Rav Assi

Not to be confused withRabbi Assi.

Rav Assi(Hebrew:רב אסי), orAssi (I),was arabbiofBabylonia,of the first generation of theamoraim.

Identification

Rav Assi should not be confused with theAmorasage of theland of Israel,Rabbi Assi,who was of the third generation of the Amora era, and is recorded many times both in theBabylonand theJerusalemTalmud.

In theJerusalem TalmudRav Assi is recorded merely asIssiorAssa,without the title "Rav" or "Rabbi", much like other amoraim of the first generation.

Biography

He was aKohen.He originated fromHutzal,located nearNehardeainBabylonia.He was a "Fellow Student"ofRav.He was a colleague of Rav,Samuel of NehardeaandRav Kahana I.The Talmud records him disagreeing with Rav many times. Rav and Samuel would honor Rav Assi by not entering into aBrit milahevent before Rav Assi did.

He was a teacher of R.Judah ben Ezekiel.

He died shortly after Rav died.

Quotes

• The son of David (i.e. the Messiah) shall not come until all the souls have been depleted from the body. (i.e. until all persons who were meant to be born are born)

References

This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Singer, Isidore;et al., eds. (1901–1906)."Assi (Assa, Issi)".The Jewish Encyclopedia.New York: Funk & Wagnalls.