Pumbedita Academy or Pumbedita Yeshiva ( he, ישיבת פומבדיתא; sometimes ''Pumbeditha'', ''Pumpedita'', ''Pumbedisa'') was a

yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy a ...

Babylon ''Bābili(m)'' * sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 * arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel'' * syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel'' * grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn'' * he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel'' * peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru'' * elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...

during the era of the

Amoraim ''Amoraim'' (Aramaic: plural or , singular ''Amora'' or ''Amoray''; "those who say" or "those who speak over the people", or "spokesmen") refers to Jewish scholars of the period from about 200 to 500 CE, who "said" or "told over" the teachi ...

and

Geonim ''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 ...

sages. It was founded by

Judah bar Ezekiel Judah bar Ezekiel (220–299 CE) (Hebrew: יהודה בן יחזקאל); often known as Rav Yehudah, was a Babylonian amora of the 2nd generation. Biography Judah was the most prominent disciple of Rav, in whose house he often stayed, and whos ...

(220–299 CE) and, with 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 ...

founded in 225 by

Abba Arika Abba Arikha (175–247 CE; Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: ; born: ''Rav Abba bar Aybo'', ), commonly known as Rav (), was a Jewish amora of the 3rd century. He was born and lived in Kafri, Asoristan, in the Sasanian Empire. Abba Arikha establis ...

, was an influential and dominant yeshiva for about 800 years.

History

After Abba Arikha and

Samuel of Nehardea Samuel of Nehardea or Samuel bar Abba, often simply called Samuel (Hebrew: שמואל) and occasionally Mar Samuel, was a Jewish Amora of the first generation; son of Abba bar Abba and head of the Yeshiva at Nehardea, Babylonia. He was a teacher ...

died at the end of the first generation of the Amoraim, along with the designation of Rav Huna as dean Sura, Judah bar Ezekiel went to the city 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 ...

and had established a new yeshiva there. Pumbedita Academy was active for about 800 years over the course of the eras of the

, Savoraim, and

up until the days of

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 of the Talmudic academy of Pumbedita during the ...

. At the time, the academies of Pumbedita and

Sura A ''surah'' (; ar, سورة, sūrah, , ), is the equivalent of "chapter" in the Qur'an. There are 114 ''surahs'' in the Quran, each divided into '' ayats'' (verses). The chapters or ''surahs'' are of unequal length; the shortest surah ('' Al-K ...

became the most influential and dominant yeshivas of the Jewish communities' world, and all

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...

decrees and other religious rulings were issued from these Yeshivas to all 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 ...

. Pumbedita Academy served as a field of growth to the greatest Jewish sages for generations to come, among them:

Rabbah bar Nahmani Rabbah bar Nachmani ( he, רבה בר נחמני) (died c. 320 CE) was a Jewish Talmudist known throughout the Talmud simply as Rabbah. He was a third-generation '' amora'' who lived in Babylonia. Biography Rabbah was a kohen descended from E ...

("Rabbah"), Rav Yosef b. Hiyya,

Abaye Abaye ( he, אַבַּיֵי) was a rabbi of the Jewish Talmud who lived in Babylonia, known as an amora of the fourth generation. He was born about the close of the third century, and died 337 CE. Biography His father, Kaylil, was the brother ...

and Amora sage Rava, Savora sages

Rabbah Jose Rabban Yosi Babylonian Talmud, Erubin 71b; Rishonim and Acharonim versions; Judah B. Barzilai "Sefer-Ha-Itim"שערי תורת בבל - רבינוביץ, זאב וואלף hebrewbooks.org( he, רבה יוסי, read as Rava Yossi; Also cited as רב ...

and Simuna, and Geonim Rab Rabbah Gaon and Paltoi ben Abbaye Gaon, as well as

Sherira Gaon Sherira bar Hanina (Hebrew: שרירא בר חנינא) more commonly known as Sherira Gaon (Hebrew: שרירא גאון; c. 906-c. 1006) was the gaon of the Academy of Pumbeditha. He was one of the most prominent Geonim of his period, and the ...

and his son,

. Pumbedita Academy was at its peak during the third and fourth generation of the Amoraim. During the days of the Amora sage Rava, Pumbedita Academy moved to Mahuza (, modern

al-Mada'in Al-Mada'in ( ar, المدائن, , ; ) was an ancient metropolis situated on the Tigris River in modern-day Iraq. It was located between the ancient royal centers of Ctesiphon and Seleucia, and was founded by the Sassanid Empire. The city's na ...

), but after his death, it returned to Pumbedita. After with the sealing of the

Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...

by Ravina II Sura, the era of the Savoraim began (499-589), in which most part of that period, proper studying on regular basis no longer took place in Sura, only in Pumbedita. During the era of the Geonim, the two Talmudic academies were correspondingly active as well. One of Pumbedita's Gaons and dean of the Academy, Hai Gaon (approximately in years 988-990), moved the academy to

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 ...

because the number of Jews making a living from agriculture was growing smaller and they were migrating to the big cities, mainly to Baghdad (apart from the phenomenon of Jewish

emigration Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanent ...

out of

Babylonia Babylonia (; Akkadian: , ''māt Akkadī'') was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Syria). It emerged as an Amorite-ruled state c ...

