Abba Arikha
Abba Arikha | |
---|---|
אַבָּא אריכא | |
Born | Rav Abba bar Aybo 175 |
Died | 247 |
Nationality | Jewish |
Occupation | Rabbi |
Known for | Scholarship (amoraim) for Talmudic academies in Babylonia |
Rabbinical eras |
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Rav Abba bar Aybo (Aramaic: רַב אַבָּא בַּר אִיבּוֹ; 175–247 CE), commonly known as Abba Arikha (אַבָּא אריכא)[1] or simply as Rav (רַב), was a Jewish amora of the 3rd century. He was born and lived in Kafri, Asoristan, in the Sasanian Empire.
In Sura, Arikha established the systematic study of the rabbinic traditions, which, using the Mishnah as a foundational text, led to the compilation of the Talmud.[2] With him began the long period of ascendancy of the prestigious Talmudic academies in Babylonia[3] around the year 220. In the Talmud, he is frequently associated with Samuel of Nehardea, a fellow amora with whom he debated many issues.
Biography
His surname, Arikha (English: the Tall),
Rav was a descendant of a distinguished Babylonian family which claimed to trace its origin to
In the annals of the Babylonian schools, the year of his arrival is recorded as the starting-point in the chronology of the Talmudic age. It was the 530th year of the Seleucid era and the 219th year of the Common Era. As the scene of his activity, Rav first chose Nehardea, where the exilarch appointed him agoranomos, or market-master, and Rabbi Shela made him lecturer (amora) of his college.[12][6] Then he moved to Sura, on the Euphrates, where he established a school of his own, which soon became the intellectual center of the Babylonian Jews. As a renowned teacher of the Law and with hosts of disciples, who came from all sections of the Jewish world, Rav lived and worked in Sura until his death. Samuel of Nehardea, another disciple of Judah haNasi, at the same time brought to the academy at Nehardea a high degree of prosperity; in fact, it was at the school of Rav that Jewish learning in Babylonia found its permanent home and center. Rav's activity made Babylonia independent of Palestine, and gave it that predominant position which it was destined to occupy for several centuries.[6]
Little is known of Rav's personal life. That he was rich seems probable; for he appears to have occupied himself for a time with commerce and afterward with agriculture.[13][6] He is referred to as the son of noblemen,[14] but it is not clear if this is an affectionate term or a true description of his status. Rashi does tell us that he is being described as the son of great men. He was highly respected by the Gentiles as well as by the Jews of Babylonia, as shown by the friendship which existed between him and the last Parthian emperor, Artabanus IV.[15][6] He was deeply affected by the death of Artaban in 226 and the downfall of the Parthian rulers, and does not appear to have sought the friendship of Ardashir I, founder of the Sasanian Empire, although Samuel of Nehardea probably did so.[6]
Rav became closely related, through the marriage of one of his daughters, to the family of the exilarch. Her sons,
Rav died at an advanced age, deeply mourned by numerous disciples and the entire Babylonian Jewry, which he had raised from comparative insignificance to the leading position in Judaism.[17][6]
Legacy
The method of treatment of the traditional material to which the Talmud owes its origin was established in Babylonia by Rav. That method takes the
Rav, says tradition, found an open, neglected field and fenced it in.[18][6]
Teachings
He gave special attention to the
The many
- "The commandments of the Torah were only given to purify men's morals"[21]
- "Whatever may not properly be done in public is forbidden even in the most secret chamber"[22]
- "In the future, a person will give a judgement and accounting over everything that his eye saw and he did not eat."[23]
- "Whoever lacks pity for his fellow man is no child of Abraham"[24]
- "Better to cast oneself into a fiery furnace than to publicly shame one's fellow man."[25]
- "One should never betroth himself to a woman without having seen her; one might subsequently discover in her a blemish because of which one might loathe her and thus transgress the commandment: 'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself'"[26]
- "A father should never prefer one child above another; the example of Josephshows what evil consequences may result."
- "While the dates are still in the borders of your skirt, run off with them to the distillery!" [Meaning, before one wastes what he has, let him convert it into something more productive][27]
- "Receive the payment. Deliver the goods!" [i.e. do not sell on credit][28]
- "[Better to come] under the displeasure of Ishmael (i.e. the Arabs) than [the displeasure of] Rome; [better to come] under the displeasure of Rome than [the displeasure of] a Persian; [better to come] under the displeasure of a Persian than [the displeasure of] a disciple of the Sages; [better to come] under the displeasure of a disciple of the Sages than [the displeasure of] an orphan and widow."[29]
- "A man ought always to occupy himself in the words of the Law, and in the commandments, even if it were not for their own sake. For eventually he will do it for their own sake"[30]
- "A man ought always to look about in search of a [good] city whose settlement is only of late, considering that since its settlement is [relatively] new, its iniquities are also few."[31]
- "A disciple of the Sages ought to have in him one-eighth of one-eighth of pride, [and no more]."[32]
Rav loved the Book of Ecclesiasticus (
To the celestial joys of the future he was accustomed to refer in the following poetic words:[6]
Nothing on earth compares with the future life. In the world to come there shall be neither eating nor drinking, neither trading nor toil, neither hatred nor envy; but the righteous shall sit with crowns upon their heads, and rejoice in the radiance of the Divine Presence.[34]
Rav also devoted much attention to mystical and transcendental speculations regarding Maaseh Bereshit, Maaseh Merkabah, and the Divine Name. Many of his important utterances testify to his tendency in this direction.[35][36]
References
Citations
- OCLC 923562173.
- ^ public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "'Abba 'Arika". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 8. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
- ^ Oesterley & Box 1920.
- ^ "Chullin 137b:13". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
- ^ "Niddah 24b:21". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s (Singer 1901–1906)
- ^ Weiss, Dor, 3:147; Jastrow, Dictionary under the word
- ^ For instance, Tosefta Beitzah 1:7
- ^ Bava Batra 42a and elsewhere
- ^ Sanhedrin 5a; Ketubot 62b
- ^ Sanhedrin 5a
- ^ Jerusalem Talmud Bava Batra 5 15a; Yoma 20b
- ^ Hullin 105a
- ^ Shabbat 29a
- ^ Avodah Zarah 10b
- ^ Hullin 92a
- ^ Shabbat 110a, Mo'ed Katan 24a
- ^ Hullin 110a
- ^ Jacobson, B.S., The Weekday Siddur: An Exposition and Analysis of its Structure, Contents, Language and Ideas (2nd ed, Tel-Aviv, Sinai Publ'g) page 307; Nulman, Macy, Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayer (1993, NJ, Jason Aronson) page 24.
- ^ Jerusalem Talmud Rosh Hashanah 1 57a
- ^ Genesis Rabbah 44
- ^ Shabbat 64b
- ^ Jerusalem Talmud, Kiddushin 4:12
- ^ Beitzah 32b
- ^ Bava Metzia 59a
- ^ Kiddushin 41a
- ^ Pesachim 113a
- ^ Pesachim 113a
- ^ Shabbat 11a
- ^ Sanhedrin 105b; Pesahim 50b
- ^ Shabbat 10b
- ^ Sotah 5a
- ^ Eruvin 54a
- ^ Berakhot 17a
- ^ Hagigah 12a, Kiddushin 71a
- ^ Singer 1901–1906.
Sources
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Abba Arika". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
- Oesterley, W. O. E.; Box, G. H. (1920), A Short Survey of the Literature of Rabbinical and Mediæval Judaism, New York, NY: Burt Franklin.