David ben Samuel

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DAVID BEN SAMUEL

DAVID BEN SAMUEL (d. after 1201), exilarch in *Baghdad before 1195, although he is only mentioned as such from 1197. David succeeded his father, Samuel of Mosul, who held the position from 1175 to 1190. He secured his appointment only with some difficulty. The head of the Baghdad academy, *Samuel b. Ali, objected to the exilarchate and wished to abolish it. It was only as a result of the pressure of the Baghdad community that the position was maintained. Samuel b. Ali opposed the appointment of David b. Samuel as exilarch on the grounds that he was not sufficiently learned. It seems that *Maimonides was opposed to this view. It is doubtful whether R. David b. Samuel or R. David of Mosul excommunicated R. *Daniel b. Saadiah, the pupil of R. Samuel b. Ali, because he had violently criticized Maimonides' opinions a short while before 1235.

bibliography:

Mann, in: Sefer Zikkaron li-Khevod S.A. Poznański (1927), 23f.; Mann, Texts, 1 (1931), index; Assaf, in: Tarbiz, 1 (1930), 126–8; Abramson, in: Perakim, 1 (1967–68), 16.

[Abraham David]