Rabbi Yehuda bar Ilai רבי יהודה בר אלעאי

Rabbi Yehuda bar Ilai was one of the five disciples of Rabbi Akiva who rebuilt the teaching after the persecutions. He earned the title "first among the speakers" literally: in an assembly he was given the floor first (Berakhot 63b, Shabbat 33b).

A whole compilation stands on his teaching: the anonymous statements in the Sifra, the commentary on Leviticus, are ascribed to him (Sanhedrin 86a). He disputes with Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Yose on every page of the Talmud, and in those disputes his word often proves the middle one.

Of his poverty they tell what they tell of many in that generation, but with a detail: he and his wife had one cloak between them—going out, they wore it in turn (Nedarim 49b). And it is said that before a lesson he would drink a cup of wine and bind his head "like a bridegroom" (Shabbat 25b): learning was a feast to him, not a duty.

The very conversation from which Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai's flight to the cave followed was begun by him: when the Romans came up, Rabbi Yehuda said "how fine are the works of this nation—markets, bridges, baths", Rabbi Shimon objected, and the words were reported to the authorities (Shabbat 33b).