Abiathar ben Elijah ha-Cohen

Biography

Rav Evyatar ben Eliyahu HaKohen (Abiathar ben Elijah ha-Cohen, אביתר בן אליהו הכהן; c. 1040–1112) was a Gaon of Eretz Yisrael at the close of the geonic period, head of the yeshiva known as Geon Yaakov, and the last Gaon of Eretz Yisrael to hold that office within the Land. He was born around 1042 to a family of kohanim and geonim of Yerushalayim who traced their line to the tanna Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah and to Ezra HaSofer. His father, Rav Eliyahu HaKohen Gaon, headed the yeshiva in Ramla and in Yerushalayim; his grandfather was Rav Shlomo bar Yosef HaKohen Gaon, and his uncle Rav Yosef ben Shlomo HaKohen Gaon. He lived under the rule of the Fatimid dynasty of Egypt.

In 1071, most likely because of the Seljuk invasion, he moved with his father to Fustat, now part of Cairo. A collection of teshuvot from that year, found in the Cairo Genizah, carries the signatures of Eliyahu HaKohen Gaon and his son Evyatar; the Machzor Vitry refers to these when it says that Rabbi Meshulam ben Moshe asked “the lions who dwell in Yerushalayim, the holy city.” The yeshiva of Eretz Yisrael then moved to Tyre, and there Evyatar served under his father as av beit din. When his father passed away in 1083 he became rosh yeshiva, and his brother Shlomo was appointed av beit din. This body in Tyre was the last authority of Eretz Yisrael in the line that ran from the days of the Sanhedrin.

A bitter dispute followed with David ben Daniel, son of Daniel ben Azariah, the exilarch in Egypt, who sought to take control of the Jews of Eretz Yisrael by force and with the backing of the government. Evyatar was deposed for a time and forced to flee to Syria — in 1093 by one source, 1095 by the other — and returned to his position only after the fall of David ben Daniel. During the siege of Tripoli he was stranded, and it appears that his standing is what secured him safe passage to Damascus. In 1094 he wrote Megillat Evyatar, an account of these events discovered in the Cairo Genizah, which treats the choosing of Jewish leadership and the authority to proclaim the calendar.

רב אביתר בן אליהו הכהן גאון (מכונה: רבי אביתר הכהן; 1042–1112 בקירוב, נמנה בין גאוני ארץ ישראל בסוף תקופת הגאונים, כראש "ישיבת גאון יעקב".

Abiathar ben Elijah ha-Cohen was the last Palestinian Gaon to occupy his position in the land of Israel. He succeeded his father Rabbi Elijah to the gaonate in 1083. He was deposed for a period following a violent quarrel with the Egyptian exilarch David ben Daniel who aspired to dominate Palestinian Jewry. After having fled to Syria in 1093, he later returned to his position following the fall of David ben Daniel. An account of these events was discovered in the Cairo Genizah, known as Megillat Abiathar. Abiathar was stranded during the Siege of Tripoli and seems to have only found safe passage to Damascus because of his privileged status. He is the author of Megillat Evyatar in 1094, a work of memorialized history that discusses the selection of Jewish leadership and the authority for the process of proclaiming the official calendar.

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