Ḥanan bar Rava[a] (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,[b] two granddaughters,[c] two great-granddaughters,[d] and four great-great-grandchildren, including
Amemar b. Yenuqa.[e][10][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]
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]
If an alley was breached in its side, carrying within that alley on the Sabbath is prohibited if the breach is ten cubits wide. If in the front, even if the breach is only four cubits wide."[22]
Four winds blow on each day, and the north wind with each of the others. Were this not so, the world would not survive a single hour.[23]
All leaders, even minor officials, are chosen by Heaven.[24]
Samson's mother was Ṣǝlelpônît,[n] and his sister was Nǝšêq.[o]
Abraham was imprisoned for 10 years: 3 years in
Kutha and 7 years in
Kardu.
When Abraham died, the leaders of the world's nations stood in a line and said "Woe to the world that has lost its leader, and woe to the ship that has lost its captain".
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]
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
^The name is pronounced Rava by convention, to distinguish it from רבה Rabbah. Etymologically it is formed from
R.+
Abba
^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.
^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.
^Ḥisda relays that Ḥanan b. Rava said, "By 'permanent' is meant 'constantly worshipped for the entire year.'"[25]
^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]
^Aramaic: צריפא (
hapax). The reading Serapis is supported by:
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.
^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.
^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]
^lit. shadow facing me.
Bamidbar Rabbah claims she is the same as Haṣlelpônî, ment. 1 Chronicles 4:3.
^lit. kissed. In all MSS; printings read Našyāyn.
Shmuel Eidels points out that
Judges 13:2-3 imply
Samson had no siblings.[35]
Ḥanan bar Rava[a] (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,[b] two granddaughters,[c] two great-granddaughters,[d] and four great-great-grandchildren, including
Amemar b. Yenuqa.[e][10][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]
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]
If an alley was breached in its side, carrying within that alley on the Sabbath is prohibited if the breach is ten cubits wide. If in the front, even if the breach is only four cubits wide."[22]
Four winds blow on each day, and the north wind with each of the others. Were this not so, the world would not survive a single hour.[23]
All leaders, even minor officials, are chosen by Heaven.[24]
Samson's mother was Ṣǝlelpônît,[n] and his sister was Nǝšêq.[o]
Abraham was imprisoned for 10 years: 3 years in
Kutha and 7 years in
Kardu.
When Abraham died, the leaders of the world's nations stood in a line and said "Woe to the world that has lost its leader, and woe to the ship that has lost its captain".
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]
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
^The name is pronounced Rava by convention, to distinguish it from רבה Rabbah. Etymologically it is formed from
R.+
Abba
^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.
^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.
^Ḥisda relays that Ḥanan b. Rava said, "By 'permanent' is meant 'constantly worshipped for the entire year.'"[25]
^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]
^Aramaic: צריפא (
hapax). The reading Serapis is supported by:
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.
^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.
^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]
^lit. shadow facing me.
Bamidbar Rabbah claims she is the same as Haṣlelpônî, ment. 1 Chronicles 4:3.
^lit. kissed. In all MSS; printings read Našyāyn.
Shmuel Eidels points out that
Judges 13:2-3 imply
Samson had no siblings.[35]