Rabbinical Eras
Zugot Tannaim Amoraim Savoraim Geonim Rishonim Acharonim

Pumbedita (sometimes Pumbeditha, Pumpedita, or Pumbedisa) was the name of a city in ancient Babylonia that was a major center of Talmud scholarship that, together with the city of Sura, gave rise to the Babylonian Talmud. The academy there was founded by Judah ben Ezekiel in the late third century.

The Babylonian Talmud mentions the logical fallacies and arcane methodology of the academy of Pumpedita. "Are you from Pumbedita, where they make an elephant pass through the eye of a needle?" (Baba Metzia, 38b)

Pumbeditha was known as having a large Jewish population, so much so that the following anecdote appears in the Talmud in tractate Abodah Zarah 70a:

The question was asked of the rabbi whether some wine stolen in Pumbeditha might be used or if it was defiled, due to the fact that the thieves might have been Gentiles (a Gentile touching wine would make the wine unkosher). The rabbi says not to worry, that the wine is permissible for Jewish use because the majority of the thieves in Pumbeditha, the place where the wine was stolen, are Jews.

The modern-day city of Fallujah stands in its place.

[edit] See also

• Talmudic Academies in Babylonia
• Fallujah

Coordinates: 33°21′04″N 43°47′10″E / 33.35118°N 43.78601°E / 33.35118; 43.78601

This Iraq geographical location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v • d • e

This article related to Jewish history is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v • d • e