Rebbi lived in Tziporin for 17 years and he applied to himself the pasuk (Bereishis 47:28), "And Yaakov lived in Egypt for 17 years.'' Rebbi said, "Yehuda (i.e. I) lived in Tziporin for 17 years''. During those years, he suffered 13 years of toothache.

(R. Yosi bei R. Bun): Throughout those 13 years, no one in Eretz Yisrael died in childbirth or miscarried.

Why did Rebbi get this toothache? Once, he passed by and saw that they were taking a calf for slaughter. The calf cried out for Rebbi to save him. Rebbi said, "This is the reason that you were created!'' (Since he didn't show mercy for the calf, he received this suffering.)

After 13 years, what happened that caused his suffering to stop? He saw that they were killing mice and he told them to leave the mice alone, quoting the pasuk (Tehillim 145:9), "...and His mercy is on all of His creations''.

Rebbi was extremely humble. He would say, "Whatever somebody asks of me, I do, except for what the elders of Beseirah asked of my forefather Hillel. They asked him to leave his position of Nasi and become their leader. However, if Rav Huna, the Exilarch in Bavel, would come to Eretz Yisrael, I would seat him above me, as he is from the (royal) tribe of Yehuda and I am from Binyamin, His connection to the tribe of Yehuda is through his father and mine is through my mother.

Once, R. Chiya the Great went to see Rebbi. He told Rebbi that Rav Huna was outside. Rebbi's face became pained (as he would now need to seat Rav Huna above him). R. Chiya clarified, "His coffin has come (to Eretz Yisrael)''. Rebbi said, "Go out and see who is calling you outside''. R. Chiya went outside and found nobody there and realized that Rebbi was upset with him. R. Chiya then stayed away for thirty days.

(R. Yosi): In those thirty days, Rav learned all of the general rules of the Torah from R. Chiya.

After the 13 years that Rebbi suffered (from toothaches) and after the 30 days that R. Chiya stayed away, Eliyahu HaNavi came to Rebbi in the guise of R. Chiya. He asked Rebbi about his health and Rebbi said that a certain tooth was aching him. Eliyahu asked him to show him the tooth and when he did, Eliyahu placed his finger on it and healed it.

The following day, R. Chiya came to Rebbi and R. Chiya inquired as to his health and as to his painful tooth. Rebbi answered, "From when you put your finger on it, it has become healed.''

At that time R. Chiya said, "Woe to the women who are giving birth and are pregnant in Eretz Yisrael'' (as they have lost the protection that came through the afflictions of Rebbi).

R. Chiya told Rebbi that he hadn't placed his finger there. From that point onwards, Rebbi treated R. Chiya with great respect. When Rebbi would enter the Beis Midrash, he would say, "R. Chiya should enter in front of me'' (to sit at the head of the students). R. Yishmael bei R. Yosi asked, "Should he even precede me?'' Rebbi replied. "Chas VeShalom; R. Chiya should go in front and R. Yishmael bei R. Yosi should go in front of him''.

Rebbi would sing the praises of R. Chiya to R. Yishmael bei R. Yosi. Once, R. Chiya saw R. Yishmael in the outer room of the bathhouse and didn't stand up for him. R. Yishmael asked Rebbi, "Is this the R. Chiya that you praise?'' Rebbi asked him, "What did R. Chiya do to you?'' and R. Yishmael told him what had happened. Rebbi then asked R. Chiya why he had done it. R. Chiya said, "A curse should befall me if I had even known that I was bathing at that time! At that time, my mind was delving into the Midrash of the Book of Tehillim. From that point onwards, Rebbi appointed two students to accompany R. Chiya to prevent him coming to danger when his mind was preoccupied.

R. Yosi fasted 80 days to merit seeing R. Chiya the Great (who had already passed away) and in the end, when he saw him, he was so afraid that his hands trembled and his eyes dimmed. And if you'll say that R. Yosi wasn't a great man (which caused him to react this way)...

A weaver once came to R. Yochanan and said to him, "I saw in a dream that heaven was falling down and one of your students was holding it up''. R. Yochanan asked, "Would you be able to recognize him?'' He replied, "Yes, I would.'' He went through all of the students and identified him as R. Yosi.

R. Shimon ben Lakish fasted 300 fasts to merit seeing R. Chiya and he did not see him. In the end, Reish Lakish began to become distraught. He said, "Did R. Chiya toil in Torah more than me?'' They replied, "He spread Torah in Yisrael more than you and he even exiled himself to do this''. Reish Lakish asked, "Didn't I exile myself to learn Torah?'' They replied, "You exiled yourself to learn, but he did it to spread Torah.''

When Rav Huna the Exilarch (assumedly a different Rav Huna to the one mentioned earlier) passed away, his body was brought to Eretz Yisrael. They asked, "Where should we bury him?'' They said, "Let's bury him next to (the grave of) R. Chiya who was one of us (as R. Chiya had been born in Bavel). They said, "Who will be bold enough to enter into the cave of R. Chiya and his sons to bury Rav Huna?''

R. Chagai volunteered to do it. They said to him, "You are just looking for an excuse as you are old and would like to die there and be buried next to R. Chiya and his sons!'' R. Chagai said, "Tie a cord to my feet and if I delay there too long, drag me out.''

He went in and found the three people buried there (R. Chiya and his two sons) deliberating whether it was fitting to have Rav Huna buried there. R. Chiya said, "My son, Yehuda, didn't leave after him anyone similar and nor did my son Chizkiyah, just as Yosef (HaTzaddik) did not.'' R. Chagai looked at the three who were deliberating and he heard a voice telling him not to look. He heard the voice of R. Chiya saying to his son Yehuda, "Let's give a place to Rav Huna to come'', but Rav Huna (in his great humility) did not agree. R. Chiya told his sons, "Since he did not want to agree to be laid next to me, his offspring will never cease''. R. Chagai left there at the age of 80 and he lived another 80 years (either as a reward for burying Rav Huna or because he was falsely suspected).