person · P0222
Hai Gaon רב האי גאון
Son and student of Rav Sherira Gaon, last great gaon of Pumbedita (from 1004), and the most prolific respondent of the geonic age — his answers reached Kairouan, Spain, and the Rhineland. With his death in 1038 the geonic era conventionally closes, and the center of gravity of Torah passes definitively westward.
I. Who
- Hebrew
- רב האי גאון
- Also known as
- Hai bar Sherira
- Era
- geonim
- Received the mesorah from
- Sherira Gaon
- Parents
- Sherira Gaon
II. When
- Traditional
- 4699–4798 AM
- Academic
- 939–1038 CE
- Lifespan (traditional)
- ≈99 years
- Precision
- exact
III. Where
- Places
- Pumbedita
V. How do we know
| Claim | Evidence | Confidence | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| His father attests the reception directly in the Iggeret itself: "and we have appointed Hai our son as av beit din" — a rare case of the teacher documenting the transmission in his own hand; Hai served beside Sherira for decades and succeeded him as gaon in 1004. | tradition | ★★★★★ | |
| He was the last head of Pumbedita of geonic rank; his thousands of responsa — cited constantly by the rishonim — made him, in effect, the final Babylonian address of the world's halakhic questions. With his death (1038) the geonic period is conventionally ended.
His western correspondents (Rabbeinu Chananel, Rabbeinu Nissim of Kairouan) are deliberately NOT drawn as reception edges: exchange of letters is not personal teacher→student transmission.
|
external | ★★★★☆ | |
| Hai ben Sherira was born in 939 CE, the son of Sherira Gaon.
The parentage and date are secure in the geonic record.
|
external | ★★★★★ | |
| Hai married a daughter of Shmuel ben Chofni; Shmuel withdrew his own claim to the Pumbedita gaonate when Hai was appointed.
The wife's personal name is not recorded.
|
tradition external | ★★★★☆ | |
| Hai and Sherira were imprisoned together and had their property confiscated by Caliph al-Qadir in 997 CE; they were released after a short detention.
The accusations are described only generally as calumnies.
|
external | ★★★★☆ | |
| Hai became Gaon of Pumbedita in 998 CE and held the office for forty years until his death in 1038.
The Pumbedita academy's final geonic period closed with his death.
|
external | ★★★★★ |