Hezekiah ben Samuel

Hezekiah ben Samuel was a close relative of two geonim—Paltoy Ga’on and Sherira Ga’on—and was himself gaon of Pumbedita in the early- to mid-tenth century. Little of his writing is extant, though we do have a few responsa (answers to questions of Jewish law) that he sent to Bahlul ben Joseph of Qayrawān, Tunisia. In 953, Hezekiah wrote a letter to the Jewish communities of al-Andalus (Muslim Spain) asking for financial support after the appointment in Pumbedita of a rival gaon, Khalaf ibn Sarjado.