The Talmud adds that the sage Reb Meir Baal HaNess , Rabbi Meir or Rabbi Meir Baal HaNes ( Rabbi Meir the miracle maker ) was a Jewish sage who lived in the time of the Mishna a prominent supporter of the Bar Kokhba rebellion against Roman rule . He was considered one of the greatest of the Tannaim of the third generation ( 139 @-@ 163 ) . According to the Talmud , his father was a descendant of the Roman Emperor Nero who had converted to Judaism . His wife Bruriah is one of the few women cited in the Gemara . He is the third most frequently mentioned sage in the Mishnah .