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Hai ben Sherira (
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/י בר שרירא) better known as Hai Gaon (
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/י גאון, חאיי גאון), was a medieval
Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
ish theologian, rabbi and scholar who served as Gaon of the Talmudic academy of
Pumbedita Pumbedita (sometimes Pumbeditha, Pumpedita, or Pumbedisa; arc, פוּמְבְּדִיתָא ''Pūmbəḏīṯāʾ'', "The Mouth of the River,") was an ancient city located near the modern-day city of Fallujah, Iraq. It is known for having hosted t ...
during the early 11th century. He was born in 939 and died on March 28, 1038. He received his Talmudic education from his father, Sherira ben Hanina, and in early life acted as his assistant in teaching. In his forty-fourth year he became associated with his father as "''av bet din''," and with him delivered many joint decisions. According to '' Sefer HaKabbalah'' of Rabbi
Abraham ben David Abraham ben David ( – 27 November 1198), also known by the abbreviation RABaD (for ''Rabbeinu'' Abraham ben David) Ravad or RABaD III, was a Provençal rabbi, a great commentator on the Talmud, ''Sefer Halachot'' of Rabbi Yitzhak Alfasi and '' ...
(Ravad), he was the last of the ''Geonim''.


Appointment as Gaon

As a consequence of the calumnies of their antagonists Hai and his father were imprisoned together, and their property was confiscated, by the
caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
al-Qadir Abu'l-Abbas Ahmad ibn Ishaq ( ar, أبو العباس أحمد بن إسحاق, Abu'l-ʿAbbās Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq; 947/8 – 29 November 1031), better known by his regnal name al-Qadir ( ar, القادر بالله, al-Qādir bi’llāh, Made po ...
in 997 C.E. The imprisonment was brief, but shortly thereafter (in 998) the aged and infirm Sherira appointed his son to the position of gaon. Hai's installation was greeted with great enthusiasm by the Jewish population. An old tradition says that on the Sabbath after Sherira's death, at the end of the reading of the weekly lesson, the passage in which Moses asks for an able follower was read in honor of Hai. Thereupon, as haftarah, the story of Solomon's accession to the throne was read, the last verse being modified as follows: "And Hai sat on the throne of Sherira his father, and his government was firmly established." Hai remained gaon until his death in 1038. He was celebrated by the Spanish poet
Solomon ibn Gabirol Solomon ibn Gabirol or Solomon ben Judah ( he, ר׳ שְׁלֹמֹה בֶּן יְהוּדָה אִבְּן גָּבִּירוֹל, Shlomo Ben Yehuda ibn Gabirol, ; ar, أبو أيوب سليمان بن يحيى بن جبيرول, ’Abū ’Ayy ...
and by
Samuel ha-Nagid Samuel ibn Naghrillah (, ''Sh'muel HaLevi ben Yosef HaNagid''; ''ʾAbū ʾIsḥāq ʾIsmāʿīl bin an-Naghrīlah''), also known as Samuel HaNagid (, ''Shmuel HaNagid'', lit. ''Samuel the Prince'') and Isma’il ibn Naghrilla (born 993; died 1056 ...
.


Writings


Responsa

Hai ben Sherira's chief claim to recognition rests on his numerous
responsa ''Responsa'' (plural of Latin , 'answer') comprise a body of written decisions and rulings given by legal scholars in response to questions addressed to them. In the modern era, the term is used to describe decisions and rulings made by scholars i ...
, in which he gives decisions affecting the social and religious life of the
Diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews afte ...
. Questions reached him from Germany, France, Iberia, Anatolia, the Maghreb, and even India and Ethiopia. His responsa, more than 800 in number, deal with civil law, especially laws concerning women, with ritual, holidays, and so on. Many of them contain explanations of certain
halakhot ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical command ...
,
aggadot Aggadah ( he, ''ʾAggāḏā'' or ''Haggāḏā''; Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: אַגָּדְתָא ''ʾAggāḏəṯāʾ''; "tales, fairytale, lore") is the non-legalistic exegesis which appears in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism, ...
, and Talmudic matters. In halakhic decisions he quotes the Jerusalem Talmud, but without ascribing any authority to it. Many of his responsa may have been written in
Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...
; only a few of them have been preserved.


