Person
Rabbi Tanchuma bar Abba רבי תנחומא בר אבא
the last great aggadist; the midrash bears his name
He gathered the genre of "yelamdenu rabbeinu"—"let our master teach us": the law enters as a question and leaves as a story. Disputing with Samaritans and answering a Roman governor, he stood alone for all—the age of the teachers was ending, and he closed it by laying it into a book.
On the timeline
Places
Sources
Chazal: Mishnah, Talmud, midrash, Zohar
- Midrash Tanchuma (throughout) — the “yelamdenu” genre
- Bereshit Rabbah 84:4 — his aggadah cited by name
Basis: Talmud and midrash.