Creator Bio
Sar Shalom Ga’on
9th Century
Sar Shalom ben Boaz served as gaon of the academy of Sura from either 847 or 851 to 857, during which time the academy, then located on the Euphrates, in Iraq, flourished. As is the case with many figures from this period, the details of his life remain obscure, but it is known that he was related to several other leading Jewish figures of his day. Of the more than one hundred responsa of his that survive, many were written to individuals in Qayrawān, Tunisia. Several of his rulings about prayer practices were incorporated into the prayer book of ‘Amram Ga’on (810–875).
Content by Sar Shalom Ga’on
Primary Source
Responsum: On the Shema‘
R. Sar Shalom, the head of the academy at Mata-Meḥasya [Sura]: One should say [the phrase beginning] “pa‘amayim” in the morning prayers on Sabbaths and holidays and Yom Kippur. There is no tradition…
Primary Source
Responsum: On Forbidden Wine
As for your further question, regarding a non-Jew who inserted his hand into the wine of a Jew (and the opinions of R. Judah ben Bava and R. Judah ben Betera), the cases are intertwined and extremely…