Rav Huna (
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
: רב הונא) was a
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
Talmudist
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 ...
and
Exilarch
The exilarch was the leader of the Jewish community in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) during the era of the Parthians, Sasanians and Abbasid Caliphate up until the Mongol invasion of Baghdad in 1258, with intermittent gaps due to ongoing polit ...
who lived in
Babylonia
Babylonia (; , ) was an Ancient history, ancient Akkadian language, Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Kuwait, Syria and Iran). It emerged as a ...
, known as an
amora of the second generation and head of the
Academy of Sura; he was born about 216 CE (212 CE according to Gratz) and died in 296–297 CE (608 of the
Seleucid
The Seleucid Empire ( ) was a Greek state in West Asia during the Hellenistic period. It was founded in 312 BC by the Macedonian general Seleucus I Nicator, following the division of the Macedonian Empire founded by Alexander the Great, a ...
an era) or in 290 CE.
Biography
He lived in a town, identified by Wiesener with
Tikrit
Tikrit ( ) is a city in Iraq, located northwest of Baghdad and southeast of Mosul on the Tigris River. It is the administrative center of the Saladin Governorate. In 2012, it had a population of approximately 160,000.
Originally created as a f ...
. He was the principal pupil of
Rav, under whom he acquired so much learning that one of
Rava's three wishes was to possess Rav Huna's wisdom.
[ Mo'ed Katan 28a] He was also styled "one of the Babylonian Hasidim," on account of his great piety. The esteem in which he was held was so great that, though not of a priestly family, he read from the Torah on
Shabbat
Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...
and holy days the first passage, which is usually read by a
Kohen
Kohen (, ; , ، Arabic كاهن , Kahen) is the Hebrew word for "priest", used in reference to the Aaronic Priest#Judaism, priesthood, also called Aaronites or Aaronides. They are traditionally believed, and halakha, halakhically required, to ...
(priest).
Rav Ammi
Rabbi Ammi, Aimi, Immi (Hebrew: רבי אמי) is the name of several Jewish Talmudists, known as amoraim, who lived in the Land of Israel and Babylonia. In the Babylonian Talmud the first form only is used; in the Jerusalem Talmud all three forms ...
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 ...
, honored Israeli
Kohanim
Kohen (, ; , ، Arabic كاهن , Kahen) is the Hebrew word for "priest", used in reference to the Aaronic priesthood, also called Aaronites or Aaronides. They are traditionally believed, and halakhically required, to be of direct patriline ...
, considered Huna as their superior.
Although Rav Huna was related to the family of the
exilarch
The exilarch was the leader of the Jewish community in Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) during the era of the Parthians, Sasanians and Abbasid Caliphate up until the Mongol invasion of Baghdad in 1258, with intermittent gaps due to ongoing polit ...
he was so poor at the beginning of his career that in order to buy wine to consecrate the Shabbat he had to pawn his girdle. But Rav blessed him with riches, and Rav Huna displayed great wealth at the wedding of his son
Raba bar Rav Huna. He owned numerous flocks of sheep, which were under the special care of his wife, ''Hobah'', and he traveled in a gilded litter. Rav Huna was very generous. When the houses of the poor people were thrown down by storms he rebuilt them; at meal-times the doors of his house would be left open, while his servants would call out: "He who is hungry, let him come and eat".
After Rav's death, Huna lectured in his stead in the Academy of Sura, but he was not appointed head until after the death of Rav's companion,
Samuel
Samuel is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the biblical judges to the United Kingdom of Israel under Saul, and again in the monarchy's transition from Saul to David. He is venera ...
(c. 256). It was under Rav Huna that the Academy of Sura, which until then was called ''sidra'', acquired the designation of ''mesivta'' (
yeshivah), with Rav Huna being the first "Resh Mesivta" (
rosh yeshivah). Under Huna the academy increased considerably in importance, and students flocked to it from all directions; during his presidency their number reached 800, all supported by himself. Their instant lecturers ("amora'e") were occupied in teaching them. When his pupils, after the lesson, shook their garments they raised so great a cloud of dust that when the Palestinian sky was overcast it was said, "Huna's pupils in Babylon have risen from their lesson". Under Rav Huna, Palestine lost its ascendency over
Babylonia
Babylonia (; , ) was an Ancient history, ancient Akkadian language, Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Kuwait, Syria and Iran). It emerged as a ...
; and on certain occasions he declared the schools of the two countries to be equal. In Babylonia, during his lifetime, the Sura academy held the supremacy. He presided over it for forty years, when he died suddenly, more than eighty years of age.
His remains were brought to Israel and buried by the side of
Hiyya the Great.
Rav Huna's principal pupil was
Rav Chisda, who had previously been his companion under Rav. Other pupils of his whose names are given were:
Abba bar Zavda,
Rav Giddel, R.
