Samson ben Samson of Coucy ( he, שמשון בן שמשון מקוצי), known as the Count (or Prince) of Coucy (Hebrew: ), was a French

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 ...

and

Tosafist The Tosafot, Tosafos or Tosfot ( he, תוספות) are medieval commentaries on the Talmud. They take the form of critical and explanatory glosses, printed, in almost all Talmud editions, on the outer margin and opposite Rashi's notes. The auth ...

who flourished at the end of the twelfth and in the first half of the thirteenth century. (According to a different tradition, the term "Count (or Prince) of Coucy" refers to his brother-in-law, Rabbi

Moses ben Jacob of Coucy Rabbi Moses ben Jacob of Coucy, also known as Moses Mikkotsi ( he, משה בן יעקב מקוצי; la, Moses Kotsensis), was a French Tosafist and authority on Halakha (Jewish law). He is best known as the author of one of the earliest codific ...

). He was a descendant of Rabbi Joseph ben Samuel Bonfils and a nephew of Rabbi Judah of Corbeil. He lived in Coucy. His title "the Count" has led to legends about his being appointed as the count of the city. These legends were popularised by writers such as

Marcus Lehmann Marcus or Meyer Lehmann or Meir Lehmann (29 December 1831 – 14 April 1890) was a leading German Orthodox rabbi. Rabbinical career After graduating from the gymnasium, Lehmann studied in Halberstadt under Rabbi Azriel Hildesheimer. He then w ...

and

Micha Josef Berdyczewski Micha Josef Berdyczewski ( he, מיכה יוסף ברדיצ'בסקי), or Mikhah Yosef Bin-Gorion (August 7, 1865 – November 18, 1921) (surname also written ''Berdichevsky''), was a Ukraine-born writer of Hebrew, a journalist, and a scholar. He ...

. However the simple origin of this title is due to the acronym of his name in Hebrew, HaRaSH (HaRav Rabbenu SHimshon), which was subsequently converted into its anagram, HaSar (Hebrew: ), meaning the Count, or Prince. Samson was a student of

Isaac ben Samuel Isaac ben Samuel the Elder (c. 1115 – c. 1184), also known as the Ri ha-Zaken (Hebrew: ר"י הזקן), was a French tosafist and Biblical commentator. He flourished at Ramerupt and Dampierre, France in the twelfth century. He is the father of ...

and a brother-in-law of Rabbi

, who often quotes him in his ''

Sefer Mitzvot Gadol Sefer Mitzvot Gadol ( he, ספר מצוות גדול; in english: "The Great Book of Commandments"; abbreviated: , "SeMaG") work of halakha by Moses ben Jacob of Coucy, containing an enumeration of the 613 commandments. Description The work was ...

''. One of his students was Rabbi

Isaac ben Moses of Vienna __NOTOC__ Isaac ben Moses of Vienna, also called Isaac Or Zarua or the Riaz, was among the greatest rabbis of the Middle Ages. He was probably born in Bohemia and lived between 1200 and 1270. He attained his fame in Vienna and his major work, ...

. Many of Samson's ''

halakhic ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...

'' decisions are mentioned in the rabbinical works "'' Or Zarua," "''Sefer Mitzvot Gadol''," "'' Orḥot Ḥayyim''," and "'' Pisḳe Reḳanati''." Rabbi Samson's personal seal is currently on display in the British Museum.

References

{{Reflist 12th-century French rabbis 13th-century French rabbis French Tosafists