Berechiah de Nicole also known as Benedict fil Mosse, (d. after 1256), was a thirteenth century English Tosafist who lived at Lincoln

Lincoln, Lincolnshire

Lincoln is a cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England.The non-metropolitan district of Lincoln has a population of 85,595; the 2001 census gave the entire area of Lincoln a population of 120,779....

. He was of the well-known Hagin family, and son of Rabbi Moses ben Yom-Tov of London. He was the chief rabbi

Chief Rabbi

Chief Rabbi is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities...

 of Lincoln (the Norman-French name of which was "Nicole"), and probably lived in the house now known as the Jew's House

Jew's House

The Jew's House is one of the earliest extant town houses in England. It lies on Steep Hill in Lincoln, immediately below Jew's Court.Dating from the mid-twelfth century, the building originally consisted of a hall at first floor level, measuring approximately 12 by 6 metres, above service and...

 in that city; for this was in the possession of a certain Belaset of Wallington in 1287, and there is a deed which speaks of Belaset, daughter of the Rav Berechiah. It has been conjectured that it was to attend the marriage of this Belaset and to do Berechiah honor that the Jews of England assembled at Lincoln toward the end of August, 1255, when the body of Little Hugh of Lincoln was discovered, and all the Lincoln Jews were sent up to London for complicity in a so-called ritual murder. Berechiah was released earlier than the rest of the Jews, on January 7, 1256.

His subsequent fate is unknown; but there are a number of decisions of his in the ritual literature of the time, which show that he was considered an authority in ritual matters. For instance, the Mordecai

Mordecai ben Hillel

Mordechai ben Hillel HaKohen , also known as The Mordechai, was a 13th century German rabbi and posek. His chief legal commentary on the Talmud, referred to as the Mordechai, is one of the sources of the Shulchan Aruch. He died a martyr's death at Nuremberg.-Biography:Little is known of the...

 quotes that he decided that the evening prayer might be said an hour and a quarter before the legal time of night.

Sources

Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography: Zunz, Z. G. p. 97; Renan-Neubauer, Les Rabbins Français, p. 441; Jacobs, in Trans. Jew. Hist. Soc. England, i. 102-111.G. J.