He associated also with other prominent teachers of the Babylonian school, including Rav Nachman,[2] Hamnuna,[3] and Sheshet, who called him a great man.
[6] and before starting he spent a hundred days in fasting, in order to forget the dialectic method of instruction of the Babylonian schools, that this might not handicap him in the Land of Israel.
He was small of stature and of dark complexion, for which reason Assi called him "Black Pot",[8] according to an expression current in Babylonia;[10] this name possibly also contained an allusion to his sputtering manner of speech.
He was ordained rabbi, a distinction usually denied to members of the Babylonian school, and though in the beginning he refused this honor,[16] he later accepted it on learning of the atoning powers connected with the dignity.
[17] Because of the difficult route taken by Zeira to attain the rabbinate, when finally ordained, his fellow jurists humorously called out before him: "Even though she painted not her eyes with antimony, neither darkened her cheeks with rouge, nor braided her hair, yet is she still a damsel of exceptional beauty!
With regard to Zeira's private vocation, the only facts known are that he once traded in linen, and that he asked Abbahu how far he might go in improving the outward appearance of his goods without rendering himself liable in the slightest degree to a charge of fraud.
[19] Information regarding his family relations is also very scanty; it is asserted that he became an orphan at an early age,[20] and that his wedding was celebrated during Sukkot,[21] and he had one son, Ahabah or Ahava, who has become well known through various aggadic maxims.
[23] That Zeira enjoyed the respect of his contemporaries is evidenced by the comment upon his death written by an elegist: "Babylonia gave him birth; Israel had the pleasure of rearing him; 'Woe is me,' says Tiberias, for she has lost her precious jewel".