Hezekiah

Who is Hezekiah?

Hezekiah was a Jewish Amora sage of the Land of Israel of the second generation of the Amoraic era. He was the son of R. Hiyya and the teacher Rabbi of R. Yochanan bar Nafcha, and he is the same simple "Hezekiah" that is cited so many times in the Talmud.

According to Rashi he is also considered a Tanna, as well as according to the opinion of the Tosafot.

Amonog his colleagues were Rabbi Yannai, who was older than him, Bar Kappara, Rav Kahana I, and R. Joshua ben Levi.

Among his most prominent pupils was R. Yochanan bar Nafcha, and as long as Hezekiah was present, Yochanan bar Nafcha was not appointed as dean of the Yeshiva out of respect for his teacher-Rabbi.

His Beth midrash was located at Tiberias, and it is storied that he used to recite the Megillah on both fourteenth and Fifteenth of the Hebrew month of Adar, due to an Halkhaic issue, wherein the Megillah must be read in the Fourteenth in walled cities, and in the Fifteenth in unwalled cities, since the days of Joshua bin Nun, and he was not sure weather Tiberias was walled during the days of Joshua