Amram ben Sheshna
Amram bar Sheshna or Amram Gaon (
He authored many
Biography
Amram ben Sheshna was a pupil of Natronai ben Hilai, Gaon of Sura, and was exceptionally honored with the title of Gaon within the lifetime of his teacher. Eventually, he broke away from his teacher and started his own seat of learning.[2]
Upon Natronai's death, about 857, the full title and dignities of the geonate were conferred upon Amram, a title which he held for 18 years, until his death.[2]
Responsa
He is the author of about 120 responsa, most of which were published in
Siddur Rav Amram
The most important work of Amram, marking him as one of the most prominent of the geonim before
The work as published is composed of two parts. The second part containing the
The text
No early manuscripts of this prayer book survive, and later manuscripts appear to be heavily edited to conform with the rites in use at the time: we therefore cannot be certain of the exact wording preferred by Amram Gaon himself. Evidence for this is:
- The manuscripts differ widely among themselves
- The text of the prayers often differs from the surviving responsa of Natronai Gaon and other contemporary authorities, and occasionally even with the halachic commentary of the siddur itself
- There are many instances where a later authority, such as David Abudirham, argues for text A "as prescribed by Amram Gaon" as against text B "found in popular usage", but the current version of Amram Gaon shows text B.
Relation to current rites
The Siddur Rav Amram was originally sent to the communities of Spain, in response to a request for guidance on the laws of prayer. However, it never seems to have been adopted by them as a package deal, though they respected the individual halachic rulings contained in it. On the contrary, they appear to have edited it to suit their own requirements, so that the wording of the manuscripts and the printed version often contains variants likely to be derived from early versions of the Spanish rite. None of these early versions survives, but secondary evidence such as the Sefer ha-Manhig and the Siddur Rav Amram itself indicates that in certain respects these were different from the Sephardic rite in use today and nearer to other old European rites such as the Provençal, Italian and Old French rites, which reflect varying degrees of Palestinian influence. The later Sephardic rite has been revised to bring it into closer conformity with the rulings of the halachic codes, which themselves often reflect the opinions of the Geonim, and is therefore of a more purely Babylonian character: thus, paradoxically, it has moved away from the current wording of the Siddur Rav Amram and towards what was presumably its original wording.
Conversely, the Siddur Rav Amram was a major source used in the standardization of the nusach Ashkenaz, which was already akin to the old European family. For this reason, to a modern reader the wording of the Siddur Rav Amram appears far closer to an Ashkenazi than a Sephardi text, a fact which misled Moses Gaster[10] into believing that the Ashkenazi rite was based on the Babylonian while the Sephardic rite was essentially Palestinian.
Published texts of the Siddur
- Seder Rab Amram, ed. Coronel: Warsaw1865
- Seder Rav Amram Gaon, ed. Hedegard: Lund 1951
- Seder Rav Amram Gaon, ed. Goldschmidt: Jerusalem 1971
- Seder Rav Amram Gaon, ed. Kronholm: Lund 1974
- Seder Rav Amram Gaon, ed. Harfenes: Bene Berak 1994
External links
- Seder Rav Amram (Jerusalem 1912 edition): Volume 1; Volume 2
- Seder Rav Amram (Warsaw 1865 edition, scanned text, Hebrew only)
Further reading
- Brody, Y. (1987), "Rav Amram bar Sheshna – Gaon in Sura?", Tarbiz 56, pp. 327–ff.
- Elbogen, Ismar, Jewish Liturgy: A Comprehensive History: Jewish Publication Society 1993
- Louis Ginzberg, Geonica: New York 1909
- Goldschmidt, Meִhkare Tefillah u-Fiyyut (On Jewish Liturgy): Jerusalem 1978
- Reif, Stefan, Judaism and Hebrew Prayer: Cambridge 1993. Hardback ISBN 0-521-48341-7
- Wieder, Naphtali, The Formation of Jewish Liturgy: In the East and the West
- Zimmels, Ashkenazim and Sephardim: their Relations, Differences, and Problems As Reflected in the Rabbinical Responsa : London 1958 (since reprinted). ISBN 0-88125-491-6
References
- ^ Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Amram ben Sheshna". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
- ^ OCLC 923562173.
- ^ "Sha'arei Tzedek," iv. 2, 20, 40
- ^ ib. iv. 6, 11
- ^ Arba'ah Turim, Orach Chayim, § 568.
- ^ Mueller, "Mafteach", p. 123.
- ^ N. N. Coronel, Siddur Rav Amram Gaon (Warsaw, 1865)
- ^ p. 4b
- ^ see Neubauer, in "Jew. Quart. Rev." vi. 703.
- ^ Preface, Book of Prayer of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews’ Congregation, London vol 1: Oxford (Oxford Univ. Press, Vivian Ridler), 5725 - 1965.
public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Amram". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Ginzberg, Louis (1901). "Amram ben Sheshna or Shushna (known as Amram Gaon or Mar-Amram)". In Singer, Isidore; et al. (eds.). The Jewish Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. pp. 535–536.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the