Editing Hai ben Sherira

{{Short description|Gaon of Academy of Pumbedita}}
[[Image:Iraq map fallujah.png|right|thumb|250px|Hai Gaon was the head of the Talmudic Academy of [[Pumbedita]] during the era of the [[Abbasid]] [[Caliphate]], where the modern city of [[Fallujah]], [[Iraq]], is located.]]
'''Hai ben Sherira''' ({{Langx|he|האיי בר שרירא}}), better known as '''Hai Gaon''' ({{Langx|he|האיי גאון}}), was a medieval [[Jew]]ish theologian, [[rabbi]] and scholar who served as [[Gaon (Hebrew)|Gaon]] of the [[Talmudic Academies in Babylonia|Talmudic academy of]] [[Pumbedita]] during the early 11th century. He was born in 939 and died on March 28, 1038.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hai ben Sherira|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hai-ben-Sherira|website=Encyclopædia Britannica|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, inc.|access-date=21 April 2018|date=March 16, 2018|quote=Hai ben Sherira, (born 939—died March 23, 1038)}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Schloessinger|first1=Max|title=Jewish encyclopedia|url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/7051-hai-ben-sherira}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Hai Gaon|url=http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095915646|website=Oxford Reference|access-date=21 April 2018|date=2011-01-01}}</ref> He received his [[Talmud]]ic education from his father, [[Sherira ben Hanina]], and in early life acted as his assistant in teaching.<ref>Schechter, "Saadyana," p. 118.</ref> In his forty-fourth year he became associated with his father as "''av bet din''", and with him delivered many joint decisions. According to ''[[Sefer ha-Qabbalah|Sefer HaKabbalah]]'' of Rabbi [[Abraham ibn Daud|Abraham ben David]] (Ravad), he was the last of the ''Geonim''.

==Appointment as Gaon==

As a consequence of the calumnies of their antagonists Hai and his father were imprisoned together and their property was confiscated by the [[Abbasid Caliphate|Abbasid caliph]] [[al-Qadir]] in 997.<ref>''See'' Abraham ibn Daud in ''M. J. C.'' i. 67.</ref> The imprisonment was brief, but shortly thereafter (in 998) the aged and infirm Sherira appointed his son to the position of gaon. Hai's installation was greeted with great enthusiasm by the Jewish population. An old tradition<ref>Abudarham, ed. Venice, p. 70c.</ref> says that on the Sabbath after Sherira's death, at the end of the reading of the weekly lesson, the passage<ref>Numbers 27:16 ''et seq.''</ref> in which Moses asks for an able follower was read in honor of Hai. Thereupon, as [[haftarah]], the story of [[Solomon]]'s accession to the throne was read,<ref>[[I Kings]] 2:1-12.</ref> the last verse being modified as follows: "And Hai sat on the throne of Sherira his father, and his government was firmly established." Hai remained gaon until his death in 1038.<ref>according to [[Abraham ibn Daud]], l.c. p. 66.</ref> He was celebrated by the Spanish poet [[Solomon ibn Gabirol]] and by [[Samuel ibn Naghrillah]].<ref>see ''[[Ha-Karmel]]'', 1875, p. 614.</ref>

==Writings==
===Responsa===

Hai ben Sherira's chief claim to recognition rests on his numerous [[responsa]], in which he gives decisions affecting the social and religious life of the [[Diaspora]]. Questions reached him from [[Germany]], [[France]], [[Iberian Peninsula|Iberia]], [[Anatolia]], the [[Maghreb]], and even [[India]] and [[Ethiopia]].<ref>see Müller, ''Mafteah'' pp. 197-201 ''et seq.''; Harkavy, ''Studien und Mittheilungen,'' iv. 225.</ref> His responsa, more than 800 in number, deal with civil law, especially laws concerning women, with ritual, holidays, and so on. Many of them contain explanations of certain [[halakha|halakhot]], [[aggadah|aggadot]], and Talmudic matters. In halakhic decisions he quotes the [[Jerusalem Talmud]], but without ascribing any authority to it.<ref>''Teshubot ha-Ge'onim,'' ed. Lyck, No. 46.</ref> Many of his responsa may have been written in [[Arabic]]; only a few of them have been preserved.<ref>''Sha'are Tzedek,'' Salonica, 1792; Harkavy, ''Teshubot ha-Ge'onim,'' Nos. 83-117, 197, 198, 201, 203, 325, 410, 421; Derenbourg, in ''R. E. J.'' xxii. 202; Steinschneider, ''Hebr. Uebers.'' p. 909; ''idem'', ''Die Arabische Literatur der Juden,'' p. 101; Müller, l.c.</ref>

