Academies Academies
in Babylonia iu Palestine
THE
PaU'stiniiin si-liolnrs, driven the pei-seeiitidiis
their
own liomesby
of Honiuu lyniuny, contributed
inconsiderable share. After Haba"s death, in its
from
.JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA
former position.
The
Nahman
bar Isiiae (died his metliod of teacliin.!;
'i^fi.
Piinibedita regained
lieud of llie
Ooti),
may
u"o
academy was
a pupil of Kaba. be discerned the
In tirst
traces of an attempt to edit the enormous mass of material that idtimately formed the
Rab
Ashi, Habylonian Talmud.
Not Pumbedita,
Founder of however, but Sura, was destined to the Baby- l>e the birthplace of this work. After Kaba's death. F'apa. another of his pipils, foimded a college in Naresh, near Sura, which, for the time bein.ic. interfered with the firowthof the Sura school; but after Papa's death, in ii, the collcfre at Sura regained Its restorer was Asm. mider its former supremacy. whose guidance, during more than half a century (Ashi died 427), it attained great prominence, and p'"escnted such attractions that even the c.xilarchs came there, in the autumn of each year, to hold
Ionian
Talmud.
their
customary
oDicial
The
receptions.
school at
Pumlieditu recognized the ]ireeminence of that of Sura; and this leader-ship was lirmly retained for several ceuturies.
The unusual length of Ashi's activity, his undeniable high standing, his learning, as well as the favorable circumstances of the day, were all of potent influence in furthering the task he undertook; namely, that of sifting and collecting the material accunudated for two centuries by the UabyIonian Academies. The tinal editing of the literary work which this labor produced did not, it is true, but tradition take place uutil .somewhat later rightly names Ashi as the originator of the BabyIndeed, Ashi's editorial work relonian Talmud. ceived many later additions and amplifications; but the form underwent no materiul niodilication. The Babylonian Talmiul must be considered the work of the Academy of Sura, because Ashi submitted to each of the semiannual general assemblies of the academy, treatise by treatise, the results of his examination and selection, and invited discussion upon them. His work was continued and perfected, and probably reduced to writing, by succeeding heads of the Sura Academy, who preserved the fruit of his labors in tho.se sad times of persecution which, shortly after his death, were the lot of the. Jews of Baliy Ionia. These misfortunes were undoulitcdly the imniciliate cause of the jiublicalion of the Talmud asa complete work; and from the Academy of Sura was issued that unitjue literary elTort which Avas destined to occupy .such an extraordinary position in .Judaism. Rabina (li. Abina), a teacher in Sura, is considered by tradition the last amoia; and the year of his death (812 of the Seleucidan, or .'lOO of the common era) is considered the date of the close of the Talmud. The three centuries in the course of which the Bitliyloniau Talmud was developed in the aca<lemies founded Jjy I?ab and Samuel were followed by five centuries during which it was zealously preserved, studied, expounded in the .schools, and, through their intiuence, recognized l>y the wlioht diaspora. Sura and PumbeditJi were considered the only important .seats of learning: their headsand sages were the undisputed authorities, whose decisions were sought from all sides and were accepted wherever Jewish communal life existed. In the words of the haggadist (Tan., Noah^iii.), "'God created these two academies in order that the promise might be fulfilled, that the word of God should never depart from Israel's mouth " (Isa. lix. 21). The periods of .Jewish history immediately following the close of
146
the Talmud are designated according to the titles of the teachers at Sura and Pinnbedita; thus wo liave "the time of the GiioMM and that of the S. oKAlM. The Saboniim were the scholars whose diligent hands completed the Talmud in the first third of the sixth century, adding manifold aniplitications to its text. The title "gaon," which originally belonged preeminently to the head of the Sum Academy, came into general use in Saboraim the seventh century, under Moliainand inedan supremacy, when the oHicial position and rank of theexilarchs and Geonim. of the heads of theacmlemy were regBut in order to leave no gaps beulated anew. tween the bearers of the title, hi.story must either continue the Saboraim into the seventh ccnttiry or accejit an older origin for the title of gaon. In jioint of fact, both titlesare only conventionally and indilTerenlly applied: the bearers of them are lieads of either of the two academies of Sura and Pumbeditaand, in that capacity, successorsof the Amoraim. The inherited higher standing of Sura endured until the end of the eighth century, after which Pundicdita came into greater importancu, Sura will always occupy a proniiiuiit jdace in .Jewish history; for it w:is there that Saadia gave a new impulse to .Jewish lore, and tlms paved the waj' for the intellectual regeneration of .Judaism. Pumbedita, on the other hand, may boast that two of its teachers, Sherira and his .son Hai (died 1038), terminated in most glorious fashion the ago of the Geonim and with it the activities of the Babylonian
Academies.
The orticial designation of the Baliylonian Academies was the Aramaic metibtn (Hebrew, ycKhibdh), ses.sion, meeting. The head of the Organiza- academy was accordingly called resh tion of metihta (Hebrew, mxli ycuhibah). the Acad- There is a tradition that Iluna, the of Suiii, was the emies. second principal tirst to Ixar the title. Before him the usual appellation in Babylonia was resh sidra; null tiii'tihUi leniaineil the ollicial designation for the head of the academy till the end of the gaonic period, and was by no means displaced by the title gaon, which, in fact, signifies merely "Highness" or
"Excellency."
At the side of the rcsh metibta, and second to him in rank, stood the resh kallnh (president of the general assembly). The hnllah (general assembly) was a characterKallah. istic feature of Babylonian .Judai.sm altogether tinkiiown in Palestine. Owing to the great extent of Babylonia, opportunities had to be furnished for those living far from the academies to take part in their deliberations. These meetings of outside students, at which of course the most varying ages and degrees of knowledge were represented, took place twice a year, in the months Adar and Elul. An account dating from the tenth century, describing the order of procedure and of the differences in rank at the kallah, contains det:iils that refer only to the period of the Geonim; but niucli of it extends as far back as the time of the Amoraim. The description given in the following condensed rendering furnishes, at all events, a curious picture of the whole institution and of the inner life and organization of the Babylonian Academies:
The
" In the kallati-months. tlmt Is, in Klul. at tlifi close of the suniiiier. and in Adar, at the close of the winter, the discljiles journey from their various almdes to the meeting, after tiavinff in the previous tlve months the treatise announced at the close of the preceding kalhih-month by the head of the academy. In Adar and Elul they present themselves tiefore the head, who examines tbein upon this treatise. They sit in prepart'il
