Hanina bar Hama
Rabbinical eras |
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Hanina bar Hama (died c. 250) (
He is generally cited by the name R. Hanina, but sometimes with his patronymic (Hanina b. Hama), and occasionally with the cognomen "the Great".[1]
Biography
Whether he was a Judean by birth and had only visited
Relations with Judah I
Judah thought highly of him, and chose him in preference to his other disciples to spend time with him. Thus when
His unpopularity
According to Hanina, 99% of fatal diseases result from colds, and only 1% from other troubles.[13] He therefore would impress mankind with the necessity of warding off colds, the power to do so, he taught, having been bestowed upon man by Providence.[14] But neither his rabbinical learning nor his medical skill gained him popularity at Sepphoris. When a pestilence raged there, the populace blamed Hanina for failing to stamp it out. Hanina heard their murmurs and resolved to silence them. In the course of a lecture, he remarked, "Once there lived one Zimri, in consequence of whose sin twenty-four thousand Israelites lost their lives;[15] in our days there are many Zimris among us, and yet ye murmur!"
On another occasion, when drought prevailed, the murmurs of the Sepphorites again became loud. A day was devoted to fasting and praying, but no rain came, though at another place, where Joshua ben Levi was among the supplicants, rain descended; the Sepphorites therefore made this circumstance a reflection on the piety of their great townsman. Another fast being appointed, Hanina invited Joshua ben Levi to join him in prayer. Joshua did so, but no rain came. Then Hanina addressed the people: "Joshua ben Levi does not bring rain down for the Southerners, neither does Hanina keep rain away from the Sepphorites: the Southerners are soft-hearted, and when they hear the word of the Law, they humble themselves, while the Sepphorites are obdurate and never repent".[16]
His family and pupils
Hanina had a son, ShibHat or ShikHat, who died young,[17] and another, Hama, who inherited his father's talents and became prominent in his generation. One of his daughters was the wife of a scholar, Samuel b. Nadav.[18] Another daughter died during Hanina's lifetime, but he shed no tears at her death, and when his wife expressed astonishment at his composure he told her that he feared the effects of tears on his sight.[19]
He lived to be very old, and retained his youthful vigour to the last. He attributed his extraordinary vitality to the hot baths and the oil with which his mother had treated him in his youth.[20] He recognized his longevity as a reward for the respect he had shown his learned elders.[21]
Among his pupils were
Teachings
As an
- "Everything is determined by Heaven, except one's fear of Heaven." He bases this doctrine of free will on the Scriptural dictum, "And now, Israel, what does the Lord thy God require (Hebrew שאל = "request") of you, but to fear the Lord thy God"[23]
- With reference to Psalms 73:9, "They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue walks through the earth," he says, "In general, man sins either against the sojourner on earth or against Heaven, but the evil-tongued sins against both".[24]
- "Whoever says that God is indulgent (that is, leaves sin unpunished) will find the reverse in his own life's experience; God is long-suffering, but 'his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment'".[25]
He predicted everlasting punishment for he who seduces a married woman, or he who publicly puts his neighbour to shame, or he who calls his neighbour by a nickname.[26]
References
- Taanit 27b; Pesikta Rabbati5:15a
- Sotah1 17b
- Shevuot 6 35c; Yerushalmi Niddah2 50a
- ^ Ronald L. Eisenberg The Streets of Jerusalem: Who, What, Why 2006- Page 301 "Rabbi Hanina (second/third century), Palestinian amora. Born in Babylonia, Hanina came to the Land of Israel and settled in Sepphoris, where he became a wealthy honey trader. One of the prominent disciples of Judah ha-Nasi, Hanina is "
- ^ Yerushalmi Niddah 2 50b
- Ketuvot103b
- ^ Avodah Zarah 10a
- Ketuvot103a
- OCLC 58417078.
- Shab.59b
- Beṣah 1 60a; Yerushalmi Gittin4 46b
- Taanit1 64a
- Shab.14 14c
- ^ Bava Metzia 107b
- ^ See Numbers 25:6-15
- Taanit3 66c
- ^ Bava Kamma 91b
- ^ Arachin 16b
- Shabbat151b
- Hullin24b
- ^ Ecclesiastes Rabbah 7:7
- Horayot2 48b
- Berachot 33b; Niddah16b
- Peah.1 16a
- Deuteronomy 32:4; Bava Kamma50a
- ^ Bava Metzia 58b
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Hanina b. Hama". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. Its bibliography:
- Bacher, Ag. Pal. Amor. i. 1 et seq.;
- Frankel, Mebo, p. 86b;
- Grätz, Gesch.2d ed., iv. 254 et seq.;
- Heilprin, Seder ha-Dorot, ii. 74d, Warsaw, 1897;
- Halévy, Dorot ha-Rishonim, ii. 129b et seq.;
- Weiss, Dor, iii. 44 et seq.;
- Zacuto, YuHasin, ed. Filipowski, pp. 141b et seq.