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35 THE

35

Levi's Imggadic sayings, he is generally mentioned toircthcr with Josliim nf i^ikiiin. who was the lirst liiilv (Yer. U<t. iv. 7//; Vcr. Hik. ii. (i4r; Yit. Yonui, He adilicsscd halakic (lucstioiis to Jose iv. 41i). and JIani the son of Jonah, who in turn jdaced halakic problems hefore him (Yer. Shub. iii. 5(/). BiHiriKiitAiMiv

Iiuchfi-. -ly. I'cil.



Amor.UU

(150,651

"""• ••^'-



ABBA SAKKARA

n.

liisurnc(m SI?:RA *) he lir^t cciilury in Palestine. Aei-orilins to Tahiuidic aeeouiils ((iil. Ma), lie took a very prominent part in the u|)risiiig against Koine in 71),' being then at the head of the Zealots at Jem.sidem. He was the nephew of Joliainm ben Zakkai, After the sit that lime leader of the Peaee iiarty. Zealots had destroyed ali storehouses, thus causing a

famine

in

in



I

the besieged city,

Johanan

ln'ii

Zakkai

in-

Abba loan interview and askeilhim: "Why do yon act in such a manner? Will von kill lis by fainine?" Abl)a replied: " What sliall I doV If I tell them anvthiiig of the kind, they will slay me." Thei-enpon Jcjhanan said to him; "Try and invent vited

for

me some

possibility of escapi' so that

I

may

be able to save somethiiig out of th<> general wreck." Abba complied with the re(|nest; ami the Talmud gives a full aicount of the device by which he enlice to the Romans. character of this account is not beyond doubt, ami it is especially surprising that Josephus knows nothing of Abba as leader of the Zealots. The fact that Josephus does not mention him. can not. howevir. be aicepted as a suUicient proof against the Talmudic account, for he ignores also .loliiinan ben Zakkai. one of the most imjiortant and iiillueiitial men at the time of the dest ruction of Purely personal motives may the Si-eoud Temple. have actuated the vainglorious historian to ignore both unile and nephew. There exists, however, a iMidrash which tends lo show that there is at least In Keel. I{. vii. a gniin of truth in his account. 11 it is ri'lated: "There was at Jerusalem a certain Hen Batiah. a nephew of Johanan ben Zakkai. who was in charge of the storehouses, which he destroyed by tire " (see also Kelini. wii. 12; To.si'f., Kelim, vii. 2," and the article IJi;n Hatim.i). This account is i|uite in<lependenf of that in the Talmud, since they differ not only with regard to the names, but also materially for, whereas the Talmudic account slates that Johanan escaped from Jerusalem by the aid of his nephew, it is related in the .Midrash llmt he barely escaped death at the hands of his nephew. It iniL'hl. therefore, be assunierl that there existed a third and older source from which both the Talmudic and inidrashic accounts were derivid. and also that the tnidili(ais thus handed down undirwent some change in the course of transmission.

abled his uncle to

The

historical



Hntmixirt, 'A'.'niL ^rilUn. pp. l-L", i'lT; DerenBini.I0C.R.»rilY IIiiIkt. >.m. .Ml three I. iHMirK, A;.i.hrcIntliin ot llie' I'lilestliiliin "Hiwh KIsrIn Iliil .hhu <«n net lie nat-il In SIkrIn " (Hi'iid <•( the Sliarlli. lleslcle!i, the ;iilmti'ni.self renthl» sense In .Vninmh-. ders "Idwii slkrln" with " lte>li Ilaryone."

L. O.

ABBA SAUL BEN BOTNIT. u

SeeSAL'i., Aitin

Itorsri.

