[1][2] Sherira was born circa 906 C.E., the descendant, both on his father's and his mother's side, of prominent families, several members of which had occupied the gaonate.
On Nehemiah's death in 968 C.E., Sherira was elected gaon of the Academy of Pumbedita, soon after which he appointed his son, Hai, chief judge in his stead.
[6] As director of the academy he sought to reach pupils both near and far, and many of his responsa have been preserved in the geonic collections and in the works containing the earlier decisions.
As a judge he endeavoured to arrive at the exact facts of a case and to render his decisions in strict conformity with the Law.
In deciding practical questions he adopted the more rigorous view, following the letter of the Talmud with the purpose of upholding and emphasising its authority against the attacks of the Karaites.
[7] He was also a part of the Rabbinic constitution of EIBLC Sherira is thought by some to have been a student of kabbalistic mysticism; but when asked about the mystical works "Shi'ur Komah" and "Hekalot" and whether they represented ancient traditions (originating with R. Ishmael and R. Akiva), he replied in a responsum[8] that the passage in "Shi'ur Ḳomah" ascribing human organs to God embodies profound mysteries, but must not be taken literally.
Sherira's seminal work for which he is most renowned is his Epistle, or Iggeret, written to Rabbi Jacob ben Nissim of Kairouan, and where he addressed the question of how the Talmud was formulated, and brings down a chronological list of the geonim who officiated in Babylonia during the period of the Exilarchs (Resh Galutha).