Rabbi Jonah (
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 ...
: רבי יונה) was a
Palestinian
Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
amora of the 4th century, the leading rabbinical authority in the 4th amoraic generation.
Biography
With
Jose bar Zevida, his early schoolmate and lifelong colleague and business partner, he studied under
Ze'era I and
Rav Ela. When, as young men, they called on
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 ...
to express their sympathy with him in his bereavement, he treated them as prominent scholars. But Jonah's special master was
Rav Jeremiah. From these masters and others, the youths acquired a thorough familiarity with the traditions, and gradually rose from pupils to fellows. Thus, it is said, "Haggai opened the discourse, and Jonah and Jose closed it".
Finally they succeeded to the rectorate of the academy at
Tiberias
Tiberias ( ; he, טְבֶרְיָה, ; ar, طبريا, Ṭabariyyā) is an Israeli city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's F ...
. In his office Jonah was distinguished by his paternal care for his pupils, to whom he gave both advice and material support. According to the halakhic requirement he gave away the tithe of his income, but to those who studied
halachah
''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 ...
, not to
priests or
Levites
Levites (or Levi) (, he, ''Lǝvīyyīm'') are Jewish males who claim patrilineal descent from the Tribe of Levi. The Tribe of Levi descended from Levi, the third son of Jacob and Leah. The surname ''Halevi'', which consists of the Hebrew de ...
, deriving his authority from II
Chronicles
Chronicles may refer to:
* ''Books of Chronicles'', in the Bible
* Chronicle, chronological histories
* ''The Chronicles of Narnia'', a novel series by C. S. Lewis
* ''Holinshed's Chronicles'', the collected works of Raphael Holinshed
* '' The Idh ...
31:4. When he discovered a worthy man who was poor, he would aid him in such a way as not to hurt his self-respect. "I understand," he would say to him, "that you have fallen heir to an estate" or "that your debtors will soon pay you; borrow some money of me, which you may repay when you come into possession of your fortune." As soon as the loan had been accepted, he would relieve the borrower from his promise by telling him, "This money is yours as a gift." This procedure he regarded as suggested by
Psalms
The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...
: "Blessed is he that considers
ebr. משכיל = "is thoughtful towards"the poor".
Jonah also enjoyed a certain respect among the
Romans
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
. He was included among those styled ("the mighty ones of the land of Israel"), because, the Rabbis explained, of the efficacy of his prayers in times of drought. The following miracle is related of him: Once, on
Shabbat, fire broke out on his premises. A
Nabatean
The Nabataeans or Nabateans (; Nabataean Aramaic: , , vocalized as ; Arabic: , , singular , ; compare grc, Ναβαταῖος, translit=Nabataîos; la, Nabataeus) were an ancient Arab people who inhabited northern Arabia and the southern Lev ...
whose property adjoined Jonah's attempted to extinguish it, but Jonah would not permit him thus to profane the Sabbath. "Do you rely on your good luck?" mockingly asked the Nabatean, to which Jonah replied, "Yes"; whereupon the fire was quenched.
[Yerushalmi Yoma 8 45b]
As rectors of the academy at Tiberias, Jonah and Jose had many disciples, some of whom became leaders in the next generation, and spread and perpetuated their master's doctrines. Jonah left a worthy son and successor in the person of
Mani II.
References
It has the following bibliography:
*Bacher, Ag. Pal. Amor. iii. 220-231;
*Frankel, Mebo, p. 98a;
*Halevy, Dorot ha-Rishonim, ii. 183b;
*
Weiss, Dor
Isaac (Isaak) Hirsch Weiss, also Eisik Hirsch Weiss () (9 February 1815 – 1 June 1905), was an Austrian Talmudist and historian of literature born at Groß Meseritsch, Habsburg Moravia.
After having received elementary instruction in Hebre ...
, iii. 110.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jonah
Talmud rabbis of the Land of Israel
4th-century rabbis
People from Tiberias