Abraham ben Samuel He-Ḥasid
ABRAHAM BEN SAMUEL HE-ḤASID
ABRAHAM BEN SAMUEL HE-ḤASID (of Speyer ; 12th century), rabbi and liturgical poet, the brother of R. *Judah b. Samuel he-Ḥasid. Abraham b. Samuel and *Judah b. Kalonymus, together with R. Shemariah b. Mordecai, later constituted the bet din of *Speyer, and are referred to as "the wise men of Speyer." *Eliezer b. Nathan of Mainz describes Abraham as "the sun of our orphaned age." Abraham's retort to a baptized Jew is recorded in the Sefer Niẓẓaḥon. In contrast to his father and brother, who were both famous for their mysticism and pietism, Abraham was known for his exoteric teachings and only slight traces of esoteric ideas can be found in his writings. Abraham wrote four elegies in which he described Jewish suffering during the first two Crusades (1096 and 1147).
bibliography:
Urbach, Tosafot, 577 (index); Davidson, Oẓar, 4 (1933), 358, s.v.Avraham mi-Speyer (ben Shemu'el); Abraham b. Azriel, Arugat ha-Bosem, ed. by E.E. Urbach, 4 (1963), 90–91; V. Aptowitzer, Mavo le-Sefer Ravyah (1938), 307–8; Germ Jud, 342, and index.
[Jacob Freimann]