For otherAmoraic sages ofBabylonia with the name "Rav Kahana", seeRav Kahana.
Rav Kahana (III) (Hebrew:רב כהנא מפום נהרא, read asRav Kahana Me-Pum-Nahara, lit. "Rabbi Kahana of Pum-Nahara"; appearing in theTalmud merely asRav Kahana) was aBabylonian rabbi, of the third and fourth generation ofamoraim, who headed theYeshiva of Pum-Nahara.
| Rabbinical eras |
|---|
During his youth he studied underJudah ben Ezekiel,[1] and after his death, he served atRabbah bar Nahmani as well, and learned under himtractate Sanhedrin along with his great friendRav Safra.[2] He madeAliyah to theLand of Israel along with Safra, and studied under RabbiZeira[3] and RabbiAbbahu.[4] He also studied under RabbiHiyya bar Abba, who also prayed for his longevity, and indeed his blessing materialized.[5]
After a while he returned to Babylonia, and then fixed his residence atPum-Nahara,[6] where he studied withRav Ashi, who became his leading student. Ashi honored Kahana greatly, but consideredAmemar to be his principal Rabbi as well. Ashi would use the honorary title 'Mar' ("Sir") towards Amemar, but only when Kahana was not present.
He was a colleague ofRav Nachman bar Yitzchak, and together they rebuked the rich individuals who interfered with the appointment ofreligious judges and community leaders.[7]
He was aKohen, fromEli ha-Kohen's family.
Kahana's Yeshiva inPum-Nahara was subordinated to the yeshiva inSura, but from the times ofRava's death and onward, the heads of theYeshiva inNehardea would frequently visit Rav Kahana III in Pum-Nahara, most likely for the purpose of reinforcing their yeshiva's influence over the yeshiva in Pum-Nahara. This reinforcement of ties, between Nehardea and Pum-Nahara, is attested by the fact that Kahana III gave his funeral oration toRav Zevid of Nehardea at Pum-Nahara.[8]