Natronai Ben Hilai (
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 ...
: נטרונאי בן הלאי or Natronai 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 ...
: נטרונאי גאון; Full name: Natronai ben R. Hilai ben R. Mari) was
Gaon of the
Sura Academy
Sura Academy (Hebrew: ישיבת סורא) was a Jewish yeshiva located in Sura, Babylonia. With Pumbedita Academy, it was one of the two major Jewish academies from the year 225 CE at the beginning of the era of the Amora sages until 1033 CE a ...
early in the second half of the 9th century, and held this post for ten years.
He is responsible for more written responsa to queries posed to him by world Jewry than any of his predecessors, and maintained close contact with the Spanish Jewish community.
Responsa
Although Naṭronai was of advanced age when he entered on the office, and although his official term embraced less than a decade, an unusually large number of
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 ...
were issued by him. Questions were addressed to him from all parts of the
Jewish Diaspora
The Jewish diaspora ( he, תְּפוּצָה, təfūṣā) or exile (Hebrew: ; Yiddish: ) is the dispersion of Israelites or Jews out of their ancient ancestral homeland (the Land of Israel) and their subsequent settlement in other parts of th ...
; and his answers, about 300 of which have been preserved in various compilations (e.g., in ''Sha'are Ẓedeḳ,'' ''Teshubot ha-Ge'onim,'' and ''Ḳebuẓat ha-Ḥakamim'', Tshuvot Rav Natrunai Gaon, Jerusalem 5771, edited by Y. Brody), show his thorough mastery of the subjects treated as well as his ability to impart knowledge. He always employed the language with which his correspondents were most conversant. With equal ability he handled the
Aramaic
The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated i ...
dialect of his predecessors and the Neo-Hebraic; and he is said to have been the first of the Geonim to use the
Arabic language
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; Walter ...
for scholastic correspondence.
Opposition to Karaites
Natronai staunchly opposed
Karaism
Karaite Judaism () or Karaism (, sometimes spelt Karaitism (; ''Yahadut Qara'it''); also spelt Qaraite Judaism, Qaraism or Qaraitism) is a Jewish religious movement characterized by the recognition of the written Torah alone as its supreme a ...
. He endeavored to enforce the observance of every rabbinic provision emanating from or as explained by either of the two great
Babylon
''Bābili(m)''
* sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠
* arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel''
* syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel''
* grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn''
* he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel''
* peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru''
* elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...
ian academies; and as the Karaites rejected the ritualistic forms of these schools, he made strenuous efforts to establish uniformity among the
Rabbanites
Rabbinic Judaism ( he, יהדות רבנית, Yahadut Rabanit), also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, or Judaism espoused by the Rabbanites, has been the mainstream form of Judaism since the 6th century CE, after the codification of the Babylonian ...
. Hence the origin of many a ritualistic formula is traced to him.
Naṭronai was also credited with a mastery of
transcendentalism
Transcendentalism is a philosophical movement that developed in the late 1820s and 1830s in New England. "Transcendentalism is an American literary, political, and philosophical movement of the early nineteenth century, centered around Ralph Wald ...
. It was said that by this means he caused himself to be
miraculously transported to
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
, where he instructed the people, and then was miraculously transported back to Babylonia.
Hai Gaon
Hai ben Sherira (Hebrew: האי/י בר שרירא) better known as Hai Gaon (Hebrew: האי/י גאון, חאיי גאון), was a medieval Jewish theologian, rabbi and scholar who served as Gaon (Hebrew), Gaon of the Talmudic Academies in Babylo ...
, however, denied this, suggesting that some adventurer may have impersonated Natronai and imposed on the
Jews of France
The history of the Jews in France deals with Jews and Jewish communities in France since at least the Early Middle Ages. France was a centre of Jewish learning in the Middle Ages, but persecution increased over time, including multiple expulsio ...
.
[''Ta'am Zekenim,'' ed. ]Frankfort-on-the-Main
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its n ...
, 1854, pp. 55a, 56a et seq.; compare A. Harkavy
Abraham (Albert) Harkavy (, russian: Авраа́м Я́ковлевич Гарка́ви, translit=Avraám Yákovlevich Garkávi; 17 October 1835 – 15 March 1919) was a Russian historian and orientalist.
Biography
Harkavy was born in 1835 ...
, ''Zikkaron la-Rishonim wegam la-Aḥaronim,'' iv., p. xxiii.
References
Its bibliography:
*
Grätz, Gesch. 2d ed., v. 248;
*
Halevy, Dorot ha-Rishonim
Yitzhak Isaac Halevy (Rabinowitz) (September 21, 1847 – May 15, 1914) (Hebrew: יצחק אייזיק הלוי) was a rabbi, Jewish historian, and founder of the Agudath Israel organization. Relatively little of his correspondence survived the ...
, iii. 122a et seq.;
*Kaminka, in Winter and Wünsche, Die Jüdische Litteratur, ii. 22;
*
Weiss, Dor
Isaac (Isaak) Hirsch Weiss, also Eisik Hirsch Weiss () (9 February 1815 – 1 June 1905), was an Austrian Talmudist and historian of literature born at Groß Meseritsch, Habsburg Moravia.
After having received elementary instruction in Hebre ...
, iv. 114 et seq.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Natronai Ben Hilai
Geonim
9th-century rabbis
Rabbis of Academy of Sura
Exilarchs