Rav Pappa bar Shmuel (article summary)
A summary of another recent article. You can read it in full here (paid Substack with hyperlinks, Jewish Link HTML without, flipbooks).
(1) The Mishnah speaks of a dyer who dyed improperly (כעור or כאור). In the gemara, there is either a single definition, first by Rav Nachman citing Rabba bar bar Chana, that it is X. And then Rabba bar Shmuel defines X in more modern terms, Y. Makes sense, since terms change over generations. Or alternatively, Rav Pappa bar Shmuel gives a his own independent definition.
(2) Oops! As we should expect, Rav Nachman is citing his teacher, Rabba bar Avuah. The mansucripts all have this.
Oops, it is actually Rav Pappa bar Shmuel, not Rabba [or alternatively Rava] bar Shmuel. Both Amoraim exist, but I have limited time to explore all bios in a short article. We can explore Rav Pappa bar Shmuel, who has manuscript support. Rabba bar Shmuel was third-generation, reciting braytot before Rav Chisda. There are instances where he defines terms, so it seems like a good match. Indeed, he defines a dog-word, machliv, just as here we have kalbus.
Rav Pappa bar Shmuel was third- and fourth-generation. He appears in that pivotal sugya in Sanhedrin 17a, mapping appellations to Amoraim. He is “the judges of Pumbedita”.
(3) I’ve written in the past about confusing Rava and Rav Pappa.
Confusing Rava and Rav Pappa (article summary)
Here, it isn’t even them, but the first part of their name is them! I suggest that Rava = Rav Abba = father, and Rav Pappa = father, which can lead to the conflation.
(4) Aruch has three definitions for Kalbus, and doesn’t really match what Rashi said. Can these definitions overlap?
We have a little more wiggle room in our definitions if Rav Pappa bar Shmuel is standalone, so doesn’t need to match Rabba bar Avuah. The reason to assume they are saying the same thing is the phrase mai kalbus. But what if it were missing, as in the Bar Ilan 170 manuscript.
(5) If so, Kalbus can indeed mean iron tongs as it means elsewhere. How can this lead to a poor dye job? I asked ChatGPT and got some interesting credible-sounding answers. But consult your local orthodox dyer.