Letter to Ephraim ben Shemariah

Joseph ben Solomon’s father was gaon of the Palestinian academy in Jerusalem from 1020 to 1025. Joseph was too young to replace his father when his father died, so another scholar, Solomon ben Judah, became gaon. Joseph eventually became the av bet din (“head of the court,” the secondmost-senior member) of the academy. When Solomon ben Judah died in 1051, Joseph should have been named gaon, but Daniel ben ‘Azariah claimed the position instead.