Samuel bar Isaac

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Rav Shmuel bar Rav Yitzchak, or Samuel bar Isaac, was a rabbi from the third generation of amoraim. He lived in Babylonia and eventually moved to the Land of Israel. Along with Rabbi Zeira, he was consider one of the greatest rabbis in the Land of Israel. [1]

In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. The basic form of the rabbi developed in the Pharisaic and Talmudic era, when learned teachers assembled to codify Judaism's written and oral laws. The first sage for whom the Mishnah uses the title of rabbi was Yohanan ben Zakkai, active in the early-to-mid first century CE. In more recent centuries, the duties of a rabbi became increasingly influenced by the duties of the Protestant Christian minister, hence the title "pulpit rabbis", and in 19th-century Germany and the United States rabbinic activities including sermons, pastoral counseling, and representing the community to the outside, all increased in importance.

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.

Babylonia Ancient Akkadian region in Mesopotamia

Babylonia was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in central-southern Mesopotamia. A small Amorite-ruled state emerged in 1894 BC, which contained the minor administrative town of Babylon. It was merely a small provincial town during the Akkadian Empire but greatly expanded during the reign of Hammurabi in the first half of the 18th century BC and became a major capital city. During the reign of Hammurabi and afterwards, Babylonia was called "the country of Akkad", a deliberate archaism in reference to the previous glory of the Akkadian Empire.

Contents

Biography

He was born in Babylonia to a Rav Yitzchak, who the Talmud gives the name "father of Rav Shmuel bar Rav Yitzchak". [2] In his youth he learned under Rav, [3] but was considered the greatest student of Rav Huna. [4] After becoming established as a talmid chacham, he moved to the land of Israel, where he learned from R. Hiyya bar Abba. 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). [5] Eventually Samuel became known as the greatest rabbi of his generation. [1] His son-in-law was Rabbi Hoshaiah II. [6]

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.

Hiyya bar Abba or Rabbi Hiyya was a third generation amoraic sage of the Land of Israel, of priestly descent, who flourished at the end of the third century.

Hoshaiah II rabbi

Hoshaiah or Oshaya was a Jewish amora of the 3rd and 4th amoraic generations. It is supposed that his colleague Hanina was his brother. They were lineal descendants from Eli the priest, which circumstance they assigned as reason for Johanan's failure to ordain them. For a living they plied the shoemaker's trade.

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 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; [7] 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. [8]

<i>Myrtus</i> genus of plants

Myrtus, with the common name myrtle, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae, described by Swedish botanist Linnaeus in 1753.

Teachings

He ruled that the valid location on the head for placing tefillin is large enough to contain two pairs of head-tefillin. [9]

Tefillin small black leather boxes containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah, worn by male observant Jews during weekday morning prayers

Tefillin or phylacteries, are a set of small black leather boxes containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah. In Rabbinic Judaism, which is the predominant form of Judaism today, tefillin are worn by observant adult Jews during weekday morning prayers. In Orthodox communities, they are only worn by men, while in non-Orthodox communities, they may be worn by men and women.

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References

  1. 1 2 Gittin 23b
  2. ↑ Eruvin 97a
  3. ↑ Niddah 64b
  4. ↑ Eruvin 36a
  5. ↑ Yerushalmi Brachot 3:1
  6. ↑ Yerushalmi Sanhedrin 1:1
  7. ↑ Yerushalmi Peah 1:1; Yerushalmi Avodah Zarah 3:1; Bavli Ketuvot 17a
  8. ↑ Genesis Rabbah 59:4
  9. ↑ Eruvin 95b
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