Geonim (also Gaonim) (גאונים) (Singular: Gaon [גאון] meaning "Genius" in Hebrew (עברית [‘Ivrit]) Spoken in: Israel Region: Israel and other countries Total speakers: Over 6 million (as all Israeli Jewish citizens as well as its Arabs speak it) Ranking: not in top 100 Genetic classification: Afro-Asiatic  Semitic   Central    ... Hebrew) were the See Semicha (סמיכה) (meaning leaning [of the hands] in Hebrew) is roughly equivalent to the word ordination (in Hebrew: Semichut סמיכות) of a rabbi within Judaism. It is the transmission of rabbinic authority in the form of an authorization to give... rabbis who were the The word Jew ( Hebrew (עברית [‘Ivrit]) Spoken in: Israel Region: Israel and other countries Total speakers: Over 6 million (as all Israeli Jewish citizens as well as its Arabs speak it) Ranking: not in top 100 Genetic classification: Afro-Asiatic  Semitic   Central... Jewish The first page of the Talmud, in the standard Vilna edition. The core text of the Mishna and Talmud is in the center; commentaries and notes on either side surround it. The Talmud (התלמוד) is considered an authoritative record of rabbinic discussions on Jewish law... Talmudic sages who were the generally accepted leaders of the Jewish community in the early Middle Ages by region Medieval Britain Medieval France Medieval Germany Medieval Italy Medieval Spain Byzantine Empire by topic Art Literature Poetry Music Architecture Philosophy Universities Technology Warfare Fortifications The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of... medieval era. They were active in Sura and Pumbeditha, in Ancient Mesopotamia Euphrates – Tigris Assyriology Cities / Empires Sumer: Uruk – Ur – Eridu Kish – Lagash – Nippur Akkadian Empire: Agade Babylon – Isin – Susa Assyria: Assur – Nineveh Nuzi – Nimrud Babylonia – Chaldea – Elam – Amorites Hurrians – Mitanni – Kassites Chronology Kings of Sumer... Babylonia, Events For other uses, see The words Arab and Arabian have multiple meanings: Arab - pertaining to the people/language/politics of West Asia Arab - 1 billion in the Indian numbering system. Arab, a short-lived English automobile. Arab, Alabama The Arabian horse. This is a disambiguation page — a navigational... 650– Years: 1247 1248 1249 - 1250 - 1251 1252 1253 Decades: 1220s 1230s 1240s - 1250s - 1260s 1270s 1280s Centuries: 12th century - 13th century - 14th century Contents // 1 Events 2 Births 3 Deaths 4 See also Events December 13 - Death of Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor Louis IX of France is captured by... 1250 CE. The Geonim played a prominent and decisive role in the transmission and teaching of Books of the Torah Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy edit (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Template:Books_of_Torah&action=edit) Torah, (תורה) is a Hebrew word meaning teaching, instruction, or especially Law. It primarily refers to the first section of the Tanakh–... Torah and Halakha (הלכה in Hebrew or Halakhah, Halacha, Halachah) is the collective corpus of Jewish law, custom and tradition regulating all aspects of behavior. The name Halakha derives from the Hebrew הלכ, halach meaning going or the [correct] way; thus a literal translation does not yield... Jewish law. They taught The first page of the Talmud, in the standard Vilna edition. The core text of the Mishna and Talmud is in the center; commentaries and notes on either side surround it. The Talmud (התלמוד) is considered an authoritative record of rabbinic discussions on Jewish law... Talmud and decided on issues on which no ruling had been rendered during the period of the Talmud.