• with n-imrd ti> the npiM'lliilten Siiklfiini. wlileli ineiins "the II iMiiv he riMiiiirked that IhhIi the llptt ninimi and Ilu' IlenvenlsteiHlltleiiciflhi'l'idiniidlmveiliewonlwIilieui ' o/.«li, wideh MeeiiiK In fiirhid the n^adliiif "sikni " anil the <'<>niii'<'llni; <if tlds name with the n'Vehilliinary jiart.v name of the Slearll

dvcr,"

(MVSKAlllll,

ABBA SAUL. See ABBA OF SIDON

S.rL, Abi!..

A

Palestinian

amora of the

century or the early part of the fourth. He is mentioned only once, as a transmitter of a haggadic saying of Samuel b. Nahman latter inirt of the ihiid

(Midr. Sam, xxiii.



Eecl. K.

vii. 1).

Frankel.

w.

tionarv Icudii-; liMil

Abba Mali of Lunel Abba bar Zebiua

JKWISII EXCVCI.OPEDIA

^v. B.

ABBA THE SURGEON (UMANA)



Men-

Talmud

as an e.am|)le of genuine Jewish piety and benevolence (Ta'anit. 214 et seq.). Although di'pendeni upon his earnings, he was so unselfish and considc'rate lliat. in order to avoid enil)arrassing the pocn- among his patients, he would never accept jiay directly from any one, but instead attached to a certain part of his house a box in which each might ]dace what he ])leased. Abba's confidence in humanity was once tested by two young Having lodged disciples in a remarkable manner. with him one night, in the morning they took the mattres.ses upon whiili tiiey had slept and ottered He recogthein to him for sale at his own ]n-ice. nized his own ]n'operty. but. rather than abash the young men by reclaiming it. he excused their peculiar conduct in his mind on the i)lea that thej' certainly must need the money f'U' a benevolent object. " ^Vhen the joke was explained to him, he refused to taki> back the amount paid, on the ground that, in his heart, he had iledicated it lo a charitaOf Abba the legend is told (Talmud, ble purpose. I.I-.) that he daily received greetings from heaven, whereas Abaye, '28-:j;J9, the greatest Talmudic authority of that age, was deemed worthy of divine notice once a week (Uilv. L. G.

tioned

in

th('

(BA) BAR who llmni^hed

ABBA

ZABDAI

A Palestinian in llie third century. He attending the lectures of Hab studied in subsec|Uenlly settled at Tiberias, and Iluna. ami where he occupied a res]iected position by the side Jlention is made of his custom of Ainmi and Assi. of saying his prayers in a loud voice (Y'er. Ber. iv, lii). Of his haggadic productions there exist-S. among others, a sermon for a public fast-day, on T,ani. iii. 41 (Yer. Ta'anit. ii. li'ui), from whii h the following may be iincded: " Is it. then, possilile to This verse is 'lift u]! (Uir heart with our hands'"^ our bad intended to advise us 'to put our heart inclinations in our hands.' jn order to remove them, and then to turn to God in heaven. As long as a man holds an unclean reiitile in his hand, he may bathe in all the waters of creation, but he can not become clean; let him throw it away and he is aninra.



IJalivloiiia.

—

—

purified."

BIin.iooRAPnY

Baoher, .ly.



Piil. .liiior.

ill.

HXi,

lii'i

Miliii. pp. (Vlii.liT.



Frankel,

w.n.

ABBA BAR ZEBINA

ZEMINA):

(or A PalesIlr was a pupil tinian .inn ira it lie Inuri h in iur> of K. Zeiia, in whose name he transmilled many sayings. He was employed in Hmue as a tailor in thihouse of a Genfih' who. under the thnal of death, Abba, tried to force him to bnak hr dietary laws. however, steadfastly refused to yield lo this, and i

i

i

.

showed so much cminige that tiie Hoinan admirinirl.v exclaimeil: "If you had eaten, I slnuild have If vou beii Jew, be a Jew; if a heathen, killed you. a heatheni " (Ver. Sheb. iv. '.iTui ,1 nrq.). Tanhunia b. .bba relates another anecdote concerning a pious tidlor at Honu' (Gen. I{. xi.). who

bought the most expensive

lish;

this

anecdide

may