David ben Zakkai

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David ben Zakkai

Jewish religious leader

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Saʿadia ben Joseph
Life
…exilarch (head of Babylonian Jewry) David ben Zakkai as the gaon (“head”) of the academy of Sura, which had been transferred to Baghdad. Upon assuming this office, he recognized the need to systematize Talmudic law and canonize it by subject. Toward this end he produced Kitāb al-mawārīth (“Book on the…
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…exilarch (head of Babylonian Jewry) David ben Zakkai as the gaon (“head”) of the academy of Sura, which had been transferred to Baghdad. Upon assuming this office, he recognized the need to systematize Talmudic law and canonize it by subject. Toward this end he produced Kitāb al-mawārīth (“Book on the…
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Judaism
The gaonate of Saʿadia ben Joseph
…for the gaonate, the exilarch David ben Zakkai (916/917–940) bypassed the families from whom the geonim had traditionally been selected and in 928 appointed Saʿadia ben Joseph (882–942) to head the academy of Sura. Of Egyptian birth, Saʿadia had gained wide acclaim for his scholarly retorts to Karaites, heretics, and…
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…for the gaonate, the exilarch David ben Zakkai (916/917–940) bypassed the families from whom the geonim had traditionally been selected and in 928 appointed Saʿadia ben Joseph (882–942) to head the academy of Sura. Of Egyptian birth, Saʿadia had gained wide acclaim for his scholarly retorts to Karaites, heretics, and…
Read More