Rav
Ḥanan b. Rava
Relief of a Babylonian Amora at the Sura Academy (20th century)
TitleRav
Personal
Born
Israel
Died
Babylonia
ReligionJudaism
PositionSecond-generation Babylonian Amora

Ḥanan bar Rava[lower-alpha 1] (חנן/חנא/חנין בר רב/א) or Ḥanan bar Abba (חנן בר א/בא)[1] was a Talmudic sage and second-generation Babylonian Amora. He lived in Israel, moved to Babylonia with Abba b. Aybo, and died there ca. 290 CE.[2][3][4][5] He is distinct from the late-generation Babylonian Amora of the same name who apparently conversed with Ashi (352-427 CE[6]).[7]

Ḥanan b. Rava's father was not Abba b. Joseph b. Ḥama (called Rava in the Talmud), who lived a century later. Ḥanan b. Rava was the son-in-law of Abba b. Aybo (Rav),[8] tutored Rav's son Hiyya b. Rav,[2] and is often quoted relaying Rav's teachings or describing his customs. He was the father-in-law of Ḥisda,[9] by whom he had at least seven grandsons,[lower-alpha 2] two granddaughters,[lower-alpha 3] two great-granddaughters,[lower-alpha 4] and four great-great-grandchildren, including Amemar b. Yenuqa.[lower-alpha 5][10][3]

Bizna, Z'era, Kahana b. Taḥlifa, Nachman b. Yaakov, G'neva, Ḥisda, Abin, and others relay his teachings in the Talmud.[3]

In 1997, the Supreme Court of Israel cited Ḥanan b. Rava's dictum, "All know for what purpose a bride enters the bridal canopy. Yet against whomsoever speaks obscenely thereof, even if a sentence of seventy years happiness has been sealed for him, it is reversed for evil," in establishing guidelines for legal censorship of pornography.[11]

Events

  • Ḥanan b. Rava taught a mishnah to Ḥiyya b. Rav in a booth of Rav's study hall: "An amputee may not exit with his prosthetic [on the Sabbath] -- the words of Meir; but Yose permits." Rav signaled him: "Reverse them."[12]
  • Yehudah b. Ezekiel, Yirmiah b. Abba, and Ḥanan b. Rava traveled to the house of Abin of N'shiqya. Couches were brought out for Yehudah b. Ezekiel and Yirmiah b. Abba, but not for Ḥanan b. Rava, who was forced to sit on the ground. Ḥanan b. Rava became incensed, and provoked his host to an halakhic dispute.[13][14]
  • Ḥanan b. Rava thought that relatives were permitted to testify together about the coming of the New Moon because he had misattributed the two positions thereon. He was corrected by Huna.[15]
  • When the Exilarch died, Ḥisda instructed him to stand on a platform, tear his garments, and show them to the masses. By this the masses were instructed how to mourn the Exilarch.[16]
  • Ḥanan b. Rava went to his son-in-law Ḥisda's house. He took his granddaughter and put her in his lap. Ḥisda accused him of violating religious decency laws, but Ḥanan b. Rava insisted familial affection was permitted.[17] In another version, Ḥanan b. Rava kissed his young granddaughter.[18]
  • Ḥanan b. Rava and his associates were sitting and eating on the Sabbath. After they had eaten and said Grace, Ḥanan b. Rava arose and departed. He returned, and found his associates saying Grace again! He asked, "Have we not already said Grace?" and the associates responded, "We said Grace, and then said Grace again, because we initially forgot to insert the Sabbath additions."[19]
  • Once Ḥanan b. Rava said to his associates, "Let me tell you something good I saw Rav do." He demonstrated the act. "And I said this before Shmuel b. Abba, and he rose and kissed me on my mouth."[20]
  • Rav was going to the house of his son-in-law Ḥanan b. Rava when he saw a ferry-boat approaching. He said, "A ferry-boat is approaching! It is an omen: tonight will be a yom tov for my stomach." Rav came to Ḥanan b. Rava's gate and looked through a crack in the door; he saw a spitted animal. He knocked on the gate, and everyone came to greet him, even the butchers. Rav did not lift his eyes from the animal, saying to them, "You would have fed forbidden meat to my grandchildren!" Rav did not eat from the animal.[21]

Selected Teachings

Teachings in Rav's name

Biblical lineages

Source:[32]