Legal treatises

Hai ben Sherira codified various branches of Talmudic law. His works include: * An Arabic treatise on sales and transactions, translated into
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 ...
by Isaac Albargeloni with the title ''HaMekach vehaMimkar'' (; 1078). * ''Sefer ha-Mashkon,'' a treatise on mortgage law, anonymously translated into Hebrew * ''Mishpetei haTena'im,'' a treatise on conditions, also anonymously translated into Hebrew. These three treatises were published together (Venice, 1604); later editions also contain commentaries by Eleazar ben Aryeh (Vienna, 1800) and by Hananiah Isaac Michael Aryeh (Salonica, 1814). Another anonymous translation of them exists in manuscript under the title "Dinei Mamonot." According to Rabbi David Azulai, Hai also wrote in Arabic ''Sha'arei Shevu'ot,'' a treatise on
oath Traditionally an oath (from Anglo-Saxon ', also called plight) is either a statement of fact or a promise taken by a sacrality as a sign of verity. A common legal substitute for those who conscientiously object to making sacred oaths is to gi ...
s. According to another Hebrew source, the original title was ''Kitab al-Aiman.'' This treatise was twice anonymously translated into Hebrew: (1) ''Mishpeṭe Shebu'ot'' (Venice, 1602; Altona, 1782); (2) ''Sefer Mehubbar be-Kotzer Min ha-Dinim be-Bi'ur Kelalim we-'liqarim be-Helqe Hiyyub la-Shebu'ah'' ''Sha'arei Shevu'ot'' was metrically arranged by an anonymous writer, probably of the 13th century, under the title ''Sha'arei Dinei Mamonot ve-Sha'arei Shevu'ot,'' and by Levi ben Jacob Alkalai. Hai's treatise on boundary litigations, "Metzranut," is known only through quotations. ''Hilkot
Tefillin Tefillin (; Israeli Hebrew: / ; Ashkenazic pronunciation: ), or phylacteries, are a set of small black leather boxes with leather straps containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah. Tefillin are worn by adult Jews durin ...
, Siddur
Tefillah Jewish prayer ( he, תְּפִלָּה, ; plural ; yi, תּפֿלה, tfile , plural ; Yinglish: davening from Yiddish 'pray') is the prayer recitation that forms part of the observance of Rabbinic Judaism. These prayers, often with i ...
'' and ''Metibot'' are also quoted as his.


Commentaries on the Mishnah

Hai ben Sherira's philological abilities were directed towards interpreting the Mishnah; of this work only the portion on Seder Tohorot is extant; it was published by T. Rosenberg in "Qobetz Ma'aseh" (Berlin, 1856). This commentary contains especially interesting linguistic notes, Arabic and Aramaic being often adduced for comparison. The author quotes the Mishnah, the two Talmuds, the
Tosefta The Tosefta (Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: תוספתא "supplement, addition") is a compilation of the Jewish oral law from the late 2nd century, the period of the Mishnah. Overview In many ways, the Tosefta acts as a supplement to the Mishnah ( ...
, the
Sifra Sifra ( Aramaic: סִפְרָא) is the Halakhic midrash to the Book of Leviticus. It is frequently quoted in the Talmud, and the study of it followed that of the Mishnah. Like Leviticus itself, the midrash is occasionally called "Torat Kohanim" ...
,
Targum A targum ( arc, תרגום 'interpretation, translation, version') was an originally spoken translation of the Hebrew Bible (also called the ''Tanakh'') that a professional translator ( ''mǝturgǝmān'') would give in the common language of the ...
s
Onkelos Onkelos ( he, אֻנְקְלוֹס ''ʾunqəlōs''), possibly identical to Aquila of Sinope, was a Roman national who converted to Judaism in Tannaic times ( 35–120 CE). He is considered to be the author of the Targum Onkelos ( 110 C ...
and Jonathan, the Septuagint, the works of Saadia Gaon, the ''Sifre Refu'ah,'' and other anonymous sources. He also quotes his own commentary on
Zera'im Seder Zeraim ( he, סדר זרעים, Seder Zra'im, lit. "Order of Seeds") is the first of the six orders, or major divisions, of the Mishnah, Tosefta, and the Talmud, and, apart from the first tractate which concerns the rules for prayers and bles ...
(p. 34) and on
Baba Batra Bava Batra (also Baba Batra; Talmudic Aramaic: בָּבָא בַּתְרָא "The Last Gate") is the third of the three Talmudic tractates in the Talmud in the order Nezikin; it deals with a person's responsibilities and rights as the owner of p ...
(p. 43). These quotations, and many others cited by the Arukh, prove that the commentary extended to the whole Mishnah, containing among other explanations historical and archeological notes. Some passages of the commentary are quoted by Alfasi and Hananel on Yoma, and by Solomon ibn Adret in his ''Hiddushim''. while Abu al-Walid ibn Janah cites Hai's commentary to Shabbat frequently.


