Judah ben Samuel of Regensburg
| Judah ben Samuel | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1150 Speyer, Bishopric of Speyer |
| Died | 22 February 1217 (aged 66–67) Regensburg, Bavaria |
Judah ben Samuel of Regensburg (1150 – 22 February 1217), also called HeHasid or 'the Pious' in Hebrew, was a leader of the Chassidei Ashkenaz, a movement of Jewish mysticism in Germany considered different from kabbalistic mysticism because it emphasizes specific prayer and moral conduct.
Judah was born in the small town of Speyer in the modern day Rhineland-Palatinate state in Germany back 1150 but later settled in Regensburg in the modern day state of Bavaria in 1195. He wrote Sefer Hasidim (Book of the Pious), Sefer Gematriyot (a book on astrology) and Sefer Hakavod (Book of Glory), the latter has been lost and is only known by quotations that other authors have made from it. His most prominent students were Elazar Rokeach, Isaac ben Moses of Vienna author of Or Zarua and perhaps also Moses ben Jacob of Coucy (according to the Hida).
Judah was descended from an old family of kabbalists from Northern Italy that had settled in Germany. His grandfather Kalonymus was a scholar and parnas in Speyer (died 1126). His father Samuel, also called HeHasid ("the pious"), HaKadosh, and HaNabi, was president of a bet ha-midrash in Speyer, and from him Judah, together with his brother Abraham, received his early instruction. Samuel died while Judah was still young. About 1195 he left Speyer and settled in Regensburg (Ratisbon), on account of an "accident" – most probably a ritual murder accusation Feb. 13 1195 (see e.g. Israel Yuval: Two Nations in Your Womb (2006) p. 171) and the following persecution experienced by the Jews of Speyer.
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