THE PERIOD OF THE GEONIM
Who were the Geonim?
- Heads of the great yeshivot of Babylonia (Sura and Pumpeditha). (approx 589 CE to approx 1038). The Geonim, together with the Resh Galuta (exilarch) were the leaders of the Jewish people prior to the Islamic conquest and for hundreds of years thereafter. The Gaonim were also judges, authors of responsa, law makers, and authors of literary works.
- Heads of the great yeshivot of Babylonia (Sura and Pumpeditha). (approx 589 CE to approx 1038). The Geonim, together with the Resh Galuta (exilarch) were the leaders of the Jewish people prior to the Islamic conquest and for hundreds of years thereafter. The Gaonim were also judges, authors of responsa, law makers, and authors of literary works.
The Jews under Muslim Rule
- Muslim rulers allowed Jews to maintain their own internal civil law and recognised the authority of the Resh Galuta and the gaonim.
- Muslim rulers allowed Jews to maintain their own internal civil law and recognised the authority of the Resh Galuta and the gaonim.
TEXTS
Texts 1 and 2: Pirquoy ben Baboy
Emphasise the importance of the yeshivot of Babylonia- redemption will come first to the academies of Bavel, for (as) Israel is redeemed by the academies' virtue.
The authority of the academies of Babylonia supersede that of the rabbis of Palestine, whose liturgical customs have been bastardised to some extent because of the "institute of persecution" under the Byzantine Christians.
Texts 1 and 2: Pirquoy ben Baboy
Emphasise the importance of the yeshivot of Babylonia- redemption will come first to the academies of Bavel, for (as) Israel is redeemed by the academies' virtue.
The authority of the academies of Babylonia supersede that of the rabbis of Palestine, whose liturgical customs have been bastardised to some extent because of the "institute of persecution" under the Byzantine Christians.
Texts 3-7: The Karaite challenge
During the Geonic period, a schism arose among the Jewish people. As the Geonim consolidated the authority of the Talmud (Mishnah and Gemara), which formed the core curriculum of the yeshivot, a challenge arose from the Karaites, who accepted the authority only of the written Torah (Tanach) but not the oral law, which they saw as the invention of the rabbis. The Karaites, much like the Sadducees in the past saw the Oral Law as a deviation from the plain literal meaning of Torah. Karaism spread, particularly at the time of Anan Ben David.
Saadiah Gaon was the main opponent of Karaism, and his writings defended the Oral Law and attacked the Karaites as heretics. (For example, Saadiah demonstrated how the written Torah cannot be understood without an oral tradition e.g. with regard to understanding what work is forbidden on shabbat, or why the precept of "an eye for an eye" requires interpretation and cannot be taken literally. The Karaites refuted his arguments vociferously but ultimately, largely through the work of Saadiah Gaon, their influence was limited and a split in Judaism was averted.
During the Geonic period, a schism arose among the Jewish people. As the Geonim consolidated the authority of the Talmud (Mishnah and Gemara), which formed the core curriculum of the yeshivot, a challenge arose from the Karaites, who accepted the authority only of the written Torah (Tanach) but not the oral law, which they saw as the invention of the rabbis. The Karaites, much like the Sadducees in the past saw the Oral Law as a deviation from the plain literal meaning of Torah. Karaism spread, particularly at the time of Anan Ben David.
Saadiah Gaon was the main opponent of Karaism, and his writings defended the Oral Law and attacked the Karaites as heretics. (For example, Saadiah demonstrated how the written Torah cannot be understood without an oral tradition e.g. with regard to understanding what work is forbidden on shabbat, or why the precept of "an eye for an eye" requires interpretation and cannot be taken literally. The Karaites refuted his arguments vociferously but ultimately, largely through the work of Saadiah Gaon, their influence was limited and a split in Judaism was averted.
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