HANANEEL BEN AMITTAI:
Spiritual leader of the Jewish community of Oria, Italy, in the ninth century. He is said to have been descended from a Jerusalem family, members of which were taken to Italy by Titus. In the Ahimaaz Chronicle Hananeel is credited with great learning and piety, and is said to have been well versed in the secret knowledge of Cabala, through which he performed miracles. Ahimaaz also relates a disputation Hananeel had with the Archbishop of Oria.
Bibliography:
- Neubauer, M. J. C. ii. 119;
- Kaufmann, in Monatsschrift, xl. 504.