===Legal treatises===

Hai ben Sherira codified various branches of Talmudic law. His works include:
* An Arabic treatise on sales and transactions, translated into [[Hebrew]] by [[Isaac Albargeloni]] with the title ''HaMekach vehaMimkar'' ({{Langx|he|הַמֶּקַח וְהַמִּמְכָּר}}; 1078).<ref>{{cite book |author-last=Hai Gaon |author-link=Hai Gaon |title=Meḳaḥ u-mimkar |editor= Michel Y. Lefkowitz |publisher=[[Diskin Orphanage]]|date=1949 |location=Jerusalem|language=he|url=https://www.hebrewbooks.org/21864 |oclc=903479321 }}</ref>
* ''Sefer ha-Mashkon,'' a treatise on [[mortgage law]], anonymously translated into Hebrew
* ''Mishpetei haTena'im,'' a treatise on conditions, also anonymously translated into Hebrew.
These three treatises were published together (Venice, 1604); later editions also contain commentaries by [[Eleazar ben Aryeh]] (Vienna, 1800) and by [[Hananiah Isaac Michael Aryeh]] (Salonica, 1814). Another anonymous translation of them exists in manuscript under the title "Dinei Mamonot".

According to Rabbi David Azulai, Hai also wrote in Arabic ''Sha'arei Shevu'ot,'' a treatise on [[oath]]s. According to another Hebrew source, the original title was ''Kitab al-Aiman.'' This treatise was twice anonymously translated into Hebrew: (1) ''Mishpeṭe Shebu'ot'' (Venice, 1602; Altona, 1782); (2) ''Sefer Mehubbar be-Kotzer Min ha-Dinim be-Bi'ur Kelalim we-'liqarim be-Helqe Hiyyub la-Shebu'ah''<ref>Neubauer, ''Cat. Bodl. Hebr. MSS.'' No. 813.</ref> ''Sha'arei Shevu'ot'' was metrically arranged by an anonymous writer, probably of the 13th century, under the title ''Sha'arei Dinei Mamonot ve-Sha'arei Shevu'ot,'' and by [[Levi ben Jacob Alkalai]].

Hai's treatise on boundary litigations, "Metzranut", is known only through quotations.<ref>Rapoport, in ''[[Bikkure ha-Ittim|Bikkure ha-'Ittim]],'' x. 93, note 27.</ref>

''Hilkot [[Tefillin]], Siddur [[Tefillah]]'' and ''Metibot'' are also quoted as his.<ref>Rapoport, l.c. xi. 91.</ref>

===Commentaries on the Mishnah===

Hai ben Sherira's [[philological]] abilities were directed towards interpreting the [[Mishnah]]; of this work only the portion on Seder Tohorot is extant; it was published by T. Rosenberg in "Qobetz Ma'aseh" (Berlin, 1856). This commentary contains especially interesting linguistic notes, Arabic and [[Aramaic]] being often adduced for comparison. The author quotes the Mishnah, the two Talmuds, the [[Tosefta]], the [[Sifra]], [[Targum]]s [[Onkelos]] and Jonathan, the [[Septuagint]], the works of [[Saadia Gaon]], the ''Sifre Refu'ah,'' and other anonymous sources. He also quotes his own commentary on [[Zera'im]] (p.&nbsp;34) and on [[Baba Batra]] (p.&nbsp;43). These quotations, and many others cited by the Arukh, prove that the commentary extended to the whole Mishnah, containing among other explanations historical and archeological notes. Some passages of the commentary are quoted by [[Isaac Alfasi|Alfasi]] and [[Chananel ben Chushiel|Hananel]] on Yoma, and by [[Solomon ibn Adret]] in his ''Hiddushim''.<ref>Weiss, ''Dor,'' iv. 185 ''et seq.''</ref> while [[Abu al-Walid ibn Janah]] cites Hai's commentary to [[Shabbat (Talmud)|Shabbat]] frequently.<ref>Bacher, "Leben und Werke des Abulwalid," p. 87.</ref>

===Other works===
It is uncertain whether Hai wrote commentaries in Arabic on the Bible as a whole or on parts of it. [[Abraham ibn Ezra]], however, in his commentary on the [[Book of Job]] quotes several of his explanations.