The period of the Geonim began in Years: 585 586 587 588 - 589 - 590 591 592 593 Decades: 550s 560s 570s - 580s - 590s 600s 610s Centuries: 5th century - 6th century - 7th century Events October 17 - The Adige River overflows its banks, flooding the church of St. Zeno and damaging the walls of Verona. End of the Chen... 589 ( This figure, in a detail of a medieval Hebrew calendar, reminded Jews of the palm branches (Lulav) and the citron (Etrog) to be brought to the synagogue at the end of sukkot, closing the solemn convocations of the calendar in autumn. The Hebrew calendar or Jewish calendar is the annual... Hebrew date: 4349), after the period of the Sevora'im, and ended in Years: 1035 1036 1037 - 1038 - 1039 1040 1041 Decades: 1000s 1010s 1020s - 1030s - 1040s 1050s 1060s Centuries: 10th century - 11th century - 12th century 1038 state leaders Events Births Deaths Aethelnoth, Archbishop of Canterbury Alhazen, Arabian mathematician August 15 - Hungary Categories: 1038 ... 1038 (Hebrew date: 4798). The first gaon of Sura, according to Sherira, was Mar Rab Mar, who assumed office in Years: 605 606 607 608 - 609 - 610 611 612 613 Decades: 570s 580s 590s - 600s - 610s 620s 630s Centuries: 6th century - 7th century - 8th century Events The Pantheon is consecrated to the Virgin Mary and all saints (or 610). Edessa is taken by the Sassanids. Births Deaths Zuhayr, Arab poet... 609. The last gaon of Sura was Samuel b. Ḥofni, who died in Years: 1031 1032 1033 - 1034 - 1035 1036 1037 Decades: 1000s 1010s 1020s - 1030s - 1040s 1050s 1060s Centuries: 10th century - 11th century - 12th century 1034 state leaders Events April 11 - Empress Zoe of Byzantium marries her chamberlain and elevates him to the throne of the Eastern Roman Empire as Michael IV... 1034; the last gaon of Pumbedita was Hai, who died in 1038; hence the activity of the Geonim covers a period of nearly 450 years.

Role in Jewish life

The Geonim officiated, in the first place, as directors of the A yeshiva (Hebrew, pl. yeshivos or yeshivot) is an institution for Torah study and the study of Talmud. Contents // 1 History 1.1 Pre-1800s 1.2 Chaim Volozhin 1.3 Bobov 2 Types of yeshivot 3 Prominent yeshivot 4 Academic year 5 Typical schedule 6 Method of Study 6... academies, continuing as such the educational activity of the Amoraim and Saboraim. For while the Amoraim, through their interpretation of the The Mishnah (Hebrew משנה, Repetition) is a major source of rabbinic Judaisms religious texts. It is the first recording of the oral law of the Jewish people, as championed by the Pharisees. It was redacted by Judah haNasi around the year 200 CE. It is considered... Mishnah, gave rise to the The first page of the Talmud, in the standard Vilna edition. The core text of the Mishna and Talmud is in the center; commentaries and notes on either side surround it. The Talmud (התלמוד) is considered an authoritative record of rabbinic discussions on Jewish law... Talmud, and while the Saboraim definitively edited it, the Geonim's task was to interpret it; for them it became the subject of study and instruction, and they gave religio-legal decisions in agreement with its teachings.

During the geonic period the Babylonian schools were the chief centers of Jewish learning; the Geonim, the heads of these schools, were recognized as the highest authorities in Halakha (הלכה in Hebrew or Halakhah, Halacha, Halachah) is the collective corpus of Jewish law, custom and tradition regulating all aspects of behavior. The name Halakha derives from the Hebrew הלכ, halach meaning going or the [correct] way; thus a literal translation does not yield... Jewish law. Despite the difficulties which hampered the irregular communications of the period, Jews who lived even in most distant countries sent their inquiries concerning religion and law to these officials in Babylonia.

In the latter centuries of the geonic period, from the middle of the tenth to the middle of the eleventh, their supremacy lessened, as the study of the Talmud received care in other lands. The inhabitants of these regions gradually began to submit their questions to the heads of the schools of their own countries. Eventually they virtually ceased sending their questions to Babylonian Geonim.

