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Johanan bar Nappaha
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Johanan bar Nappaha
Johanan bar Nappaha (Hebrew: יוחנן בר נפחא 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 during the Talmudic era.
Johanan's opinions are quoted widely across the Jerusalem and Babylonian Talmuds. The compilation of the Jerusalem Talmud is generally ascribed to him.
He is generally cited as "Johanan," but sometimes by his cognomen only, which he himself uses once; but he is never cited by both together.
Opinions vary on whether "bar Nappaha" (literally "son [of the] blacksmith") derives from his father's profession, from the name of his ancestral region, or perhaps represents a physical or psychological quality.
Johanan's early years were spent in Sepphoris in the Roman-ruled Galilee (then part of Syria Palaestina province). He traced his descent from the tribe of Joseph. His father, a blacksmith, died prior to his birth, and his mother died soon after; he was raised by his grandfather in Sepphoris.
Judah ha-Nasi took the boy under his wing and taught him Torah. Due to the disparity in ages, though—Johanan was only fifteen years old when Judah died—Johanan was not one of Judah's prime students; rather, he studied more under Judah's students. It is said that initially he sat seventeen rows behind Abba Arikha in the school taught by Judah, and could not comprehend the discussions. In later life, Johanan recalled teachings that he had gleaned from the early Sages who moved to Usha. Hanina bar Hama taught him homiletic Bible interpretation—except of the books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes—and probably medicine, in which he became skilled.
He studied Torah diligently all his life, even selling a field house and an olive shed that he had inherited from his parents in order to be able to devote his time to study. As he expressed it, he exchanged the things that God created in six days for the things the delivery of which required forty days. After that was spent, he lived a life of poverty. For some time, he was compelled to work to support himself. But soon he felt impelled to return to his school, where he earned, not without a struggle, the encomiums of his masters. At last, owing to the universal homage paid to him, the patriarch accorded him a pension, and soon a lecturer's place was found for him.
In Sepphoris, Johanan quickly became popular for his lectures, with crowds flocking to hear him. However, Johanan moved to Tiberias at some point before Hanina's death. The two had disagreed on two points of ritual, and Johanan, not wishing to oppose his master at his home, decided to move. It is doubtful whether they ever met again. However, Johanan maintained close relations with his other teachers to the end of their days. This was particularly the case with Hoshaiah Rabbah. He, too, moved from Sepphoris to Caesarea, where he opened a college and whither Johanan often went from Tiberias to consult him on difficult problems. Johanan continued these visits during the last 13 years of Hoshaiah's life, but they were merely social visits, Johanan no longer needing Hoshaiah's help: "He that pays his respects to his teacher is considered as one waiting on the Divine Presence".
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Johanan bar Nappaha
Johanan bar Nappaha (Hebrew: יוחנן בר נפחא 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 during the Talmudic era.
Johanan's opinions are quoted widely across the Jerusalem and Babylonian Talmuds. The compilation of the Jerusalem Talmud is generally ascribed to him.
He is generally cited as "Johanan," but sometimes by his cognomen only, which he himself uses once; but he is never cited by both together.
Opinions vary on whether "bar Nappaha" (literally "son [of the] blacksmith") derives from his father's profession, from the name of his ancestral region, or perhaps represents a physical or psychological quality.
Johanan's early years were spent in Sepphoris in the Roman-ruled Galilee (then part of Syria Palaestina province). He traced his descent from the tribe of Joseph. His father, a blacksmith, died prior to his birth, and his mother died soon after; he was raised by his grandfather in Sepphoris.
Judah ha-Nasi took the boy under his wing and taught him Torah. Due to the disparity in ages, though—Johanan was only fifteen years old when Judah died—Johanan was not one of Judah's prime students; rather, he studied more under Judah's students. It is said that initially he sat seventeen rows behind Abba Arikha in the school taught by Judah, and could not comprehend the discussions. In later life, Johanan recalled teachings that he had gleaned from the early Sages who moved to Usha. Hanina bar Hama taught him homiletic Bible interpretation—except of the books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes—and probably medicine, in which he became skilled.
He studied Torah diligently all his life, even selling a field house and an olive shed that he had inherited from his parents in order to be able to devote his time to study. As he expressed it, he exchanged the things that God created in six days for the things the delivery of which required forty days. After that was spent, he lived a life of poverty. For some time, he was compelled to work to support himself. But soon he felt impelled to return to his school, where he earned, not without a struggle, the encomiums of his masters. At last, owing to the universal homage paid to him, the patriarch accorded him a pension, and soon a lecturer's place was found for him.
In Sepphoris, Johanan quickly became popular for his lectures, with crowds flocking to hear him. However, Johanan moved to Tiberias at some point before Hanina's death. The two had disagreed on two points of ritual, and Johanan, not wishing to oppose his master at his home, decided to move. It is doubtful whether they ever met again. However, Johanan maintained close relations with his other teachers to the end of their days. This was particularly the case with Hoshaiah Rabbah. He, too, moved from Sepphoris to Caesarea, where he opened a college and whither Johanan often went from Tiberias to consult him on difficult problems. Johanan continued these visits during the last 13 years of Hoshaiah's life, but they were merely social visits, Johanan no longer needing Hoshaiah's help: "He that pays his respects to his teacher is considered as one waiting on the Divine Presence".