Hai compiled also a dictionary of especially difficult words in the [[Bible]], Targum, and Talmud, the Arabic title of which was ''al-Hawi''. [[Abraham ibn Ezra]] translated this title, in his ''Moznayim,'' into "Ha-Me'assef", while [[Abu Bukrat]]'s translation, ''Ha-Kolel,'' and [[Moses Botarel]]'s translation, "Ha-Qemitzah", did not become popular. Fragments of this dictionary were discovered and published by Harkavy;<ref>In "Mitzpah" (St. Petersburg, 1886), in ''Hadashim Gam Yeshanim'' (No. 7), and in ''Mi-Mizrah umi-Ma'Arab'' (1896, iii. 94 ''et seq''.</ref> these show that the work was arranged according to an alphabetic-phonetic plan of three consonants in every group; for instance, s.v. אהל it quotes the permutations אהל, אלה, הלא, האל, לאה. [[Judah ibn Balaam]] is the earliest Jewish author who expressly quotes this dictionary.<ref>see his commentary on the [[Pentateuch]], ''Kitab al-Tarjih''; Neubauer, ''Cat. Bodl. Hebr. MSS.'' No. 292; Schorr, in ''[[He-Halutz (magazine)|He-Halutz]]''," ii. 61.</ref> [[Moses ibn Ezra]] and some North African rabbis of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries also mention it.<ref>Steinschneider, in ''Z. D. M. G.'' lv. 129 ''et seq.''</ref>

===Works of disputed attribution===

Of Hai's poetical writings few have been preserved, and even of these the genuineness is doubted. The didactic poem "Musar Haskel" is generally regarded as authentic, though Dukes expressed some doubts as to its genuineness, as old Jewish authors like [[al-Harizi]] and [[ibn Tibbon]] do not mention it;<ref>"Orient, Lit." xi. 505.</ref> and [[Moritz Steinschneider|Steinschneider]] also regarded it as of doubtful authenticity.<ref>''Cat. Bodl.'' p. 2161; "Jewish Lit." p. 366, notes 39, 40.</ref> The first edition appeared about 1505 (see Fano); others were published in [[Constantinople]] (1531), in [[Paris]] (1559), and elsewhere.<ref>Steinschneider, ''Cat. Bodl.'' p. 1021.</ref> The modern editions are as follows: Dukes, ''Ehrensäulen,'' p.&nbsp;96; Grätz, ''Blumenlese,'' p.&nbsp;27; Steinschneider, ''Musar Haskel,'' [[Berlin]], 1860; Weiss, ''Liqquṭe Qadmonim,'' [[Warsaw]], 1893; Philipp, ''Sämmtliche Gedichte des R. Hai Gaon,'' [[Lemberg]], 1881; a [[Latin]] translation by [[Jean Mercier (Hebraist)|Jean Mercier]], ''Cantica Eruditionis Intellectus Auctore per Celebri R. Hai,'' Paris, 1561; another by [[Caspar Seidel]], ''Carmen Morale ΣτροφορυΘμον Elegantissimum R. Chai,'' etc., [[Leipzig]], 1638. The "Musar Haskel" consists of 189 double verses in the Arabic meter "rajaz", and it is said to have therefore received the title of "Arjuzah". If it really belongs to Hai, he was, as far as is known, the first Eastern writer to use an Arabic meter in Hebrew poetry. Every strophe is complete in itself, and independent of the preceding strophe.

