רב יצחק בר אשיאן

Rav Yitzchak bar Ashyan was an amora whose halachic teachings appear in several tractates of the Talmud. He is most often brought by Rav Idi bar Avin, who cites his rulings in matters of berachot and tefillah as well as in practical halachah. In Berachot he teaches that a person may not attend to his affairs before praying, deriving this from the verse in Tehillim “righteousness goes before him,” and adds that one who prays and only then sets out on his way will have Hashem accomplish his needs for him.

His teachings range across diverse areas of law. In Chullin he gives the reason for washing the hands before eating ordinary food — as a safeguard accustoming one to the practice for terumah. In Bechorot he addresses the seasons in which produce is moist or dry, distinguishing between the months of Adar and Nisan and those of Elul and Tishrei. In Yevamot he brings rulings on the laws of forbidden relations and what is permitted or forbidden to a man and his brothers. He also appears in Sukkah within a chain of teachings reaching back through Rav Hamnuna Saba and Rav Huna to Rav, concerning items brought from the chamber that had not been inspected.