). However, the academy's name remained "Pumbedita Academy" despite its relocation. The last period of Pumbedita Academy growth took place during the days of

and his son, Hai Gaon. Thousands of letters with

halachic ''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 comman ...

issues attached were received at Pumbedita, addressed to the heads of the Academy from all around the

. The Geonim of the Academy worked hard to respond to their questions. Along with Hai Gaon's death ( 1038), the era of the Geonim ended.

Hezekiah Gaon Hezekiah Gaon or Hezekiah ben David ( he, חזקיה בן דוד) was the last Gaon of the Talmudic academy in Pumbedita from 1038–40. Hezekiah ben David was a member of the House of Exilarchs, his father David was the son of Zakkai. Some scho ...

and

Bostanai Bostanai (Hebrew: בוסתנאי), also transliterated as Bustenai or Bustnay, was the first Exilarch (leader of the Jewish community of Mesopotamia) under Arab rule. He lived in the early-to-middle of the 7th century, and died about 660 CE. The na ...

were appointed deans of Pumbedita Academy, the only men to be simultaneously a Gaon and

Exilarch 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 ...

. Twenty years later, Hezekiah Gaon, by some accounts, was tortured to death by the Muslim

Buyid dynasty The Buyid dynasty ( fa, آل بویه, Āl-e Būya), also spelled Buwayhid ( ar, البويهية, Al-Buwayhiyyah), was a Shia Iranian dynasty of Daylamite origin, which mainly ruled over Iraq and central and southern Iran from 934 to 1062. Co ...

and Pumbedita Academy closed.According to ''Iggeret Rav

'' and " Sefer ha-Qabbalah", by

Abraham ibn Daud Abraham ibn Daud ( he, אַבְרָהָם בֵּן דָּוִד הַלֵּוִי אִבְּן דָּאוּד; ar, ابراهيم بن داود) was a Spanish-Jewish astronomer, historian, and philosopher; born at Córdoba, Spain about 1110; die ...

List of Pumbedita academy's deans

Amora era

: **the 1st

Rosh yeshiva Rosh yeshiva ( he, ראש ישיבה, pl. he, ראשי ישיבה, '; Anglicized pl. ''rosh yeshivas'') is the title given to the dean of a yeshiva, a Jewish educational institution that focuses on the study of traditional religious texts, primar ...

(and a disciple of

and

) * Huna b. Hiyya *

("Rabbah") * Rav Yosef b. Hiyya * Rava: **After

's death the academy was united under him and moved to Mahuza (

) *

Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak :''You might be looking for Nachman bar Huna or Nachman bar Yaakov.'' Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak (Hebrew: רב נחמן בר יצחק; died 356 CE) was a Babylonian rabbi, of the fourth and fifth generations of amoraim. It is generally accepted th ...

* Rav Kahana IV * Aha b. Raba * Rav Rahumi I * Sama b. Rabba

Savora era

* Simuna * Rabbai of Rob: **The academy was relocated to Firuz Shapur Anbar due to pogroms against Jews, and moved back to Pumbedita city after 50 years

Geonim ''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 ...
eraThe list names in accordance with Hebrew Wikipedia; &
Jewish Encyclopedia ''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on th ...

GaonSynchronistic List of the Geonim of Sura and Pumbedita
/ref>The list dates are in accordance with the work of Prof. Moshe Gil, "Kingdom of Israel in the Gaonic era", 1997 . Some of the information concerning the dates are based on factual sources, however, some are based on premises, in the absence of authoritative sources or due to contradiction between sources. There is a dispute among the scholars concerning some of the dates, and not all is agreed upon.

Hanan of Iskiya Hanan of Iskiya (Asikia) ( he, רב חנן מאישקיא/מאישקא; alternative English spellings: Hanan of Iskia, or Hanan of Iskya, or Hanan of Ishqiya) was rector of the Talmudical academy at Pumbedita, 589-608. He was succeeded by Mari ben ...

- from 589 * Mari ben R. Dimi Sargo - around 591 * Rav Hana (Huna) - around 630 * Rav Ravah (Rava) - 651 * Rav Bosai (Bostanai) - around 660 * Huna Mari ben Mar R. Joseph - around 689 * Hiyya of Meshan - around 700 * Rav Rabya ben R. Abaye (Moronai) - around 710 * Natronai b. Mar Nehemiah (called Mar R. Yanka) - 719 * Judah Gaon - around 730 * Joseph Gaon ben Kitnai (called Mar Kitnai) - 739-748 * Samuel ben Mar R. Mari - 748-755 * Natroi Kahana b. Emuna (Natrunai, ha-Kohen)"Jews in Islamic countries in the Middle Ages", Moshe Gil, p. 404 - A Chronological List of the Geonim of Sura and Pumbedit
books.google.com
/ref> - around 755-761 * Abraham Kahana (ha-Kohen) - apparently 761 * Dodai ben R. Nahman (Rav Dorai) (brother of R. Yehudai, Gaon of

) - 761-767 * R. Hananya ben R. Mesharsheya - 767-771 * Malka ben R. Aha - 771-773 * Rabba ben R. Dodai (Abba) (ancestor of R.