Helbo, R.
Sheshet
Rav Sheshet () was an amora of the third generation of the Talmudic academies in Babylonia (then Asoristan, now Lower Mesopotamia, Iraq). His name is sometimes read Shishat or Bar Shishat.
Biography
He was a colleague of Rav Nachman, with whom ...
, Yiṣḥaq b. Ḥanina, and Huna's own son, Rabbah.
Character traits
Rav Huna was known to be very tolerant as well as very
modest. He was not ashamed, before he was rich, to cultivate his field himself, nor to return home in the evening with his spade on his shoulder. When two contending parties requested him to judge between them, he said to them: "Give me a man to cultivate my field and I will be your judge". He patiently bore Rav's hard words, because the latter was his teacher, but he showed on several occasions that a scholar must not humiliate himself in presence of an inferior.
Teachings
Halacha
He transmitted many of Rav's
halakhot, sometimes without mentioning Rav's name. His own halakhot are numerous in the Babylonian
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 ...
, and although some of his decisions were contrary to Rav's, he declared Rav to be the supreme authority in religious law. Rav Huna's deductions were sometimes casuistical; he interpreted the text verbatim even where the context seems to prohibit such an interpretation. According to Rav Huna, the halakhah transmitted in the
Mishnah
The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...
and
Baraita
''Baraita'' ( "external" or "outside"; pl. ''bārayāṯā'' or in Hebrew ''baraitot''; also baraitha, beraita; Ashkenazi pronunciation: berayse) designates a tradition in the Oral Torah of Rabbinical Judaism that is not incorporated in the Mi ...
is not always to be taken as decisive. He had some knowledge of
medicine
Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...
and
natural history
Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...
and used his knowledge in many of his halakhic decisions. He also interpreted many of the difficult words met with in the Mishnah and Baraita.
Aggadah
Rav Huna was equally distinguished as an
aggadist, and his aggadot were known 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. The definition ...
, to where they were carried by some of his pupils,
Rav Zeira among them. His interpretation of Proverbs 14:23, transmitted by Rav Zeira, is styled "the pearl". Many of his aggadot, showing his skill in Biblical exegesis, are found in the Babylonian Talmud, some in the name of Rav, some in his own. He took special pains to reconcile apparently conflicting passages, as, for instance, and . He attempted to solve the problem of
theodicy
In the philosophy of religion, a theodicy (; meaning 'vindication of God', from Ancient Greek θεός ''theos'', "god" and δίκη ''dikē'', "justice") is an argument that attempts to resolve the problem of evil that arises when all powe ...
, inferring from
Isaiah
Isaiah ( or ; , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "Yahweh is salvation"; also known as Isaias or Esaias from ) was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named.
The text of the Book of Isaiah refers to Isaiah as "the prophet" ...
53:10 that
God
In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...
chastens those whom He loves.
Quotes
* "He who occupies himself with the study of the Law alone is as one who has no God".
* "When leaving the synagogue, one must not take long steps".
* "He who recites his prayer behind the synagogue is called impious or ''rasha''.
* "He who is accustomed to honor
Shabbat
Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...
with light will have children who are scholars; he who observes the injunction of
mezuzah
A ''mezuzah'' ( "doorpost"; plural: ''mezuzot'') is a piece of parchment inscribed with specific Hebrew language, Hebrew verses from the Torah, which Jews affix in a small case to the doorposts of their homes. These verses are the Biblical pa ...
will have a beautiful house; he who observes the rule as to the
tzitzit
''Tzitzit'' ( ''ṣīṣīṯ'', ; plural ''ṣīṣiyyōṯ'', Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazi: '; and Samaritan Hebrew, Samaritan: ') are specially knotted ritual Fringe (trim), fringes, or tassels, worn in antiquity by Israelites and today by o ...
will have fine clothes; he who consecrates the Shabbat and the holy days as commanded will have many skins filled with wine".
* "Saul fell once, and he was dismissed. David twice, yet he stayed on".
* "
emonsare more numerous than we are and they surround us like the ridge round a field. Every one among us has a thousand on his left hand and ten thousand on his right hand".
References
It has the following bibliography:
*Bacher, ''Ag. Bab. Amor.'' pp. 52–60.
*
Grätz, ''Gesch''. 3d ed., iv.291 et seq.
*Halevy, ''Dorot Ha'Rishonim'', ii.411 et seq (
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
).
*Heilprin, ''Seder Ha'Dorot'', ii (Hebrew).
*Lichtmann, in ''Keneset Yisrael'', iii.297-303.
*Weiss, ''Dor'', iii.182 et seq.
External links
A biography of Rav Huna, from Chabad.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Huna, Rav
216 births
290s deaths
Rabbis of Academy of Sura
Exilarchs
Talmud rabbis of Babylonia