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- Abaye was a Rabbi of the Jewish Talmud who lived in Babylonia [בבל], known as an amora [אמורא] born about the close of the third century; died 339. His father, Kaylil, was the brother of Rabbah bar Nachmani, a teacher at the Academy of Pumbedita. Abaye's real name was Nachmani, after his grandfather. Left an orphan at an early age, he was adopted by his uncle, Rabbah bar Nachmani, who nicknamed him Abaye ("Little Father"), to avoid confusion (perhaps respect for his father) with his grandfather of the same name; thenceforth he was known as Abaye, without any other title. It is a curious fact that he perpetuated the memory of his foster-mother, probably a slave in Rabbah's household, by mentioning her name in many popular recipes and dietetic precepts, some of which seem to be based on superstitious notions. He introduced each recipe with the phrase, "My mother told me. " Abaye's teachers were his uncle Rabbah and Joseph bar Chama, both of whom successively became presidents of the Pumbedita Academy. When Joseph died (324), this dignity was conferred upon Abaye, who retained it until his death some five years later. Rabbah trained him in the application of the dialectic method to halakhic problems, and Joseph, with his stores of traditional lore, taught him to appreciate the value of positive knowledge. Superior as Abaye no doubt was in his dialectic analysis of halakhic sentences, he was, nevertheless, surpassed in this regard by Rava, with whom he had been closely associated from early youth. To the disputations between these amoraim we owe the development of the dialectic method in the treatment of halakhic traditions. Their debates are known as the "Havayot d'Abaye ve'Rava" (Debates of Abaye and Rava), the subjects of which were then considered such essential elements of Talmudic knowledge that by an anachronism they were thought to be known to Yohanan ben Zakkai, who lived some centuries before (Sukkah 28a). Their halakhic controversies are scattered throughout the Babylonian Talmud. With the exception of six of his decisions, the opinions of Rava were always accepted as final. Abaye was never so happy as when one of his disciples had completed the study of a Mishnah treatise. On such occasions, he always gave a feast to his pupils (Shabbat 118b), though his circumstances were needy, and wine never appeared upon his table. His peace-loving disposition and his sincere piety are well exhibited in his maxims (Berachot 17a), among which occur the following: "Be mild in speech; suppress your wrath; and maintain good-will in intercourse with your relatives as well as with others, even with strangers in the market-place. " Abaye urged his disciples to conduct themselves in such a way as to lead others to the love of God (Yoma 86a). In Biblical exegesis, he was one of the first to draw a distinct line between the evident meaning of the text (peshat) and the sense ascribed to it by midrashic interpretation. He formulated the following rule, of great importance in Talmudic exegesis (Sanhedrin 34a): "One Bible verse can be referred to different subjects, but several different Bible verses can not refer to one and the same subject. " He defended the Apocryphal book Ecclesiasticus against his teacher Joseph. By quoting from it a number of edifying passages he showed that it did not belong to the heretical books which are forbidden, and even compelled his teacher to admit that quotations might with advantage be taken from it for homiletical purposes (Sanhedrin 100b). Possessing an extensive knowledge of tradition, Abaye became a most eager disciple of Dimi, the Palestinian amora, who had brought to Babylonia a perfect treasury of interpretations by Palestinian amoraim. Abaye considered Dimi, as a representative of the Palestinian school, a qualified Bible exegete, and used to ask him how this or that Bible verse was explained in "the West," or Palestine. Of his own interpretations of Biblical passages only a few, of a haggadic nature, are preserved; but he often supplements, elucidates, or corrects the opinions of older authorities.
