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Rav Sherira Gaon (Hebrew: רב שרירא גאון or R. Sherira Gaon bar Ḥanina , Hebrew: רב שרירא גאון בר חנינא or merely Sherira b. Ḥanina〔(SHERIRA B. ḤANINA ), jewishencyclopedia.com; Article〕) was the head (gaon) 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. (Rabinowich〔Trans. Nosson Dovid Rabinowich,The Iggeres of Rav Sherira Gaon (Jerusalem: Moznaim, 1988) 〕 p. xx; see also Abraham ibn Daud〔Abraham ibn Daud, "Sefer ha-Ḳabbalah," in Adolf Neubauer, "Medieval Jewish Chronicles" (Oxford, 1887) ISBN 1-145-09335-3.〕 i. 66-67). He wrote the ''Iggeret Rav Sherira Gaon'' ("() Epistle of Rav Sherira Gaon"), a comprehensive history of the composition of the Talmud. The ''Iggeret'' was an answer to an enquiry from Kairouan about the authorship and composition of the Mishnah and Talmud, and in particular why earlier authorities are seldom cited by name and the authorities that are so cited do not seem to be chronologically continuous. The ''Iggeret'' exists in two recensions, a "French" and a "Spanish" recension. The "French" recension is in Aramaic, while the "Spanish" recension contains a higher proportion of Hebrew. The two recensions appear to differ on the question of whether the Mishnah was recorded in writing by Rabbi Judah haNasi. The Spanish recension definitely says that it was. The French recension appears to say that it was not, and this was the traditional view among Ashkenazi Jews. However, the notes to a recent edition of the French recension〔ed. with translation into modern Hebrew, Nosson Dovid Rabinowich (Jerusalem: Moznaim, 1991).〕 argue that the French wording is also consistent with the Mishnah having been written down. The scholarly consensus, up to and including Solomon Schechter, was that the "Spanish" recension was the original version, and this is strongly urged by Rabbi Israel Moses Hazan.〔''Iyye ha-Yam'' no. 187.〕 More recent scholarship holds that the names are wrongly attributed: the so-called "French" version is the older, but is in fact a product not of France but of Spain.〔Brody (see references).〕 ==Life== Sherira was born in 906, the descendant, both on his father's and his mother's side, of prominent families, several members of which had occupied the gaonate. His father was Hananiah ben R. Yehudai, also a gaon. Sherira claimed descent from Rabbah b. Abuha, who belonged to the family of the exilarch, thereby claiming descent from the Davidic line. Sherira stated that his genealogy could be traced back to the pre-Bostanaian branch of that family, which, he claimed, on account of the deterioration of the exilarchate had renounced its claims thereto, preferring instead the scholar's life (Letter of Sherira Gaon, in Neubauer, l.c. i. 23, 33). The seal of his family was a lion, which was said to have been the emblem of the Judean kings (Ibn Daud,〔 l.c.). Sherira officiated first as chief judge. While in that office, he refused to recognize the election of Nehemiah ben Kohen Tzedek as gaon in 960. On Nehemiah's death in 968, Sherira was elected gaon of the Academy of Pumbedita, soon after which he appointed his son, Hai, chief judge in his place (Sherira, l.c. i. 41). In 997, he and his son were maliciously denounced by enemies to the caliph al-Qadir, though the nature of the accusation is unknown. He and his son were imprisoned and deprived of their property, even of the necessaries of life. Though the incarceration was brief, Sherira was now in very bad health. Sherira resigned the gaonate in 998, appointing his son as his successor (Ibn Daud,〔 l.c.). Sherira died soon after at the age of 100 years, in 1006. (Ibn Daud,〔 l.c., according to Weiss's emendation in "Dor," v. 174) 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Sherira Gaon」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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