Page "Abbahu" Paragraph 6

R. Abbahu, though eminent as a halakist, was more distinguished as a haggadist and controversialist.

He had many interesting disputes with the Christians of his day ( Shab.

152b ; San.

39a ; Av.

Zarah, 4a ).

Sometimes these disputes were of a jocular nature.

Thus, a heretic bearing the name of Sason (= Joy ) once remarked to him, " In the next world your people will have to draw water for me ; for thus it is written in the Bible ( Isaiah 12: 3 ), ' With joy shall ye draw water.

'" To this R. Abbahu replied, " Had the Bible said ' for joy ', it would mean as thou sayest, but since it says ' with joy ', it means that we shall make bottles of thy hide and fill them with water " ( Suk.

48b ).

These controversies, though forced on him, provoked resentment, and it is even related that his physician, Jacob the Schismatic ( Minaah ), was slowly poisoning him, but R. Ammi and R. Assi discovered the crime in time ( Av.

Zarah, 28a ).