Solomon Judah Friedlaender (c. 1860–c. 1923), author and literary forger. Friedlaender gave contradictory biographical accounts of his life, claiming at various times to have been born in Hungary, Turkey, and Rumania, but in all probability he was born in Beshenkovichi near Vitebsk, Belorussia. He supposedly studied at the yeshivah in Volozhin and afterward wandered throughout Europe. He was in Czernowitz (1880–1882), Mainz (1884), Frankfort on the Main (1885), Mulhouse (c. 1888–c. 1895), Waitzen (1900–1902), Naszod (1902–1906), and finally in Szatmar, from 1906 onward. It seems that he died in Vienna. Friedlaender published a number of works of doubtful authenticity or pure forgeries.

With this publication, he reached the summit of his audacity, claiming to be of pure Sephardi descent (Sephardi tahor) from the well-known Algazi family and a native of Smyrna. He asserted that he was assisted in the acquisition of the manuscript by his brother, Elijah Algazi, and a business associate of the latter, both citizens of Smyrna. Some of the leading scholars of this period, such as Solomon Buber, Solomon Shechter, and R. Shalom Mordecai Schwadron of Brzezany accepted his story. However, the majority of scholars gave no credence to his tales, and R. B. Ritter of Rotterdam conclusively proved the fallaciousness of Friedlaender's claims. On the basis of internal evidence, R. Ritter showed that the text was an overt forgery. R. Ritter's conclusions were supported by many experts, including R. V. Aptowitzer, R. W. Bacher, R. D. B. Ratner and R. Meir Dan Plotzki. The controversy continued for the next few years, and as late as 1913, Friedlaender still published booklets on this issue.