Some [[piyyut]]im are ascribed to him, as the piyyut beginning with the words "Shema' qoli", preserved in the [[Sephardic]] liturgy for the evening of [[Yom Kippur]].<ref>Landshuth, "'Ammude ha'Abodah," p. 62.</ref>

Many spurious writings have been ascribed to Hai, especially by later [[kabalists]]. Among them are a ''Sefer kol ha-Shem ba-Koah'';<ref>[[Moses Botarel]], commentary on the "Sefer Yeẓirah," p. 10a, [[Grodno]]</ref> ''Pitron Halomot,'' [[Ferrara]], 1552; ''Sefer Refafot,'' ''ib.''; ''Perush me-'Alenu''; ''Teshubah,'' on the thirteen rules of R. Ishmael and on the Ten [[Sefirot]]; ''A Letter to the Priests of Africa''.<ref>Steinschneider, ''Cat. Bodl.'' p. 1029; ''idem'', ''Hebr. Uebers.'' p. 893; Harkavy, ''Studien und Mittheilungen,'' iii. 14.</ref> Some of the responsa attributed to him are mere [[forgeries]]. Others again were falsified or mutilated by later additions and interpolations, as, for instance, the one containing attacks upon [[Aristotle]] and his philosophy.<ref>''Monatsschrift,'' xi. 37; Grätz, ''Gesch.'' vi., note 2; Geiger, in ''Wiss. Zeit. Jüd. Theol.'' i. 206.</ref>

==Characteristics==
Hai was not only a master of Hebrew lore, but was also familiar with the [[Quran]] and the [[Hadith]], with [[Plato]], [[Aristotle]], [[Alfarabi]], the grammarian [[al-Halil]], the Septuagint, the [[Greek calendar]],<ref>Harkavy, l.c. No. 45.</ref> [[Ancient Greece|Greek history]],<ref>ib. No. 376</ref> and the [[Persian language]] translation of ''[[Kalilah wa-Dimnah]]''. He did not hesitate to consult even the [[Catholicos]] of the [[Assyrian Christians]] in an exegetical difficulty over Psalms 141:5, as the [[Sicily|Sicilian]] [[Dayan (rabbinic judge)|dayyan]] [[Matzliah ibn al-Basak]] relates in his biography of Hai.<ref>''Sirat R. Hai''; see Steinschneider, ''Die Arabische Literatur'', § 85</ref> Hai justified his action by saying that scholars in former times did not hesitate to receive explanations from those of other beliefs. He had an exact knowledge of the theological movements of his time, of which that of the orthodox [[Ash'ariyyah]] attracted him the most. Moses ibn Ezra, in his ''Poetik'' (fol. 1196), even called him a [[Jewish Kalam|Mutakalam]]. He was also competent to argue with [[Muslim]] theologians, and sometimes adopted their [[polemics|polemical]] methods.<ref>''see'' Harkavy, l.c. iii. 173.</ref> Hai was orthodox as regards tradition, and upheld [[minhag]] to its fullest extent. He established the principle that where the Talmud gives no decision traditional customs must be adhered to.<ref>''Eshkol'', i. 1.</ref> He even went so far as to recommend the observance of every custom not in direct opposition to law.<ref>''Eshkol'', ii. 3.</ref> In many passages of his responsa he warns against deviating from a custom even when the meaning of its origin has been lost, as in the case of the practice of not drinking water during the [[Tekufot]].<ref>''Teshubot ha-Ge'onim'', ed. Lyck, No. 14.</ref> But this did not prevent him from opposing the abuses common to his time. Thus he protested against the practice of declaring null and void all oaths and promises which may be made during the coming year,<ref>''ib.'' No. 38</ref> and against the refusal to grant an honorable burial to [[Herem (censure)|excommunicated persons and their connections]].<ref>''ib.'' No. 41.</ref>

Hai's conservative standpoint explains the fact that in the study of esoteric sciences he detected a danger to the religious life and a deterrent to the study of the Law. He warned against the study of [[philosophy]], even when pursued with the plea that it leads to a better knowledge of God.

Of his own views on religious-philosophical subjects only those regarding the anthropomorphisms of the Bible (expressed in his appeal to a well-known dictum of R. Ishmael: "The Torah spoke in language of men") and one or two other subjects<ref>''see'' Schreiner in ''Monatsschrift'', xxxv. 314 ''et seq.''</ref> were known prior to the publication of ibn Balaam's commentary on the [[Book of Isaiah]].<ref>''R. E. J.'' xxii. 202.</ref> A responsum of Hai given in this commentary discloses his opinion on the subjects of divine fore-knowledge and the predestined length of human life. The essence of divine [[Prophecy|prescience]] seems to consist, according to him, in a preknowledge of both hypothetical and actual occurrences. In this he shows the influence of Saadia.<ref>Kaufmann in "Z. D. M. G." xlix. 73.</ref>

