Samuel ben Samson ( also Shmuel ben Shimshon) was a rabbi who lived in the Kingdom of France and made a pilgrimage to Palestine in 1210, visiting a number of villages and cities there, including the Old City of Jerusalem. There, he ascended and prayed on the Temple Mount and the Mount of Olives. He also visited the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron, as well as Beth-Shean, Tiberias, and Safed. Among his companions were Jonathan ben David ha-Cohen, and it is likely that ben Samson served as his secretary. Two other rabbis were travelling with them, and the four travelled as far east as Mosul. According to George Sarton, some 300 medieval English and French Jews inspired by ben Samson's account settled in the land of Israel in 1211.

The first mention of Safed in Jewish history appears in the writings of ben Samson from the 13th century, where he notes the existence of a Jewish community of at least 50 members there.

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