- Abaye ("petit père"), de son vrai nom Nahmani ben Kaylil, est le surnom d'un grand Amora Babylonien né en 278 EC. Orphelin, il fut élevé et éduqué par son oncle, Rabba bar Nahmani, Rosh Yeshiva de Pumbedita, qui, ne pouvant se résoudre à appeler son neveu comme son père, l'affubla du surnom. Abaye respectait énormément son oncle, et le divertissait en jonglant, nous rapporte la Guemara. Abaye était un Cohen (un prêtre), descendant de la famille de Eli (cf. Livre de Samuel), et en tant que tel, victime de la malédiction divine proférée à leur encontre en châtiment de la désécration du Nom Divin causée par les forfaits de Pinhas et Hofni, les fils d'Eli. Du fait de celle-ci, il ne pourrait vivre son comptant d'années. Sa nature vertueuse lui permit de vivre jusqu'à 60 ans, mais il mourut à cet âge, relativement jeune pour l'époque, d'un œdème en 338 ou en 339. Par ailleurs, sa vie fut laborieuse. À l'image de Rabbi Yehoshoua ben Hanania, il fut laid et pauvre, charmant les gens par sa sagesse, étudiant la Torah au terme d'harassantes journées de labeur de terres ingrates, ou au cours des deux mois de la morte-saison agricole babylonienne, les Yar'he Kala, les Mois de la Mariée, celle-ci étant (l'étude de) la Torah Il fit ses études auprès de son oncle et de Rav Yosseph bar Hama à la Yeshiva de Pumbedita, et devint rapidement maître tant dans l'étude que dans l'enseignement de la Torah. Il y fit aussi la connaissance de Rava, qui, selon une vieille habitude des Sages d'Israël devint son plus farouche contradicteur en même temps que son plus cher ami. Les "disputes" entre Abaye et Rava (Havayot de Abaye veRava) sont devenus le prototype des joutes dialectiques tant sur des grands que sur des détails, voire ce qu'Anouar el-Sadate appellerait (quelques dizaines de siècles plus tard) des "anicroches talmudiques", et sont tellement importantes pour la connaissance talmudique qu'un autre anachronisme relaté sans Soukka 28a nous apprend que Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkaï, disciple d'Hillel et fondateur de l'école de Yavne, connaissait toute la Halakha "jusqu'au débats d'Abaye et Rava". Bien qu'Abaye détienne une indéniable maîtrise dans l'analyse dialectique des sentences halakhiques, Rava le surpassa et les opinions de Rava l'emportèrent sur celles d'Abaye sauf en six exceptions. Abaye devint directeur de la Yeshiva de Pumbedita à la mort de ses maîtres. Il n'était jamais aussi heureux que lorsqu'un de ses disciples complétait l'étude d'un traité mishnaïque. En ces occasions, il organisait un grand festin, bien que ses moyens fussent réduits et que le vin n'apparaisse jamais sur la table (Traité Shabbat 118b). Il défendit le livre de l'Ecclésiaste contre son maître Yosseph bar Hama (l'Ecclésiaste n'ayant donc pas encore été inclus dans le canon biblique à cette époque). En citant un nombre de passages extraits du livre, il montra qu'il ne s'agissait pas d'un livre hérétique, et fit même admettre à son maître que ces citations pourraient avantageusement servir à des visées homilétiques (Traité Sanhédrin 100b). Par la suite, l'Ecclésiaste est devenu la lecture privilégiée à Soukkot.
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- Abaye was a Rabbi of the Jewish Talmud who lived in Babylonia [בבל], known as an amora [אמורא] born about the close of the third century; died 339. His father, Kaylil, was the brother of Rabbah bar Nachmani, a teacher at the Academy of Pumbedita. Abaye's real name was Nachmani, after his grandfather.
- Abaye ("petit père"), de son vrai nom Nahmani ben Kaylil, est le surnom d'un grand Amora Babylonien né en 278 EC. Orphelin, il fut élevé et éduqué par son oncle, Rabba bar Nahmani, Rosh Yeshiva de Pumbedita, qui, ne pouvant se résoudre à appeler son neveu comme son père, l'affubla du surnom. Abaye respectait énormément son oncle, et le divertissait en jonglant, nous rapporte la Guemara. Abaye était un Cohen (un prêtre), descendant de la famille de Eli (cf.
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