Creator Bio
Tsemaḥ Ga’on
9th Century
9th CenturyTsemaḥ ben Paltoy Ga’on, head of the Pumbedita academy (at the time located on the Euphrates in Iraq) from 872 to 890, followed in the footsteps of his father, Paltoy bar Abbaye Ga’on, who held the office of gaon there from 842 to 857. Like other geonim, Tsemaḥ composed responsa, but it is often difficult to identify them due to confusion with a near contemporary who shared his first name, Tsemaḥ ben Ḥayim, gaon of Sura between 889 and 895. Tsemaḥ ben Paltoy allegedly wrote an early talmudic dictionary, but it is lost. Tsemaḥ’s great-grandson was Sherira Ga’on (ca. 906–1006).
Content by Tsemaḥ Ga’on
Primary Source
Responsum: On a Missing Husband
Question: Someone went forth to trade among the towns of Egypt with a heavy load, and he came to a city and entrusted some of the merchandise to a Jew, with the proviso that he would return in eight…