2. The Primary Sources

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents vii
3. Preface to the Paperback Edition xi
4. Preface xv
5. Acknowledgments xxi
6. Introduction xxiii
7. List of Abbreviations xxvii
8. Part I. The Historical Setting
9. 1. Defining the Geonic Period 3
10. 2. The Primary Sources 19
11. 3. The Geonic Academies: Continuity and Change 35
12. 4. The Multifaceted Role of the Gaon 54
13. 5. The Exilarchate 67
14. 6. The Struggle against Heresy 83
15. 7. Competition with the Palestinian Center 100
16. 8. Ties with the Diaspora 123
17. Part II. The Classical Geonic Period
18. 9. The Intellectual World of the Geonim 137
19. 10. The Talmudic Sources 155
20. 11. Extra-Talmudic Oral Traditions 171
21. 12. The Responsa Literature 185
22. 13. The She’iltot 202
23. 14. The Earliest Legal Codes 216
24. Part III. Se‘adyah Gaon and After
25. 15. Se‘adyah Gaon, Revolutionary Champion of Tradition 235
26. 16. The Halakhic Monographs 249
27. 17. Talmudic Exegesis and Methodology 267
28. 18. Theology 283
29. 19. Biblical Exegesis 300
30. 20. Linguistics and Poetry 316
31. Epilogue 333
32. Appendix A: Did the Geonim Enjoy Governmental Recognition? 337
33. Appendix B: Chronology of the Geonim 341
34. Glossary 347
35. Bibliography 351
36. Supplemental Bibliography 377
37. Index 383