Jeremiah b. Abba

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For the 1st-generation Amora sage of the Land of Israel, see Jeremiah (I).
For the 3rd-generation Amora sage of the Land of Israel, see Jeremiah (II).
For the 4th-generation and 4th-century Amora sage of the Land of Israel, see Jeremiah (III) (Also known as Jeremiah ben Abba).
For the 3rd-generation Babylonian Amora, see: Raba Bar Jeremiah (also called Abba; his son)

Rav Jeremiah b. Abba [1] (or Rav Yirmeyah b. Abba ; [1] Hebrew: רב ירמיה בר אבא) was a second generation Jewish Babylonian Amora sage (around the middle of the 3rd century). He was the pupil of the famous Amora R. Abba Arika. He is cited many times in the Jerusalem Talmud, where he is mentioned simply as R. Jeremiah, without his patronymic name. [2] Some are in the opinion that he was also called R. Jeremiah Rabbah (Rabbah = "the Great"). [3]

Babylon Kingdom in ancient Mesopotamia from the 18th to 6th centuries BC

Babylon was a key kingdom in ancient Mesopotamia from the 18th to 6th centuries BC. The city was built on the Euphrates river and divided in equal parts along its left and right banks, with steep embankments to contain the river's seasonal floods. Babylon was originally a small Akkadian town dating from the period of the Akkadian Empire c. 2300 BC.

Amoraim refers to the Jewish scholars of the period from about 200 to 500 CE, who "said" or "told over" the teachings of the Oral Torah. They were concentrated in Babylonia and the Land of Israel. Their legal discussions and debates were eventually codified in the Gemara. The Amoraim followed the Tannaim in the sequence of ancient Jewish scholars. The Tannaim were direct transmitters of uncodified oral tradition; the Amoraim expounded upon and clarified the oral law after its initial codification.

Abba Arikha (175–247), commonly known as Rav, was a Jewish amora of the 3rd century. He was born and lived in Kafri, Sassanid Babylonia. He established at Sura the systematic study of the rabbinic traditions, which, using the Mishnah as text, led to the compilation of the Talmud. With him began the long period of ascendancy of the great academies of Babylonia, around the year 220. In the Talmud, he is frequently associated with Samuel of Nehardea, with whom he debated on many major issues.

Contents

His teachers

As noted, Jeremiah b. Abba was primarily a student of Abba Arika, and usually acted in accordance with his rulings. [4] However, he was considered as a Fellow Student of his, and would address him in a second, and third Grammatical person form as is common among students and Rabbis. [5]

Fellow Student was a Talmudist epithet commonly used to describe the interim status of a disciple between the status of being merely a disciple of a teacher Rabbi and being practically equal in status. In many cases, a Fellow Student didn't fall short of his Rabbi, however he continues to perceive his teacher Rabbi above him and continues to learn from him. The term was commonly used in the Talmud times, however, the usage was continued throughout the Middle Ages and in latter times.

Grammatical person, in linguistics, is the grammatical distinction between deictic references to participant(s) in an event; typically the distinction is between the speaker, the addressee, and others. Put in simple colloquial English, first person is that which includes the speaker, namely, "I", "we", "me", and "us", second person is the person or people spoken to, literally, "you", and third person includes all that is not listed above. Grammatical person typically defines a language's set of personal pronouns. It also frequently affects verbs, and sometimes nouns or possessive relationships.

R. Jeremiah debates many known contemporary scholars: Rav Huna, Judah ben Ezekiel and more. Rav Nachman who was a known Dayan (religious judge), once addressed him in a matter of a Jewish law. [6] Most of his references in the Talmud are laws delivered by him in the name of the most prominent scholars of his generation: Abba Arika, Samuel of Nehardea, and Yochanan bar Nafcha. Several times he stated on the questions submitted from the Beth midrash of R. Samuel, associated with the period after the death of Abba Arika. [7]

Rav Huna Amora/rabbi in Palestine

Rav Huna was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Babylonia, known as an amora of the second generation and head of the Academy of Sura; he was born about 216 and died in 296-297.

Rav Nachman bar Yaakov was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Babylonia, known as an Amora of the third generation, and pupil of Samuel of Nehardea. He was chief justice of the Jews who were subject to the exilarch, and was also head of the school of Nehardea. On the destruction of that town, he transferred his pupils to Shekanẓib.

Samuel of Nehardea or Samuel bar Abba, often simply called Samuel, was a Jewish Amora of the first generation; son of Abba bar Abba and head of the Yeshiva at Nehardea, Babylonia. He was a teacher of halakha, judge, physician, and astronomer. He was born about 165 CE at Nehardea, and died there in 254 CE. In the Talmud, Samuel is frequently associated with Abba Arika ("Rav"), with whom he debated on many major issues.

