שמשון מפלייזא

Rabbi Shimshon ben Yosef HaZaken of Falaise (רבי שמשון בן יוסף הזקן מפלייזא) was one of the Baalei HaTosafot of Tzarfat and lived in the town of Falaise, France. He was the brother-in-law of Rabbeinu Tam, who married his sister Miriam. He may have been a talmid of Rashi.

Although he was older than Rabbeinu Tam, he wrote to him asking for explanations of sugyot in the Gemara, addressing him as “mori” (my teacher) and praising him highly, and Rabbeinu Tam answered him in the style of a talmid writing to his rav. From the words of Rabbeinu Tam it appears that Rabbi Shimshon was killed al kiddush Hashem, and that he was brought to burial only about six months later.

His son-in-law was Rabbi Eliezer, most likely the Rabbi Eliezer whose words are brought in Tosafot. His grandsons were Rabbi Shimshon of Sens and the Ritzba, Rabbi Yitzchak ben Avraham of Dampierre.

He wrote Tosafot on masechet Shabbat, and he is cited several times in the printed Tosafot on that masechet. His words are also brought in the Tosafot on Eruvin, Yevamot and Ketubot and in the Tosafot of Sens on Sotah, where his chiddushim were included for their importance. His psakim were written down and quoted by later rishonim, among them the Raavyah, the Or Zarua, the Maharam of Rothenburg and the Teshuvot Maimoniyot. He also wrote a short kuntres (notebook) summing up hilchot mezuzah; a copy survived and was printed from manuscript.

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