Rabbi Jonah (

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 ...

: רבי יונה) was an amora of the 4th century, the leading rabbinical authority in the 4th amoraic generation.

Biography

With Jose bar Zevida, his early schoolmate and lifelong colleague and business partner, he studied under Ze'era I and Rav Ela. When, as young men, they called on

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 ...

to express their sympathy with him in his bereavement, he treated them as prominent scholars. But Jonah's special master was Rav Jeremiah. From these masters and others, the youths acquired a thorough familiarity with the traditions, and gradually rose from pupils to fellows. Thus, it is said, "Haggai opened the discourse, and Jonah and Jose closed it". Finally they succeeded to the rectorate of the academy at

Tiberias Tiberias ( ; , ; ) is a city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's Four Holy Cities, along with Jerusalem, Heb ...

. In his office Jonah was distinguished by his paternal care for his pupils, to whom he gave both advice and material support. According to the halakhic requirement he gave away the tithe of his income, but to those who studied

halachah ''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 ...

, not to

priests A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, ...

Levites Levites ( ; ) or Levi are Jewish males who claim patrilineal descent from the Tribe of Levi. The Tribe of Levi descended from Levi, the third son of Jacob and Leah. The surname ''Halevi'', which consists of the Hebrew definite article "" ''Ha-' ...

, deriving his authority from II

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31:4. When he discovered a worthy man who was poor, he would aid him in such a way as not to hurt his self-respect. "I understand," he would say to him, "that you have fallen heir to an estate" or "that your debtors will soon pay you; borrow some money of me, which you may repay when you come into possession of your fortune." As soon as the loan had been accepted, he would relieve the borrower from his promise by telling him, "This money is yours as a gift." This procedure he regarded as suggested by

Psalms The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of B ...

: "Blessed is he that considers ebr. משכיל = "is thoughtful towards"the poor". Jonah also enjoyed a certain respect among the

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. He was included among those styled ("the mighty ones of the land of Israel"), because, the Rabbis explained, of the efficacy of his prayers in times of drought. The following miracle is related of him: Once, 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 ...

, fire broke out on his premises. A

Nabatean The Nabataeans or Nabateans (; Nabataean Aramaic: , , vocalized as ) were an ancient Arab people who inhabited northern Arabia and the southern Levant. Their settlements—most prominently the assumed capital city of Raqmu (present-day Petra ...

whose property adjoined Jonah's attempted to extinguish it, but Jonah would not permit him thus to profane the Sabbath. "Do you rely on your good luck?" mockingly asked the Nabatean, to which Jonah replied, "Yes"; whereupon the fire was quenched.Yerushalmi

Yoma Yoma (Aramaic: יומא, lit. "The Day") is the fifth tractate of '' Seder Moed'' ('Order of Festivals') of the ''Mishnah'' and of the ''Talmud''. It is concerned mainly with the laws of the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur, on which Jews atone for t ...

8 45b As rectors of the academy at Tiberias, Jonah and Jose had many disciples, some of whom became leaders in the next generation, and spread and perpetuated their master's doctrines. Jonah left a worthy son and successor in the person of Mani II.

References

It has the following bibliography: *Bacher, Ag. Pal. Amor. iii. 220–231; *Frankel, Mebo, p. 98a; *Halevy, Dorot ha-Rishonim, ii. 183b; *

Weiss, Dor Isaac (Isaak) Hirsch Weiss, also Eisik Hirsch Weiss () (9 February 1815 – 1 June 1905), was an Austrian Talmudist and historian of literature born at Groß Meseritsch, Habsburg Moravia. After having received elementary instruction in Hebre ...

, iii. 110. {{DEFAULTSORT:Jonah Talmud rabbis of Syria Palaestina 4th-century rabbis People from Tiberias