RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIESRABBINIC AUTHORITY AND THE RISE OF THE GAONATE
The emergence of the Gaonim as the real religious leaders in the
Rabbinic community grew out of the establishment of the scholarly
authority of the rabbis in the Sasanian period. Rabbinic authority
depended on the willingness of other Jews to obey God's revealed law
as it was interpreted and applied by rabbis. The theoretical basis of
their authority lay in the belief that the scholars had access to both
the written Torah and the Oral Law originally revealed to Moses and
preserved by tradition. Living according to the law was the only way
to atone for sins, achieve redemption, and bring about the Messianic
age.^91
Since rabbis did not lead public worship in the synagogue, they
emphasized scholarship as a source of spiritual status. They created a
distinction between the learned and the unlearned and discouraged
the use of Aramaic for religious purposes because, as they said, the
angels did not understand it. They made the study of scripture and
observance of the law more important forms of piety and sources of
holiness than asceticism or worship. Fasting was discouraged because
it would decrease the ability of a scholar to work. Instead, study
enabled rabbis to perform miracles and to pray for rain effectively;
these were exercises of the power of the Torah. The daily behavior of
the rabbis was a living example of the Oral Law and was imitated by
their disciples.^92
The spread of a Rabbinic way of life throughout the Jewish pop-
ulation was important for atonement and redemption, so in a practical
sense the extent of the Rabbinic community was determined by the
degree of popular observance. The Rabbinic outlook and life style
were most effectively communicated to other Jews by the students and
disciples of the rabbis who went back to their home towns and villages
as judges and market inspectors.^93
Centers of Rabbinic learning were located at Nehardea, Sura, Pum-
baditha, Mahoza, and Hira in the early Sasanian period. By the fourth
and fifth centuries these centers were developing the features of aca-
demic institutions, such as buildings, curricula, lectures, and exami-
nations. Semiannual meetings (Heb. kallah) began to be held at Sura
in the early fourth century during the months of Adar (March) and
91 Neusner, Talmudic judaism, pp. 5, 44-46, 60-62,94, 117.
92 Neusner, History, pp. 148-50, 156; Talmudic judaism, pp. 47, 52-54, 74, 87;
Rodkinson, Talmud, I, "Sabbath," 21; idem, VIII, "Taanith," 28.
93 Neusner, History, p. 279; Talmudic judaism, pp. 60, 100.