Ḥiyya bar Abba (), Ḥiyya bar Ba (), or Ḥiyya bar Wa () was a third-generation amoraic sage of the

Land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine. The definition ...

, of priestly descent, who flourished at the end of the third century.

Biography

In both

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

s he is frequently called merely ''R. Hiyya''. He may have briefly studied with

Samuel of Nehardea Samuel of Nehardea or Samuel bar Abba, often simply called Samuel (Hebrew: שמואל) and occasionally Mar Samuel, was a Jewish Amora of the first generation; son of Abba bar Abba and head of the Yeshiva at Nehardea, Babylonia. He was a teach ...

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

, called "Babylon" in Jewish texts, his native land. When he was still very young, Hiyya migrated to Israel where he studied under Hanina and

Joshua ben Levi Joshua ben Levi or Yehoshua ben Levi (220 – 250 CE) was an amora—a scholar of Jewish law during the period in which the Gemara was codified—who lived in the Land of Israel in the first half of the third century. He lived and taught in the ...

. He may also have been influenced by

Shimon ben Lakish Shimon ben Lakish (; ''Shim‘on bar Lakish'' or ''bar Lakisha''), better known by his nickname Reish Lakish (c. 200 — c. 275), was an amora who lived in the Roman province of Judaea in the third century. He was said to be born in Bosra, eas ...

. Hiyya was also a student of

Johanan bar Nappaha :''See Johanan (name) for more rabbis by this name''. Johanan bar Nappaha ( Yoḥanan bar Nafḥa or Napaḥa), also known simply as Rabbi Yochanan or Johanan bar Nafcha (180–279 CE), was a leading rabbi and second-generation '' Amora'' duri ...

. After Rabbi Johanan's death, Hiyya and his friends Rabbi Ammi and

Rav Assi Rav Assi (), or Assi (I), was a rabbi of Babylonia, of the first generation of the amoraim. Identification Rav Assi should not be confused with the Amoraim, Amora sage of the land of Israel, Rabbi Assi, who was of the third generation of the Am ...

became recognized as some of Israel's brightest

halakhic ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is based on biblical commandments (''mitzv ...

scholars. Hiyya was distinguished for the care with which he noted the sayings of his masters. When questions arose about being faithful to tradition, Hiyya's interpretation was widely accepted. Though he was the author of many aggadot, he denounced every attempt to collect and commit his tales to writing. Whenever he came upon such a collection, Hiyya cursed the hand that wrote it. His focus was squarely on Halakha. The

Jerusalem Talmud The Jerusalem Talmud (, often for short) or Palestinian Talmud, also known as the Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century Jewish oral tradition known as the Mishnah. Naming this version of the Talm ...

relates that when the Roman emperor

Diocletian Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyri ...

visited Tyre, Hiyya went so far as to "trample over graves" to go out and see him. With the help of Ammi and Assi, Hiyya formed a

court of law A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...

. One day a woman named Tamar came before the court. Her case was a difficult one. The sentence handed down was controversial; Hiyya and his associates might have suffered disastrous consequences if

Abbahu Rabbi Abbahu () was a Jew and Talmudist of the Talmudic Academies in Syria Palaestina from about 279 to 320 CE and is counted a member of the third generation of Amoraim. He is sometimes cited as Rabbi Abbahu of Kisrin (Caesarea Maritima). Biog ...

himself had not come to their assistance. Hiyya was forced to lecture from town to town in an effort to make ends meet. He even had to leave Israel temporarily. During these travels, when another lecturer on aggadah drew a bigger crowd than he did, Hiyya couldn't hide his annoyance. To improve his circumstances, Hiyya accepted a commission from

Judah II Judah II or Nesi'ah I was a Jewish sage who lived in Tiberias in the Land of Israel, in the middle of the third century CE. He is mentioned in the classical works of Judaism's Oral Torah, the Mishnah and Talmud. There he is variously called "Jud ...

to collect money to help rebuild the decaying

patriarchate Patriarchate (, ; , ''patriarcheîon'') is an ecclesiological term in Christianity, referring to the office and jurisdiction of a patriarch. According to Christian tradition, three patriarchates—Rome, Antioch, and Alexandria—were establi ...

. The esteem in which Hiyya was held is evident in a letter of introduction

Eleazar ben Pedat Eleazar ben Pedat () was a second and third-generation amora or Talmudist from Babylon who lived in Syria Palaestina during the 3rd century. He became a scholar at the Talmudic academy at Tiberias, where he was held in great esteem and served ...

h provided for him: "Behold, we have sent you a great man, our envoy. Until his return he possesses all the powers that we do." According to another version, the introduction read: "Behold, we have sent you a great man. His greatness consists in this, that he is not ashamed to say 'I know not'." Hiyya, Ammi, and Assi visited various communities in Israel at the behest of Judah II who entrusted them with reawakening interest in the study of Jewish Law.

, ''Hagigah'' 1 (76c) Hiyya had several brothers: Nathan ha-Kohen, also known as Kohen (or Nathan) b. Abba;

Bannai Bannai is a script form of the Islamic calligraphy. It was used primarily in Iran in building inscriptions. It is a kind of angular Kufic script, which has geometric forms like square, rhombus, rectangular, parallel and crossed lines. The founda ...

; and

Simeon ben Abba Simeon () is a given name, from the Hebrew (Biblical ''Šimʿon'', Tiberian ''Šimʿôn''), usually transliterated in English as Shimon. In Greek, it is written Συμεών, hence the Latinized spelling Symeon. It is a cognate of the name Simo ...

. He had several children, including

Abba ABBA ( ) were a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. They are one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, and are one of the List ...

, Kahana, and Nehemiah.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hiyya 3rd-century rabbis Talmud rabbis Year of birth unknown