Pum-Nahara Academy (

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 ...

: ישיבת פום נהרא) was a Jewish

Yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are s ...

academy in

Babylon ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...

, during the era of the Jewish Amora sages, in the town of Pum-Nahara,

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. ...

, that was within the area of jurisdiction of Sura city, and was situated on the east bank of the "Sura" river, nearby the Sura river's

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

to the

Tigris The Tigris () is the easternmost of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian and Arabian Deserts, and empties into the ...

river,Yud Shin Tzuri, "History of the Hebrew public law - the reign of the Exilarchs and the Yeshivas (The times of Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak the Rosh Kala and dean of the Yeshiva academy), Mitzpeh Publications, 1938 . and thus it was granted its name (Pum = in Aramaic "mouth" or "lips" (i.e. "waterside"); Nahara = River; Hence, "The waterside of the River"). According to the

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 ...

, the Jewish community in Pum-Nahara city, were poor. The dean of the Yeshiva academy, that was third in the line of importance (after

Pumbedita Pumbedita (sometimes Pumbeditha, Pumpedita, or Pumbedisa; arc, פוּמְבְּדִיתָא ''Pūmbəḏīṯāʾ'', "The Mouth of the River,") was an ancient city located near the modern-day city of Fallujah, Iraq. It is known for having hosted t ...

and

Sura A ''surah'' (; ar, سورة, sūrah, , ), is the equivalent of "chapter" in the Qur'an. There are 114 ''surahs'' in the Quran, each divided into '' ayats'' (verses). The chapters or ''surahs'' are of unequal length; the shortest surah ('' Al-K ...

academies), out of four Yeshiva academies that existed at the time in

, was Rav Kahana III, who was the Rabbi teacher of

Rav Ashi Rav Ashi ( he, רב אשי) ("Rabbi Ashi") (352–427) was a Babylonian Jewish rabbi, of the sixth generation of amoraim. He reestablished the Academy at Sura and was the first editor of the Babylonian Talmud. Biography According to a trad ...

, and a disciple of

Rabbah bar Nahmani Rabbah bar Nachmani ( he, רבה בר נחמני) (died c. 320 CE) was a Jewish Talmudist known throughout the Talmud simply as Rabbah. He was a third-generation '' amora'' who lived in Babylonia. Biography Rabbah was a kohen descended from Eli ...

("Rabbah"). Rav Kahana III also resided at Pum-Nahara (and thus also known as ''Rav Kahana of Pum-Nahara'').''" R. Kahana did make a lament for R. Zebid of Nehardea at Pum-Nahara"'', B.

, tractate

Mo'ed Katan Mo'ed Katan or Mo'ed Qatan (Hebrew: מועד קטן, lit. "little festival") is the eleventh tractate of ''Seder Moed'' of the Mishnah and the Talmud. It is concerned with the laws of the days between the first and last days of Passover and Sukk ...

, 27b One may note some additional Jewish Amora sages that resided and were active at the time at Pum-Nahara, and among them: R. Aha b. Rab, who later became an

Exilarch The exilarch was the leader of the Jewish community in Persian Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq) during the era of the Parthians, Sasanians and Abbasid Caliphate up until the Mongol invasion of Baghdad in 1258, with intermittent gaps due to ongoing ...

, as well as Rab b. Shaba.

References

{{reflist, 2 Talmudic Academies in Babylonia Jewish Babylonian history Jewish educational organizations Religious academies in Babylon Talmud Chazal

See also

References