R. Shezbi (or R. Shezbi;

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 שיזבי) was a

Babylon Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...

ian rabbi, of the fourth generation of

amoraim ''Amoraim'' ( , singular ''Amora'' ; "those who say" or "those who speak over the people", or "spokesmen") refers to Jewish scholars of the period from about 200 to 500 CE, who "said" or "told over" the teachings of the Oral Torah. They were p ...

Biography

It is told that

Rav Chisda Rav Ḥisda () was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Kafri, Asoristan in Lower Mesopotamia near what is now the city of Najaf, Iraq. He was an amora of the third generation (died c. 320 CE at the age of ninety-twoMoed Kattan 28a), and is menti ...

was accustomed to pass the house of Rav Shizbi's father (according to another version: his father-in-law), and seeing the observance of

Shabbat candles Shabbat candles () are candles lit on Friday evening before sunset to usher in the Jewish Sabbath. Lighting Shabbat candles is a rabbinically mandated law. Candle-lighting is traditionally done by the woman of the household, but every Jew is o ...

, he stated: "a great men will issue hence" (since it is stated that "He who habitually practises he lighting ofthe lamp will possess scholarly sons"), and indeed he had Rav Shizbi. Indeed, Rava would eventually describe Shizbi as being a "great man". Later Shizbi became a pupil of

, but also debated

Halakha ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Judaism, Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Torah, Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is ...

before Rabbah.

Aaron Hyman According to the Old Testament of the Bible, Aaron ( or ) was an Israelite prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of Moses. Information about Aaron comes exclusively from religious texts, such as the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament ( ...

suggests he moved to 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 ...

for a short period of time, where he studied

Torah The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () ...

under

Yochanan bar Nafcha :''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 ...

. One should distinguish between this Rav Shizbi, and Rav Shizbi II, who was a pupil of Rava.

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 modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the centerpiece of Jewi ...

, Tractate

Bava Metzia Bava Metzia (, "The Middle Gate") is the second of the first three Talmudic tractates in the order of Nezikin ("Damages"), the other two being Bava Kamma and Bava Batra. Originally all three formed a single tractate called ''Nezikin'' (torts or ...

, 114b

References

Talmud rabbis of Babylonia {{MEast-rabbi-stub