R. Ḥisda’s Daughter

b. Bava Batra 12b

[And in] what [way was prophecy given] to children? [It was] like this [incident involving the] daughter of Rav Ḥisda, [who when she was a child] was sitting on her father’s lap. [ . . . ] Rava and Rami bar Ḥama were sitting before him. [Rav Ḥisda jokingly] said to [his daughter], “Which of them would you want [as a husband]?” She said, [“I want] both of them.” Rava said, “And I [will be] last.”

b. Shabbat 129a

R. Judah said [that] Samuel said: [For] a woman in childbirth, [there is a halakhah of] thirty days. [The Gemara asks:] With regard to what halakhah [was this stated? The sages of] Neharde’a say: [It was stated] with regard to [the halakhah of] immersion. [A woman does not purify herself through ritual immersion within thirty days of giving birth because she is in a weakened state and susceptible to catching cold.]

Rava said: We say [that the ruling that she does not immerse during that period applies] only when her husband is not with her. However, [if] her husband is with her, her husband warms her [by engaging in relations with her, and she is not susceptible to catching cold], as [is illustrated] in this [incident involving] the daughter of Rav Ḥisda, [Rava’s wife. She] immersed within thirty days [of giving birth,] not in the presence of her husband, and caught cold, and [afterward] they brought her [funeral] bier after Rava to Pumbedita.

b. Berakhot 62a

Before Rava became the head of the yeshiva, [his wife,] the daughter of Rav Ḥisda, would rattle a nut in a copper vessel for him. [This was in order to fend off demons when he was in the bathroom.] After [he was chosen to] preside [as head of the yeshiva, he required an additional degree of protection, so] she constructed a window for him, [opposite where he would defecate,] and placed her hand upon his head.

b. Ḥagigah 5a

When R. Yoḥanan reached this verse, he cried, “For God shall bring every work into the judgment concerning every hidden thing” (Ecclesiastes 12:14). [ . . . ]

[The Gemara asks:] What is the meaning of the end of that verse: Whether it be good, or whether it be evil (Ecclesiastes 12:14)? [ . . . ]

Rava said: This [is referring to] one who sends his wife meat that is not sliced, [i.e., that has not yet had the prohibited sciatic nerve removed,] on Shabbat eve. [Since she is in a hurry she might not notice and will perhaps cook the prohibited meat.

The Gemara asks:] But [yet] Rava [himself would] send [this type of meat to his wife on Shabbat eve. The Gemara answers:] The daughter of Rav Ḥisda, [Rava’s wife,] is different, as he was certain about her that she was an expert [in this matter].

b. Yevamot 34b

When Ravin came [from Erets Yisrael to Babylonia, he said that] R. Yoḥanan said: Any [woman who] waits after her husband [has died or divorced her for] ten years [without intercourse] and is then married can no longer bear children. R. Naḥman said: They taught [this principle] only [with regard to cases] where she did not intend to get married [at a later time], but [if] she intended to get married [at some point], she can become pregnant [later on]. Rava said to [his wife, the] daughter of Rav Ḥisda, “The sages are gossiping about you.” [From the time she was widowed from her first husband until the time that she was married to Rava, more than ten years passed, yet she bore him children. It seemed as though she had engaged in intercourse in the meantime.] She said to him, “My mind was on you.”

b. Ketubbot 65a, 85a

b. Ḥullin 44b

[This is] like that [incident] where Rava permitted [a possible] tereifah¹ [for consumption] and bought meat from it. [His wife,] the daughter of Rav Ḥisda, said to him, “Father permitted a firstborn [animal, declaring that it possessed a blemish that renders it permitted for consumption], but did not buy meat from it. [Why are you acting differently?]”

[Rava] said to her, “That matter [applies to] a firstborn, which is sold [based] on appraisal [of its value]. Here, the weight [of the meat] proves [that I am paying the standard price and not unfairly deriving benefit from my judgment]. What [suspicion] is there [in this case? Will people suspect me] because [I received] a superior piece of meat? Every day they sell me a superior piece of meat.”