Better Know a Talmudic Phrase II: ואיתימא

Continuing in my "Better Know a Talmudic Phrase" series (introduction & 1st posting), this posting is on the phrase ואיתימא, which literally means "and if you say" or "and some say".¹ It is used by the editor to denote alternative amoraim who may have said a given statement. As to its etymological make-up, it is either from ואי תימא - if you say or, alternatively, אית אמר - there is [one who] said.²
Now, the Babylonian Talmud "contains over 750 cases in which alternate attributions (ואיתימא, ואמרי לה and, occasionally, איכא דאמרי, sometimes linked in chains) are given,"³ so what's unique about this particular phrase?
This phrase denotes that

the variant attributions can often be understood as possibilities arising from association, where the memra is attributed to contemporaries who are closely associated, as in the case of R. Yohanan and R. Abbahu (Pes 100a), or when the two names can easily be confused aurally, as in the case of R. Abin and R. Abina (Ber 7a) or R. Ahali and R. Yehiel (‘Erub 12a), or when one element of a name is common to both, as in the case of R. Yose b. Abin and R. Yose b. Zevida (Ber 13a), or R. Levi b. Hamma and R. Hamma b. Hanina (Suk 47a). These alternatives are such as might have occurred in the process of oral transmission, either as an aural error or when one authority had actually quoted the other.⁴

Fascinatingly, "Rava’s name crops up some 39 times within ואיתימא chains. Of these, 13 involve disciples or associates…. Another 14 involve Palestinian amoraim…."⁵ Moreover, "Rava is always mentioned first in these chains, and that, aside from disciples and associates, he is never confused with any amora of less than the first rank, one of the two or three greatest authorities of each amoraic generation."⁶
More generally, these sorts of

variations of attribution are recorded in the same way as halakhic variants – indicating that variants regarding attributions were considered as important as other variants regarding halakhic detail. This is precisely what we might have expected, since the authority of a tradition or statement may often have rested with the amora to whom it was attributed. This would also explain why most variants are recorded in connection with major authorities and their associates, since their authority was greater.⁷

Again, I hope this posting helps the reader in understanding this term's usage when one comes across it in their studies.

Notes
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1 - Yitzhak Frank, The Practical Talmud Dictionary (Jerusalem: Ariel, 1991, 1994), 24.
2 - Ibid.
3 - Yaakov Elman, How Should a Talmudic Intellectual History Be Written? A Response to David Kraemer’s Responses, review of Responses to Suffering in Classical Rabbinic Literature, by David Kraemer, Jewish Quarterly Review 89, nos. 3-4 (January-April 1999), 375-376.
4 - Elman, Talmudic Interllectual History, 385-386.
5 - Elman, Talmudic Interllectual History, 376.
6 - Elman, Talmudic Interllectual History, 377.
7 - Elman, Talmudic Interllectual History, 376

Better Know a Talmudic Phrase I: בעא מיניה

From my post of a week ago, here kicks off my series on "Better Know a Talmudic Phrase". This first post is on the phrase "בעא מיניה". This phrase means "he asked him"¹ or, more literally, "requested/required of him". Specifically, it "introduces a problem that an amora posed to his teacher or his colleague."²
As to the amoraim involved, this phrase "and similar expressions reflect a situation in which one amora behaves as if subordinate to the other, yielding to the other’s scholarly and halakhic authority."³ As to how this subordination worked, "throughout the Babylonian Talmud, the age of a scholar was the major factor determining the hierarchical relationship between each pair of amoraim. The younger scholar always conducts himself as subordinate to the older, bowing to his halakhic authority, even if the younger scholar holds a higher position such as head of an academy."⁴
Often, the "point of the question is generally followed by the interrogative מהו how is it? The two sides of the question are usually set forth by ...או דלמא shall we say... or ...מי אמרינן or perhaps...."⁵ In other words, the inquiring amora asks regarding a halakhic quandary, wondering which of two options ought to be selected in a given situation, seeing as both are legitimate possibilities.
As to how this problem is solved, the

solution of a problem (the verb is פשט) is introduced by the phrase תא שמע come and hear. When rejected, another solution introduced by the same phrase is generally attempted. The final acceptance of a solution is indicated by the closing phrase שמע מיניה hear it therefrom, i.e., this settles the question, this is the correct solution.⁶

And when a solution is not found, "it is indicated by the term תיקו it stands (=תיקום), i.e., the question remains unsolved."⁷

I hope this posting helps you understand this phrase better in your Talmudic studies.
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Notes
1 - Yitzhak Frank, The Practical Talmud Dictionary (Jerusalem: Ariel, 1991, 1994), 51.
2 - Ibid.
3 - Avinoam Cohen, "Was Age the Decisive Criterion of Subordination Among the Amoraim?", Jewish Quarterly Review 92, nos. 3-4 (January-April 2002), 279.
4 - Cohen, "Was Age the Decisive Criterion," 310.
5 - Moses Mielziner, Introduction to the Talmud (Cincinnati & Chicago: The American Hebrew Publishing House, 1894), 244.
6 - Ibid.
7 - Mielziner, Introduction to the Talmud, 245.

Better Know a Talmudic Phrase Introduction

In the study of the Babylonian Talmud, there are various words or phrases that appear that are not so simple. Oftentimes, even if one were to comrehend the word or phrase, there might be a certain way that it is used that one might not necessarily know with recourse to a dictionary.
À la Better Know a District, I figured I would do a series on "Better Know a Talmudic Phrase". It is my intent, within this series (regularity to be determined), to flesh out some of these terms in the Babylonian Talmud.