Ravina II or Rabina II (

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 ...

: רב אבינא בר רב הונא or רבינא האחרון; died 475 CE or 500 CE) was a

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 ...

n rabbi of the 5th century (seventh and eighth generations of

amoraim ''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 ...

). He, along with his teacher

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 ...

, were considered "the end of Hora'ah (teaching)". Traditionally both of them are regarded as responsible for redacting 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 cent ...

Biography

Most scholars agree that the rabbi here in question was Ravina the son of R. Huna, and not Ravina the colleague of

who died before Rav Ashi. He did not remember his father, R. Huna, who died while Ravina was still a child, but the Talmud states several times that his mother communicated to him the opinions held by his father. After his father's death, his maternal uncle Ravina I became his guardian. Ravina II officiated as judge at

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 ...

shortly after Rav Ashi's death, and was a colleague of

Mar bar Rav Ashi Mar bar Rav Ashi ( he, מר בר רב אשי), (d. 468) was Babylonian rabbi who lived in the 5th century (seventh generation of amoraim). He would sign his name as Tavyomi (or ''Tabyomi'', Hebrew: טביומי), which was either his first name ...

, although he was not so prominent. After Rabbah Tosafa'ah's death, Ravina became, for a year (474), director of the

Sura Academy Sura Academy (Hebrew: ישיבת סורא) was a Jewish yeshiva located in Sura, Babylonia. With Pumbedita Academy, it was one of the two major Jewish academies from the year 225 CE at the beginning of the era of the Amora sages until 1033 CE a ...

. Simultaneously,

Rabbah Jose Rabban Yosi Babylonian Talmud, Erubin 71b; Rishonim and Acharonim versions; Judah B. Barzilai "Sefer-Ha-Itim"שערי תורת בבל - רבינוביץ, זאב וואלף hebrewbooks.org( he, רבה יוסי, read as Rava Yossi; Also cited as רב ...

served as head of the

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 ...

academy. Ravina served as leader of the Jewish community in Babylonia for 22 years. One year before his death, all the Babylonian synagogues were closed, and Jewish infants were handed over to the Magians. He died on the 13th of

Kislev Kislev or Chislev (Hebrew: כִּסְלֵו, Standard ''Kīslev'' Tiberian ''Kīslēw''), also 'Chisleu' in the King James (authorized English) Bible, is the third month of the civil year and the ninth month of the ecclesiastical year on the H ...

in 474/475 or 499/500 CE.

Sherira Gaon Sherira bar Hanina (Hebrew: שרירא בר חנינא) more commonly known as Sherira Gaon (Hebrew: שרירא גאון; c. 906-c. 1006) was the gaon of the Academy of Pumbeditha. He was one of the most prominent Geonim of his period, and the ...

Neubauer, l.c. i. 34

References

Rabbis of Academy of Sura Year of birth unknown 475 deaths Talmud Talmud rabbis of Babylonia 500 deaths {{MEast-rabbi-stub