Achai Gaon
Encyclopedia
Achai Gaon was a leading scholar in the period of the Geonim
, an 8th-century Talmud
ist of high renown. He enjoys the distinction of being the first rabbinical author known to history after the close of the Talmud
. As he never actually became the Gaon of either of the two academies
, the description "Gaon" attached to his name is a misnomer.
of Pumbedita
having died, Aḥa was universally acknowledged to be the fittest man to succeed him. But a personal grudge entertained by the exilarch
Solomon bar Ḥasdai induced the latter to pass over Aḥa, and to appoint Natronai ben Nehemiah
, Aḥa's secretary, a man considerably his inferior in learning and general acquirements. Highly incensed at this slight, the eminent scholar left Babylonia
and settled in Palestine
, about 752-753, where he remained until his death. Notwithstanding Steinschneider (Cat. Bodl. s.v.), who erroneously assigns 761 as the year, the exact date of his demise is unknown.
It must have been in Israel that Aḥa wrote his book entitled שאלתות ("Quæstiones" in the sense of disquisitions), as the title evinces; for this Aramaic word is employed in the sense of quæstio (the scientific investigation of a matter) by the Jews of Israel only (Shab. 30a). "Sheilta" is of Palestinian origin, as is shown by the words buẓina and bisha, which accompany it. S. Mendelsohn is quite correct in his explanation of the term (Rev. Ét. Juives, xxxii. 56). If, therefore, Simeon Kayyara
made use of the "Sheiltot" in his Halakhot Gedolot, as is now certain, the statement of Abraham ibn Daud
(according to whom Simeon's work was completed in 750) must be erroneous, since Aḥa did not leave Palestine before 752; and we know that Samuel Gaon, whose successor he was to have become, did not die before 751-752. There are also other evidences of Palestinian influence in Aḥa's work. For example, his treatise indicates that besides the Babylonian Talmud (which, in the nature of things, was his chief authority) he made frequent use of the Yerushalmi
, and of Palestinian Midrashim, Leviticus Rabbah
, Ecclesiastes Rabbah
, and Tanḥuma
, all of which at this time were quite unknown in Babylonia
(indeed, even Saadia Gaon
, almost two hundred years later, knew comparatively little of them).
and ethics. The whole character of the "Sheiltot" is Palestinian; and, as such, they are quite distinct from the contemporary synopses of Yehudai Gaon
and Simeon Kayyara
, which confine themselves to important decisions of the Talmud
, with the omission of all discussions, and with the addition of short elucidations of words.
Aḥa's method is quite different from that of the Babylonian rabbis, who, caring little for the instruction of the common people, wrote scholastically. The Sheiltot, on the contrary, were written for thoughtful laymen. Aḥa's treatises upon Biblical and rabbinical precepts, numbering 190 or 191 (see Mendelsohn, l.c. 59), with additions from later writers, were written with special reference to the practice of such moral duties as benevolence, love, respect for parents, and love of truth. They are based upon the order of the parashot, the weekly readings from the Law.
The beginning of the fourth "Sheilta," which is based upon the weekly lesson on "Noah
," may serve as a specimen of the "Sheiltot." Stealing or robbery was explicitly forbidden to the Israelites; and the divine punishment for the transgression of this command is more severe than for other crimes. Thus, it is found that in the history of Noah, those of the generation of the Deluge suffered their hard fate solely on account of their violence, as it is said (Gen. vi. 13), "The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them." This moral condemnation is elaborated by Aḥa, who quotes from the Talmud
and Midrash
many passages concerning the baseness and godlessness of such crimes. He follows this statement—preceded by the introductory formula, "It is, however, questionable" (Beram ẓarik)—with casuistic inquiries; as, for example, whether it is proper to include in the designation of robbery, for which the Law ordains a twofold restitution, the case of a theft committed in the interest of the victim.
