SOLOMON BEN SAMSON

SOLOMON BEN SAMSON (11^th century), scholar of Worms, a contemporary of Rashi's teachers. He used to sign himself ששו״ן and as a result is referred to as "Sason." His teachers were *Jacob b. Yakar and, apparently, *Eleazar of Worms, and he was a colleague of *Isaac b. Judah ha-Levi, the teacher of Rashi. Many of Solomon's rulings are quoted in the Ma'aseh ha-Ge'onim (1910) in reply to questions raised by the sons of *Machir b. Judah. It is stated there that he and *Kalonymus of Rome disagreed with Isaac b. Moses of Mainz as to whether a minor male could exercise the equivalent of me'un (see *child marriage) with regard to his wife. Some of his responsa were collected in the Teshuvot Ḥakhmei Ẓarefat ve-Loter, (ed. by J. Mueller (1881), nos. 43–56).

His responsa are written in the style of Rashi, in a spirit of humility, and are based on the traditions of his teachers. Statements of his are found among various works of the school of Rashi, such as Shibbolei ha-Leket, Sefer ha-Pardes, and Sefer ha-Roke'aḥ. He was also one of the first of the commentators on piyyut in Germany. Additional fragments of his work were discovered recently in the manuscript of a prayer book. A paytan called Solomon b. Samson b. Eliakim is mentioned by L. *Zunz in his Literaturgeschichte der synagogalen Poesie.

bibliography:

J. Mueller (ed.), Teshuvot Ḥakhmei Ẓarefat ve-Loter (1881), xxx; E.E. Urbach (ed.), Arugat ha-Bosem, 4 (1963), 15–16; M. Hershler, in: Hadarom 25 (1967), 171–6.

[Israel Moses Ta-Shma]