Benjamin b. Mattithiah

Benjamin b. Mattithiah was a merchant and author of a large collection of response who flourished in Turkey in the first half of the sixteenth century. Although his occupation was that of a merchant, he also served as a member of the rabbinical college of Arta, Greece. He was often in disputes with many of his contemporaries, which were caused by the great independence he very often displayed in his decisions on legal questions, an independence that greatly offended the rabbinical authorities. His collection of 450 responsa titled “Benjamin Ze'eb” (Venice, 1539), which he published partly in self justification, was not at all well received by the Italian and Polish rabbis of the time.