Other works

It is uncertain whether Hai wrote commentaries in Arabic on the Bible as a whole or on parts of it. Abraham ibn Ezra, however, in his commentary on the
Book of Job The Book of Job (; hbo, אִיּוֹב, ʾIyyōḇ), or simply Job, is a book found in the Ketuvim ("Writings") section of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), and is the first of the Poetic Books in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. Scholars are ...
quotes several of his explanations. Hai compiled also a dictionary of especially difficult words in the Bible, Targum, and Talmud, the Arabic title of which was ''al-Hawi''. Abraham ibn Ezra translated this title, in his ''Moznayim,'' into "Ha-Me'assef," while Abu Bukrat's translation, ''Ha-Kolel,'' and
Moses Botarel Moses Botarel was a Spanish scholar who lived in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. He was a pupil of Jacob Sefardi (the Spaniard), who instructed him in the Kabbala. Moses studied medicine and philosophy; the latter, he regarded as a div ...
's translation, "Ha-Qemitzah," did not become popular. Fragments of this dictionary were discovered and published by Harkavy; these show that the work was arranged according to an alphabetic-phonetic plan of three consonants in every group; for instance, s.v. אהל it quotes the permutations אהל, אלה, הלא, האל, לאה. Judah ibn Balaam is the earliest Jewish author who expressly quotes this dictionary. Moses ibn Ezra and some North African rabbis of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries also mention it.


Works of disputed attribution

Of Hai's poetical writings few have been preserved, and even of these the genuineness is doubted. The didactic poem "Musar Haskel" is generally regarded as authentic, though Dukes expressed some doubts as to its genuineness, as old Jewish authors like al-Harizi and
ibn Tibbon Ibn Tibbon (), is a family of Jewish rabbis and translators that lived principally in Provence in the 12th and 13th centuries. Prominent family members Prominent members of the family include: * Judah ben Saul ibn Tibbon (1120–after 1190), ...
do not mention it; and
Steinschneider Moritz Steinschneider (30 March 1816, Prostějov, Moravia, Austrian Empire – 24 January 1907, Berlin) was a Moravian bibliographer and Orientalist. He received his early instruction in Hebrew from his father, Jacob Steinschneider ( 1782; ...
also regarded it as of doubtful authenticity. The first edition appeared about 1505 (see Fano); others were published in Constantinople (1531), in Paris (1559), and elsewhere. The modern editions are as follows: Dukes, ''Ehrensäulen,'' p. 96; Grätz, ''Blumenlese,'' p. 27; Steinschneider, ''Musar Haskel,'' Berlin, 1860; Weiss, ''Liqquṭe Qadmonim,'' Warsaw, 1893; Philipp, ''Sämmtliche Gedichte des R. Hai Gaon,'' Lemberg, 1881; a Latin translation by Jean Mercier, ''Cantica Eruditionis Intellectus Auctore per Celebri R. Hai,'' Paris, 1561; another by Caspar Seidel, ''Carmen Morale ΣτροφορυΘμον Elegantissimum R. Chai,'' etc., Leipzig, 1638. The "Musar Haskel" consists of 189 double verses in the Arabic meter "rajaz," and it is said to have therefore received the title of "Arjuzah." If it really belongs to Hai, he was, as far as is known, the first Eastern writer to use an Arabic meter in Hebrew poetry. Every strophe is complete in itself, and independent of the preceding strophe. Some piyyutim are ascribed to him, as the piyyut beginning with the words "Shema' qoli," preserved in the Sephardic liturgy for the evening 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's ...
. Many spurious writings have been ascribed to Hai, especially by later kabalists. Among them are a ''Sefer kol ha-Shem ba-Koah''; ''Pitron Halomot,'' Ferrara, 1552; ''Sefer Refafot,'' ''ib.''; ''Perush me-'Alenu''; ''Teshubah,'' on the thirteen rules of R. Ishmael and on the Ten
Sefirot Sefirot (; he, סְפִירוֹת, translit=Səfīrōt, Tiberian: '), meaning '' emanations'', are the 10 attributes/emanations in Kabbalah, through which Ein Sof ( The Infinite) reveals itself and continuously creates both the physical realm a ...
; ''A Letter to the Priests of Africa''. Some of the responsa attributed to him are mere forgeries. Others again were falsified or mutilated by later additions and interpolations, as, for instance, the one containing attacks upon Aristotle and his philosophy.


