רבי חייא בר אמי

Rabbi Chiya bar Ami was an amora of the Sasanian period. He is best known for the teachings he brings in the name of his teacher Ulla, several of which are gathered in tractate Berachot. Among them is the well-known statement that since the day the Beit HaMikdash was destroyed, Hashem has in His world only the four cubits of halachah; on the strength of this Abaye resolved to pray only where he learned. He also brings Ulla’s teaching that one who enjoys the fruits of his own labor is greater than one who merely fears Heaven, deriving this from verses in Tehillim, as well as the counsel that a person should dwell in the place of his teacher, learned from the conduct of Shlomo HaMelech in the days of Shimi ben Gera.

His teachings range across varied areas of halachah. In Shabbat he cites Ulla on the three types of hides — matzah, chifah, and diftera — and their definitions and measures. In Yevamot he teaches the laws of a betrothed wife, that neither spouse observes mourning nor becomes ritually impure for the other, with the attendant rules of inheritance and ketubah. He also appears in Avodah Zarah seated together with Rav Nachman, Ulla, and Avimi bar Papi as they weigh whether one may hire himself out to break casks of wine used for idolatry.