MARI BEN ISSUR

MARI BEN ISSUR (first half of the fourth century), Babylonian amora. Mari's father was a non-Jew who became converted to Judaism after his son was conceived and was henceforth known as Issur the Proselyte (bb 149a). According to Rashi (Bet. 16a, bm 73b) his mother was Rachel, the daughter of Samuel (Mar or Samuel Yarḥina'ah) who had been taken captive (Ket. 23a); Mari is therefore identical with the Mari b. Rachel and the "Mari, the son of Samuel's daughter" who are often mentioned in the Babylonian Talmud, and he was called after his mother because of his non-Jewish paternity. This view is upheld by Samuel b. Meir (Rashbam to bb 149a) but is contested by the tosafot (ad loc.) since according to the Talmud the daughters of Samuel were ransomed from captivity in Ereẓ Israel and married Simeon b. Abba, one after the other, all dying shortly after the marriage (Ket. 23a; tj, Ket. 2:6, 26c). Moreover there is a chronological difficulty in identifying the daughter of Samuel, who died in 256, with the mother of Mari, who died in the second half of the fourth century. Issur, after his conversion to Judaism, became friendly with R. Safra (bm 31b) and particularly with Rava and under their influence Mari attended the bet midrash and devoted himself to study. Issur left Mari 12,000 zuz which he deposited with Rava (bb 149a). Mari had two sons: Mar Zutra and Adda Saba, contemporaries of Ashi (Kid. 65b).

bibliography:

Hyman, Toledot, 903–5; Ḥ. Albeck, Mavola-Talmudim (1969), 369.

[David Joseph Bornstein]