Rav Assi ( he, רב אסי), or Assi (I), was a
rabbi
A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...
of
Babylonia, of the first generation of the
amoraim.
Identification
Rav Assi should not be confused with the
Amora sage of the
land of Israel,
Rabbi Assi
Assi II (Assa, Issi, Jesa, Josah, Jose, he, רבי אסי) was a Jewish Talmudist of the 3rd and 4th centuries (third generation of amoraim) who lived in the Land of Israel. He is known by the name of Yessa in the Jerusalem Talmud.
He should n ...
, who was of the third generation of the Amora era, and is recorded many times both in the
Babylon and the
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
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 ce ...
.
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 ...
Rav Assi is recorded merely as Issi or Assa, without the title "Rav" or "Rabbi", much like other amoraim of the first generation.
Biography
He was a
Kohen
Kohen ( he, , ''kōhēn'', , "priest", pl. , ''kōhănīm'', , "priests") is the Hebrew word for " priest", used in reference to the Aaronic priesthood, also called Aaronites or Aaronides. Levitical priests or ''kohanim'' are traditionally ...
. He originated from
Hutzal, located near
Nehardea
Nehardea or Nehardeah ( arc, נהרדעא, ''nəhardəʿā'' "river of knowledge") was a city from the area called by ancient Jewish sources Babylonia, situated at or near the junction of the Euphrates with the Nahr Malka (the Royal Canal), one ...
in
Babylonia. He was a "
Fellow Student
Fellow Student (Hebrew: תלמיד חבר) was a Talmudist epithet commonly used to describe the interim status of a disciple between the status of being merely a disciple of a teacher Rabbi and being practically equal in status. In many cases, a F ...
" of
Rav. He was a colleague of Rav,
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 ...
and
Rav Kahana I. The Talmud records him disagreeing with Rav many times. Rav and Samuel would honor Rav Assi by not entering into a
Brit milah event before Rav Assi did.
He was a teacher of R.
Judah ben Ezekiel
Judah bar Ezekiel (220–299 CE) (Hebrew: יהודה בן יחזקאל); often known as Rav Yehudah, was a Babylonian amora of the 2nd generation.
Biography
Judah was the most prominent disciple of Rav, in whose house he often stayed, and whose ...
.
He died shortly after Rav died.
Quotes
*The son of David (i.e. the Messiah) shall not come until all the souls have been depleted from the body. (i.e. until all persons who were meant to be born are born)
Yevamot 62a
/ref>
References
Talmud rabbis of Babylonia
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