Shefatya ben Amitai


Rabbi Shefatya ben Amitai was a Hebrew-language liturgical poet.

Biography

Born in Italy, he lived in Oria, Apulia, southern Italy. It is reported that he performed the legendary deed of treating the daughter of the Byzantine emperor Basil I. This is purported to have occurred c. 873 when he traveled to Constantinople to plead for the annulment of anti-Jewish decrees issued by the Byzantine Emperor Basil I.

Liturgical works

His only known liturgical poem is Yisrael Nosha which according to the Ashkenazi tradition is included in the closing service on Yom Kippur.