רב אהרן אבן סרגאדו

Rav Aharon ibn Sargado was a sage of the geonic era. The library preserves him engaging in talmudic give-and-take: in Menachot (74b) and in Bava Kamma (109b) he addresses Ravina with the formula “come and hear,” bringing a baraita to bear on the matter under discussion. In Menachot he cites the teaching of Rabbi Eliezer concerning that which is “wholly burnt” (kalil tihyeh), to establish a prohibition against eating it; in Bava Kamma he brings a baraita that derives from the word “ha-mushav” (Bamidbar 5:8) that the verse speaks not only of a man but of a woman as well.

He also appears in connection with the interpretation of Torah: on Yaakov’s words “let my soul not enter their counsel” (Bereishit 49), Rav Aharon is cited as explaining “al tavo nafshi” in the sense of the sun’s setting — that is, that Yaakov would not wish to be outside their counsel — an explanation the citing source disputes as running contrary to the plain sense of the passage.