This illustration serves to show that the work is not intended for scholars alone, but also for popular instruction; and that the statement, so often repeated since the time of Meiri
, that the Sheiltot was a book merely for the instruction of youth, is also baseless. It is more probable that it is a collection of haggadic-halakic sermons, which Aḥa delivered in Palestine, where certainly he was held in high regard. With the decline of rabbinical knowledge in Palestine, Aḥa would have found but few pupils for pure halakic instruction; and he therefore endeavored to add haggadic elements to his lectures, in obedience to the general disposition of the Palestinians, who just then favored Haggadah.
This view best explains the word "derashah" (lecture), which occurs about thirty times in the Sheiltot, in connection with the citation of passages from the Talmud. If the supposition be true that the Sheiltot were derived from sermons, they may properly be considered, in the form in which they appear, as extracts or abstracts of such sermons, giving the introduction and the conclusion of the original derashah; while of the derashah proper—which no doubt consisted of haggadic and halakic quotations from Talmud and Midrash—only the heading is mentioned. Considering them as portions of sermons, the frequent repetitions that occur in the Sheiltot are not strange, as this would happen to the best of preachers; while it would be difficult to explain them if they were found in the strictly literary productions of one man. Of course, there can be no certain conclusions concerning the composition of the "Sheiltot" until the manuscript has been examined. The printed text, while it contains much matter of later date, lacks much that, according to older authorities, was formerly included. An accurate edition of the Sheiltot would be very valuable for textual criticism of the Babylonian Talmud, as indeed for Aramaic philology in general, since Aḥa wrote in the Aramaic vernacular.
Aḥa's work very soon won great esteem, and the work Halakot Gedolot, which does not date from the year 750, but belongs to the oldest literature of the gaonic times, copies no less than one hundred and fifty passages from the Sheiltot. Sherira Gaon
and his son, Hai Gaon
, mention the book by title; and it was likewise freely consulted by Rashi
and the author of the Aruk.
(Dyhernfurth, 1786); (3) another under the title תועפות ראם, with the commentary of Isaac Pardo, Salonica, 1800–01; (4) with an extended commentary by Naphtali Ẓebi Judah Berlin (Wilna, 1861, 1864, 1867), which latter edition contains the commentary of Isaiah Berlin, as well as a number of variant readings taken from a manuscript of the year 1460, and a short commentary by Saul ben Joseph, who probably lived in the first half of the 14th century. Manuscripts of the Sheiltot, but with essential divergences from the printed text, are to be found among the Hebrew manuscripts in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, Nos. 308, 309, and in the Bodleian Library
, Oxford, Nos. 539, 540, 1317. In the latter library may be found also the hitherto unprinted commentaries by Solomon ben Shabbethai (541), and Johanan ben Reuben (542).
Geonim
Geonim 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 the Jewish community world wide in the early medieval era, in contrast to the Resh Galuta who wielded secular authority...
, an 8th-century Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
ist of high renown. He enjoys the distinction of being the first rabbinical author known to history after the close of the Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
. As he never actually became the Gaon of either of the two academies
Talmudic Academies in Babylonia
The Talmudic Academies in Babylonia, also known as the Geonic Academies, were the center for Jewish scholarship and the development of Jewish law in Mesopotamia from roughly 589 CE to 1038 CE...
, the description "Gaon" attached to his name is a misnomer.
Life
The gaonGaon (Hebrew)
Gaon originally referred in Ancient Hebrew to arrogance and haughty pride . Later became known as pride in general: whether good or bad . Today it may refer to:...
of Pumbedita
Pumbedita
Pumbedita was the name of a city in ancient Babylonia close to the modern-day city of Fallujah....
having died, Aḥa was universally acknowledged to be the fittest man to succeed him. But a personal grudge entertained by the exilarch
Exilarch
Exilarch refers to the leaders of the Diaspora Jewish community in Babylon following the deportation of King Jeconiah and his court into Babylonian exile after the first fall of Jerusalem in 597 BCE and augmented after the further deportations following the destruction...
Solomon bar Ḥasdai induced the latter to pass over Aḥa, and to appoint Natronai ben Nehemiah
Natronai ben Nehemiah
Natronai ben Nehemiah was Gaon of Pumbedita from 719 to 730; son-in-law of the exilarch Ḥasdai I...
