Geonim (also Gaonim) (גאונים) (Singular: Gaon [גאון] meaning "pride" in Biblical Hebrew and "genius" in modern Hebrew) were the rabbis who were the Jewish Talmudic sages who were the generally accepted spiritual leaders of the Jewish community in the early medieval era, in contrast to the Resh Galuta/ Exilarch who wielded secular authority over the Jews in Islamic lands. They were active in Sura and Pumbedita, in Babylonia, 650–1250 CE. The Geonim played a prominent and decisive role in the transmission and teaching of Torah and Jewish law. They taught Talmud and decided on issues on which no ruling had been rendered during the period of the Talmud. Jump to: navigation, search Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family spoken by 6 million people mainly in Israel, parts of the Palestinian territories, the United States and by Jewish communities around the world. ... Rabbi (Classical Hebrew רִבִּי ribbÄ«;; modern Ashkenazi and Israeli רַבִּי rabbÄ«) in Judaism, means teacher, or more literally great one. The word Rabbi is derived from the Hebrew root-word RaV, which in biblical Hebrew means great or distinguished,. In the ancient Judean schools the sages were addressed as רִבִּי (Ribbi or Rebbi... Jump to: navigation, search The word Jew (Hebrew: יהודי transliterated: Yehudi) is used in many ways, but generally refers to a follower of Judaism, a child of a Jewish mother, or someone of Jewish descent with a connection to Jewish culture or ethnicity; and often a combination of these attributes. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Talmud (תלמוד) is considered an authoritative record of rabbinic discussions on Jewish law, Jewish ethics, customs, legends and stories. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... Sura was the name of a city in ancient Babylonia that was a major center of Talmud scholarship, that together with the city of Pumbeditha, gave rise to the Babylonian Talmud. ... ... Babylonia was an ancient state in Mesopotamia (in modern Iraq), combining the territories of Sumer and Akkad. ... Events Arab conquest of Persia, establishment of Islam as state religion Hindu empire in Sumatra Croats and Serbs occupy Bosnia Khazars conquer Great Bulgarian Empire in southern Russia building of St. ... Events December 13 - Death of Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor Louis IX of France is captured by Muslims and has to ransom himself Mabinogion appears Albertus Magnus isolates the element arsenic Vincent of Beauvais writes proto-encyclopedic The Greater Mirror City of Stockholm founded Alphonso III of Portugal takes Algarve... Jump to: navigation, search Torah (תורה) is a Hebrew word meaning teaching, instruction, or law. ... Halakha (Hebrew: הלכה; also transliterated as Halakhah, Halacha, Halachah) is the collective corpus of Jewish rabbinic law, custom and tradition. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Talmud (תלמוד) is considered an authoritative record of rabbinic discussions on Jewish law, Jewish ethics, customs, legends and stories. ...

The period of the Geonim began in 589 (Hebrew date: 4349), after the period of the Sevora'im, and ended in 1038 (Hebrew date: 4798). The first gaon of Sura, according to Sherira, was Mar Rab Mar, who assumed office in 609. The last gaon of Sura was Samuel b. Ḥofni, who died in 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. Events October 17 - The Adige River overflows its banks, flooding the church of St. ... Jump to: navigation, search This figure, in a detail of a medieval Hebrew calendar, reminded Jews of the palm branch (Lulav), the myrtle twigs, the willow branches, and the citron (Etrog) to be held in the hand and to be brought to the synagogue during the holiday of sukkot, near... Events Independent declaration of Western Xia. ... Events The Pantheon is consecrated to the Virgin Mary and all saints (or 610). ... Events April 11 - Empress Zoe of Byzantium marries her chamberlain and elevates him to the throne of the Eastern Roman Empire as Michael IV. Franche-Comté becomes subject to the Holy Roman Empire. ...

Role in Jewish life

The Geonim officiated, in the first place, as directors of the academies, continuing as such the educational activity of the Amoraim and Saboraim. For while the Amoraim, through their interpretation of the Mishnah, gave rise to the 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. Jump to: navigation, search Yeshiva or yeshivah (Hebrew: ישיבה pl. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Mishnah (Hebrew משנה, repetition) is a major source of rabbinic Judaisms religious texts. ... Jump to: navigation, search The Talmud (תלמוד) is considered an authoritative record of rabbinic discussions on Jewish law, Jewish ethics, customs, legends and stories. ...

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 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. Halakha (Hebrew: הלכה; also transliterated as Halakhah, Halacha, Halachah) is the collective corpus of Jewish rabbinic law, custom and tradition. ...

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 in their own countries. Eventually they virtually ceased sending their questions to Babylonian Geonim.