Characteristics

Hai was not only a master of Hebrew lore, but was also familiar with the Quran and the Hadith, with Plato, Aristotle,
Alfarabi Abu Nasr Muhammad Al-Farabi ( fa, ابونصر محمد فارابی), ( ar, أبو نصر محمد الفارابي), known in the West as Alpharabius; (c. 872 – between 14 December, 950 and 12 January, 951)PDF version was a renowned early Isl ...
, the grammarian al-Halil, the Septuagint, the Greek calendar,
Greek history The history of Greece encompasses the history of the territory of the modern nation-state of Greece as well as that of the Greek people and the areas they inhabited and ruled historically. The scope of Greek habitation and rule has varied throu ...
, and the Persian language translation of '' Kalilah wa-Dimnah''. He did not hesitate to consult even the
Catholicos Catholicos, plural Catholicoi, is a title used for the head of certain churches in some Eastern Christian traditions. The title implies autocephaly and in some cases it is the title of the head of an autonomous church. The word comes from ancient ...
of the Assyrian Christians in an exegetical difficulty over Psalms 141:5, as the Sicilian dayyan Matzliah ibn al-Basak relates in his biography of Hai. Hai justified his action by saying that scholars in former times did not hesitate to receive explanations from those of other beliefs. He had an exact knowledge of the theological movements of his time, of which that of the orthodox Ash'ariyyah attracted him the most. Moses ibn Ezra, in his ''Poetik'' (fol. 1196), even called him a Mutakalam. He was also competent to argue with Muslim theologians, and sometimes adopted their
polemical Polemic () is contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is called ''polemics'', which are seen in arguments on controversial topics ...
methods. Hai was orthodox as regards tradition, and upheld
minhag ''Minhag'' ( he, מנהג "custom", classical pl. מנהגות, modern pl. , ''minhagim'') is an accepted tradition or group of traditions in Judaism. A related concept, ''Nusach'' (), refers to the traditional order and form of the prayers. Etym ...
to its fullest extent. He established the principle that where the Talmud gives no decision traditional customs must be adhered to. He even went so far as to recommend the observance of every custom not in direct opposition to law. In many passages of his responsa he warns against deviating from a custom even when the meaning of its origin has been lost, as in the case of the practice of not drinking water during the Tekufot. But this did not prevent him from opposing the abuses common to his time. Thus he protested against the practice of declaring null and void all oaths and promises which may be made during the coming year, and against the refusal to grant an honorable burial to excommunicated persons and their connections Hai's conservative standpoint explains the fact that in the study of esoteric sciences he detected a danger to the religious life and a deterrent to the study of the Law. He warned against the study of philosophy, even when pursued with the plea that it leads to a better knowledge of God. Of his own views on religious-philosophical subjects only those regarding the anthropomorphisms of the Bible (expressed in his appeal to a well-known dictum of R. Ishmael: "The Torah spoke in language of men") and one or two other subjects were known prior to the publication of ibn Balaam's commentary on the
Book of Isaiah The Book of Isaiah ( he, ספר ישעיהו, ) is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible and the first of the Major Prophets in the Christian Old Testament. It is identified by a superscription as the words of the 8th-century BCE ...
. A responsum of Hai given in this commentary discloses his opinion on the subjects of divine fore-knowledge and the predestined length of human life. The essence of divine prescience seems to consist, according to him, in a preknowledge of both hypothetical and actual occurrences. In this he shows the influence of Saadia. His attitude toward the Kabbalah is determined by his conservative standpoint. Its elements, as far as they can be traced back to the Talmud, he considered to be true. When the inhabitants of
Fez Fez most often refers to: * Fez (hat), a type of felt hat commonly worn in the Ottoman Empire * Fez, Morocco (or Fes), the second largest city of Morocco Fez or FEZ may also refer to: Media * ''Fez'' (Frank Stella), a 1964 painting by the moder ...
made inquiries regarding the proportions of God, he answered, as one of the signers of the responsum, that God is above any corporeal qualification and that the Talmud forbids the public discussion of these things. His answer to the question regarding the interpretation of the Talmudic tradition that four men entered paradise is interesting, and has caused much discussion. He refers to the opinion of various scholars that specially favored persons could attain, by means of castigation and the reciting of psalms, to an ecstatic state in which they might behold the
heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...
ly halls (" heikhalot") as vividly as if they really had entered them. Contrary to his father-in-law,
Samuel ben Hofni Samuel ben Hofni (Hebrew: שמואל בן חפני, or full name: רב שמואל בן חפני גאון bbreviation: רשב"חor שמואל בן חפני הכהן; also: Samuel b. Hofni or Samuel ha-Kohen ben Hofni; died 1034). He was the Gaon of ...
, gaon of Sura, he followed former scholars in deeming it possible that God should reveal the marvels of heaven to the pious while in this state of ecstasy. But all the elements of the later Kabbalah not found in Talmudic tradition, such as the belief that miracles could be performed with the names of God, he designated as foolishness not credited by any sensible man. The best characterization of Hai is given by Steinschneider:"Hebr. Uebers." p. 910 "Certain Kabbalistic pieces were ascribed to him; but in truth he was no mystic in the usual sense of the word. In fact he fought against superstition. He was an orthodox Jew, in possession of general culture, but hostile to deeper philosophical research."


