Abū ’l-‘Alā Israel ben Samuel

Abū ’l-‘Alā’ Israel ben Samuel ha-Kohen was the son of the well-known gaon of Sura, Samuel ben Ḥofni (d. 1013). Israel was a scribe and secretary for his father, who left a note in his will for the next gaon, Dosa ben Ḥanina, to use the academy’s funds to support his son Israel. Israel became gaon in 1018, after Dosa, and held the position until his own death in 1033, when his son ‘Azariah ha-Kohen was appointed. In addition to composing several letters that were preserved in the Cairo Geniza, Israel wrote a Judeo-Arabic halakhic text, Treatise on the Obligation of Prayer (Kitāb al-ṣalāt), and dedicated it to Abraham ibn ‘Aṭā’, the head of the Jewish community in Qayrawān, Tunisia.