Rav Oshaya

Third Generation of Amoraim.

In the Babylonian Talmud he is called Oshaya, and in the Jerusalem Talmud he is called Hoshaya.

He was a student of Rav Huna and a leading student of Rabbi Yehudah bar Yehezkel, as we find that Rabbi Yehudah called him 'Oshaya, my son' [Gittin 25a]. And Rabbi Oshaya called Rav Yehudah 'my Rabbi' [Bava Metzia 43b].

Rabbi Oshaya and his brother Rabbi Hanina were the brothers of Rabbah; all of them were sons of Nahmani. (Sefer 'Yuchasin' and cited by Maharsha).

Nahmani, their father, immigrated to the Land of Israel with his two sons, while Rabbah remained in Babylonia to study Torah in the yeshiva of Rav Huna.

He was a colleague of Rabbi Ami and Rabbi Assi, students of Rabbi Yohanan; he was also with Rabbi Abba and Rabbi Zeira, and all of them were together in Babylonia, sitting before Rav Huna in his yeshiva.

Rav Safra, a student of Rava, who was younger in years, called him by the honorable name: Moses. This is how a sage would refer to his colleague out of respect for his wisdom [Beitzah 38b]. He married the daughter of Rabbi Shmuel bar Yitzchak.

His Brothers' Request

Rabbi Yirmiyah bar Abba said in the name of Rabbi Yohanan: Whoever walks four cubits in the Land of Israel is assured to be a person of the World to Come.

We already raised an objection to Rabbi Elazar: Do not righteous people who lived and were buried outside the Land of Israel rise in the resurrection of the dead because they were buried outside the Land of Israel?

Rabbi Ila'i answered: Righteous people outside the Land of Israel reach the Land of Israel through a rolling process (gilgul mehilot).

Rabbi Abba Sala Rava objects: But the rolling (gilgul) is painful for the righteous! Abaye explains: Tunnels are made for the righteous in the ground, thus preventing their pain.

It is written: “and you shall carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial place” [Genesis 47:30].

Karna, a student of Shmuel, said: There are implications regarding this verse! Jacob our father knew that he was completely righteous, and if you say that righteous people outside the Land of Israel will merit the resurrection of the dead, why did Jacob our father trouble his sons to bring him up and bury him in the Land of Israel? This proves that Jacob our father was concerned that he might not merit the tunnels (mehilot)! Similarly, you say: “And Joseph made the children of Israel swear” [Genesis 50:25].

Rabbi Hanina said: There are implications regarding this matter; Joseph knew himself to be completely righteous, and if you say that righteous people outside the Land of Israel will merit the resurrection of the dead, why did Joseph the righteous trouble his brothers to carry him four hundred parsaot? This proves that Joseph the righteous was concerned that he might not merit the tunnels!

Rabbah's brothers, who were in the Land of Israel, sent him a message and tried to persuade him to immigrate to the Land and join them. They wrote to him subtly: Jacob our father knew he was completely righteous, yet he feared he might not merit the tunnels! And Alfah said: They told him about someone who wanted to marry a woman who was outside the Land, but when he heard about the concern of the rolling of the tunnels, he gave it up.

His brothers wrote to him: Even you, our dear brother, though you are a great sage, it is not the same for one who studies on his own as for one who studies from a master! It would be good for you to ascend to the Holy Land to us and learn from Rabbi Yohanan! In any case, our dear brother: if you decide not to come up and remain in Babylonia, be careful in three things:

1. Do not sit too much, because excessive sitting is bad for the lower body.
2. Do not stand too much, because excessive standing is not good for the heart.
3. Do not walk too much, because excessive walking is not good for the eyes.

But how should you do it! One-third of your time sitting, one-third standing, and one-third walking.

And they also told him: Any seating position in which one cannot also lean, it is preferable to stand [Ketubot 111a].

His Ascent to the Land of Israel

We find that when he ascended to the Land of Israel, he saw Rabbi Ami and relayed a teaching before Rabbi Ami in the name of Ulla, and an answer that Rabbi Nahman bar Yaakov (Yalta, his wife, was the daughter of Rabban Gamliel the Nasi) gave him. From this, we see that Rabbi Oshaya, even while in Babylonia, engaged in study and discussion with Ulla.

They ascended together to the Land of Israel, only Ulla would frequently go back and forth between the Land of Israel and Babylonia [Hullin 124a].

With Rabbi Yohanan, his Rabbi

Rabbi Yohanan was waiting and hoping for the opportunity to ordain Rav Hanina and Rabbi Hoshaya, the sons of Nahmani, but it did not come to pass, because Rabbi Yohanan did not have two ordained sages with him who could jointly ordain Rabbi Hanina and Rabbi Oshaya.

