רב אחא בריה דרבא

Rav Acha bereh deRava (“Rav Acha son of Rava”) is an amora cited widely across the Babylonian Talmud, especially in tractate Chullin, where his name recurs many times, as well as in Niddah, Meilah, Keritot, Temurah, Bekhorot, and Menachot. He is most characteristically recorded posing probing questions and objections to Rav Asi—introduced by the formula “amar leih Rav Acha bereh deRava le-Rav Ashi“—often pressing a difficulty (“ela mei’atah…”, “dilma…”, “mai shena…”) to test the reach of a ruling or derivation.

The passages show him engaged with core areas of ritual law: the laws of slaughter and forbidden foods and bodily defects in Chullin; sacrificial and offering law in Menachot, Meilah, Keritot, Bekhorot, and Temurah; and matters of ritual purity in Niddah. In Niddah he is also recorded transmitting a teaching in the name of Rabbi Elazar concerning the rules of gezerah shavah, and he is shown citing or framing teachings of Rabbi Yose. In one exchange he is the recipient of a question from Ravina. His recorded role is largely that of a sharp questioner in the give-and-take who clarifies and challenges established positions.