Rabbah bar Nachmani ( he, רבה בר נחמני) (died c. 320 CE) was a Jewish

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 ...

ist known throughout the

simply as Rabbah. He was a third-generation '' amora'' who 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 ...

Biography

Rabbah 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 ...

descended from Eli. He was a student of Rav Huna 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 ...

and of

Judah bar 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 whos ...

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 ...

, and so distinguished himself as a student that Huna seldom decided a question of importance without consulting him. His brethren in Palestine were little pleased with his residence in Babylonia, and wrote to him to come to the Holy Land, where he would find a teacher in Rabbi Yochanan, since it would be far better for him, wise though he was, to have a guide than to rely on himself in his studies. Rabbah, however, seems not to have answered this urgent request, and apparently never left Babylonia. Upon the death of Judah ben Ezekiel, Rabbah succeeded as head of the academy (''reish metivta'') of

, and held the post until his death 22 years later. The academy achieved its height under his leadership and he attracted many new students to the academy. During the

Kallah Yarchei Kallah (Hebrew: "''months of the bride''") is the name of a teachers' convention that was held twice a year in Babylonian Academies, by the Jews then in captivity in Babylon, after the beginning of the amoraic period, in the two months Ad ...

months, he is said to have attracted as many as 12,000 students.Bava Metzia 86a Rabbah was hated by residents of

for his criticism of their practice of fraud, but loved by his students. He is also said to have lived in poverty, but little else is known about his private life. He was maligned by his detractors to the Persian king for leading and teaching bi-annual month-long study gatherings for over twelve thousand people, leading to their being absent at the time of tax collections. The king sent

bailiff A bailiff (from Middle English baillif, Old French ''baillis'', ''bail'' "custody") is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their o ...

s to seize him; he fled from city to city and finally into a marsh, where his body was found in a thicket. According to Rabbi Sherira Gaon, he was denounced to the king for causing twelve thousand men to be idle during a lunar month in summer ('' Elul'') and a lunar month in winter (''

Adar Adar ( he, אֲדָר ; from Akkadian ''adaru'') is the sixth month of the civil year and the twelfth month of the religious year on the Hebrew calendar, roughly corresponding to the month of March in the Gregorian calendar. It is a month of 29 ...

''). The Talmud records that after his death, he was

eulogized A eulogy (from , ''eulogia'', Classical Greek, ''eu'' for "well" or "true", ''logia'' for "words" or "text", together for "praise") is a speech or writing in praise of a person or persons, especially one who recently died or retired, or a ...

for seven days. His nephew was the great scholar

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

(280–340) who, being an orphan, was raised by Rabbah. He was succeeded by his son, also called Rabbah. Both Rabbah and Abaye were destined to die in the prime of their lives as they were descendants of Eily the High Priest who was cursed that his descendants would die young. However, due to the fact that Rabbah studied Torah he merited to live to the age of 40. Whereas Abaye, who studied Torah and performed (extra) acts of kindness, lived to the age of 60.

Teaching

He was a great scholar, renowned for his abilities to argue texts, resolve contradictions, and find applications, which gave him the nickname of ''oker harim'' (uprooter of mountains), as his studies exhibit the power of one who picks up mountains and grinds them against each other. He was also an exceptional teacher. He used to start every lecture with a joke or funny

anecdote An anecdote is "a story with a point", such as to communicate an abstract idea about a person, place, or thing through the concrete details of a short narrative or to characterize by delineating a specific quirk or trait. Occasionally humorous ...

to get his students in a good mood. He would test the judgment of his audience, implying a mistaken halakha and waiting for his students to find the mistake. Only about ten of Rabbah's aggadic teachings are recorded; He seem to have concentrated his attention on halakhah, which he endeavored to elucidate by interpreting the mishnaic decisions and the baraitot, and by determining the fundamental reasons for the various Torah and rabbinical laws and explaining the apparent contradictions contained in them. He often asks: "Why did the Torah command this?" "Why did the sages forbid this?" He did not confine his interest to the practical laws of the

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Tor ...

, however, like his teacher R. Judah, but studied all six mishnaic orders, and was the leading authority in the obscure subjects of

negaim Neghaʿim (Hebrew: נגעים, "Blemishes") is the third tractate of the order of Tohorot in the Mishnah. It consists of fourteen chapters. Nega'im describes the various forms of ''tzaraath'', a leprosy-like disease described in the Parshiyot of T ...

and taharot. He was not the author of

Genesis Rabbah Genesis Rabbah (Hebrew: , ''B'reshith Rabba'') is a religious text from Judaism's classical period, probably written between 300 and 500 CE with some later additions. It is a midrash comprising a collection of ancient rabbinical homiletical inter ...

or the other midrashic works whose names end in "Rabbah".Abraham ibn Daud, "Sefer ha-Ḳabbalah," in Neubauer, "M. J. C." p. 58 Genesis Rabbah is named after Hoshayah Rabbah, and the others are named after Genesis Rabbah.

References

Sources

* '' Encyclopaedia Judaica'', 1972, Keter Publishing House, Jerusalem, Israel. * ''

Sefer Ha-Aggadah Sefer may refer to: * Sefer (Hebrew) ''Sifrei Kodesh'' ( he, ספרי קודש, , Holy books), commonly referred to as ''sefarim'' ( he, ספרים, , books), or in its singular form, ''sefer'', are books of Jewish religious literature and are ...

'' (''Book of Legends''), 1992, Schocken, New York. {{authority control Rabbis of Academy of Pumbedita 320 deaths