person · P0387
Rabbi Zeira רבי זירא
Bavel-trained student of Rav Yehudah who slipped away from his teacher to ascend to Eretz Yisrael (third generation), where he became a pillar of the Tiberias study hall. His chains in the Bavli transmit Rav, Rav Chisda, Shmuel, and Rav Nachman — teachings received through their schools, not from their mouths.
I. Who
- Hebrew
- רבי זירא
- Era
- amoraim
- Generation
- A3
- Received the mesorah from
- Rav Yehudah
- Transmitted the mesorah to
- Rabbi Yirmiyah
- Teachers
- Rav Yehudah
- Students
- Rabbi Yirmiyah
II. When
- Traditional
- fl. c. 4020–4090 AM (schematic)
- Academic
- c. 260–330 CE
- Lifespan (traditional)
- ≈75 years
- Precision
- approximate
V. How do we know
| Claim | Evidence | Confidence | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rabbi Zeira "was evading Rav Yehudah, because he wanted to ascend to Eretz Yisrael" — רבי זירא הוה קא משתמיט מדרב יהודה — his teacher having ruled that one may not leave Bavel; the evasion story presumes the studentship. | rabbinic | ★★★★★ | |
| His chains in the Bavli transmit Rav (22 occurrences in this atlas's mining), Rav Chisda (9), Shmuel (8), and Rav Nachman (7).
Rav died before Rabbi Zeira's time; chains in his name are school transmission, which is why they carry no reception edge here.
|
rabbinic | ★★★★★ | |
| No source dates Rabbi Zeira directly; the AM span shown is a schematic reconstruction anchored to Rav Yehudah's generation, from whom he received.
Schematic generational placement, not an attested date. A dated attestation, if one can be verified, should supersede this.
|
reconstruction | ★★☆☆☆ |