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Overview
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780300189322 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Yale University Press |
| Publication date: | 04/09/2013 |
| Edition description: | Updated |
| Pages: | 416 |
| Sales rank: | 1,044,041 |
| Product dimensions: | 6.10(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.00(d) |
About the Author
Table of Contents
Preface to the Paperback Edition xi
Preface xv
Acknowledgments xxi
Introduction xxiii
List of Abbreviations xxvii
Part I The Historical Setting
1 Defining the Geonic Period 3
Savora'im and Geonim 4
The End of the Geonic Era 11
2 The Primary Sources 19
The Epistle of Sherira Gaon 20
The Account of Rabbi Nathan the Babylonian 26
The Importance of the Genizah 30
3 The Geonic Academies: Continuity and Change 35
Related Institutions 40
The Operation of the Academies 43
Positions and Power in the Academy 48
4 The Multifaceted Role of the Gaon 54
Head of the Academy 54
Judge 56
Administrator 58
Author of Responsa 60
Legal Innovator 62
Additional Roles 65
5 The Exilarchate 67
Sources of Authority 68
Rights and Responsibilities 71
Exilarchs and Geonim 75
The Decline of the Exilarchate 80
6 The Struggle against Heresy 83
'Anan and the Origins of Karaism 85
Issues of Contention between Karaites and Rabbanites 91
Rabbanite Reactions 96
7 Competition with the Palestinian Center 100
The Palestinian Center and Its Academy 101
Intellectual and Spiritual Life 105
Legal Tradition and Literature 109
The Babylonian Offensive 113
The Palestinian Riposte 121
8 Ties with the Diaspora 123
The Sphere of Babylonian Hegemony 123
Palestine and Egypt 126
The Maghreb 129
Europe 132
Part II The Classical Geonic Period
9 The Intellectual World of the Geonim 137
Knowledge of Languages 138
Areas of Interest 140
The Supernatural 142
Attitudes towards Authority 147
10 The Talmudic Sources 155
Oral versus Written Talmud 156
Interpretation and Application of the Talmud 161
Other Sources 166
11 Extra-Talmudic Oral Traditions 171
Formulaic Traditions 172
Other Halakhic Traditions 178
Aggadic and Historical Traditions 182
12 The Responsa Literature 185
Technical and Stylistic Aspects 186
The Fate of the Responsa 193
Problems of Identification and Attribution 197
13 The She'iltot 202
The Genre: Form and Structure 202
The She'iltot of R. Ahai 207
The Sources of the She'iltot 210
The Influence of the She'iltot 213
14 The Earliest Legal Codes 216
Halakhot Pesuqot 217
Halakhot Gedolot 223
The Impact of the Codes 230
Part III Se'adyah Gaon and After
15 Se'adyah Gaon, Revolutionary Champion of Tradition 235
Se'adyah's Career 235
Se'adyah as Revolutionary 239
Se'adyah as the Champion of Tradition 244
16 The Halakhic Monographs 249
General Characteristics of the Monographs 249
The Monographic Writings of Se'adyah Gaon 255
Monographs of Later Geonim 260
17 Talmudic Exegesis and Methodology 267
Commentaries on the Mishnah 267
Commentaries on the Talmud 270
Early Works on Talmudic Methodology 274
Sherira, Hayya, and Samuel b. Hofni 278
18 Theology 283
The Background to Geonic Theology 284
Se'adyah Gaon as Theologian 289
Samuel b. Hofni and Other Geonim 294
19 Biblical Exegesis 300
The Scope of Geonic Exegesis 301
Exegetical Principles 304
Theological and Polemical Dimensions 308
The Relationship between Talmudic and Geonic Exegesis 312
20 Linguistics and Poetry 316
Se'adyah Gaon as Linguist 317
Se'adyah as Poet 323
Hayya Gaon as Linguist and Poet 329
Epilogue 333
Appendix A Did the Geonim Enjoy Governmental Recognition? 337
Appendix B Chronology of the Geonim 341
Glossary 347
Bibliography 351
Supplemental Bibliography 377
Index 383