ABSTRACT
RAB (160-247): The affectionate title of Abba Arika, Rab was a market inspector in Babylonia, towering in height and friendly, who pursued his studies in the Talmud so effectively that he was offered the presidency of the Nehardea Academy. He refused, instead founding a new academy at Sura (219), which was des-tined to last for eight centuries and outshine all the other Babylonian schools. Classes were offered early in the morning and late at night, the only times that students were free to come. During the national holidays, twelve thousand people gathered at Sura to hear him speak. From being an Amora (“speaker,” or “interpreter”), Rab advanced to the point where he was considered to be a Tanna (“first and major teacher of the Talmud”). Rab was a contemporary of Jerome and Origen.
