Ask the Rabbi

Rabbi Chaim Tabasky

Question

Sanhedrin 98b mentions "the school of R. Haninah," and "the Rabbis" -- "The Rabbis say, ’Leprous One of the school of Rabbi is his name, as it is written, etc.’" Which of the many Haninahs is the Talmud referring to? and who are "the Rabbis"?

Answer

It is probably Rabbi Hanina the student and colleague of Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi, though the quote is of his students, possibly long after he lived. It may be a tradition in his yeshiva. The Rabbis are presumably unnamed scholars in Eretz Yisroel, possibly other students of Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi who did not have their own academy.