that when the Palestinian sky was overcast it was said, "Huna's pupils in Babylon have risen from their lesson". Under Rav Huna, Palestine lost its ascendency over Babylonia; and on certain occasions he declared the schools of the two countries to be equal. In Babylonia, during his lifetime, the Sura academy held the supremacy. He presided over it for forty years, when he died suddenly, more than eighty years of age. His remains were brought to Israel and buried by the side of Hiyya the Great. Rav Huna's principal pupil was Rav Chisda, who had previously been his companion under Rav. Other pupils of his whose names are given were: Abba bar Zavda, Rav Giddel, R. Helbo, R. Sheshet, Yiṣḥaq b. Ḥanina, and Huna's own son, Rabbah. Character traits Rav Huna was known to be very tolerant as well as very modest. He was not ashamed, before he was rich, to cultivate his field himself, nor to return home in the evening with his spade on his shoulder. When two contending parties requested him to judge between them, he said to them: "Give me a man to cultivate my field and I will be your judge". He patiently bore Rav's hard words, because the latter was his teacher, but he showed on several occasions that a scholar must not humiliate himself in presence of an inferior. Teachings Halacha He transmitted many of Rav's halakhot, sometimes without mentioning Rav's name. His own halakhot are numerous in the Babylonian Talmud, and although some of his decisions were contrary to Rav's, he declared Rav to be the supreme authority in religious law. Rav Huna's deductions were sometimes casuistical; he interpreted the text verbatim even where the context seems to prohibit such an interpretation. According to Rav Huna, the halakhah transmitted in the Mishnah and Baraita is not always to be taken as decisive. He had some knowledge of medicine and natural history and used his knowledge in many of his halakhic decisions. He also interpreted many of the difficult words met with in the Mishnah and Baraita. Aggadah Rav Huna was equally distinguished as an aggadist, and his aggadot were known in the Land of Israel, to where they were carried by some of his pupils, Rav Zeira among them. His interpretation of Proverbs 14:23, transmitted by Rav Zeira, is styled "the pearl". Many of his aggadot, showing his skill in Biblical exegesis,