Abba the Surgeon is a figure mentioned 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 cente ...

as an example of genuine

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

ish

piety Piety is a virtue which may include religious devotion or spirituality. A common element in most conceptions of piety is a duty of respect. In a religious context piety may be expressed through pious activities or devotions, which may vary among ...

and benevolence (

Ta'anit A ta'anit or ta'anis (Mishnaic Hebrew: תענית) is a Fasting, fast in Judaism in which one abstains from all food and drink, including water. Purposes A Jewish fast may have one or more purposes, including: * Atonement for sins: Fasting is n ...

, 21b ''et seq''.) Although dependent upon his earnings, he was so unselfish and considerate that, in order to avoid embarrassing the poor among his patients, he would never accept pay directly from any one, but instead attached to a certain part of his house a box in which each might place what he pleased. According to the story,

Abaye Abaye ( he, אַבַּיֵי) was a rabbi of the Jewish Talmud who lived in Babylonia, known as an Amoraim, amora of the fourth generation. He was born about the close of the third century, and died 337 Common Era, CE. Biography His father, Kaylil ...

, 280 -339, the great Talmudic authority of the time, sent two young disciples to test him. Having lodged with him they took in the morning the bedding on which they had slept and went to the market. When Abba passed by they asked him to estimate the bedding's worth. He quoted them a price and, being asked whether the value might be higher, he said: this is what I paid for it. Then they told him that indeed they had taken the bedding from him and asked what he suspected them of. He explained that he had thought that they needed the money urgently for charity—the redemption of prisoners—and were too shy to ask him. Being offered to take back his property he refused, saying that he had already dedicated it for charity. Of Abba the legend is told (Talmud, l.c.) that he daily received greetings from

heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...

, whereas

was deemed worthy of divine notice once a week only.

References

*{{JewishEncyclopedia, url=http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?letter=A&artid=161, article=Abba the Surgeon (Umana) Talmud people Ancient surgeons