Rabin or Ravin ( he, רבין), short for ''Rabbi Abin'' and also known in the Yerushalmi as ''Rabbi Abon'' or ''Rabbi Bon'', was one of the most famous rabbis of the fourth generation of

amoraim ''Amoraim'' (Aramaic language, Aramaic: plural or , singular ''Amora'' or ''Amoray''; "those who say" or "those who speak over the people", or "spokesmen") refers to Jewish scholars of the period from about 200 to 500 Common Era, CE, who "sai ...

in 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 (see also Isra ...

Biography

Different stories about his ancestry are recorded. According to

Ecclesiastes Rabbah Ecclesiastes Rabbah or Kohelet Rabbah (Hebrew: קהלת רבה) is an aggadic commentary on Ecclesiastes, included in the collection of the Midrash Rabbot. It follows the biblical book verse by verse, only a few verses remaining without commentary ...

, he was born on the day that Rav

Hamnuna Hamnuna (Hebrew: המנונא) is the name of several rabbis from the period of the Talmud, among them: * Hamnuna Saba ("the elder"). Second generation Babylonian amora (mid third century CE). A pupil of Rav. After Rav, he became the head of th ...

, his father, died. In Midrash Shmuel the same story appears, but without mentioning that Hamnuna was his father. In Genesis Rabbah, the same story appears but with R' Ada bar Ahava in place of Rav Hamnuna. Thus, it is difficult to know the actual name of his father. Ravin himself testified that his father died when he was conceived (and his mother died when he was born). He was Babylonian in origin but seems to have immigrated to the

in his youth, where he encountered Rabbi Yochanan and

Reish Lakish Shim‘on ben Lakish ( he, שמעון בן לקיש; arc, שמעון בר לקיש ''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 Judae ...

. Along with

Rav Dimi ''Rav'' (or ''Rab,'' Modern Hebrew: ) is the Hebrew generic term for a person who teaches Torah; a Jewish spiritual guide; or a rabbi. For example, Pirkei Avot (1:6) states that: The term ''rav'' is also Hebrew for ''rabbi''. (For a more nuan ...

, he moved to Babylonia bringing many halachic traditions from the rabbis of the Land of Israel; he and Dimi arranged that Dimi would travel first, and therefore the phrase "When Rav Dimi came" in the Talmud is frequently followed by "When Ravin came" and only rarely the reverse. Upon arriving in Babylonia he was seen as a peer to Abaye. Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 20b; Ketuvot 53a; Hullin 110a; Yevamot 64b It is likely that R' Yossi bar Bun (colleague of R'

Jose bar Zevida Jose bar Zebida (or Yose b. Zevida; he, יוסי בר זבידא, read as ''Yossi bar Zevida'') was a Jewish Amora sage of the Land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Relat ...

) was Ravin's son, though Yossi stayed in the Land of Israel, while Ravin moved to Babylonia and apparently remained there.

References

Talmud rabbis of Babylonia {{MEast-rabbi-stub