The title "Geon"

The title of geon (also gaon) was given to the heads of the two Babylonian academies of Sura and Pumbedita, though it did not displace the title of A Rosh yeshiva (Hebrew: ראש ישיבה) (plural in Hebrew: Roshei yeshiva, but also referred to in the English form as Rosh yeshivas) is a rabbi who is the academic head, or rosh (ראש), of a yeshiva (ישיבה), a... Rosh Yeshivah ( Hebrew (עברית [‘Ivrit]) Spoken in: Israel Region: Israel and other countries Total speakers: Over 6 million (as all Israeli Jewish citizens as well as its Arabs speak it) Ranking: not in top 100 Genetic classification: Afro-Asiatic  Semitic   Central    ... Hebrew, head of the academy). The Aramaic (ארמית [Ar t] ܐܪܡܝܐ [ ]) Spoken in: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Georgia, Lebanon, Palestine, Russia, Syria, Turkey Region: Throughout the Middle East, Central Asia, Europe, North America and Australia. Total speakers: 445,000 fluent Ranking: Not in top 100 Genetic classification... Aramaic term used was Resh metivta.

The title 'geon properly designated the office of head of the academy. The title became popular in use around the end of the sixth century. As the academies of Sura and Pumbedita were invested with judicial authority, the gaon officiated as supreme judge.

The organization of the Babylonian academies recalled the ancient Sanhedrin is the name given in the mishna to the body of seventy-one sages who constituted the supreme court and legislative body in Judea during the Roman period. The make-up of the seventy-one sages included a president, vice president, and sixty-nine general members who all sat... sanhedrin. In many responsa of the Geonim, members of the schools are mentioned who belonged to the "great sanhedrin," and others who belonged to the "small sanhedrin." In front of the presiding gaon and facing him were seated seventy members of the academy in seven rows of ten persons each, each person in the seat assigned to him, and the whole forming, with the gaon, the so-called "great sanhedrin." Gaon Amram calls them in a responsum ("Responsa der Geonim," ed. Lyck, No. 65) the "ordained scholars who take the place of the great sanhedrin." (A regular ordination ("semikah") is of course not implied here; that did not exist in Babylonia, only a solemn nomination taking place.)

Gaon Ẓemaḥ refers in a responsum to "the ancient scholars of the first row, who take the place of the great sanhedrin." The masters, or "allufim" and the "ḥaberim," the three most prominent among the other members of the college, sat in the first of the seven rows. Nine sanhedrists were subordinated to each of the seven allufim, who probably supervised the instruction given during the entire year by their subordinates. The members of the academy who were not ordained sat behind the seven rows of sanhedrists.

Responsa

Early in the Geonic era, the majority of the questions asked them were sent from Babylonia and the neighboring lands. Jewish communities in these regions had religious leaders who were somewhat acquainted with the Talmud, and who could on occasion visit the Jewish academies in Babylon. A literatures of questions and answers developed, known as the Note: This is based on an entry from the 1906 public domain Jewish Encyclopedia. This needs some work! The responsa literature, known in Hebrew as Sheelot U-teshuvot (questions and answers), is the body of written decisions and rulings given by rabbis to questions addressed to them. Responsa constitute a... responsa literature.

The questions were usually limited to one or more specific cases, while the responsum to such a query gave a ruling, a concise reason for it, together with supporting citations from the Talmud, and often a refutation of any possible objection.

More discursive were the responsa of the later geonim after the first half of the ninth century, when questions began to be sent from more distant regions, where the inhabitants were less familiar with the Talmud, and were less able to visit the Babylonian academies, then the only seats of Talmudic learning.

