Jacob ben Nathanael
Encyclopedia
Jacob ben Nathanael ibn al-Fayyumi was a rosh yeshiva
of the Yemenite Jews
in the second half of the 12th century CE. All that is known of him is that at the suggestion of Solomon ha-Kohen, a pupil of Maimonides
, he wrote to the latter asking his advice in regard to a pseudo-Messiah
who was leading the Jews of southern Arabia astray. From a passage in Maimonides' "Letter to the Wise Men of the Congregation of Marseilles", the date of Jacob's letter is fixed as 1172 (Halub, in his ed. of Iggeret Teman, p. 51, note). In answer, Maimonides sent his Iggeret Teman or, as it is also called, Petah Tikvah. Abraham Harkavy
supposes that Jacob had knowledge of Saadia Gaon
's Sefer ha-Galui (Studien und Mittheil. v.154; comp. Monatsschrift, xliv.508). Jacob's father was known as a philosophical writer (see Jew. Encyc. v.354).
Rosh yeshiva
Rosh yeshiva, , , is the title given to the dean of a Talmudical academy . It is made up of the Hebrew words rosh — meaning head, and yeshiva — a school of religious Jewish education...
of the Yemenite Jews
Yemenite Jews
Yemenite Jews are those Jews who live, or whose recent ancestors lived, in Yemen . Between June 1949 and September 1950, the overwhelming majority of Yemen's Jewish population was transported to Israel in Operation Magic Carpet...
in the second half of the 12th century CE. All that is known of him is that at the suggestion of Solomon ha-Kohen, a pupil of Maimonides
Maimonides
Moses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...
, he wrote to the latter asking his advice in regard to a pseudo-Messiah
Jewish Messiah claimants
The Messiah in Judaism has a number of interpretations, including any king chosen by God; a holy king who will lead Israel; and someone who will usher in an idyllic age of peace and justice...
who was leading the Jews of southern Arabia astray. From a passage in Maimonides' "Letter to the Wise Men of the Congregation of Marseilles", the date of Jacob's letter is fixed as 1172 (Halub, in his ed. of Iggeret Teman, p. 51, note). In answer, Maimonides sent his Iggeret Teman or, as it is also called, Petah Tikvah. Abraham Harkavy
Abraham Harkavy
Avraam/Albert Yakovlevich Harkavy , or Avraham Eliyahu ben Yaakov Harkavy was a Russian-Jewish historian and orientalist.-Biography:...
supposes that Jacob had knowledge of Saadia Gaon
Saadia Gaon
Saʻadiah ben Yosef Gaon was a prominent rabbi, Jewish philosopher, and exegete of the Geonic period.The first important rabbinic figure to write extensively in Arabic, he is considered the founder of Judeo-Arabic literature...
's Sefer ha-Galui (Studien und Mittheil. v.154; comp. Monatsschrift, xliv.508). Jacob's father was known as a philosophical writer (see Jew. Encyc. v.354).