Levi bar Sisi
160 CE–230 CE · Amoraim · Tiberias
Rabbi Levi bar Sisi was a Palestinian sage active in Tiberias during the late Tannaitic and early Amoraic periods. He lived through a pivotal moment in Jewish tradition, bridging the work of the Tannaim and the early Amoraim. Levi bar Sisi was known for his expertise in Halakha and Midrash, and he transmitted teachings from earlier generations while also offering his own interpretations. He appears frequently in both the Jerusalem Talmud and Midrashic literature, where his rulings and exegetical insights are recorded.
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TiberiasLand of Israel
We know they were here, but the specifics of what they did at this stop aren’t recorded yet in our corpus.
Tiberias in this era
Under the Roman emperors from Marcus Aurelius through Severus Alexander (160–230 CE), Tiberias flourished as a major center of Jewish learning and life in the Land of Israel, even as Rome's grip on the province tightened following the Bar Kokhba revolt's crushing aftermath a generation earlier. The city had become a haven for rabbinic sages reconstructing Jewish tradition and law in the aftermath of Jerusalem's destruction; the Jewish community was substantial, organized, and intellectually vibrant, though operating under Roman sovereignty and periodic taxation. The Sea of Galilee's fish trade—salted fish from Tiberias was famous throughout the empire—brought prosperity that sustained both Jewish merchants and the broader population. R. Levi bar Sisi lived during this pivotal period when the Mishnah was being compiled and debated, positioning himself as a key voice in the emerging amoraic tradition that would reshape Jewish practice for centuries.
About Tiberias
Galilee center; home of Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk and his Hasidic disciples after aliyah.
In Tiberias at the same time
Anonymous (Sefer Yetzirah), Shimon ben Eleazar, Yose ben Yehuda, Chiyya HaGadol, R. Yochanan, Reish Lakish
In the same place & time
Sages whose lives overlapped with Levi bar Sisi’s in the same cities, drawn from their recorded journeys.
In the same tradition
Anonymous (Sefer Yetzirah), Shimon ben Eleazar, Yose ben Yehuda, Chiyya HaGadol, R. Yochanan, Shmuel of Nehardea, Karna, Reish Lakish, R. Eleazar, Yose bar Chanina, Shimon bar Abba, Rabbi Ami, Ulla
The world in their lifetime
Thinkers, teachers, and rulers whose lives overlapped with Levi bar Sisi’s — a glimpse of the wider world they lived in. Drawn purely from recorded birth and death years.
Jewish world
- Yehoshua ben Korcha· 100 CE–190 CE
- Yochanan HaSandlar (the Cobbler)· 100 CE–170 CE
- Rabbi Nehorai· 100 CE–170 CE
- Yehuda bar Ilai· 110 CE–180 CE
- Eleazar ben Shamua· 110 CE–180 CE
- Nechemia· 110 CE–180 CE
- Eliezer ben Yaakov (II)· 110 CE–180 CE
- Natan HaBavli (the Babylonian)· 110 CE–180 CE
- Rabbi Yose ben Halafta· 110 CE–180 CE
- Rabbi Meir· 110 CE–175 CE
- Beruriah bat Chananyah ben Teradion (wife of R. Meir)· 110 CE–170 CE
- Symmachus ben Joseph· 120 CE–190 CE
- Eliezer ben Shimon (son of Rashbi)· 130 CE–200 CE
- Yehudah HaNasi (Rabbi)· 135 CE–217 CE
- Pinchas ben Yair (son-in-law of Rashbi)· 140 CE–220 CE
- Bar Kappara· 150 CE–220 CE
- Mar Ukva (Resh Galuta)· 165 CE–240 CE
- Rav (Abba Arikha)· 175 CE–247 CE
- Rav Asi the Babylonian· 180 CE–250 CE
- Yannai (Akbra)· 180 CE–250 CE
- Chanina bar Chama· 180 CE–250 CE
- Hoshaya Rabbah· 180 CE–250 CE
- Yehoshua ben Levi· 190 CE–260 CE
- Rav Huna (head of Sura)· 216 CE–297 CE
Christian world
Graeco-Roman world
Works
No works attributed in the corpus yet.