Iraq and the Jewish People: The Geonic Era
Talmud Teacher, Knesset Menorah. Courtesy of Rabanus Flavus, Wikimedia
Part VIII
The period known as the Geonic Era ranged from 650 to approximately 1050. The leaders of the great yeshivas of the time, such as Sura and Pumbedita, were called Geonim. The Geonim began to gain power in this period and the exilarchs became less powerful, in essence becoming secular leaders of the people while the Geonim led.
During the first century of Moslem rule, there was a centralized caliphate, and the Jews found themselves living in the center of Islamic life. This was especially true after the year 750, when Baghdad was established as capital and the yeshivas moved to the area. The Jews were thus able to use the political power they accrued living in the capital to disseminate Judaism as they understood it—the Judaism of the Babylonian Talmud—to the Jewish world under Islamic domination. The dissemination of Judaism continued after the breakup of the Islamic period. Though the Arab Empire had begun to deteriorate, the rabbis in Baghdad were still permitted to send responsa all over the world and to collect money for yeshivas, remaining the central location of Jewish learning.
During the Geonic period, the Babylonian… Continue reading
London Lectures in July 2013
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Second_Temple.jpg
Homeland Shabbos with Dr. Lawrence Schiffman at Beit Baruch, London.
Friday, July 5
8 PM Dinner and Talk
Jews, Christians and Israel: Reflections on Meeting with the Pope
Saturday, July 6
12:30 PM Lunch and Lecture
The Story of Jerusalem: Twice Destroyed, Twice Rebuilt
8:30 PM Dinner and Talk
The Temple Mount: Construction, Destruction and Revival
Remarks at IJCIC’s Papal Audience
Pope Francis, courtesy of Casa Rosada, Wikimedia
June 24, 2013
Remarks of Prof. Lawrence H Schiffman, Chair, International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations, at IJCIC’s Papal Audience.[*]
Your Holiness, Pope Francis, Cardinal Koch, Father Hofmann, honored past chairs of the International Committee for Interreligious Consultations, fellow officers and colleagues:
As chair of the International Committee for Interreligious Consultations (abbreviated IJCIC), it gives me great pleasure to congratulate Pope Francis on his recent selection as the new leader of the Catholic Church, and I am honored to have the opportunity to say a few words to him representing the Jewish people. As you know, IJCIC is the official Jewish dialogue partner of the Church and we have been privileged to work together for some forty years in advancing through our important work Jewish-Catholic relations in particular, Jewish-Christian relations more widely, and goodwill among humankind as a whole. IJCIC is gratified as well that the Vatican maintains diplomatic relations with the State of Israel and ongoing dialogue with the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, relationships with a number of Jewish groups (some of which are represented here today), as well as close relations with the local Jewish communities in Rome and… Continue reading