Other Teachings

  • There are four types of s'lav: sikhli, partridge, pasianus, and sh'lav. The best of all is the sikhli, and the worst of all is the sh'lav.[36]
  • One may roof their Sukkah with thorns and shrubs.[37]
  • If the Ḥazzan begins a chapter of Psalms, there is a mitzvah to respond, repeating the first verse.[38]
  • Kalenda is held for the eight days after the winter solstice. Saturnalia is held for the eight days before the winter solstice.[39]
    Abraham Serving the Three Angels, by Rembrandt, 1646
  • If you own the four species, you do not have to lift all four.[40]
  • All know for what purpose a bride enters the bridal canopy. Yet against whomsoever speaks obscenely thereof, even if a sentence of seventy years happiness has been sealed for him, it is reversed for evil.[11][41]
  • Abraham served his guests three calf tongues with mustard, food ordinarily reserved for kings and ministers.[42][43]
  • "Haššǝsûʿâ" in Deuteronomy 14:7 (usually translated as "that are split through") refers to a specific animal called the Šǝsûʿâ, which has two backs and two spines.[44]

Notes

  1. ↑ The name is pronounced Rava by convention, to distinguish it from רבה Rabbah. Etymologically it is formed from R.+Abba
  2. ↑ Nachman b. Ḥisda, Ḥanan b. Ḥisda (named after Ḥanan b. Rava), Mari b. Ḥisda, Pineḥas b. Ḥisda, Taḥlifa b. Ḥisda, Yenuqa b. Ḥisda, and Q'shisha b. Ḥisda.
  3. ↑ These married Ami b. Hama and Uqva b. Hama.
  4. ↑ The daughters of Ami b. Ḥama; one, married to Yanuqa, is referenced by Ketubot 21b; the other is referenced by printings and MS Oxford 366 of Beitzah 29b, though other MSS read Ami b. Abba. The latter woman married Ashi, who had a daughter and at least two sons, Mar b. Ashi and Sama b. Ashi.
  5. ↑ The grandson of Ami b. Ḥama.
  6. ↑ Ḥisda relays that Ḥanan b. Rava said, "By 'permanent' is meant 'constantly worshipped for the entire year.'"[25]
  7. ↑ Printings and some MSS read כורסי Kursi, a scatological quip (Kursi resembles both the Aramaic בורסי\ף Borsippa and the Biblical Hebrew קורס squat). Borsippa's name is the butt of several Talmudic jokes; it is also called Bolsippa (as in, Balal S'fas jumbled the language of)[26] and Bor Shapi Empty Pit.[27]
  8. ↑ Aramaic: צריפא (hapax). The reading Serapis is supported by:
    • Shaick, Ronit Palistrant. "Who is Standing Above the Lions in Ascalon?". Israel Numismatic Research, 7, 2012.
    • Rodan, Simona (2019-09-30). Maritime-Related Cults in the Coastal Cities of Philistia during the Roman Period: Legacy and Change. Archaeopress Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-1-78969-257-0.
    • Macalister, Robert Alexander Stewart (1980). The Philistines: Their History and Civilization. Library of Alexandria. ISBN 978-1-4655-1749-4.
    • Greenfield, Jonas Carl (2001). 'Al Kanfei Yonah. BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-12170-6.
    • Clermont-Ganneau, Charles (1897). Bibliothèque de l'Ecole des hautes études...: Sciences philologiques et historiques (in French). aE. Bouillon.
    Bochart argues for the emendation Aphrodite Urania based on Herodotus' identification of the Ashkelon temple in his Histories (1:105), some 750 years prior. See Venus Castina.
  9. ↑ Aramaic: נשרא (hapax). The reading Nasr is supported by: The emendation Dushara is supported by:
  10. ↑ Similar lists later appear in the Doctrine of Addai and Jacob of Serugh's On the Fall of the Idols.
  11. 1 2 lit. substantiation, proof
  12. ↑ ʿÔrebtî or variant ʿÔrǝbtāʾ (she-raven) is the name of a major Nehardean house on b. Qiddushin 70b; both here and there it is given the same unique mnemonic.
  13. ↑ MSS variants: bat Barnebo, bat bar-Nebo, bar-bar-Nebo, bat Karnebi, bat Kar Nebo. Karnebo (outpost of Nabu) is attested as a Sumerian theophoric place-name in Akkadian inscriptions, including the Michaux stone. It referred to at least two separate cities in antiquity.[33] Rabbinic tradition connects Karnebo to the Biblical Hebrew Kar (כר lamb), translating it pure lambs.[34]
  14. ↑ lit. shadow facing me. Bamidbar Rabbah claims she is the same as Haṣlelpônî, ment. 1 Chronicles 4:3.
  15. ↑ lit. kissed. In all MSS; printings read Našyāyn. Shmuel Eidels points out that Judges 13:2-3 imply Samson had no siblings.[35]

