''For other

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 ...

sages of Babylonia with the name "Rav Kahana", see Rav Kahana.'' Rav Kahana (II) ( he, רב כהנא (השני), read as ''Rav Kahana (Ha-sheni)'', lit. "Rabbi Kahana (II)"; recorded in 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 ce ...

merely as ''Rav Kahana'') was an '' Amora'' of the second generation, active in Babylon and in the Land of Israel.

Biography

He was a student of

Rav ''Rav'' (or ''Rab,'' Modern Hebrew: ) is the Hebrew generic term for a person who teaches Torah; a Jewish spiritual guide; or a rabbi. For example, Pirkei Avot (1:6) states that: The term ''rav'' is also Hebrew for ''rabbi''. (For a more nuan ...

. According to the

Geonim ''Geonim'' ( he, גאונים; ; also transliterated Gaonim, singular Gaon) were the presidents of the two great Babylonian Talmudic Academies of Sura and Pumbedita, in the Abbasid Caliphate, and were the generally accepted spiritual leaders of ...

tradition, Rav Kahana was the stepson of

from his second wife. Despite his name, which usually means "

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 was not a Kohen. His son was Rabbi Abba bar Kahana. It is told that once Kahana hid underneath the bed of his teacher Rav while Rav and his wife were engaging in sexual intercourse. When Rav noticed this he was angered, but Kahana justified his presence by saying "It is Torah, and I need to learn it." Another time, Kahana was reciting Biblical verses before Rav. When he reached Ecclesiastes 12:5, which (in this rabbinic interpretation) refers to the cessation of a person's sexual desire in old age, Rav sighed. Kahana said, "We can conclude from this that Rav's sexual desire has ceased." He was considered unusually handsome: it was said that his beauty recalled the beauty of Rabbi

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 ...

, which in turn recalled the beauty of the patriarch

Jacob Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. J ...

.Bava Metziah 84a

References

Talmud rabbis of the Land of Israel Talmud rabbis of Babylonia {{MEast-rabbi-stub