The later geonim did not restrict themselves to the Mishnah and Talmud, but used the decisions and responsa of their predecessors, whose sayings and traditions were generally regarded as authoritative. These responsa of the later geonim were often essays on Talmudic themes, and since a single letter often answered many questions, it frequently became book-length in size

Works of the Geonim

Some of the responsa that have survived are in their original form, while others are extant only in extracts. The first collection appeared, together with brief geonic rulings, at Map of Constantinople. Constantinople (Roman name: Constantinopolis; This article needs cleanup. Please edit this article to conform to a higher standard of article quality. The neutrality of this article is disputed. Please see the relevant discussion on the talk page. Modern Greek is the present vernacular language of Greece (also... Constantinople in 1516 under the title Halakot Pesukot min ha-Geonim (Brief Rulings of the Geonim), and in 1575 another corpus, entitled Sheelot u-Teshubot me ha-Geonim, was published in the same city. At Salonica in 1792 Nissim ben Hayyim edited a collection of geonic responsa under the title Shaare Tzedek (Gates of Justice), which contains 533 responsa arranged according to subject, and an index by the editor.

• She'iltoth of Acha'i Gaon
• Halachoth Gedoloth
• Emunoth ve-Deoth written by Rabbi Saadia Gaon, was originally called Kitab al-Amanat wal-ltikadat (Book of the Articles of Faith and Doctrines of Dogma) the work was the first systematic presentation and philosophic foundation of the dogmas of Judaism. It was completed in 933. Contents // 1 Premise... Emunoth ve-Deoth ( Saadia Ben Joseph Gaon ( Years: 888 889 890 891 - 892 - 893 894 895 896 Decades: 860s 870s 880s - 890s - 900s 910s 920s Centuries: 8th century - 9th century - 10th century Events Poppo of Thuringia, count of the march in Thuringia,is deposed by the German Carolingian king Arnulf of Carinthia Arnulf... Saadia Gaon)
• The The siddur is the prayerbook used by Jews the world over, containing a set order of daily prayers. There is a separate entry on the prayers that appear in the siddur, and when they are said. This entry discusses how some of these prayers evolved, and how the siddur as... Siddur by Amram Gaon (d. 875) was a famous Gaon or head of the Jewish Talmud Academy of Sura (Persia) in the 9th century. He was the author of many Responsa, but his chief work was liturgical. He was the first to arrange a complete liturgy for the synagogue, and his Prayer... Amram Gaon
• Note: This is based on an entry from the 1906 public domain Jewish Encyclopedia. This needs some work! The responsa literature, known in Hebrew as Sheelot U-teshuvot (questions and answers), is the body of written decisions and rulings given by rabbis to questions addressed to them. Responsa constitute a... Responsa

The Kallah

Two months of the year were denoted as kallah months, the This figure, in a detail of a medieval Hebrew calendar, reminded Jews of the palm branches (Lulav) and the citron (Etrog) to be brought to the synagogue at the end of sukkot, closing the solemn convocations of the calendar in autumn. The Hebrew calendar or Jewish calendar is the annual... Hebrew months of Adar (אֲדָר, Standard Hebrew Adar, Tiberian Hebrew ʾĂḏār: from Akkadian adaru) is the sixth month of the ecclesiastical year and the twelfth month of the civil year on the Hebrew calendar. It is a winter month of 29 days. In leap years... Adar and Elul (אֱלוּל, Standard Hebrew Elul, Tiberian Hebrew ʾĔlûl: from Akkadian elūlu) is the twelveth month of the ecclesiastical year and the sixth month of the civil year on the Hebrew calendar. It is a summer month of 29 days. The... Elul. During this time foreign students assembled in the A yeshiva (Hebrew, pl. yeshivos or yeshivot) is an institution for Torah study and the study of Talmud. Contents // 1 History 1.1 Pre-1800s 1.2 Chaim Volozhin 1.3 Bobov 2 Types of yeshivot 3 Prominent yeshivot 4 Academic year 5 Typical schedule 6 Method of Study 6... academy for common study.

