הרב אבא בר קורייה

Rabbi Abba bar Kurya was an amora who lived in Eretz Yisrael. He appears in the aggadic Midrash, where his teachings on the early chapters of Bereshit are preserved.

In Bereshit Rabbah he comments on the account of the serpent’s approach to the woman, addressing the question of where Adam was at that moment. Abba bar Kurya states that Adam had occupied himself with the way of the world and had fallen asleep, an explanation set alongside the view of the Rabbanan. His remark reflects the close reading of Scripture characteristic of the aggadic teachings in the Midrash.