רב נחמן בר יצחק

Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak was a Babylonian amora whose teachings are quoted throughout the Talmud. He appears especially often in tractates dealing with sanctified items and valuations — such as Arachin, Temurah, and Keritot — where he is recorded clarifying scriptural verses, reconciling apparent contradictions, and pressing the reasoning behind tannaitic and amoraic positions. He is shown in give-and-take with contemporaries including Rava and Rav Pappa, and he frequently draws on verses to resolve halachic questions.

Several passages preserve his role in stating accepted practice and supplying mnemonic markers. In Niddah he offers a verse-based mnemonic (“וזאת לפנים בישראל”) and analyzes the laws of menstrual impurity; in matters of conduct cited in the halachic codes he reports that “the world follows” a given ruling — for example regarding the recital of the Shema and Torah study, and the application of a mitzva specifically within the Land of Israel (cited from Chullin in the Sefer HaChinukh). These citations reflect a chacham who is occupied with both fine textual analysis and the settling of normative law.