The geonim of Babylonia and the shaping of medieval Jewish culture / Robert Brody.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Brody, Robert, 1955-

Contributor:

JSTOR (Organization)

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Geonim.

Judaism--History--Medieval and early modern period, 425-1789.

Judaism.

History.

Jews--Iraq--Babylonia--History.

Jews.

Iraq.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xxii, 382 pages) : map

Place of Publication:

New Haven : Yale University Press, [1998]

System Details:

text file

Summary:

The Geonic period from about the late sixth to mid-eleventh centuries is of crucial importance in the history of Judaism. The Geonim, for whom this era is named, were the heads of the ancient talmudic academies of Babylonia. They gained ascendancy over the older Palestinian center of Judaism and were recognized as the leading religious and spiritual authorities by most of the world's Jewish population. The Geonim and their circles enshrined the Babylonian Talmud as the central canonical work of rabbinic literature and the leading guide to religious practice, and it was a predominantly Babylonian version of Judaism that was transplanted to newer centers of Judaism in North Africa and Europe. Robert Brody's book -- the first survey in English of the Geonic period in almost a century -focuses on the cultural milieu of the Geonim and on their intellectual and literary creativity.

Brody describes the cultural spheres in which the Geonim were active and the historical and cultural settings within which they functioned. He emphasizes the challenges presented by other Jewish institutions and individuals, ranging from those within the Babylonian Jewish setting -- specially the political leadership represented by the Exilarch -- to the competing Palestinian Jewish center and to sectarian movements and freethinkers who rejected rabbinic authority altogether. He also describes the variety of ways in which the development of Geonic tradition was affected by the surrounding non-Jewish cultures, both Muslim and Christian.

"This book is a fresh and thorough examination of the period in question, a masterpiece of scholarship and erudition". -- Neil Danzig, Jewish Theological Seminary

Contents:

1. Defining the Geonic Period

2. The Primary Sources

3. The Geonic Academies: Continuity and Change

4. The Multifaceted Role of the Gaon

5. The Exilarchate

6. The Struggle against Heresy

7. Competition with the Palestinian Center

8. Ties with the Diaspora

9. The Intellectual World of the Geonim

10. The Talmudic Sources

11. Extra-Talmudic Oral Traditions

12. The Responsa Literature

13. The She'iltot

14. The Earliest Legal Codes

15. Se'adyah Gaon, Revolutionary Champion of Tradition

16. The Halakhic Monographs

17. Talmudic Exegesis and Methodology

18. Theology

19. Biblical Exegesis

20. Linguistics and Poetry

App. A. Did the Geonim Enjoy Governmental Recognition?

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 351-375) and index.

Electronic reproduction. New York Available via World Wide Web.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780300146592

0300146590

Publisher Number:

99970420556

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.