Gaon (Hebrew)

Gaon (Hebrew: גאון, gā'ōn, lit. 'pride', plural geonim, גְּאוֹנִים‎, gĕ'ōnīm) was originally a formal title for the Geonim, heads of Talmudic academies in the 6th–11th century. Since the rishonic period, many great rabbis,[1] whether or not they head academies, are often lauded with this honorific as a mark of respect; for example, one may refer to Ovadia Yosef as "HaGaon Ovadia Yosef". Modern Hebrew reuses the word as an equivalent for "genius" based on phonetic similarity.

Etymology

It may have originated as a shortened version of "Rosh Yeshivat Ge'on Ya'akov", although there are alternative explanations.[2][3] In Ancient Hebrew, it referred to arrogance and haughty pride (Amos 6:8 – "I abhor the pride of Jacob and detest his fortresses; I will deliver up the city and everything in it.") and, according to another explanation, it later became known as a general term for pride, and the title was used as "Pride [of]".

Examples

One of the Geonim during the period 589–1040. Prominent Geonim include:

A honorific title given to a few leading rabbis of other countries in the same period, such as:

Specific rabbis of later periods, called "gaon", include:

See also

References

  1. ^ "ידיד נפשי המנוח הדגול, שייף עייל שייף נפיק, הגאון הגדול רבי יוסף קאפח זצ"ל." — Rabbi Ovadia Yosef in the Hebrew responsa book שו"ת הריב"ד קאפח, quoted in עלון אור ההליכות גליון חודש תמוז התשס"ט (page 3).
  2. ^ Jehoshua Brand , Simha Assaf and David Derovan (2007). "Gaon". In Berenbaum, Michael; Skolnik, Fred (eds.). Encyclopaedia Judaica. Vol. 7 (2nd ed.). Detroit: Macmillan Reference. p. 380. ISBN 978-0-02-866097-4.
  3. ^ Jewish Virtual Library — Gaon


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