List of Books Written by Their Father (Baghdad)

She’erit

Dosa ben Se‘adya Ga’on

953

In the name of the Merciful.

This is an index of books by R. Se‘adya the Fayyumite, may he rest in peace. This is an index of his books according to what his sons wrote to Fustāt because they had asked them for it. In the letter . . . She’erit Aluf and Dosa wrote: Our master, may the memory of the righteous be a blessing, lived for just under sixty years . . . of them fourteen years less four days in the academy of Sura. He died at the end of the middle watch in the night of Monday, 26 Iyyar, year 1253 [of the Seleucid Era, 942 CE]. Today, less than eleven years have passed since he was taken, may God resurrect him quickly in the near future. . . . This is a complete index of our master’s commentaries, books, and responsa.

[An Arabic translation of] the entire Pentateuch . . . without a commentary. The parts for which there is a commentary are from [the weekly portion] Bere’shit [Genesis 1] to [the weekly portion] Va-yetse’, [both halves of Exodus, beginning on the weekly portions] Eleh shemot and Eleh ha-mishpatim and [both halves of Leviticus, beginning on the weekly portions] Va-yikra’ and Aḥare mot.

The Book of Garden Flowers on [the weekly portions] Bere’shit [Genesis 1] to Ve-zot ha-berakhah [the last weekly portion in Deuteronomy] with . . . and explanatory glosses.

Of the Prophets—[a commentary on] Isaiah and The Words of the . . . Questions on the Twelve [Minor Prophets] and on the Pentateuch and a number of sermons . . . which I will not enumerate lest it become too long.

Of the Writings—[a commentary on] Psalms with an extensive separate introduction, [commentaries on] Job, Proverbs, Daniel, Lamentations, and the Esther scroll, as well as [a commentary on] the Scroll of Antiochus, with an introduction. . . .

The books that he composed are: the Order of Prayers [Book of Compendium of Prayers and Praises], the Book of Beliefs [and Opinions], the Book of Testimonies [and Decrees], the Book of Bailments, the Book of . . . , the Commentary on the Laws of Creation [i.e., Sefer yetsirah], the Book of Commandments, the Book of Arguments for the Sabbath Candles, the Book of . . . Invalidation of . . . , the Setting of the Calendar, and the Book of Obligations of Prayer.

Source: CUL T-S 10G5.7.

Translated by Nadia Vidro.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 3: Encountering Christianity and Islam.

Engage with this Source

The two sons of Se‘adya Ga’on, She’erit and Dosa, composed this inventory of their father’s writings in response to a request by a resident of Fustāt (Old Cairo). Preserved in the Cairo Geniza, this document originally organized and listed Se‘adya’s entire corpus, but it is unfortunately torn midway through its enumeration. In addition to providing an exact date of Se‘adya’s death, this text is helpful for determining the extent of Se‘adya’s writings. He was very productive, and some of his works have been lost. For others only fragments remain. Ellipses indicate lacunae in the manuscript.

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Related Guide

Documents and Inscriptions in the Early Medieval World

8th to 12th Century

Creator Bio

She’erit

She’erit, 10th Century

She’erit, 10th Century Little is known about the life of She’erit ben Se‘adya Ga’on, who was apparently significantly older than his brother Dosa. She’erit earned the title alluf—an honorific granted to leading members or supporters of the geonic academies in Baghdad—probably from the academy of Sura, and he had likely died by the time Dosa become gaon in the eleventh century.

Creator Bio

Dosa ben Se‘adya Ga’on

ca. 935–1018

ca. 935–1018Little beyond the barest outline is known of the life and activity of Dosa, one of the sons of Se‘adya Ga’on (882–942). Very young when his illustrious father died, Dosa was appointed head of the academy of Sura (located in Baghdad) in 1012, some seventy years later, and he served six years as gaon, until his own death. Few of his writings survive.

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