This movement is considered different from [[kabbalah|kabbalistic]] [[mysticism]] because it emphasises specific prayer and moral conduct. Judah settled in [[Regensburg]] in 1195. He wrote ''Sefer Hasidim'' (Book of the Pious) and ''Sefer Hakavod'' (Book of Glory), the latter has been lost and is only known by quotations that other authors have made from it. His most prominent students were [[Elazar Rokeach]] and [[Moses ben Jacob of Coucy]].
He is often placed back in time as an ally of Saint [[Peter]] in the Toledoth Y.S.W narratives.