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3 unusual facts about Samson ben Abraham of Sens


Samson ben Abraham of Sens

He was probably born in Falaise, Calvados, where his grandfather, the tosafist Samson ben Joseph, called "the Elder", lived.

He studied under Rabbeinu Tam at Troyes and David ben Kalonymus of Münzenberg, and for ten years attended the Yeshiva of Rabbi Isaac ben Samuel ha-Zaken (the Ri) of Dampierre, after whose death he took charge of the yeshiva of Sens. The Rosh said of him that only Rabbeinu Tam and Rabbi Isaac ben Samuel exercised greater influence upon Talmudical studies in France and in Germany during the 13th century.

Samson ben Abraham (c. 1150–c. 1230), also known as the Rash of Sens (an acronym of his name) or "the Prince of Sens", was one of the leading French Tosafists in the second half of the 12th and the beginning of the 13th centuries.



see also

Isaac ben Abraham

Isaac ben Abraham of Dampierre (Isaac ha Bahur, or "RIBa"), 12th/13th-century tosafist, brother of Samson ben Abraham of Sens