Yeḥiel of Rome

Yeḥiel ben Abraham of Rome was a leader of Roman Jewry and is best known as the father of Nathan ben Yeḥiel of Rome (1035–ca. 1110), author of the talmudic dictionary, the ‘Arukh. Later sources suggest that Yeḥiel headed the talmudic academy in Rome. His written legacy, in addition to occasional citations of his views, consists of some thirty piyyutim. His piyyutim are preserved almost exclusively in Italian manuscripts, indicating that they did not spread beyond that region. Most of his surviving liturgical poetry consists of penitential seliḥot. Yeḥiel’s poetry continued to use traditional forms.