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Ezra ben Abraham (Hebrew: עזרא בן אברהם), also recorded as Azariah, was the head of the remnant of the Palestinian Gaonate in Damascus in the second half of the 12th century.

Details

Ezra was the son of Abraham ben Mazhir, the Gaon in Damascus. Ezra first appears in a poem of Isaac ibn Ezra (he) from 1142 dedicated to Ezra's father that mentions his four children, including Ezra. When Benjamin of Tudela visited Damascus around 1168 he found Ezra, whom he refers to as Azariah, already as Gaon. Petachiah of Regensburg also mentions Ezra in his description of visiting Damascus around 1175. Petachiah notes that Ezra, the Rosh Yeshiva, is "filled with Torah" for he was ordained by the Baghdadi Gaon Samuel ben Ali.

A letter from the same Samuel ben Ali from 1172 includes a postscript and a signature of Ezra, who was then in Aleppo. Ezra is also mentioned in one fragment from the Cairo Genizah, which contains a prayer for Ezra in very flowery language.

Jacob Mann was of the opinion that there was a rivalry between the two branches of the Palestine Gaonate, the one in Damascus, led by Ezra, and the one in Fustat then led by Netanel ben Moses ha-Levi. According to Mann's reconstruction, Samuel ben Ali supported Ezra while Netanel was supported by the Babylonian Exilarch Daniel ben Hisdai. This was part of the larger rivalry between these two Babylonian figures.

By 1191 Ezra was no longer alive, as is clear from a different letter of Samuel ben Ali. Mann believed that this letter was sent to a son of Ezra named Abraham, who inherited the Gaonate from him. Assaf and Fleischer understood the letter differently, and do not believe there is any evidence for such an individual. According to the later approach, Ezra was likely succeeded by his brother Sar Shalom.

References

1. Schmelzer 1979, pp. 3–9.
2. The poem is available here, his name is mentioned on line four
3. Benjamin of Tudela 1907, p. 30.
4. Petachiah of Regensburg 1856, pp. 52–53.
5. Assaf 1930, p. 135.
6. T-S 8J8.15
7. Mann 1935, pp. 230–236.
8. Assaf 1930, pp. 14–15, 67.
9. Mann 1935, p. 252, fn. 14.
10. Assaf 1930, pp. 14–15.
11. Fleischer 2002, p. 110, fn. 88.

Bibliography

• Assaf, Simcha (1930). קובץ של אגרות ר' שמואל בן עלי ובני דורו [Letters of R. Samuel ben Eli and his Contemporaries] (in Hebrew). Jerusalem.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Benjamin of Tudela (1907). The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela. Translated by Adler, Marcus Nathan. London: Oxford University Press.
• Fleischer, Ezra (2002). "New Poems by Judah al-Harizi". Kobez al Yad (in Hebrew). 16 (XXVI): 85–139. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
• Mann, Jacob (1935). Texts and Studies in Jewish History and Literature. Vol. 1. Hebrew Press of the Jewish Publication Society of America.
• Petachiah of Regensburg (1856). Benisch, Abraham; Ainsworth, William Francis (eds.). Travels of Rabbi Petachia of Ratisbon. London: The Jewish Chronicle.
• Schmelzer, Menahem H. (1979). Poems of Isaac Ben Abraham Ibn Ezra (in Hebrew). New York: Jewish Theological Seminary.

• Geonim
• 12th-century rabbis
• 12th-century Syrian people
• Syrian Jews
• People from Damascus