Samuel ben Kalonymus he-Hasid of

Speyer Speyer (, older spelling ''Speier'', French: ''Spire,'' historical English: ''Spires''; pfl, Schbaija) is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the river Rhine, Speyer li ...

(1120-1175) ( he, שמואל החסיד), was a

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 ...

, liturgical poet, and philosopher of the 12th century, surnamed also "the Prophet" (

Solomon Luria Solomon Luria (1510 – November 7, 1573) ( he, שלמה לוריא) was one of the great Ashkenazic ''poskim'' (decisors of Jewish law) and teachers of his time. He is known for his work of Halakha, ''Yam Shel Shlomo'', and his Talmudic commen ...

, Responsa
No. 29
. He seems to have lived in Spain and in France. He is quoted in the ''tosafot'' to

Yebamot Yevamot ( he, יבמות, "Brother's Widow", also pronounced Yevamos, or Yavmus) is a tractate of the Talmud that deals with, among other concepts, the laws of Yibbum (, loosely translated in English as levirate marriage), and, briefly, with conv ...

( 61b) and

Soṭah Sotah ( he, סוֹטָה or he, שׂוֹטָה) is a tractate of the Talmud in Rabbinic Judaism. The tractate explains the ordeal of the bitter water, a trial by ordeal of a woman suspected of adultery, which is prescribed by the Book of Number ...

( 12a), as well as by Samuel b. Meïr (RaSHBaM) in his commentary on ''Arbe Pesaḥim'' (

Pes. Pesachim ( he, פְּסָחִים, lit. "Paschal lambs" or "Passovers"), also spelled Pesahim, is the third tractate of ''Seder Moed'' ("Order of Festivals") of the Mishnah and of the Talmud. The tractate discusses the topics related to the Jewi ...

br>109a
. He was the first of the

Chassidei Ashkenaz The Hasidim of Ashkenaz ( he, חסידי אשכנז, trans. ''Khasidei Ashkenaz''; "German Pietists") were a Jewish mystical, ascetic movement in the German Rhineland during the 12th and 13th centuries. Background The leaders of the community ...

, and the father of

Judah ben Samuel of Regensburg Judah ben Samuel of Regensburg (1150 – 22 February 1217), also called Yehuda HeHasid or 'Judah the Pious' in Hebrew, was a leader of the Chassidei Ashkenaz, a movement of Jewish mysticism in Germany considered different from the 18th-century H ...

. Samuel was the author of a commentary on the treatise

Tamid Tamid ( he, תָמִיד ''ṯāmīḏ''; "daily offerings") is the ninth tractate in the Order of Kodashim, which is the fifth of the six orders of the Mishnah, Tosefta and the Talmud. The main subject of Tamid is the morning and evening burn ...

, mentioned by Abraham b. David in his commentary thereon, and of a liturgical poem, entitled ''Shir ha-Yiḥud,'' divided into seven parts corresponding to the seven days of the week. This poem is a philosophical hymn on the unity of God, for which

Ibn Gabirol Solomon ibn Gabirol or Solomon ben Judah ( he, ר׳ שְׁלֹמֹה בֶּן יְהוּדָה אִבְּן גָּבִּירוֹל, Shlomo Ben Yehuda ibn Gabirol, ; ar, أبو أيوب سليمان بن يحيى بن جبيرول, ’Abū ’Ayy ...

's ''Keter Malkut'' served as the basis. Like the latter, Samuel he-Ḥasid treats of the divine nature from the negative side, that is to say, from the point of view that God is not like man. The Hebrew, if not very poetical, is pure; but foreign words are used for the philosophical terms. The recitation of the poem was forbidden by

; but other rabbis, among whom was Samuel Judah Katzenellenbogen, who wrote a commentary on it, decided to the contrary. On the different opinions concerning the authorship of the ''Shir ha-Yiḥud'' see L. Dukes in ''Orient, Lit.'' vii., cols. 483, 484. According to legend, he was said to have created a ''

golem A golem ( ; he, , gōlem) is an animated, Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic being in Jewish folklore, which is entirely created from inanimate matter (usually clay or mud). The most famous golem narrative involves Judah Loew ben Bezalel, the l ...

'' which accompanied him on his travels and served him, but could not speak.

References

Its bibliography: * Michael, Or ha-Ḥayyim, p. 592; * L. Dukes, ''Orient, Lit.'' vii, cols. 483–488; *idem, ''Neuhebräische Religiöse Poesie,'' p. 105; * Landshuth, ''Siddur Hegyon Leb,'' pp. 529–531; *

Steinschneider Moritz Steinschneider (30 March 1816, Prostějov, Moravia, Austrian Empire – 24 January 1907, Berlin) was a Moravian bibliographer and Orientalist. He received his early instruction in Hebrew from his father, Jacob Steinschneider ( 1782; ...

, ''Cat. Bodl.'' cols. 2413–2417; * Zunz, ''Z. G.'' pp. 55, 72, 74.

External links

Traditional Sphardic Singing of Samuel of Speyer Shabbat Song Shabbat HaYom L'Hashem
{{Authority control Jewish poets 12th-century poets Tosafists 12th-century Sephardi Jews