Commentary for Kiddushin 141:3

גופא אמר רב יהודה אמר שמואל כל ארצות עיסה לארץ ישראל וארץ ישראל עיסה לבבל בימי רבי בקשו לעשות בבל עיסה לארץ ישראל אמר להן קוצים אתם משימים לי בין עיני רצונכם יטפל עמכם ר' חנינא בר חמא

In the days of Rabbi<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' C. 135-220 C.E.');">⁷</span> it was desired to render Babylon as dough vis a vis Palestine.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' To declare the families of Palestine of purer birth, so that if a Babylonian desired to marry into a Palestine family he would have to prove the purity of his own descent. - It was thought that by now the Palestinian families were pure, and so it was due to the honour of Palestine to make this change; Halevi, Doroth, 1, 3, p. 105.');">⁸</span> Said he to them, You are putting thorns between my eyes!<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Rabbi was a descendant of Hillel, a Babylonian, and so this would cast a stigma upon his birth.');">⁹</span> If you wish, R'Hanina B'Hama will join [issue] with you.

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