His family and colleagues

Little is known about his family: His father was named "Abba", and was a famous Baal teshuva of his generation. (According to another version: the brother of his father, called "Aha" was the famous Baal teshuva). [8] R. Huna b. Hiyya (of Pumbdita) was his son-in-law, [9] and his son and grandson are also mentioned as sages. [10] For a certain period of time he lived in a place called Shumtamya, [6] which is not known from any other sources.

A ba'al teshuvah'. Baal teshuvah literally means in Hebrew "master of return" i.e., one who has "returned" to God.

Pumbedita Academy Place in Iraq

Pumbedita Academy was a yeshiva in Babylon during the era of the Amoraim and Geonim sages. It was founded by Judah bar Ezekiel and, with the Sura Academy founded in 225 by Abba Arika, was an influential and dominant yeshiva for about 800 years.

As mentioned above, some identify Jeremiah b. Abba with R. Jeremiah Rabbah who is only cited once in the Talmud, [11] a sage living in the city of Basra. According to this assertion he also lived in Basra.

Basra City in Basra Governorate, Iraq

Basra is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab between Kuwait and Iran. It had an estimated population of 2.5 million in 2012. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is handled at the port of Umm Qasr.

Jeremiah b. Abba II

Some are in the opinion that there were two sages named Jeremiah b. Abba, one in the second Amora generation, and the other in the third generation, [12] and it is based on the words of Ulla, that Rabbi Jeremiah b. Abba was the student of Rav Huna, the pupil of Abba Arika. [13] According to that opinion, the statements of Jeremiah b. Abba in the name of R. Yochanan bar Nafcha belong to the latter one.

Related Research Articles

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R. Yirmeyah was a prominent Jewish Amora sage of the Land of Israel, of the fourth generation of the Amora era. He was born in Babylon and made Aliyah to the Land of Israel while he was still young. In The Land of Israel he learned under R. Yochanan bar Nafcha's disciples, mainly under Rav Zeira. He stood out with his many questions, many of which that were left unanswered. In the Talmud it is storied that he was once ejected from a Beth Midrash because of his questions concerning border line cases that required accuracy on determining the exact definition of the border line. His exceptional questions gained publicity, and some use the phrase a Jeremiah question to refer to rare or out of the ordinary questions. After he was taken out of the Beth Midrash, the prominent sages of the generation sent him Halakhahic questions, and his answers made them decide to return him back to the Beth Midrash. Yirmeyah was known for his love of the Land of Israel, and used to denounce the Babylonians. His Beth Midrash was located in Tiberias.

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R. Jeremiah (II) (Hebrew: was a third-generation Amora sage of the Land of Israel and Babylon. In his early days he was the pupil of Yochanan bar Nafcha. Later he moved to Babylon which was a center for Yeshiva academies at the time, and where his pupils, Rav Huna and Rav Nachman were located. R. Jeremiah was the eldest of R. Yochanan bar Nafcha's pupils, and thus he said to R. Abbahu that there is a need to prefer his and R. Abin and R. Measha's opinion over the opinions of R. Abbahu and the rest of the young pupils.

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Idi b. Abin Naggara was a Jewish Babylonian Amora sage of the fourth generation of the Amoraic era. He was the son of R. Abin Naggara, who made his living as a carpenter, and used to observe all the commandments related to lighting a candle. In that conjunction, it is said that Rav Huna was accustomed frequently to pass the door of R. Abin the carpenter and, when seeing the observance of Shabbat candles, he remarked that "Two great men will issue hence", since it is stated that "He who habitually practises [the lighting of] the lamp will possess scholarly sons", and indeed he had Idi and Hiyya b. Abin Naggara.

Hiyya b. Abin Naggara was a Jewish Babylonian Amora sage of the fourth generation of the Amoraic era. He was the son of R. Abin Naggara, whose livelihood was a carpenter, and used to observe all the commandments related to lighting a candle. In that conjunction, it is storied that Rav Huna was accustomed frequently to pass the door of R. Abin the carpenter, and when seeing the observamce of Shabbat candles he remarked that "Two great men will issue hence", since it is stated that "He who habitually practises [the lighting of] the lamp will possess scholarly sons", and indeed he had Hiyya and Idi b. Abin Naggara.

For another Jewish Amora sage also of the Land of Israel, same 3d Amoraic generation and with a similar name, see Hanina ben Pappa.
For the Babylonian Amora sages of the 5th generation, see Rav Papi or Rav Papa.

Rabbi Abba bar Memel was a Jewish Amora sage of the Land of Israel of the second and third generation of the Amoraic era.

