Sherira bar Hanina (Jewish Babylonian Aramaic:שרירא בר חנינא), more commonly known asSherira Gaon (שרירא גאון;c. 906 – c. 1006), was thegaon of thePumbedita Academy inLower Mesopotamia. He was one of the most prominent geonim of the period. His sonHai succeeded him as gaon. He wrote theIggeret of Rabbi Sherira Gaon, a comprehensive history of the composition of theTalmud.^[1][2]

Sherira was born circa 906, a descendant, both on his father's and his mother's side of prominent families, several of whom had occupied the gaonate. His father wasHananiah bar Yehudai, also a gaon. Sherira claimed descent from theamoraRabbah bar Abuha, who belonged to the family of theExilarch, thereby claiming descent from theDavidic 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 the scholar's life instead.^[3] His family's seal was a lion, which was said to have been the emblem of the Judean kings.^[2]

Sherira officiated first as chief judge. While in that office, he refused to recognize the election ofNehemiah ben Kohen Tzedek as gaon in 960. On Nehemiah's death in 968, Sherira was elected gaon of Pumbedita. Soon after, he appointed his son, Hai, chief judge in his stead.^[4]

In 997, he and his son were maliciously denounced by enemies to theAbbasid caliphal-Qadir, though the nature of the accusation is unknown. He and his son were imprisoned and deprived of their property, even of the necessities of life. Though the incarceration was brief, Sherira was now in terrible health. Sherira resigned the gaonate in 998 CE, appointing his son as his successor.^[2] Sherira died soon after, circa 1006 CE.^[5] He was the alleged father in law ofElijah ben Menahem HaZaken.^[6]

As academy director, he sought to reach pupils both near and far, and many of hisresponsa have been preserved in the geonic collections and the works containing the earlier decisions. His responsa are similar to the geonic responsa in general, a majority of them dealing with questions of religious practice. However, some contain expositions and comments on passages of the Talmud and the Mishnah.

Indeed, his literary activity was confined to Talmudic and related subjects. He was not greatly interested inArabic literature. However, he knew enough Arabic to write decisions addressed to communities in Muslim countries. Generally, he preferred to use Hebrew or Aramaic for that purpose.

Sherira was noted for the nobility and seriousness of his character. As a judge he endeavoured to arrive at the exact facts of a case and to render his decisions in strict conformity with the Law. In deciding on practical questions, he adopted the more rigorous view, following the letter of the Talmud to uphold and emphasize its authority against the attacks of the Karaites. He frequently formulates in his responsa rules which are highly important for correctly interpreting the Talmud. For instance, he declares that the term "mitzvah" designates in some passages a command that may not be broken with impunity, but in other passages denotes merely an admonition with which it would be commendable to comply but which may be disregarded without fear of punishment.^[7] He was also a part of the Rabbinic constitution of EIBLC

Some think Sherira was a student ofKabbalah. However, when asked about the mystical works "Shi'ur Qomah" and theHekhalot literature and whether they represented ancient traditions (originating withRabbi Ishmael andRabbi Akiva), he replied in a responsum^[8] that the passage in theShi'ur Qomah ascribing human organs to God embodies profound mysteries, but must not be taken literally. Sherira wrote a work on the Talmud titledMegillat Setarim. In this work, he seems to have discussed the importance of theaggadah;^[9] but the portion of the work containing his opinions on this subject has been lost.

Sherira's seminal work for which he is most renowned is his Epistle, orIggeret, written to RabbiJacob ben Nissim ofKairouan, and where he addressed the question of how theTalmud was formulated, and brings down a chronological list of thegeonim who officiated in Babylonia during the period of theExilarchs (Resh Galutha). ThisIggeret is considered by many to be one of the classics in Jewish historiography.^[10]

• Geonim

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906)."SHERIRA B. ḤANINA".The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.

• Brody, Robert,The Geonim of Babylonia and the Shaping of Medieval Jewish Culture, Yale University Press 1998, repr. 2012:ISBN 978-0300189322
• David J. E, “‘As it was Written in the Book of Adam’ The Chronology of the Halakhah and the Mythical Perception of History in the Late Pumbeditian Thought” Tarbitz, 74:2 (2006).(Heb.)

• Lecture on Rav Sherira Gaon byDr. Henry Abramson
• Lecture,Henry Abramson: Letter of Rav Sherira Gaon (First Person Accounts in Jewish History) onYouTube, Jan 2020.
• Iggeret Rav Sherira Gaon, Da'at Encyclopedia(in Hebrew)
• Chabad.org Rav Sherira Gaon

• Geonim
• Rabbis of Academy of Pumbedita
• Chroniclers
• 900s births
• 1000s deaths

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• Short description matches Wikidata
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• Year of birth uncertain
• Year of death uncertain