His attitude toward the [[Kabbalah]] is determined by his conservative standpoint. Its elements, as far as they can be traced back to the Talmud, he considered to be true. When the inhabitants of [[Fes|Fez]] made inquiries regarding the proportions of God,<ref>''[[Shi'ur Qomah]]''</ref> he answered, as one of the signers of the responsum, that God is above any corporeal qualification and that the Talmud forbids the public discussion of these things.<ref>''Ta'am Zeqenim'', Nos. 54–57.</ref> His answer to the question regarding the interpretation of the Talmudic tradition that four men entered paradise is interesting, and has caused much discussion.<ref>''Teshubot ha-Ge'onim'', ed. Lyck, No. 99.</ref> He refers to the opinion of various scholars that specially favored persons could attain, by means of castigation and the reciting of psalms, to an ecstatic state in which they might behold the [[heaven]]ly halls ("[[Hekhalot literature|heikhalot]]") as vividly as if they really had entered them. Contrary to his father-in-law, [[Samuel ben Hofni]], gaon of [[Sura Academy]], he followed former scholars in deeming it possible that God should reveal the marvels of heaven to the pious while in this state of ecstasy.<ref>See [[Chananel ben Chushiel|Hananel]] and [[Tosafot]] to Hagigah 14b, s.v. "Arba'ah she-niknesu."</ref> But all the elements of the later Kabbalah not found in Talmudic tradition, such as the belief that miracles could be performed with the names of God, he designated as foolishness not credited by any sensible man.

The best characterization of Hai is given by Steinschneider:<ref>"Hebr. Uebers." p. 910</ref> "Certain Kabbalistic pieces were ascribed to him; but in truth he was no mystic in the usual sense of the word. In fact he fought against superstition. He was an orthodox Jew, in possession of general culture, but hostile to deeper philosophical research."

==Legacy==
Hai's students included [[Chananel ben Chushiel|Rabbeinu Chananel]] and [[Nissim ben Jacob|Rav Nissim]], the head of the academy at [[Kairouan]].

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=20em}}
{{JewishEncyclopedia|url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/7051-hai-ben-sherira|title=Hai Ben Sherira}} It has the following bibliography: In addition to the works quoted above: Steinschneider, Die Arabische Literatur, § 57;
:*[[Heinrich Graetz|Grätz]], ''Gesch.'' v. 320, vi. 1 et seq., note 2;
:*Weiss, ''Dor,'' iv. 174 et seq.;
::*idem, ''Liqqute Qadmoniyyot'', 1873, Introduction;
::*idem, in ''[[Ha-Asif]]'', iii. 151;
:*Winter and Wünsche, ''Die Jüdische Litteratur'', ii. 54 et seq.;
:*Schechter, ''Saadyana'', p. 113;
::*idem, ''Genizah MS. offprint from Festschrift zum 70 Geburtstage A. Berliners'', pp. 2 et seq.;
::*idem, ''Studies in Judaism'', pp. 94, 254, 255, 330, 421;
:*''[[Jewish Quarterly Review]]'': xiii. 52 et seq.E. C. M.

==External links==
{{Wikisource1911Enc|Hai}}
*[https://www.loebtree.com/kings.html#hai Family Tree]
*[https://www.scribd.com/doc/63432108/Hai-Gaon-Divine-Names-Responsa Hai Gaon Divine Names Responsa] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121109005500/http://www.scribd.com/doc/63432108/Hai-Gaon-Divine-Names-Responsa |date=2012-11-09 }}
{{S-start}}
{{Succession box
| title = [[Gaon (Hebrew)|Gaon]] of the [[Pumbedita Academy]]
| years = 1004-1038
| before = [[Sherira Gaon]]
| after = [[Hezekiah Gaon]]
}}
{{S-end}}{{Rabbinical eras timeline|939|1038|Hai}}
{{Geonim}}

{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hai Gaon}}
[[Category:Geonim]]
[[Category:10th-century Abbasid rabbis]]
[[Category:11th-century Abbasid rabbis]]
[[Category:939 births]]
[[Category:1038 deaths]]
[[Category:Rabbis of Academy of Pumbedita]]
[[Category:Commentaries on the Mishnah]]
[[Category:Authors of books on Jewish law]]