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620 Bebai

THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA

Beck

patronymic "Abaye."

Bebai and others as to whether Rab (Abba Arika) had indorsed or disapproved a decision of R. Muna, R. Joseph threw the weight of his opinion on the

is

side of Bebai (Meg.

s.v.)

Of

18ft).

his private life an interesting incident is pro-

served in the Talmud (Shab. 80ft; M. K. 9ft). Bebai in the habit of using wine or beer at his meals a luxury rarely indulged in by the Babylonian Jews and he is also reported to have employed a certain paste to improve his daughter's complexion. A Gentile neighbor of Bebai tried the same experiment on his own daughter with a fatal result whereupon he said, "Bebai has slain my daughter. " R. Nahrnan, hearing of the case, remarked, "Bebai indulges in strong drinks therefore, his daughter needs skin-improving pastes we are more abstinent consequently we need no such cosmetics for our daughters " (Ket. 39a Kid. 81a B. B. 36ft).

was

—

—



1









J.



sr.

S.

M,

ABATE A

BEBAI

B. Babylonian scholar of the fourth and fifth amoraic generations (fourth century), son of the celebrated Abate Nahmani, and presiding judge in Pumbedita (Yeb. 75ft; Ket. 85a), where his father had directed the academy. Some rabbinic chronologists (J. Schorr, " Wa'ad Hakamim," 24ft; Backer, "Ag. Pal. Amor." iii. 667, note 5) suggest his identity with Bebai II., which, however, is chronologically incorrect (compare Heilprin, "Seder ha- Dorot,"ii.,s. «. "Bebai b. Abin"), the latter having been a fellow-pupil of Rab Joseph, whereas Bebai b. Abaye was a contemporary of

Nahman



Kahana

Isaac,

b.

Huna

III.

(Ber.

6ft;

'Er. 90a),

Joshua. As Abaye was a scion of the priestly house of Eli, which was doomed to premature death (I Sam. ii. 33; see R. H. 18a), both Pappi and Huna b. Joshua frequently taunted Bebai with being descended from frail (short-lived) stock, and therefore with uttering frail, untenable arguments ('Er. 25i; compare " Dikduke Soferim " a.l. ;B. M. 109«; B. B. 137ft, 151a; compare Jastrow, "Diet." 794a, s.v. " Mammillae "). Bebai b. Abaye seems to have led a contemplative life and legend relates some curious stories about him (Hag. 4J; Ber. 6a; Ber. 86; 'Er. 8a; Shab. 3ft, 4a; Hul. 43ft; Ker. 3ft; Zeb. 107a.).

Pappi, and

b.



j.

sr.

S.

M.

B. ABBA, R. A Palestinian haggadist, of uncertain date and rarely cited, whose name appears also as "Bebai Rabbah," "Beba Raba," and "Beba Abba" (Lev. R. xxix. 9; Yer. Ta'an. ii. 6orf; Pesik. Bahodesb, 154a; Yalk., Lev. 645). He is

BEBAI



as having

commended

the followof Atonement, which is partly adopted in the ritual for the evening service of that day " I confess before Thee all the cited (Lev. R.

iii.)

ing form of confession for the

Day



have committed. I have indeed stood in the path of evil but as I have done, I shall do no more.

evil I



O my

God, to forgive all my and remit all my errors " This, Bebai states, is in accordance with what the prophet teaches in saying (Isa. lv. 7), " Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts," etc. (compare Yer. Yoma viii.

May sins,

it

please Thee,

pardon

end, 45c). In the

all

my

Wilna

iniquities,

(1878) edition of

the Midrash the

is

"

620 Abia"



in the ed.

Warsaw

(1850) it

"Yuhasin" and "Sed. ha-Dor.," howread "Abba"; and Heilprin ("Seder ha-Dor.,"

ever,

suggests the identity of Bebai b. Abba with Bebai b. Abin, identifying the latter with the Bebai But " Abin" generally cited without patronymic. " seems to be a misreading of " Abaye. j.

S.

sr.

BEN

M.

BEBAI, A priestly family or gild having charge of the preparation of wicks for the Temple lamps (Shek. v. 1; Yer. Shek. v. 48a'; Yer. Peah, The name is derived from the first perviii. 21a). son appointed to that office after the return from the Babylonian captivity (Tiklin Hadtin to Yer. At a later time, owing to the double meanShek.). ing of the word "peki'a," used in the Mishnah, an erroneous opinion was set forth that the family Ben Bebai had the supervision of the straps used for the chastisement of negligent priests (Yoma 23a). j.



S.

sr.

BEBRI

DAH

(also

BERBI),

MOSES BEN

M.

JU-

Ambassador from the sultan Mohammed IV. to King Charles XI. of Sweden died May 29, 1673, at Amsterdam, where he was buried with



great honors.

him

His son,

as ambassador,

Judah

Berbi,

succeeded

and returned from Amsterdam

to Constantinople. Bibliography: D. L. de Barrios, daiea, Amsterdam, 1683; D. H. de

Historic),

Castro,

Universal Ju-

Keur ron

Ch-af-

steenen, pp. 95 et seq.

M. K.

d.

BECHER:

1.

Son of Benjamin, mentioned

in

Gen. xlvi. 21 and in the genealogical list of I Chron. vii. 6, 8, but does not occurinthegenealogiesof Num. xx vi. 38 and I Chron. viii. 1. 2. Son of Ephraim and

eponym j.

of the

Bachrites (Num. xxvi.

35)

G. B. L.

jr.

BECHEB, ALFRED JULIUS

Austrian journalist, musician, and revolutionist; born at Mandied at Vienna chester, England, in 1803 (or 1805) Nov. 23, 1848. He was a son of the founder of the Rhenish- West India Company, and studied law at Heidelberg, Gottingen, and Berlin. It was not long before he conceived ultra-socialistic ideas that led to his arrest. On his release shortly after, he went to Elberfeld, where he practised law for a time. His restless spirit would not permit him to pursue his profession, so he went to Cologne to assume editorial supervision of a trade paper founded and published by his father. Restless again, Becher decided to study painting and music, and accordingly went to Diisseldorf, where he formed lasting friendships with Mendelssohn Immermann, Uetritz, and Grabbe, continuing, however, his adhesion to radical socialism. There he remained until 1838, when he was appointed professor of the theory of music at the university at The Hague. For nearly two years he labored at this, until an injudiciously worded criticism led to his departure for London, where he became professor of music in a private academy. His stay in the English capital was very short, however, for litigation with an English nobleman forced Becher to leave the country. Then began the last act in his eventful life. In 1841 he appeared at Vienna as a performer in his