330 RABBA BAR NACHMANI DIED (Babylon)
Rabba was forced to flee to a forest after being accused by Shapur II’s ministers that his biannual gatherings (Kalah) were only created to avoid a poll tax. He was later found in the undergrowth, dead. Although extremely poor, Rabba had been appointed to head the academy of Pumbedita after Judah Bar Ezekiel’s (the founder of the academy) death. A position he held for twenty-one years. He endeavored to reconcile contradictions in the
Mishna and was known for beginning his lectures with a quip.
|