I’ve seen this story periodically - always from Christian sites, never Jewish ones. None of these sites quote Rabbi Ben Samuel directly, much less in the original.
I haven’t picked up any of Rabbi Ben Samuel’s books. But if this “prophecy” was real, I think I would have heard of it from Jewish sources. It is, after all, an exclusively Jewish “prophecy” about the reconquest of Jerusalem. Heck, it probably would have been drilled into the head of every young Mafdalnik (Religious Zionist). It isn’t.
My bet is that this “prophecy” is a crock, pitched to the gullible to separate them from their money.
ping
Certainly R. Judah HaChassid would take a dim view of Christians using him as a source for bubbe meises. He, and the Jews of the Rhine valley, suffered terribly at the hands of Crusaders.
I havent picked up any of Rabbi Ben Samuels books. But if this prophecy was real, I think I would have heard of it from Jewish sources. It is, after all, an exclusively Jewish prophecy about the reconquest of Jerusalem. Heck, it probably would have been drilled into the head of every young Mafdalnik (Religious Zionist). It isnt.
My bet is that this prophecy is a crock, pitched to the gullible to separate them from their money.
He endeavored to deepen the feeling of devotion and pietyWhen I read his wiki page,
Baruch HaShem
something stood out: The study of the Talmud, especially as it was treated
Most Rabbis view the Talmud with great admiration.
by his contemporaries, seemed to him fruitless.
and emphasized the importance of studying the Bible as
against studying the Talmud.
This may have something to do with his Blessed Memory.