Sherira bar Hanina (
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 ...
: שרירא בר חנינא) more commonly known as Sherira 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 ...
: שרירא גאון; c. 906-c. 1006) was the
gaon of the
Academy of Pumbeditha. He was one of the most prominent
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 o ...
of his period, and the father 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 ...
, who succeeded him as Gaon. He wrote the ''
Iggeret Rav Sherira Gaon'' ("
heEpistle of Rav Sherira Gaon"), a comprehensive history of the composition 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 cente ...
.
[Abraham ibn Daud, "Sefer ha-Ḳabbalah," in ]Adolf Neubauer
Adolf Neubauer (11 March 1831 in Bittse, Hungary – 6 April 1907, London) was at the Bodleian Library and reader in Rabbinic Hebrew at Oxford University.
Biography
He was born in Bittse (Nagybiccse), Upper Hungary (now Bytča in Slovakia ...
, "Medieval Jewish Chronicles" (Oxford, 1887) , i. 66-67
Life
Sherira was born circa 906 C.E., the descendant, both on his father's and his mother's side, of prominent families, several members of which had occupied the gaonate. His father was
Hananiah ben R. Yehudai, also a gaon. Sherira claimed descent from
Rabbah b. Abuha, who belonged to the family of the
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 ...
, thereby claiming descent from the
Davidic line
The Davidic line or House of David () refers to the lineage of the Israelite king David through texts in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, and through the succeeding centuries.
According to the Bible, David, of the Tribe of Judah, was the t ...
. Sherira stated that his genealogy could be traced back to the pre-
Bostanaian branch of that family, which, he claimed, on account of the deterioration of the exilarchate had renounced its claims thereto, preferring instead the scholar's life. The seal of his family was a lion, which was said to have been the emblem of the Judean kings.
Sherira officiated first as chief judge. While in that office, he refused to recognize the election of
as gaon in 960. On Nehemiah's death in 968 C.E., Sherira was elected gaon of the Academy of Pumbedita, soon after which he appointed his son,
Hai, chief judge in his stead.
In 997, he and his son were maliciously denounced by enemies to 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 ...
, though the nature of the accusation is unknown. He and his son were imprisoned and deprived of their property, even of the necessaries of life. Though the incarceration was brief, Sherira was now in very bad health. Sherira resigned the gaonate in 998 C.E., appointing his son as his successor.
Sherira died soon after, circa 1006 C.E. He was the alleged father in law of
Elijah ben Menahem Ha-Zaken Elijah ben Menahem the Elder (Hebrew: אליהו בן מנחם הזקן; - 1060 ), also known as Rabbeinu Eliyahu HaZaken, was an 11th-century French Tosafist and liturgical poet.
Born around 980 in France, in his early years he went to Germany, ...
.
His responsa
As director of the academy he sought to reach pupils both near and far, and many of his
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 ...
have been preserved in the geonic collections and in the works containing the earlier decisions. His responsa are similar to the geonic responsa in general, a majority of them dealing with questions of religious practice, though some of them contain expositions and comments on passages of the Talmud and the Mishnah.
Indeed, his literary activity was confined to Talmudic and to related subjects. He was not greatly interested in Arabic literature, although he knew enough Arabic to be able to write in that language those of his decisions that were addressed to communities in Muslim countries. Generally he preferred to use Hebrew or Aramaic for that purpose.
Sherira was noted for the nobility and seriousness of his character. As a judge he endeavoured to arrive at the exact facts of a case and to render his decisions in strict conformity with the Law. In deciding practical questions he adopted the more rigorous view, following the letter of the Talmud with the purpose of upholding and emphasising its authority against the attacks of the Karaites. He frequently formulates in his responsa rules which are highly important for the correct interpretation of the Talmud. For instance, he declares that the term "mitzvah" designates in some passages a command that may not be broken with impunity, but in other passages denotes merely an admonition with which it would be commendable to comply, but which may be disregarded without fear of punishment. He was also a part of the Rabbinic constitution of EIBLC
Sherira is thought by some to have been a student of
kabbalistic mysticism; but when asked about the mystical works "
Shi'ur Komah
Shi’ur Qomah ( he, שיעור קומה, lit. Dimensions of the Body) is a midrashic text that is part of the Hekhalot literature. It purports to record, in anthropomorphic terms, the secret names and precise measurements of God's corporeal limbs ...
" and "Hekalot" and whether they represented ancient traditions (originating with
R. Ishmael
R. or r. may refer to:
* ''Reign'', the period of time during which an Emperor, king, queen, etc., is ruler.
* '' Rex'', abbreviated as R., the Latin word meaning King
* ''Regina'', abbreviated as R., the Latin word meaning Queen
* or , abbreviat ...
and
R. Akiva), he replied in a responsum that the passage in "Shi'ur Ḳomah" ascribing human organs to God embodies profound mysteries, but must not be taken literally. Sherira wrote a work on the Talmud, under the title "Megillat Setarim." In this work he seems to have discussed the importance of the
aggadah
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, ...
; but the portion of the work containing his opinions on this subject has been lost.
His circular letter
Sherira's seminal work for which he is most renowned is his Epistle, or ''Iggeret'', written to Rabbi
Jacob ben Nissim Jacob ben Nissim ibn Shahin was a Jewish philosopher and mathematician who lived at Kairouan, Tunisia in the 10th century; he was a younger contemporary of Saadia Gaon, Saadia. At Jacob's request Sherira Gaon wrote a treatise entitled ''Iggeret,'' ...
of
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 ...
, and where he addressed the question of how 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 cente ...
was formulated, and brings down a chronological list of the ''
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 o ...
'' who officiated in Babylonia during the period 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 ...
(''Resh Galutha''). This ''Iggeret'' is considered by many to be one of the classics in Jewish historiography.
See also
*
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 o ...
References
*Brody, Robert, ''The Geonim of Babylonia and the Shaping of Medieval Jewish Culture'', Yale University Press 1998, repr. 2012:
*David J. E, “‘As it was Written in the Book of Adam’ The Chronology of the Halakhah and the Mythical Perception of History in the Late Pumbeditian Thought” Tarbitz, 74:2 (2006).(Heb.)
External links
Lecture on Rav Sherira Gaonby
Dr. Henry Abramson
* Lecture, , Jan 2020.
*
Iggeret Rav Sherira Gaon', Da'at Encyclopedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sherira Gaon
Geonim
Rabbis of Academy of Pumbedita
Chroniclers
900s births
1000s deaths
Year of birth uncertain
Year of death uncertain