Rabbi Ammi and Rabbi Assi

Rabbi Ammi and Rabbi Assi. . Rabbi Ammi was among the greatest Talmudic sages and scholars of the third generation (of rabbis) in the Land of Israel (beginning of the 4th c. CE). Rabbi Ammi was head of the Yeshiva in Tiberias following the death of his rabbi, Rabbi Yochanan. Rabbi Assi moved to the Land of Israel from Babylon, becoming Rabbi Yochanan's greatest student and Rabbi Ammi's friend and study partner. Despite the many synagogues in Tiberias, they preferred to sit by the pillars of the Beit Midrash, the Torah study hall. , Rabbi Avira taught, sometimes in the name of Rabbi Ammi, and sometimes in the name of Rabbi Assi, as follows: The ministering angels said before the Holy One, Blessed be He, "Lord of the Universe, it is written in Your Torah: 'You shall not show favor nor take bribes,' yet You show favor to the people of Israel, as it is written, "The Lord lift up His countenance [show favor] upon thee?!"" He replied to them: "And shall I not lift up My countenance towards Israel, since I wrote for them in the Torah, 'And you shall eat and be satisfied and bless the Lord thy G-d,' and they are careful [to say Grace after Meals] even if the quantity is only an olive or an egg." (Brachot 20B), (Hebrew text not transcribed)