Rabbi Ilai I

Rabbi Ilai (Hebrew: רבי אלעאי‎‎; sometimes referred to as Ilai the Elder; others: Rabbi Ilai I, or Alternative Hebrew spelling: רבי עילאי ) was a third Generation, and 2nd-century Jewish Tanna sage, father of the well-known Tanna sage, Judah ben Ilai, and disciple of Eliezer ben Hurcanus and Gamaliel II.

Rabbi Ilai is cited once in the Mishnah, and six times in the Tosefta.

He is best known for coining the well-known phrase: "R. Ilai said: By three things one may determine a man's character: By his cup, his capital and his choler;" (Talmud, Eiruvin, 65b)