During the first three weeks of the kallah month the scholars seated in the first row reported on the The first page of the Talmud, in the standard Vilna edition. The core text of the Mishna and Talmud is in the center; commentaries and notes on either side surround it. The Talmud (התלמוד) is considered an authoritative record of rabbinic discussions on Jewish law... Talmud treatise assigned for study during the preceding months; in the fourth week the other scholars and also some of the pupils were called upon. Discussions followed, and difficult passages were laid before the gaon, who also took a prominent part in the debates, and freely reproved any member of the college who was not up to the standard of scholarship. At the end of the kallah month the gaon designated the Talmudic treatise which the members of the assembly were obliged to study in the months intervening till the next kallah should begin. The students who were not given seats were exempt from this task, being free to choose a subject for study according to their needs.

During the kallah, the gaon laid before the assembly a number of the questions that had been sent in during the year from all parts of the Diaspora. The requisite answers were discussed, and were finally recorded by the secretary of the academy according to the directions of the gaon. At the end of the kallah month the questions, together with the answers, were read to the assembly, and the answers were signed by the gaon. A large number of the geonic Note: This is based on an entry from the 1906 public domain Jewish Encyclopedia. This needs some work! The responsa literature, known in Hebrew as Sheelot U-teshuvot (questions and answers), is the body of written decisions and rulings given by rabbis to questions addressed to them. Responsa constitute a... responsa originated in this way; but many of them were written by the respective geonim without consulting the kallah assemblies convened in the spring.

See individual articles about these Geonim:

• Saadia Ben Joseph Gaon ( Years: 888 889 890 891 - 892 - 893 894 895 896 Decades: 860s 870s 880s - 890s - 900s 910s 920s Centuries: 8th century - 9th century - 10th century Events Poppo of Thuringia, count of the march in Thuringia,is deposed by the German Carolingian king Arnulf of Carinthia Arnulf... Saadia Gaon
• Rabbi (or Rav) Hai Gaon (969-1038) was one of the last geonim (rabbinic authorities of the early Middle Ages). He was the head of the academy at Pumbedita, Babylonia. He authored both a commentary on the Talmud as well as a collection of responsa, plus several other smaller works... Hai Gaon
• Amram Gaon (d. 875) was a famous Gaon or head of the Jewish Talmud Academy of Sura (Persia) in the 9th century. He was the author of many Responsa, but his chief work was liturgical. He was the first to arrange a complete liturgy for the synagogue, and his Prayer... Amram Gaon
• Sherira Gaon was one of the post-Talmudic geonim. Categories: People stubs | Geonim ... Sherira Gaon
• Elijah ben Solomon, the Vilna Gaon Elijah (Eliyahu) ben Solomon Kremer (born April 23, 1720, Vilna, Lithuania; died there October 9, 1797). He was a Jewish rabbi, Talmud scholar, and Kabbalist. He is commonly known as the Gaon of Vilna, Gaon mi Vilno, or Vilna Gaon (genius of Vilnius), and... Vilna Gaon

See also

• Note: This is based on an entry from the 1906 public domain Jewish Encyclopedia. This needs some work! The responsa literature, known in Hebrew as Sheelot U-teshuvot (questions and answers), is the body of written decisions and rulings given by rabbis to questions addressed to them. Responsa constitute a... Responsa
• Rabbinic literature, in the broadest sense, can mean the entire spectrum of rabbinic writing throughout history. However, the term often used as an exact cognate of the Hebrew term Sifrut Hazal (ספרות חזל; The Literature of our Sages, of blessed memory), where the latter... Rabbinic literature
• Halakha (הלכה in Hebrew or Halakhah, Halacha, Halachah) is the collective corpus of Jewish law, custom and tradition regulating all aspects of behavior. The name Halakha derives from the Hebrew הלכ, halach meaning going or the [correct] way; thus a literal translation does not yield... Eras of history important in Jewish law

References

• 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia (http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=68&letter=G&search=geon)
• 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica (http://80.1911encyclopedia.org/G/GA/GAON.htm)