Rav Huna Sends Rabbah to Learn from Rav Chisda
Rav Huna rebukes his son Rabbah for avoiding Rav Chisda’s lessons. Rabbah says they are only about healthy living, and his father tells him that is exactly why to go.
The Gemara records an incident where Rav Huna admonished his son Rabbah for not studying under the guidance of Rav Chisdah, whom Rav Huna considered an exceptional scholar.
The Gemara in Bava Metzia records an earlier incident where Rav Huna and Rav Chisdah had a falling out and didn’t speak to each other for 40 years. Both scholars later fasted 40 fasts to atone for their actions. The Parashas Mordechai explains that Rav Huna assumed that his son Rabbah was continuing his feud and therefore not learning by Rav Chisdah. Rav Huna rebuked his son, teaching him that it was not proper to continue the feud. Rather, he should take advantage of the wonderful opportunity to learn from an exceptional scholar such as Rav Chisdah.
Rabbah replied that in fact he did once try learning by Rav Chisdah, and it was that one time that made him decide to avoid Rav Chisdah’s lessons in the future. Rabbah explained to his father that instead of teaching him Torah, Rav Chisdah instructed him with life lessons, which Rabbah was not interested in. Rav Huna exclaimed, “He is teaching you how to live healthily and you say that he is teaching you items of little value? You should most certainly attend his lectures!”