Legacy

Hai's students included Rabbeinu Chananel and Rav Nissim, the head of the academy at Kairouan.


References

It has the following bibliography: In addition to the works quoted above: Steinschneider, Die Arabische Literatur, § 57; :* Grätz, ''Gesch.'' v. 320, vi. 1 et seq., note 2; :*Weiss, ''Dor,'' iv. 174 et seq.; ::*idem, ''Liqqute Qadmoniyyot'', 1873, Introduction; ::*idem, in '' Ha-Asif'', iii. 151; :*Winter and Wünsche, ''Die Jüdische Litteratur'', ii. 54 et seq.; :*Schechter, ''Saadyana'', p. 113; ::*idem, ''Genizah MS. offprint from Festschrift zum 70 Geburtstage A. Berliners'', pp. 2 et seq.; ::*idem, ''Studies in Judaism'', pp. 94, 254, 255, 330, 421; :*''
Jewish Quarterly Review ''The Jewish Quarterly Review'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering Jewish studies. It is published by the University of Pennsylvania Press on behalf of the Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies (University of Pe ...
'': xiii. 52 et seq.E. C. M.


External links


Family TreeHai Gaon Divine Names Responsa
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hai Gaon Geonim 10th-century Abbasid rabbis 11th-century Abbasid rabbis 939 births 1038 deaths Rabbis of Academy of Pumbedita Commentaries on the Mishnah Authors of books on Jewish law