Rav Sar Shalom ben Boaz (

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 ...

: רב שר שלום בן בועז; d. 859 or 864) also known as Sar Shalom Gaon was the Gaon of Sura from 838 to 848. He was one of the most prolific writers of his time, having more than one hundred

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 ...

attributed to him. He is known for his unusually lenient and tolerant attitude towards

Halakha ''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 commandm ...

which defined his tenure as Gaon, as well as left an impact on the complexion of

Babylonian Jewry The history of the Jews in Iraq ( he, יְהוּדִים בָּבְלִים, ', ; ar, اليهود العراقيون, ) is documented from the time of the Babylonian captivity c. 586 BC. Iraqi Jews constitute one of the world's oldest and mos ...

Biography

Rav Sar Shalom was elected to the Gaonate in 838, succeeding

Kohen Tzedek ben Abimai Kohen Tzedek ben Abimai HaKohen (Hebrew: רב כהן צדק בן איבומאי הכהן; – 848) was the Gaon of Sura from 832–843. Biography Kohen Tzedek was born in about 816. His father Rav Abimai was the Sura Gaon in 815 and a descendan ...

. In 853, he was succeeded as Gaon of Sura by

Natronai ben Hilai Natronai Ben Hilai (Hebrew: נטרונאי בן הלאי or Natronai Gaon, Hebrew: נטרונאי גאון; Full name: Natronai ben R. Hilai ben R. Mari) was Gaon of the Sura Academy early in the second half of the 9th century, and held this post ...

. He shortly died thereafter, passing away in either 859 or 864 in

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 ...

Teachings

During his time as Gaon, Rav Sar Shalom established a close and extensive relationships with other Jewish communities, such as those in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and especially

Kairouan Kairouan (, ), also spelled El Qayrawān or Kairwan ( ar, ٱلْقَيْرَوَان, al-Qayrawān , aeb, script=Latn, Qeirwān ), is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city was founded by th ...

to which many of his responsa where addressed. In many of said responsa, he warned the people not to establish halakhic institutions which they would not be able to observe, and if he heard that a community had restricted itself by a vow which it later felt unable to comply with, he would use the authority of his office to rescind it. In almost all of his responsa to neighbouring communities, Rav Sar Shalom writes in a friendly and non condescending tone despite his esteemed position. In halakhic cases, he often points out the differences between

and

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 ...

, letting each community choose which academy's view suits them best. Furthermore, he would go on to explain in great detail his halakhic reasoning, so that each community could learn the processes of paskening (halakic decision making). His responsa also clearly show that Rav Sar Shalom was very tolerant toward non-Jews; he explicitly prohibited taking advantage of, or in any way infringing upon the rights of, gentiles, even when there was no Chillul Hashem. Despite his mild and tolerant disposition, he was adamantly against money lenders, and encouraged the severe punishment of those men who treat their wives poorly or those women who are rebellious toward their husbands. He often interpreted the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

symbolically. In one particular case, he explained that the thirty cubits length of the upper curtains of the

Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

represented the thirty generations from

Isaac Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was the ...

to King Zedekiah, who witnessed the destruction of

Solomon's Temple Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple (, , ), was the Temple in Jerusalem between the 10th century BC and . According to the Hebrew Bible, it was commissioned by Solomon in the United Kingdom of Israel before being inherited by th ...

. Similarly, he also states that the

Temple menorah The menorah (; he, מְנוֹרָה ''mənōrā'', ) is a seven-branched candelabrum that is described in the Hebrew Bible as having been used in the Tabernacle and in the Temple in Jerusalem. Since antiquity, it has served as a symbol of the ...

consisting of twenty-five parts symbolizes the twenty-five generations from Adam to Moses.

References

{{Authority control Rabbis of Academy of Sura Geonim 800s deaths 9th-century rabbis