SHEMUʾEL THE AMORA (c. 180–c. 263), called Mar Shemuʾel, was a first-generation Babylonian amora, son of Abbaʾ bar Abbaʾ. With his contemporary, Rav, Shemuʾel spread the Mishnah—edited in Palestine—and thus laid the foundation for the rabbinic movement outside the Land of Israel. He learned the Palestinian tradition primarily from masters who had been in Palestine and combined it with the native Persian Jewish heritage.

Shemuʾel's influence as a teacher was enhanced by his authority as a judge in the Jewish court of Nehardea, a city on the Euphrates River. He probably functioned not as a head of an actual academy but rather as a rabbi with a circle of disciples. The prestige he enjoyed is reflected in the portrayal of him as a master devoted to Torah study, extremely honest, enjoying divine protection...