Editing Abbahu (section)

== Against the Christians ==
R. Abbahu, although eminent as a halakhist, was more distinguished as an [[aggadist]] and controversialist. He had many interesting disputes with the [[Christians]] of his day.<ref>''Shabbat'' 152b; ''[[San.|Sanhedrin]]'' 39a; ''[[Avodah Zarah]]'' 4a</ref> Sometimes these disputes were of a humorous nature. Thus, a heretic bearing the name of Sason (=Joy) once remarked to him, "In the [[Olam Haba|next world]] your people will have to draw water for me; for thus it is written in the [[Bible]],<ref>[[Isaiah]] 12:3</ref> 'With joy shall ye draw water.'" To this R. Abbahu replied, "Had the Bible said 'for joy' [''le-sason''], it would mean as you say, but since it says 'with joy' [''be-sason''], it means that we shall make bottles of your skin and fill them with water".<ref>''[[Suk.|Sukkah]]'' 48b</ref> These controversies, although forced on him, provoked resentment, and it was even related that his physician, Jacob the [[Jewish schisms|Schismatic]] (''[[Heresy in Judaism#Talmudic era|Minaah]])'', was slowly poisoning him, but [[Rabbi Ammi]] and [[Rabbi Assi]] discovered the crime in time.<ref>''Avodah Zarah'' 28a</ref>

A Christian (''Minaah'') once asked Abbahu "When does your Messiah come?" in a tone of mockery. Abbahu replied: "When you will be wrapped in darkness, for it says,<ref>[[Isaiah]] 60:2</ref> 'Behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the nations; then shall the Lord rise upon you and His glory shall be seen on you'."<ref>''Sanhedrin'' 99a</ref> A Christian came to Abbahu with the quibbling question: "How could your God in His priestly holiness bury [[Moses]] without providing for purificatory rites, yet oceans are declared insufficient?"<ref>Isaiah 40:12</ref> Abbahu replied: "Does it not say, 'The Lord comes with fire'?<ref>Isaiah 64:15</ref> Fire is the true element of purification, according to [[Book of Numbers|Numbers]] 31:23."<ref>''Sanhedrin'' 39a</ref> Another question of the same character: "Why the boastful claim, 'What nation on earth is like Your people Israel',<ref>II [[Books of Samuel|Samuel]] 7:23</ref> since we read, 'All the nations are as nothing before Him'?"<ref>Isaiah 40:17</ref> Abbahu replied: "Do we not read of Israel, he 'shall not be reckoned among the nations'?"<ref>''Sanhedrin'' as above</ref>

Abbahu made a notable exception with reference to the [[Tosefta]]'s statement that the ''[[Gilyonim]]'' (Gospels) and other books of the heretics (''Minnin'') are not to be saved from a fire on [[Shabbat]]: "the books of those [written by ''Minnin'' for the purpose of debating with Jews] at Abidan may or may not be saved."<ref>Shabbat 116a [[s:he:שבת קטז א|שבת קטז א]] and [[Rashi]]'s commentary (in Hebrew/Aramaic)</ref> In regard to the line "''Barukh Shem Kevod Malkhuto''" (Blessed be the Name of His glorious Kingdom) recited after the [[Shema Yisrael|Shema]], Abbahu says that in Palestine, where the Christians look for points of controversy, the words should be recited aloud (lest the Jews be accused of silently tampering with the unity of God proclaimed in the ''Shema''), whereas in the Babylonian city of [[Nehardea]], where there are no Christians, the words are recited with a low voice.<ref>''Pesachim'' 56a, [[s:he:פסחים נו א|פסחים נו א]] and Rashi's commentary (in Hebrew/Aramaic)</ref> Preaching directly against the Christian dogma, Abbahu says: "A king of flesh and blood may have a father, a brother, or a son to share in or dispute his sovereignty, but the Lord says, 'I am the Lord your God! I am the first - that is, I have no father; and I am the last - that is, I have no brother; and besides me there is no God - that is, I have no son'".<ref>Isaiah 44:6; ''[[Exodus Rabbah]]'' 29</ref> His comment on Numbers 23:19 has a still more polemical tone:<ref name="Jewish">{{Jewish Encyclopedia|inline=1|article=Abbahu|url=http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?letter=A&artid=164|access-date=June 18, 2013}}</ref> "God is not a man that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent; if a man says: 'I am God,' he is a liar; if he says: 'I am a son of man,' he will have cause to regret it; and if he says, 'I will go up to heaven,' he has said [''something''] but will not keep his word".<ref>''Yerushalmi [[Ta'anit]]'' 2:1, end, page 65b in Bomberg's Venice edition;[http://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=45298&st=&pgnum=258&hilite= ירושלמי דפוס ויניציאה (בומבירגי), תעניות דף סה טור ב] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305073458/http://hebrewbooks.org/pdfpager.aspx?req=45298&st=&pgnum=258&hilite= |date=March 5, 2016 }} (in Hebrew/Aramaic); 9a in current editions [[s:he:ירושלמי תענית דף ט א|ירושלמי תענית דף ט א]] (in Hebrew/Aramaic)</ref>

Some of his controversies on Christian theological subjects, as on [[Adam]],<ref>''[[Yalkut Shimoni]]'', Genesis 47</ref> on [[Enoch (ancestor of Noah)|Enoch]],<ref>''[[Genesis Rabbah]]'' 25</ref> and on the resurrection,<ref>''Shabbat'' 152b</ref> are less clear and direct.<ref>See Bacher, ''Agada der Pal. Amor.'' ii. 97, 115-118</ref>