Isaac
ISAAC
ISAAC (seventh century), gaon, head of the academy in Firuz-Shapur in Babylonia. In 658 the city was captured by Caliph Ali. Isaac, together with other Jewish notables, at the head of 90,000 Jews, welcomed the caliph upon his entry; the conqueror in turn gave the Jewish delegation a cordial reception. No responsa or decisions written by this gaon are extant. The commentaries and decisions mentioned in the responsa of the geonim and other early authorities and attributed to a R. Isaac (Sha'arei Teshuvah, no. 217; Zedekiah *Anav, Shibbolei ha-Leket, no. 225; *Abraham b. Isaac of Narbonne, Sefer ha-Eshkol, 2 (1868), 158; Aaron ha-Kohen of Lunel, Or?ot ?ayyim, ed. by M. Schlesinger, 2 (1902), 414, et al.) originated with another R. Isaac, a gaon of Sura, who was also known as Isaac Zadok.
bibliography:
A. Harkavy, Zikkaron la-Rishonim ve-gam la-A?aronim, 1, Teshuvot ha-Ge'onim (1887), 355–6; B.M. Lewin (ed.), Iggeret Rav Sherira Ga'on (1921), 101; Weiss, Dor, 4 (1904), 7–8; J. Mueller, Mafte'a? li-Teshuvot ha-Ge'onim (1891), 62; Mann, in: jqr, 8 (1917/18), 340–1.
[Simha Assaf]
