Rav Ada bar Ahava רב אדא בר אהבה
the righteous man of Rav's school, born the day Rebbi died
Rav Ada bar Ahava was an Amora of Rav's school whose birth the Talmud sets into the chain "a righteous man does not die until his equal is born": "when Rebbi died, Rav Ada bar Ahava was born" (Kiddushin 72b).
Asked by the students how he had earned length of days, he listed not feats but hygiene of the soul: he never lost his temper at home, never walked ahead of a greater man, never thought of Torah in filthy alleys, never rejoiced at a fellow's stumble (Taanit 20b). His merit was relied on literally: Rav Huna, clearing wine out of a decrepit house, kept him talking inside—while they spoke the house stood; it collapsed the moment they left.
The sources give no years of life; the window of activity is set by generation, following Aharon Hyman's Toldot Tannaim ve-Amoraim.
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Chazal: Mishnah, Talmud, midrash, Zohar
- Kiddushin 72b — born on the day of Rebbi's death
- Taanit 20b — how he earned long life; the decrepit house
Basis: Talmud and midrash.