The title "Geon"

The title of geon (also gaon) came to be applied to the heads of the two Babylonian academies of Sura and Pumbedita, though it did not displace the original title of Rosh Yeshivah Ge'on Ya'akov (Hebrew, head of the academy, pride of Jacob). The Aramaic term used was Resh metivta. 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 college of higher Talmudic study. ... Jump to: navigation, search Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic language family spoken by 6 million people mainly in Israel, parts of the Palestinian territories, the United States and by Jewish communities around the world. ... Aramaic is a Semitic language with a 3,000-year history. ...

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. 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.) Jump to: navigation, search The Sanhedrin is the name given in the mishna to the council of seventy-one Jewish sages who constituted the supreme court and legislative body in Judea during the Roman period. ...

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 literature of questions and answers developed, known as the responsa literature. Note: This is based on an entry from the 1906 public domain Jewish Encyclopedia 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. ...

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 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. Jump to: navigation, search Map of Constantinople. ...

• She'iltoth of Acha'i Gaon
• Halachoth Gedoloth
• Emunoth ve-Deoth (Saadia Gaon)
• The Siddur by Amram Gaon
• Responsa

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. ... Saadia Ben Joseph Gaon (892-942), the Hebrew name of Said al-Fayyumi, was a rabbi who was also a prominent Jewish exilarch, philosopher, and exegete. ... The siddur is the prayerbook used by Jews the world over, containing a set order of daily prayers. ... Amram Gaon (d. ... Note: This is based on an entry from the 1906 public domain Jewish Encyclopedia 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. ...

The Kallah

Two months of the year were denoted as kallah months, the Hebrew months of Adar and Elul. During this time foreign students assembled in the academy for common study. Jump to: navigation, search This figure, in a detail of a medieval Hebrew calendar, reminded Jews of the palm branch (Lulav), the myrtle twigs, the willow branches, and the citron (Etrog) to be held in the hand and to be brought to the synagogue during the holiday of sukkot, near... Jump to: navigation, search Adar (אֲדָר, Standard Hebrew Adar, Tiberian Hebrew ʾĂḏār: from Akkadian adaru) is the sixth month of the religious year and the twelfth month of the civil year on the Hebrew calendar. ... Elul (אֱלוּל, Standard Hebrew Elul, Tiberian Hebrew ʾĔlûl: from Akkadian elūlu) is the twelfth month of the ecclesiastical year and the sixth month of the civil year on the Hebrew calendar. ... Jump to: navigation, search Yeshiva or yeshivah (Hebrew: ישיבה pl. ...

During the first three weeks of the kallah month the scholars seated in the first row reported on the 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. Jump to: navigation, search The Talmud (תלמוד) is considered an authoritative record of rabbinic discussions on Jewish law, Jewish ethics, customs, legends and stories. ...

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 responsa originated in this way; but many of them were written by the respective geonim without consulting the kallah assemblies convened in the spring. Note: This is based on an entry from the 1906 public domain Jewish Encyclopedia 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. ...

See individual articles about these Geonim:

• Amram Gaon
• Hai Gaon
• Saadia Gaon
• Sherira Gaon
• Vilna Gaon

Amram Gaon (d. ... Rabbi (or Rav) Hai Gaon (969-1038) was one of the last geonim (rabbinic authorities of the early Middle Ages). ... Saadia Ben Joseph Gaon (892-942), the Hebrew name of Said al-Fayyumi, was a rabbi who was also a prominent Jewish exilarch, philosopher, and exegete. ... Sherira Gaon was one of the post-Talmudic geonim. ... Elijah Ben Solomon, the Vilna Gaon Elijah (Eliyahu) Ben Solomon Kremer, (or Kramer) born April 23, 1720, Vilna (now Vilnius), Lithuania; where he died on October 9, 1797, was a prominent Jewish rabbi, Talmud scholar, and Kabbalist. ...

See also

• Responsa
• Rabbinic literature
• Eras of history important in Jewish law
• ilooy

Note: This is based on an entry from the 1906 public domain Jewish Encyclopedia 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. ... Rabbinic literature, in the broadest sense, can mean the entire spectrum of Judaisms rabbinic writing/s throughout history. ... Halakha (Hebrew: הלכה; also transliterated as Halakhah, Halacha, Halachah) is the collective corpus of Jewish rabbinic law, custom and tradition. ... Jump to: navigation, search ilooy, noun, from Yiddish, meaning a Talmudic prodigy. ...

References

• 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia
• 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica
• List of the Gaonim of Sura, Pumbedita and Eretz Yisrael on Bruce Gordon's Regnal Chronologies