Rabbi Yohanan was very distressed by this! Rabbi Hanina and Rabbi Oshaya said to him: Let our Rabbi not be distressed, for we are from the lineage of the House of Eli the Priest, and Rabbi Shmuel bar Nahmani said in the name of Rabbi Yonatan: How do we know that descendants from the House of Eli are not ordained? Because the prophet said to the House of Eli: “There shall not be an old man in your house for all time” [1 Samuel 2:32], meaning: as a punishment for their deeds.

If we were to say that the punishment is that they will not grow old, meaning: they will not live long lives and will not reach old age, which is the age of—it has already been said to them: “And all the multitude of your house will die as men” [ibid. 33], meaning: that most of the sons of Eli, i.e., 60 of his offspring, will die at a very young age, at eighteen!

If so, why did the prophet repeat and say: “And there shall not be an old man”? Rather, it comes to say that even those from the House of Eli who do merit to reach old age because they engage in Torah and acts of kindness will not come to old age in the sense of ordination, to be halakhic instructors to the many.

Therefore, they told Rabbi Yohanan not to be distressed, because as they were from the House of Eli, the punishment of not being ordained applied to them [Sanhedrin 14a].

His Sanctity

Rabbi Yohanan said: Three types of people the Holy One, Blessed be He, proclaims about in heaven every day and praises them:

1. A bachelor who lives in a large city (krakh) and does not sin.
2. A poor person who returns a lost object to its owner; for a poor person has nothing, yet he returns a lost object to its owner!
3. A wealthy person who tithes his produce discreetly and does not reduce from the tithes, even though he incurs a great loss.

Thus it is told: Rav Safra was a bachelor who lived in a large city.

He recited this Baraita before Rava and Rav Safra: Three types of people the Holy One, Blessed be He, proclaims about every day and praises them, and among them: a bachelor who lives in a large city and does not sin.

Rav Safra's face lit up, meaning, he beamed with joy because he was a bachelor who lived in a large city!

Rava said to him: The Baraita did not refer to a case like yours, but rather to cases like Rabbi Hanina and Rabbi Oshaya.

Rabbi Hanina and Rabbi Oshaya wanted to benefit from the labor of their hands and were cobblers in the Land of Israel. They would sit in the market where there were also harlots, and they would make shoes even for these women.

When these women came to pick up their shoes, Rabbi Hanina and Rabbi Oshaya would not lift their eyes to look at them. When Rabbi Hanina and Rabbi Oshaya passed away, and people wanted their words to be believed, they would swear "by the lives of Rabbi Hanina and Rabbi Oshaya," the holy sages of the Land of Israel [Pesahim 113b].

Works of Creation and Chariot Mysticism

Every Friday evening, Rabbi Hanina and Rabbi Oshaya would sit and engage in the Sefer Yetzirah, a book attributed to Abraham our father, and they would create a three-year-old calf and eat it. The meaning: a. a calf that reached one-third of its lifespan, and was excellent for eating. b. a calf that was born third to a cow, its meat is exceptionally tasty.

His Passing

When Rabbi Hanina passed away, the Sea of Kinneret split. The sages said: This was a hint to a miracle that happened to him. Once, when Rabbi Hanina went to intercalate a year, the Sea of Kinneret split before him so that he could cross.

And when Rabbi Hoshaya passed away, a date palm fell in the city of Tiberias that was considered important [Pnei Moshe]. And some explain that it was a pillar in Tiberias, like a monument that was there to commemorate some event, and it fell at the time of [Jerusalem Talmud, Avodah Zarah 3:1] – Rabbi Hoshaya’s passing [Gilyon Ephraim].

His Sayings

Rabbi Hoshaya said: When Solomon built the Temple, he planted in it all kinds of delicacies, namely: beautiful fruits of gold, meaning, trees that produced fruits made of gold, and they bore fruit in their season.

When the wind blew on them, their fruits would fall, as it is stated: “Its fruit will rustle like Lebanon” [Psalm 72:16]. From this we learn that the fruits in Lebanon, which is the Temple, would strike against each other and make noise when they fell because they were made of gold.

From these fruits came the sustenance for the priesthood.

When idol worshipers entered the Temple, the trees withered. As it is stated: “And the blossom of Lebanon withered” [Nahum 1:4]. The Holy One, Blessed be He, will restore them to us in the future, as it is stated: “It will blossom abundantly and rejoice” [Land of Israel] “even with joy and singing” [it will rejoice and sing] “the glory of Lebanon” [the Temple] “is given to her” [the glory of Lebanon are the golden fruits in the Temple] [Isaiah 35:2 – Yoma 39b].