Abba or Raba (Rabbah) Bar Jeremiah was Babylonian amora of the third century, the son of Jeremiah b. Abba and a pupil of Rab. He lived at Sura and transmitted to his generation the sayings of Rab and Samuel. One of his sayings, several of which are preserved in Palestinian sources, may be here quoted. Prov. ix. 1-3: "Wisdom hath builded her house," etc., refers to the Messianic age. The "house" is the newly erected Temple at Jerusalem; the "seven pillars" are the seven years following the defeat of Gog and Magog, which are indicated in Ezek. xxxix. 9; the "feast" is that described in Ezek. xxxix. 17; and the verse, "She hath sent forth her maidens," etc., means: "The Lord sent forth the prophet Ezekiel with the message to the birds and beasts".

R. Hiyya b. Joseph was an Amora sage of Babylon of the second generation (3rd-century) of the Amoraic era. He studied under the most prominent sages of the Amoraim, R. Abba Arika ("Rav"), and Samuel of Nehardea, and later made Aliyah to the Land of Israel and studied under R. Yochanan bar Nafcha and Shimon ben Lakish.

Rav Giddel was a second generation Amora sage of Babylon and the Land of Israel. Abba Arika ("Rav") was his Teacher par excellence. Dozens of times he delivers Abba Arika's work in the Talmud - which many of them he heard indirectly from his teacher Hiyya b. Joseph, and in rare occasions he also delivers the work of R. Ze'iri.

Hiyya b. Ashi was a second and third generation Amora sage of Babylon. In his youth he studied under Abba Arika, and served as his janitor.

Safra was a prominent Babylonian Amora of the fourth generation of the amoraic era. Safra studied under R. Abba, then went abroad with two colleagues, R. Kahana and R. Huna the son of R. Ika. He debated the Halakha with Abaye and Rava, and was most probably a disciple of Rava, who would sometimes impose various tasks upon him.

R. Shezbi was a second generation Amora sage of Babylon, and a pupil of Rav Chisda. He was known to be a "Great Man" ", an erudite Torah scholar sage, and when he used to state biblical exegesis that were hard to understand, Rava would warn not underestimate his words and to carefully review them, for they were uttered by a "Great Man".

R. Isaac son of Rab Judah was a fourth generation Amora sage of Babylon. His father was Judah ben Ezekiel who was his Teacher par excellence, and he debated many Halakhaic issues with him. His father regarded him highly, and would submit statements in his son's name, which was considered unusual, since usually an Amora does not submit statements in the name of their students. At times he would commentate on his father's work.

Rabbah b. Shela was a fourth generation Amora sage of Babylon, and a pupil of Rav Chisda. Among his teachers, in addition to Rav Chisda, were R. Mattena, and R. Hamnuna the Elder. He served as a Dayan.

Rami b. Abba (or Rammi b. Abba II; Hebrew: (רמי בר אבא was a sixth generation Amora sage of Babylon. In the Talmud it is storied that he applied to Rav Papa and R. Huna b. Joshua with an Halakhaic question, concerning an Halachic ruling prohibiting one from pulling down a synagogue until he has built another to take its place. The question revolves about a new synagogue Rami b. Abba wanted to build to his fellow-townsmen, by taking bricks and beams from an old synagogue and use them for the new synagogue in a different location and without building a new synagogue in the old location. He was not sure whether he is allowed to pull down the old synagogue in case the whole purpose is to pull down the old synagogue in order to build a new one in a different location. Then he applied to R. Papa who forbade him, and so did R. Huna, who both were in the opinion that the Halachic ruling applies to this case as well, since they were concerned that the old synagogue will be pulled down without any new synagogue being built in its place.

References

  1. 1 2 Rav Yirmeyah b. Abba | רב ירמיה בר אבא, sages of the talmud | חכמי התלמוד
  2. ↑ The identety of the personas is proven in comparison between the Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat, 12b, and its equivalent in the Jerusalem Talmud, Tractate Shabbat, 1:3
  3. ↑ Sefer Yuhasin
  4. ↑ Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat, 12b;Babylonian Talmud, tractate Pesahim, 106b
  5. ↑ Babylonian Talmud, tractate Berakhot, 27b
  6. 1 2 Babylonian Talmud, tractate Bava Batra, 153a
  7. ↑ Yitzhak Isaac Halevy Rabinowitz, Dorot Harishonim, ch. 43
  8. ↑ Babylonian Talmud, tractate Shabbat, 56a
  9. ↑ Babylonian Talmud, tractate Shabbat, 156a; tractate Hulin, 93a
  10. ↑ Babylonian Talmud, tractate Berakhot, 26a, 31a
  11. ↑ Babylonian Talmud, tractate Shabbat, 29b
  12. ↑ Tosafot in their commentary on tractate Pesahim, 106b; >Yitzhak Isaac Halevy Rabinowitz, Dorot Harishonim, part 5, p. 229; Aaron Hyman, Toldoth Tannaim Ve'Amoraim, Article: Jeremiah b. Abba
  13. ↑ Babylonian Talmud, tractate Kiddushin, 46a
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