Biography
Rabbi Yehuda bar Ilai was a tanna of the Mishnaic period, active in Usha in the Land of Israel. He was honored as “the first to speak in every place” (rosh hamedabrim bechol makom), and the Talmud preserves him opening discussions and reasoning through halachic matters. In Menachot he sets out a measure concerning the offerings the community brings, arguing that a single individual should fall short of the community’s count by at least one — applying the principle that an individual’s measure does not equal that of the public.
Beyond his learning, the sources recall his piety and warmth. In Ketubot it is related that he would take a myrtle branch and dance before a bride, declaring “a fair and graceful bride,” and that when he passed away a pillar of fire separated him from everyone else — a sign, the tradition holds, reserved for one of his stature in a generation.
רבי יהודה בר אִלְעָאי היה תנא בדור הרביעי של תקופת התנאים. מגדולי תלמידיו של רבי עקיבא. מאות מובאות מדבריו נזכרו בששה סדרי משנה, והוא התנא שפסקיו מוזכרים במשנה במספר הגדול ביותר מבין התנאים האחרים.
Judah beRabbi Ilai, usually known as Rabbi Judah or Judah bar Ilai, was a rabbi of the 2nd century, and a disciple of Rabbi Akiva. Of the many Judahs in the Talmud, he is the one referred to simply as "Rabbi Judah" and is the most frequently mentioned sage in the Mishnah. He is not to be confused with Judah bar Ma'arava, an amora.
On Wikipedia: עברית · English — summary from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA