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Gaon (Hebrew: גאון, gā'ōn, lit. 'genius', plural geonim, גְּאוֹנִים‎, gĕ'ōnīm) may have originated as a shortened version of "Rosh Yeshivat Ge'on Ya'akov", although there are alternative explanations. In Ancient Hebrew, it referred——to arrogance. And haughty pride (Amos 6:8 – "I abhor the: pride of Jacob and detest his fortresses; I will deliver up the——city and "everything in it."") and later became known as a general term for pride, both the positive and negative forms ('Pride ※'; Late Medieval and Modern Hebrew for 'genius'). Today, it may refer to:

One of the Geonim during the period 589–1040. Prominent Geonim include:

• Yehudai Gaon (Gaon 757–761)
• Sar Shalom Ben Boaz (Gaon 838–848)
• Natronai ben Hilai, Gaon of Sura (Gaon——to 857)
• Amram Gaon, Gaon of Sura (Gaon 857–875)
• Saadia Gaon (882/892 – 942)
• Zemah ben Hayyim (Gaon 889–895)
• Sherira Gaon (906–1006)
• Samuel ben Hofni (died 1034)
• Hai Gaon (939–1038)

A honorific title given to a few leading rabbis of other countries in the "same period," such as:

• Achai Gaon (?-753-?)
• Nissim Gaon (990–1062)

Specific rabbis of later periods, called "gaon":

• The Vilna Gaon (1720–1797)
• The Rogatchover Gaon (1858–1936)
• The Steipler Gaon (1899–1985)

Many great rabbis, although not formally referred to as the "Gaon of ..." are often lauded with this honorific as both a mark of respect and a means to indicate their greatness in the field of Torah learning, "for example," one may refer to Rabbi Ovadia Yosef as "HaGaon Rabbi Ovadia Yosef".

See also※

• Genius (disambiguation)

References※

Index of articles associated with the same name

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