The Oral Talmud with Benay Lappe and Dan Libenson Episode 177

Rabbi Ḥiyya was occupied with mitzvot, and Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi thought: I will not hold him back. And this is when Rabbi Ḥanina and Rabbi Ḥiyya argued. Rabbi Ḥanina said to Rabbi Ḥiyya: Do you think you can debate with me? If, Heaven forbid, the Torah would be forgotten from Israel, I would restore it through my analyses. Rabbi Ḥiyya said to him: I am working to ensure that the Torah will not be forgotten from Israel in the first place. For I bring flax and I plant it, and I weave nets. I trap deer, and I feed the meat to orphans, and I form scrolls from the skins of the deer. And I go to a town that has no teachers of children in it, and I write the five books for five children. And I teach the six orders to six children. To each and every one I say: Teach your order to your friends. And this is what Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi referred to when he said: How great are the actions of Ḥiyya. Rabbi Shimon, son of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi, said to his father: Even greater than your works? He said to him: Yes. Rabbi Yishmael, son of Rabbi Yosei, said to Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi: Even greater than the work of Rabbi Yosei, my father? Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said to him: Heaven forfend. Such comments should not be made in Israel.

When Rabbi Ḥanina and Rabbi Ḥiyya would debate, Rabbi Ḥanina would say to Rabbi Ḥiyya: Do you think you can debate with me? Heaven forbid! If the Torah were forgotten from the Jewish people, I could restore it with my analyses. Rabbi Ḥiyya said to Rabbi Ḥanina: Do you think you can debate with me, for what I do ensures that the Torah will not be forgotten by the Jewish people in the first place! What do I do? I go and sow flax seeds, and I weave nets with the flax, and I hunt deer and feed their meat to orphans. I create parchment from their hides, and I write the five books of the Torah on them. I go to a town and teach five children the five books, and I teach six children the six orders of the Mishna, and I say to them: Until I return and come back, teach each other the Torah and teach each other the Mishna. And that's what I do to ensure that the Torah will not be forgotten by Israel.