Rabbah Tosafa'ah ( or ) was a

Babylon Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...

ian rabbi, of the eighth generation of

amoraim ''Amoraim'' ( , singular ''Amora'' ; "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 teachings of the Oral Torah. They were p ...

Biography

Opinions differ on the origin of his second name, "Tosefa'ah", seemingly from the Aramaic word ''tosefta'' (addition). According to one theory, the

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

was substantially complete by this point, and he "added on" to the already existing work. Others say he was an expert in the braitot and

Tosefta The Tosefta ( "supplement, addition") is a compilation of Jewish Oral Law from the late second century, the period of the Mishnah and the Jewish sages known as the '' Tannaim''. Background Jewish teachings of the Tannaitic period were cha ...

which supplement the main works of the

Oral Torah According to Rabbinic Judaism, the Oral Torah or Oral Law () are statutes and legal interpretations that were not recorded in the Five Books of Moses, the Written Torah (), and which are regarded by Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jews as prescriptive ...

. According to a third approach, "Tosefa'ah" derives from his place of origin, perhaps Tushpa. He was a pupil of

Ravina I Ravina I (; died c. AD 420) was a Babylonian Jewish Talmudist and rabbi, of the 5th and 6th generation of amoraim. Biography His father seems to have died before he was born or at an early age, and it was necessary for his mother informed him of s ...

and a contemporary of

Ravina II Ravina II or Rabina II (Hebrew: אבינא בריה דרב הונא or רבינא האחרון; died 475 Common Era, CE or 500 CE) was a Babylonian rabbi of the 5th century (seventh and eighth generations of amoraim). Rabina is a traditional portm ...

, with whom, sometimes, he is mentioned in the Talmud. He succeeded Mar bar Rav Ashi as head of the

Sura Academy Sura Academy () was a Jewish yeshiva located in Sura in what is now southern Iraq, a region known in Jewish texts as "Babylonia". With Pumbedita Academy, it was one of the two major Jewish academies from the year 225 CE at the beginning of the ...

, a position he held for six years (approximately 467-474). He died in 494.

Teachings

A few independent decisions of Rabbah have been preserved. One of them assumes that a woman's pregnancy may extend from nine to twelve months. He is seldom mentioned by name in the Talmud—only in nine places. However, all sayings in the Babylonian Talmud introduced by "Yesh omerim" (some say) are ascribed to him. His chief work was to complete, by additions and amplifications, the compilation of the Talmud begun by

Rav Ashi Rav Ashi () ("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. The original pronunciation of his name may h ...

. These additions consisted for the most part of short, explanatory remarks, indispensable for an understanding of Talmudic themes or for deciding between the conflicting opinions of older authorities.Halevy, l.c. p. 20 According to one theory mentioned above, this activity is the source of his name "Tosafa'ah".

References

{{authority control Talmud rabbis of Babylonia Rabbis of Academy of Sura