Rabbi Hai ben David (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: האי בן דוד) was a late 9th-century rabbi of the

Geonic period ''Geonim'' ( he, גאונים; ; also transliterated Gaonim, singular Gaon) were the presidents of the two great Babylonian Talmudic Academies of Sura and Pumbedita, in the Abbasid Caliphate, and were the generally accepted spiritual leaders of ...

, who served as the Gaon (dean) of

Pumbedita Academy Pumbedita Academy or Pumbedita Yeshiva ( he, ישיבת פומבדיתא; sometimes ''Pumbeditha'', ''Pumpedita'', ''Pumbedisa'') was a yeshiva in Babylon during the era of the Amoraim and Geonim sages. It was founded by Judah bar Ezekiel (220– ...

from 890 to 897, and was known for his anti-Karaitic stance.

Biography

Prior to his appointment, R. Hai ben David had served as a rabbinic judge in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...

, possibly at the court of the

Exilarchs The exilarch was the leader of the Jewish community in Persian Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq) during the era of the Parthians, Sasanians and Abbasid Caliphate up until the Mongol invasion of Baghdad in 1258, with intermittent gaps due to ongoing ...

. After the death of the previous Gaon of Pumbedita, R. Zemah ben Paltoi in 980, R. Hai was offered the Gaonate of Pumbedita, which he accepted later that year. Soon after his appointment, R. Hai moved the academy to Baghdad, which was under Abbasid rule at the time. R. Hai is mentioned in Isaac ibn Ghayyat's "Halakot," which states that R. Hai unsuccessfully attempted to abolish the Baghdad custom of reciting the

Avodah ''Avoda'', or ''Avodah'' (), literally means "work, worship, and service" in Hebrew. In a modern context, usually referring to business-type activities, it can also mean agricultural work and, more traditionally, serving God. Original meaning In ...

on the morning of

Yom Kippur Yom Kippur (; he, יוֹם כִּפּוּר, , , ) is the holiest day in Judaism and Samaritanism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Primarily centered on atonement and repentance, the day' ...

. According to contested Karaitic sources, R. Hai had written an anti-Karaitic book with the purpose of justifying the Rabbinite calendar, however some have argued that his authorship is confused with R. Hai Gaon.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hai ben David 9th-century rabbis Rabbis from Baghdad