, Aḥa's secretary, a man considerably his inferior in learning and general acquirements. Highly incensed at this slight, the eminent scholar left Babylonia
Babylonia
Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia , with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as a major power when Hammurabi Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq), with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as...
and settled in Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
, about 752-753, where he remained until his death. Notwithstanding Steinschneider (Cat. Bodl. s.v.), who erroneously assigns 761 as the year, the exact date of his demise is unknown.
It must have been in Israel that Aḥa wrote his book entitled שאלתות ("Quæstiones" in the sense of disquisitions), as the title evinces; for this Aramaic word is employed in the sense of quæstio (the scientific investigation of a matter) by the Jews of Israel only (Shab. 30a). "Sheilta" is of Palestinian origin, as is shown by the words buẓina and bisha, which accompany it. S. Mendelsohn is quite correct in his explanation of the term (Rev. Ét. Juives, xxxii. 56). If, therefore, Simeon Kayyara
Simeon Kayyara
Simeon Kayyara was a Jewish-Babylonian halakist of the first half of the 9th century. The early identification of his surname with "Qahirah," the Arabic name of Cairo , was shown by J.L. Rapoport to be impossible. Neubauer's suggestion Simeon Kayyara (Hebrew: שמעון קיירא) was a ...
made use of the "Sheiltot" in his Halakhot Gedolot, as is now certain, the statement of Abraham ibn Daud
Abraham ibn Daud
Abraham ibn Daud was a Spanish-Jewish astronomer, historian, and philosopher; born at Toledo, Spain about 1110; died, according to common report, a martyr about 1180. He is sometimes known by the abbreviation Rabad I or Ravad I. His mother belonged to a family famed for its learning...
(according to whom Simeon's work was completed in 750) must be erroneous, since Aḥa did not leave Palestine before 752; and we know that Samuel Gaon, whose successor he was to have become, did not die before 751-752. There are also other evidences of Palestinian influence in Aḥa's work. For example, his treatise indicates that besides the Babylonian Talmud (which, in the nature of things, was his chief authority) he made frequent use of the Yerushalmi
Jerusalem Talmud
The Jerusalem Talmud, talmud meaning "instruction", "learning", , is a collection of Rabbinic notes on the 2nd-century Mishnah which was compiled in the Land of Israel during the 4th-5th century. The voluminous text is also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud de-Eretz Yisrael...
, and of Palestinian Midrashim, Leviticus Rabbah
Leviticus Rabbah
Leviticus Rabbah, Vayikrah Rabbah, or Wayiqra Rabbah is a homiletic midrash to the Biblical book of Leviticus . It is referred to by Nathan ben Jehiel in his Aruk as well as by Rashi in his commentaries on , and elsewhere. According to Leopold Zunz, Hai Gaon and Nissim knew and made use of it...
, Ecclesiastes Rabbah
Ecclesiastes Rabbah
Ecclesiastes Rabbah or Kohelet Rabbah is an haggadic commentary on Ecclesiastes, included in the collection of the Midrash Rabbot. It follows the Biblical book verse by verse, only a few verses remaining without comment. In the list of the old sedarim for the Bible four sedarim are assigned to...
, and Tanḥuma
Tanhuma
Midrash Tanhuma is the name given to three different collections of Pentateuch haggadot; two are extant, while the third is known only through citations. These midrashim, although bearing the name of R. Tanḥuma, must not be regarded as having been written or edited by him...
, all of which at this time were quite unknown in Babylonia
Babylonia
Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia , with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as a major power when Hammurabi Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq), with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as...
(indeed, even Saadia Gaon
Saadia Gaon
Saʻadiah ben Yosef Gaon was a prominent rabbi, Jewish philosopher, and exegete of the Geonic period.The first important rabbinic figure to write extensively in Arabic, he is considered the founder of Judeo-Arabic literature...
, almost two hundred years later, knew comparatively little of them).
