Rav Shmuel bar Rav Yitzchak, or Samuel bar Isaac, 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 ...

from the third generation of

amoraim ''Amoraim'' (Aramaic language, 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 Common Era, CE, who "sai ...

. He lived in

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. ...

and eventually moved to the

Land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Isra ...

. Along with

Rabbi Zeira Rabbi Zeira ( he, רבי זירא), known before his semicha as Rav Zeira ( he, רב זירא) and known in the Jerusalem Talmud as Rabbi Ze'era ( he, רבי זעירא), was a Jewish Talmudist, of the third generation of amoraim, who lived in the ...

, he was considered one of the greatest rabbis in the Land of Israel.Gittin 23b

Biography

He was born in Babylonia to a Rav Yitzchak, who the Talmud gives the name "father of Rav Shmuel bar Rav Yitzchak". In his youth he learned under

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 ...

, but was considered the greatest student of

Rav Huna Rav Huna (Hebrew: רב הונא) was a Jewish Talmud, Talmudist and Exilarch who lived in Babylonia, known as an Amoraim, amora of the second generation and head of the Talmudic Academies in Babylonia, Academy of Sura; he was born about 216 (212 ...

. After becoming established as a

talmid chacham ''Talmid Chakham'' is an honorific title which is given to a man who is well versed in Jewish law, i. e., a Torah scholar. Originally he, תלמיד חכמים ''Talmid Chakhamim'', lit., "student of sages", pl. תלמידי חכמים ''talmi ...

, he moved to the land of Israel, where he learned from R.

Hiyya bar Abba Ḥiyya bar Abba (Aramaic: רבי חייא בר אבא), Ḥiyya bar Ba (Aramaic: רבי חייא בר בא), or Ḥiyya bar Wa (Aramaic: רבי חייא בר ווא) was a third generation ''amoraic'' sage of the Land of Israel, of priestly des ...

. He became so close to Hiyya that when Hiyya died, Samuel practiced the mourning rites which are generally reserved for a close family member (later, when Samuel died, Rabbi Zeira did the same for him). Eventually Samuel became known as the greatest rabbi of his generation. His son-in-law was Rabbi

Hoshaiah II Hoshaiah or Oshaya (Also spelled: Oshaia; , ; died ca. 350 CE) was a Jewish Amoraim, amora of the 3rd and 4th amoraic generations. Biography It is supposed that his colleague Hanina was his brother. They were lineal descendants from Eli the pries ...

. He was accustomed to entertain the bride and groom at weddings by dancing before them with myrtle-branches. Some rabbis, including Rabbi Zeira, considered this to be embarrassingly frivolous for someone of Samuel's stature. But according to tradition, his conduct received Divine approval: When he died, a

bath kol In the Abrahamic religions, the voice of God is a communication from God to human beings, heard by humans as a sound with no apparent physical source. In rabbinic Judaism, such a voice was known as a ''bat kol'' ( he, בַּת⁠ קוֹל ''ba� ...

announced that "Rav Samuel bar Rav Yitzchak, the man who did kindness, has died"; at his funeral, fire descended from heaven in the form of myrtle-poles to separate the mourners from his body; and all the trees of the Land of Israel were uprooted, indicating that they had missed the chance to be taken by Samuel for his wedding-dances.

Teachings

He ruled that the valid location on the head for placing

tefillin Tefillin (; Modern Hebrew language, Israeli Hebrew: / ; Ashkenazim, Ashkenazic pronunciation: ), or phylacteries, are a set of small black leather boxes with leather straps containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah. Te ...

is large enough to contain two pairs of head-tefillin.Eruvin 95b

References

{{Amoraim 4th-century rabbis Talmud rabbis of the Land of Israel Immigrants to Israel