Petachiah of Ratisbon

Petachiah of Regensburg, also known as Petachiah ben Yakov, Moses Petachiah, and Petachiah of Ratisbon, was a German/Bohemian rabbi of the twelfth and early thirteenth centuries. At some point he left his place of birth, Regensburg in Bavaria, and settled in Prague.

Petachiah was born in Regensburg, a city whose Jewish community was so renowned for its piety and learning that it was sometimes called the "Jewish Athens". He was the brother of Isaac ben Jacob ha-Lavan ("the White"), a renowned rabbi and Jewish jurist, chief rabbinical authority of the Jews of Prague in that period. During his childhood Petachiah was probably tutored by such scholars as Judah ben Samuel of Regensburg, Judah the Pious, who is also thought to have travelled with him for a time, and who is credited with compiling a report of Petachiah's journey. Petachiah entrusted Judah the Pious with his travel notes which were then turned into the aforementioned travelogue.

Petachiah also authored several glosses on the Talmud.

The dates of the travels described in his travelogue are uncertain, but are placed roughly between the years 1170 and 1187.

Some of Petachiah's travelogue is devoted to discussing the oppression of Jews and the struggles they often faced in Greece and other neighboring lands.

The date of Petachiah's death is unknown, but could be around 1225.