רב שמואל בר רב יצחק

Rav Shmuel bar Rav Yitzchak was an amora that appears throughout the Babylonian Talmud as a prolific participant in halachic discussion. He is recorded transmitting rulings in the name of Rav—for example regarding foods cooked by non-Jews (Avodah Zarah 38a, 59a), the laws of bailees and ‘putting a hand’ to entrusted property (Bava Metzia 41a), and inheritance (Kiddushin 45b)—and reporting teachings of Rabbi Yochanan, such as on coagulating milk with the stomach of an animal (Chullin 116b). He is also shown raising objections and sharpening arguments before colleagues (Kiddushin 57a, Bava Kamma 43b).

His citations cluster heavily in tractate Niddah, where he is repeatedly quoted on questions of ritual purity, immersion, the seasons (tekufot), and signs of bodily development (Niddah 6b–66b). He is likewise cited across Bava Kamma, Bava Metzia, Bava Batra, Bekhorot, Zevachim, Avodah Zarah, Sanhedrin, and Kiddushin, addressing topics from damages and animal tithe to the apportionment of the altar in the tribal allotments (Zevachim 53b). He is recorded learning before Rav Huna (Bava Batra 113b), indicating his place within the study circles of the yeshivos.

Beyond halacha, he is preserved in aggadic and midrashic contexts—offering an exposition on Avraham’s astrological ‘fate’ and childlessness (Bereshit Rabbah 44) and on Yaakov’s plea concerning his own name (Sanhedrin 109b).