Yehuda Ha-Cohen Ibn Susan (also known as Yehuda Ha-Cohen; he, יהודה הכהן אבן סוסאן; 12th century) 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 ...

and dayan in the city of

Fez, Morocco Fez or Fes (; ar, فاس, fās; zgh, ⴼⵉⵣⴰⵣ, fizaz; french: Fès) is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fès-Meknès, Fès-Meknès administrative region. It is the List of cities in Morocco, second largest city i ...

. According to some sources he was the rabbi of

Maimonides Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...

. He was martyred around 1165.

Biography

Yehuda HaCohen ibn Susan ( he, יהודה הכהן אבן סוסאן) was a dayan or Jewish religious jurisprudent in

, then controlled by the

Almohad Caliphate The Almohad Caliphate (; ar, خِلَافَةُ ٱلْمُوَحِّدِينَ or or from ar, ٱلْمُوَحِّدُونَ, translit=al-Muwaḥḥidūn, lit=those who profess the Tawhid, unity of God) was a North African Berbers, Berber M ...

, and was known for his genius in Torah wisdom and

hasid Ḥasīd ( he, חסיד, "pious", "saintly", "godly man"; plural "Hasidim") is a Jewish honorific, frequently used as a term of exceptional respect in the Talmudic and early medieval periods. It denotes a person who is scrupulous in his observ ...

ut. His ancestors came to Fez from Babylon.

Saadia Ibn Danan Rabbi Saadiah ben Maimon ben Moshe ibn Danan ( he, סעדיה אבן דנאן) (born 2nd half of 15th century in Granada, Spain – died 1493(?) in Oran, Algeria) was a grammarian of Hebrew and Arabic, poet and a halachic authority. He served as ...

writes that after the death of Joseph ibn Migash in 1141, the yeshivot in

al-Andalus Al-Andalus DIN 31635, translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label=Berber languages, Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, ...

dwindled, and Maimon the Dayan, the father of

, heard about the greatness of ibn Susan and traveled to him from Córdoba with his two sons: Musa (Maimonides), and his brother David, and they studied with him for a period not exceeding five years. Around 1165 he was required by the Almohads to convert to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

, and when he refused, was martyred. According to ibn Danan, this event was the reason for the Maimonides' departure from Morocco. Rabbi Saadia's descriptions correspond to another source in a manuscript attributed to a descendant of Maimonides' generation and are accepted by most historians. Nevertheless, some scholars doubt this.Joel Kramer, הרמב"ם - ביוגרפיה, p. 91 and note 287 (2019).

References

External links

Saadia Ibn Danan, Article on the Order of Generations (in Hebrew)
HebrewBooks
Maimonides entry in Jewish Encyclopedia

Maimonides entry in the Encyclopædia Britannica

Maimonides entry in the Encyclopaedia Judaica, 2nd edition

Solomon Zeitlin, "MAIMONIDES", The American Jewish Year Book, Vol. 37, pp 65 - 66.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ibn Susan, Yehuda Ha-Cohen 1165 deaths Year of birth unknown 12th-century Moroccan people 12th-century rabbis Medieval Moroccan rabbis People from Fez, Morocco Maimonides Jewish martyrs