אבא בר מרתא

Abba bar Marta — also called Abba bar Minyumi — was an amora of Bavel. He appears in several tractates, and a number of the recorded episodes turn on his conduct in matters of money. In Gittin he is shown owing funds to Rabbah, who brings them to him in the Sabbatical year; when Rabbah declares “I release the debt,” Abba bar Marta takes the money and departs, leaving him saddened until Abaye consoles him. In both Yevamot and Shabbat he is recorded as owing money to the household of the Exilarch (Reish Galuta); in one account he tries to avoid their pressure by smearing wax on his forehead, and in another a spit on the ground prompts the Exilarch’s people to cover it — but he is identified as a Torah scholar and they leave him be.

He is also seen engaging in halachic give-and-take. In Beitzah he asks Abaye whether one may extinguish a lamp for the sake of another matter, and Abaye answers that it is possible to go to another room. In Moed Katan, when a misfortune befell Rava, Abba bar Marta came before him; the account notes Rava’s high regard for this scholar. In Shabbat a teaching is brought in the name of Rav Yehudah concerning treading on spittle.