Talk:Rabbah bar bar Hana

Generation

This (like the Jewish Encyclopedia) starts "Rabbah bar bar Hana was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Babylonia, known as an Amora of the second generation". But the template lists him as "Third Generation (Until 310 AD)". It is unclear whether he is supposed to be the great-nephew of Hiyya the Great or the brother of Hiyya bar Abba (either of which might place him in the third generation), or whether some other Hiyya is involved. --Rumping (talk) 06:56, 24 September 2012 (UTC)

Fantastic Adventures

Rabbah himself tells how his tales were received. In regard to two of them his colleagues remarked, "All Rabbahs​ ​are asses and all bar bar Hanas fools".[18]
18 Babylonian Talmud Bava Batra 74a

This is a gross misrepresentation of the Talmud. It implies that Rabbah bar bar Channa's colleagues didn't believe his stories. Taken out of context, it would sound like that but a quick look at the original source shows the obvious meaning of these words.

http://halakhah.com/pdf/nezikin/Baba_Bathra.pdf

This line appears twice:

I cut off one corner of the purple-blue shawl of one of them; and we could not move away. He said unto me: ‘[If] you have, peradventure, taken something from them, return it; for we have a tradition that he who takes anything from them cannot move away.’ I went and returned it; and then we were able to move away. When I came before the Rabbis they said unto me: ​​Every Abba is an ass and every Bar Bar Hana is a fool. For what purpose did you do that? Was it in order to ascertain whether [the Law] is in accordance with the [decision of] Beth Shammai or Beth Hillel? You should have counted the threads and counted the joints​​.​​.​​.

He said unto me: ‘Come and I will show you Mount Sinai.’ [When] I arrived I saw that scorpions surrounded it and they stood like white asses. I heard a Bath Kol saying: ‘Woe is me that I have made an oath and now that I have made the oath, who will release me?’ When I came before the Rabbis, they said unto me: ‘​​Every Abba is an ass and every Bar Bar Hana is a fool. You should have said, Mufar lak.’

​It is plainly obvious that this comment about him being a fool has nothing to do with their doubting his story. It was his actions within the story that they thought were foolish.​

The only comment there from his colleagues regarding the truth of his stories is one on 73b regarding the frog the size of the Fort of Hagronia:

R. Papa b. Samuel said: Had I not been there I would not have believed it.  

— Preceding unsigned comment added by 95.86.120.9 (talk) 21:32, 23 December 2015 (UTC)

References