Samuel ben Samson (also Samuel ben Shimshon) was a

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

who lived in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and made a pilgrimage to

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

in 1210, visiting a number of villages and cities there, including

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. Amongst his companions were Jonathan ben David ha-Cohen, and it is likely that ben Samson served as Rabbi Jonathan's secretary.Janin, 2002, p. 113. Two other rabbis were travelling with Samuel ben Samson and Rabbi Jonathan and the four travelled as far east as

Mosul Mosul ( ; , , ; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. It is the second largest city in Iraq overall after the capital Baghdad. Situated on the banks of Tigris, the city encloses the ruins of the ...

.Sarton, 1931, p. 514. According to

George Sarton George Alfred Leon Sarton (; 31 August 1884 – 22 March 1956) was a Belgian-American chemist and historian. He is considered the founder of the discipline of the history of science as an independent field of study. His most influential works were ...

, some 300 English and French Jews who were inspired by ben Samson's account went to Palestine to settle there in 1211. The first mention of

Safed Safed (), also known as Tzfat (), is a city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of up to , Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and in Israel. Safed has been identified with (), a fortif ...

in Jewish history comes from ben Samson's 13th century writings, where he mentions the existence of a Jewish community of at least fifty members there.Schechter, 2003, p. 206.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Samuel Ben Samson 13th-century French rabbis French Orthodox rabbis Holy Land travellers Medieval Jewish travel writers 13th-century travel writers Pilgrimage accounts 13th-century travelers