Aḥa's Sheiltot
The Sheiltot, also known as Sheiltot d’Rav Achai or Sheiltos, is a collection of homilies (at once learned and popular) on Jewish lawHalakha
Halakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...
and ethics. The whole character of the "Sheiltot" is Palestinian; and, as such, they are quite distinct from the contemporary synopses of Yehudai Gaon
Yehudai Gaon
Yehudai ben Nahman was the head of the yeshiva in Sura from 757 to 761, during the Gaonic period of Judaism...
and Simeon Kayyara
Simeon Kayyara
Simeon Kayyara was a Jewish-Babylonian halakist of the first half of the 9th century. The early identification of his surname with "Qahirah," the Arabic name of Cairo , was shown by J.L. Rapoport to be impossible. Neubauer's suggestion Simeon Kayyara (Hebrew: שמעון קיירא) was a ...
, which confine themselves to important decisions of the Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
, with the omission of all discussions, and with the addition of short elucidations of words.
Aḥa's method is quite different from that of the Babylonian rabbis, who, caring little for the instruction of the common people, wrote scholastically. The Sheiltot, on the contrary, were written for thoughtful laymen. Aḥa's treatises upon Biblical and rabbinical precepts, numbering 190 or 191 (see Mendelsohn, l.c. 59), with additions from later writers, were written with special reference to the practice of such moral duties as benevolence, love, respect for parents, and love of truth. They are based upon the order of the parashot, the weekly readings from the Law.
The beginning of the fourth "Sheilta," which is based upon the weekly lesson on "Noah
Noah
Noah was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the tenth and last of the antediluvian Patriarchs. The biblical story of Noah is contained in chapters 6–9 of the book of Genesis, where he saves his family and representatives of all animals from the flood by constructing an ark...
," may serve as a specimen of the "Sheiltot." Stealing or robbery was explicitly forbidden to the Israelites; and the divine punishment for the transgression of this command is more severe than for other crimes. Thus, it is found that in the history of Noah, those of the generation of the Deluge suffered their hard fate solely on account of their violence, as it is said (Gen. vi. 13), "The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them." This moral condemnation is elaborated by Aḥa, who quotes from the Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
and Midrash
Midrash
The Hebrew term Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible....
many passages concerning the baseness and godlessness of such crimes. He follows this statement—preceded by the introductory formula, "It is, however, questionable" (Beram ẓarik)—with casuistic inquiries; as, for example, whether it is proper to include in the designation of robbery, for which the Law ordains a twofold restitution, the case of a theft committed in the interest of the victim.
This illustration serves to show that the work is not intended for scholars alone, but also for popular instruction; and that the statement, so often repeated since the time of Meiri
Meiri
Meiri:* Rabbi Menachem Meiri , a famous Catalan rabbi, Talmudist, Maimondean* Elias Meiri, an Israeli pianist, husband of Timna Brauer* Yehudit Kafri , a 20th century Israeli poet, writer...
, that the Sheiltot was a book merely for the instruction of youth, is also baseless. It is more probable that it is a collection of haggadic-halakic sermons, which Aḥa delivered in Palestine, where certainly he was held in high regard. With the decline of rabbinical knowledge in Palestine, Aḥa would have found but few pupils for pure halakic instruction; and he therefore endeavored to add haggadic elements to his lectures, in obedience to the general disposition of the Palestinians, who just then favored Haggadah.
This view best explains the word "derashah" (lecture), which occurs about thirty times in the Sheiltot, in connection with the citation of passages from the Talmud. If the supposition be true that the Sheiltot were derived from sermons, they may properly be considered, in the form in which they appear, as extracts or abstracts of such sermons, giving the introduction and the conclusion of the original derashah; while of the derashah proper—which no doubt consisted of haggadic and halakic quotations from Talmud and Midrash—only the heading is mentioned. Considering them as portions of sermons, the frequent repetitions that occur in the Sheiltot are not strange, as this would happen to the best of preachers; while it would be difficult to explain them if they were found in the strictly literary productions of one man. Of course, there can be no certain conclusions concerning the composition of the "Sheiltot" until the manuscript has been examined. The printed text, while it contains much matter of later date, lacks much that, according to older authorities, was formerly included. An accurate edition of the Sheiltot would be very valuable for textual criticism of the Babylonian Talmud, as indeed for Aramaic philology in general, since Aḥa wrote in the Aramaic vernacular.