) - 773-782 * Rav Shinwai (Shinui)- in 782 * Haninai Kahana ben Abraham (ha-Kohen) - 782-786 *

Huna ben ha-Levi ben Isaac Huna may refer to: Anthropological * Hara Huna Kingdom, ancient Chinese tribe * Huna people, invaders of northern India 5th–9th century ** Huna Kingdom Places * Huna, Caithness, Scotland * Man Huna, a village in Sagaing Township, Burma Peo ...

- 786-788 * Manasseh ben R. Joseph - 788-796 *

Isaiah ha-Levi ben R. Abba Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "Yahweh, God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite Biblical prophet, prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah hims ...

- 796-798 * Joseph ben R. Shila of Shilhe - 798-804 * Kahana ben Haninai Gaon (ha-Kohen) - 804-810 * Abumai Kahana ben Abraham (Ikhomai, ha-Kohen) - 810-814 * Joseph ben R. Abba - 814-816 * Abraham ben R. Sherira - 816-828 * Joseph ben Mar R. Hiyya - 828-833 * Isaac ben R. Hananiah (Hunai, Hiyya) - 833-839 * Joseph ben R. Abba (R. Rabbi, Ravrevay) - 839-841 *

Paltoi ben Abaye Rav Paltoi Yishia ben Rav Abaye Gaon HaKohen (Hebrew: רב פלטוי ישעיה בר אביי גאון הכהן: – 858 ) was the Gaon of Pumbedita from 841 up until his death in 858. His time as Gaon would be defined by an idealistic and innov ...

- 841-858 *

Aha Kahana ben Mar Rav AHA, Aha, or aha may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Aha!'' (TV program), an information and education TV program in the Philippines * a-ha, a Norwegian pop music band * ''Aha!'' (film), a 2007 Bangladeshi film * Aha (streaming ser ...

(ha-Kohen) - in 858 * Menahem ben R. Joseph ben Hiyya - 858-860 *

Mattithiah ha-Kohen b. Ravrevay b. Hanina Mattithiah is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Mattithiah Ahrweiler ( 1650–1728), German rabbi * Matteya ben Heresh (''Mattithiah ben Heresh''), 2nd-century Roman tanna * Mattithiah ben Solomon Delacrut, Mordecai Yoffe's t ...

(R. Rabbi) - 860-869 * Abba ben Ammi ben Samuel (Rabba) - 869-872 *

Zemah ben Paltoi Rav Zemah ben Paltoi, also spelt Tzemach ben Poltoi, Zemaḥ Gaon, (Hebrew: צמח גאון בר מר רב פולטוי) (died 890 CE), was the Gaon of Pumbeditha from 872 up until his death in 890. Biography Zemah's father, Paltoi ben Abaye, ...

Gaon - 872-889 * Hai ben R. David - 898-890 * Kimoi ben R. Ahhai Gaon (Qimoi, ha-Kohen, Ahi) - 896-905 * Mebasser Kahana ben R. Kimoi Gaon (ha-Kohen, Qimoi) - 905-917 * Kohen Tzedek Kahana ben Joseph (father of Nehemiah ben Kohen Tzedek) - 917-922 * Zemah ben Kafnai (Pappai) - 935-937 *

Hananiah ben Yehudai Hananiah, Hanina, Chaninah, Haninah, Chananiah ( he, חנינא, חנניה) or Ananias ( grc-koi, Ἀνανίας) may refer to: Hebrew Bible * Hananiah ben Zerubbabel, (Old Testament: Chronicles) * Hananiah (aka Shadrach) of Shadrach, Meshach, a ...

Gaon (Judah) (father of R.

) - 937-943 * Aaron ibn Sargado - 943-960 * Nehemiah ben Kohen Tzedek - 960-968 *

- 968-1006, Passed the torch to his son

, while he was still alive. The ''Iggeret Rav Sherira Gaon'' (" heEpistle of Rav Sherira Gaon") is accounted as an important historian source, especially to

Jewish history Jewish history is the history of the Jews, and their nation, religion, and culture, as it developed and interacted with other peoples, religions, and cultures. Although Judaism as a religion first appears in Greek records during the Hellenisti ...

. *

ben Sherira - 1004, died in 1038. His death is considered the conclusion of the era of the

sages. *

- 1038-1040 - was killed by a

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

ruler of the

, although there were accounts that he was freed from prison and reinstalled at the head of the academy.

References

External links

Pumbedita

Jewish Virtual Library 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""Th ...