References

  1. ↑ Tamud Yerushalami. Walter de Gruyter. 1931. ISBN 978-3-11-016591-3.
  2. 1 2 Hyman, Aaron (1910). Sefer Igeret de-Rabenu Sherira gaʼon: ke-fi ha-nusaḥ ha-nidpas be-yuḥasin defus Kustandina bi-shenat 326, be-hashvaʼah ʻim yeter ha-nusḥaʼot asher nidpesu ʻad ha-yomʻa. p. kitve yad shonim (in Hebrew). bi-defus "Hekspress".
  3. 1 2 3 Frieman, Shulamis (2000-04-01). Who's Who in the Talmud. Jason Aronson, Incorporated. ISBN 978-1-4616-3254-2.
  4. ↑ Eisenberg, Ronald L. (2013). Essential Figures in the Talmud. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0-7657-0941-7.
  5. ↑ "Rav Hanan b. Rabbah | Sefaria". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  6. ↑ Dubnow, Simon (1967). History of the Jews: From the Roman Empire to the early medieval period. Associated University Presse.
  7. ↑ b. Beitzah 30a in printings. However, all MSS read "רבא בר רב חנן לאביי" instead; the two are often confused. https://archive.org/details/20210303_20210303_1229
  8. ↑ b. Ḥullin 95b ff.: "רב הוה אזיל לבי רב חנן בר רבא חתניה"
  9. ↑ b. Avodah Zarah 11b
  10. ↑ "Ketubot 21b:1". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  11. 1 2 "Administrative Law | Cardozo Israeli Supreme Court Project". versa.cardozo.yu.edu. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  12. ↑ "Shabbat 66a:8". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  13. ↑ "Shabbat 121b". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  14. ↑ "Rashi on Shabbat 121b:1:1". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  15. ↑ "Rosh Hashanah 22a". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  16. ↑ "Moed Katan 22b:21". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  17. ↑ In most printings, this story is about Aḥa b. Abba; all MSS, and Rishonic quotes, read Ḥanan b. Rava instead. The story is certainly about a father-in-law of Ḥisda, which description fits only Ḥanan b. Rava. "HebrewBooks.org -בבלי - מסכת קידושין דף פא עמוד ב". hebrewbooks.org. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  18. ↑ "Hasagot HaRamban on Sefer HaMitzvot, Negative Commandments 353:1". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  19. ↑ "Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 55b:1". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  20. ↑ "Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 10b". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  21. ↑ "Chullin 95b:5". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2021-03-05.
  22. ↑ "Eruvin 5b:11". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  23. ↑ "Gittin 31b:11". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  24. ↑ "Bava Batra 91b:2". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  25. ↑ Avodah Zarah 11b
  26. ↑ B'reishit Rabbah 38:12
  27. ↑ b. Sanhedrin 109a
  28. ↑ "Avodah Zarah 11b:8". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  29. ↑ "Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 57b". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  30. ↑ "Jerusalem Talmud Shabbat 35a:1". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  31. ↑ "Jerusalem Talmud Yevamot 67b:1". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
  32. ↑ "Bava Batra 91a:13 ff". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  33. ↑  Yamada, Shigeo. "Karus on the Frontiers of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, Orient 40 (2005)"
  34. ↑ "Rashbam on Bava Batra 91a:14:2". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  35. ↑  "Chidushei Agadot on Bava Batra 91a:6". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  36. ↑ "Yoma 75b:7". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  37. ↑ "Sukkah 13a:2". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  38. ↑ "Sukkah 38b:2". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  39. ↑ "Avodah Zarah 6a:10". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  40. ↑ "Menachot 27a:21". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  41. ↑ "Shabbat 33a". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  42. ↑ "Bava Metzia 86b". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  43. ↑ "Rashi on Bava Metzia 86b:10:1". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  44. ↑ "Chullin 60b:7". www.sefaria.org. Retrieved 2021-03-04.
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