Aḥa's work very soon won great esteem, and the work Halakot Gedolot, which does not date from the year 750, but belongs to the oldest literature of the gaonic times, copies no less than one hundred and fifty passages from the Sheiltot. Sherira Gaon
Sherira Gaon
Rav Sherira Gaon was the head of the Academy of Pumbeditha. He was one of the most prominent Geonim of his period, and the father of Hai Gaon, who succeeded him as gaon.Sherira was born in 906 and died in 1006. Rav Sherira Gaon (Hebrew: רב שרירא גאון or R. Sherira ben Ḥanina Gaon, Hebrew: רב...
and his son, Hai Gaon
Hai Gaon
Hai ben Sherira , was a medieval Jewish theologian, rabbi and scholar who served as Gaon of the Talmudic academy of Pumbedita during the early 11th century. He was born in 939 and died on March 28, 1038...
, mention the book by title; and it was likewise freely consulted by Rashi
Rashi
Shlomo Yitzhaki , or in Latin Salomon Isaacides, and today generally known by the acronym Rashi , was a medieval French rabbi famed as the author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud, as well as a comprehensive commentary on the Tanakh...
and the author of the Aruk.
Editions
(1) The first edition of the "Sheiltot" appeared in Venice, 1546, and was succeeded by the following: (2) An edition with a short commentary by Isaiah BerlinIsaiah Berlin
Sir Isaiah Berlin OM, FBA was a British social and political theorist, philosopher and historian of ideas of Russian-Jewish origin, regarded as one of the leading thinkers of the twentieth century and a dominant liberal scholar of his generation...
(Dyhernfurth, 1786); (3) another under the title תועפות ראם, with the commentary of Isaac Pardo, Salonica, 1800–01; (4) with an extended commentary by Naphtali Ẓebi Judah Berlin (Wilna, 1861, 1864, 1867), which latter edition contains the commentary of Isaiah Berlin, as well as a number of variant readings taken from a manuscript of the year 1460, and a short commentary by Saul ben Joseph, who probably lived in the first half of the 14th century. Manuscripts of the Sheiltot, but with essential divergences from the printed text, are to be found among the Hebrew manuscripts in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, Nos. 308, 309, and in the Bodleian Library
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
, Oxford, Nos. 539, 540, 1317. In the latter library may be found also the hitherto unprinted commentaries by Solomon ben Shabbethai (541), and Johanan ben Reuben (542).
Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography
- Reifmann, in Bet Talmud, iii. 26-29, 52-59, 71-79, 108-117;
- S. Buber, ibid. 209-215;
- Weiss, Dor, iv. 23-26, and the passages mentioned in the index;
- A. Harkavy, Studien und Mittheilungen, iv. xxvi. and p. 373;
- Isaac HalevyIsaac HalevyIsaac Halevy may refer to:*Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog, first Chief Rabbi of Ireland*Yitzhak Isaac Halevy Rabinowitz, rabbi, Jewish historian, and founder of the Agudath Israel organization*Yitzhak HaLevi ben Mordechai Raitzes, Rabbi of Krakow from 1778 to 1799...
, Dorot ha-Rishonim, pp. 193, 211-214, Presburg, 1897; - J.L. Rapoport, Bikkure ha-'Ittim, x. 20 et seq.;
- Fürst, Literaturblatt d. Orients, xii. 313;
- Steinschneider, Cat. Bodl. No. 4330;
- A. Jellinek, ḳunṭres ha-Maggid, p. 20, Vienna, 1878;
- S. Mendelsohn, in Rev. Ét. Juives, xxxii. 56-62.