Hoshaiah II
{{Short description|Rabbi (died ca. 350)}}
{{distinguish|Hoshaiah Rabbah|Abba Hoshaya of Turya}}
Hoshaiah or Oshaya (Also spelled: Oshaia; {{Langx|tmr|אושעיא}}{{lrm}}, {{Langx|he|הושעיה}}; died ca. 350 CE) was an amora of the 3rd and 4th generations in Rabbinic Judaism.
Biography
His colleague Hanina was his brother according to Sanhedrin 14a;{{Cite wikisource|סנהדרין יד א|wslanguage=he}} see Maharsha, Ḥiddushe Agadot, ad loc.{{Cite book|author=Maharsha|author-link=Maharsha|title=Ḥiddushe Agadot|script-title=he: חדושי אגדות מהרש"א|url=https://beta.hebrewbooks.org/reader/reader.aspx?sfid=14302#p=258&fitMode=fitwidth&hlts=&ocr=|language=he|publisher=Vilna Edition Shas|access-date=Mar 30, 2025}} They were lineal descendants from Eli the priest, which circumstance they assigned as reason for Johanan bar Nappaha's failure to ordain them. To make a living, they were shoemakers. The Talmud in Sanhedrin 67b, when dealing with the laws differentiating magic as illusion and as wizardry, refers to Hoshaiah and Hanina as rabbis, stating that the two of them produced magic while occupying themselves with the "laws of Yetzirah.{{Cite wikisource|סנהדרין סז ב|wslanguage=he}}
Hoshaiah and Hanina are also mentioned in connection with a thermae, the ownership of which was contested by two persons, one of whom turned over the property as heqdesh (for sacred use), causing Hoshaiah, Hanina, and other rabbis to leave it according to Bava Metziah 6b.
According to the Jerusalem Talmud in Avodah Zarah, Chapter 3, page 42c,{{Cite book|chapter=Avodah Zarah, Chapter 3|chapter-url=https://beta.hebrewbooks.org/reader/reader.aspx?sfid=45298#p=511&fitMode=fitwidth&hlts=&ocr=|title=Jerusalem Talmud|title-link=Jerusalem Talmud|language=he|publication-place=Venice|publisher=Daniel Bomberg|page=42c|access-date=Apr 6, 2025}} on the day Hoshaiah died, the largest date palm in Tiberias was uprooted and fell.{{JewishEncyclopedia|url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?letter=H&artid=928|article=Hoshaiah|inline=1}} It has the following bibliography:
- Yuḥasin. ed. Filipowski, p. 118, London, 1857;
- Heilprin, Seder ha-Dorot, ii.36, Warsaw, 1878;
- Frankel, Mebo, p. 75, Breslau, 1870;
- Jolles, Bet Wa'ad, p. 20a, Cracow, 1884;
- Bacher, Ag. Pal. Amor. iii.565.
Modern figures by this name
Since the late twentieth century, a Jewish illusionist has performed under the name Oshaya the Seer, inspired by the famous amora known for his association with the magical arts. By late 2023, an artists’ collective had emerged from the work of this conjurer. [https://twitter.com/Osh_aya/status/1739772487154459079 Artist Collective Oshaya Oumana]