmi Berachot 2 5c]
References
Jewish Encyclopedia citations
* Bacher, Ag. Tan. ii. 536;
* Frankel, Mebo, p. 110b;
* Halevy, Dorot ha-Rishonim, ii. 60a;
*
Seder HaDoroth
The ''Seder HaDorot'' or "Book of Generations" (completed 1725, published 1768) by Lithuanian Rabbi Jehiel Heilprin (1660–1746) is a Hebrew-language chronological work that serves as a depot of multiple Hebrew language chronological books an ...
, ii.;
* Weiss, Dor, ii. 192.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levi Ben Sisi
Mishnah rabbis
2nd-century rabbis
3rd-century rabbis