Jehiel ben Solomon Heilprin ( he, יחיאל היילפרין; c. 1660 – c. 1746) was a
Lithuanian rabbi,
kabalist
Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "receiver"). The defin ...
, and chronicler.
Biography
He was a descendant of
Solomon Luria
Solomon Luria (1510 – November 7, 1573) ( he, שלמה לוריא) was one of the great Ashkenazic ''poskim'' (decisors of Jewish law) and teachers of his time. He is known for his work of Halakha, ''Yam Shel Shlomo'', and his Talmudic commen ...
, and traced his genealogy back through
Rashi
Shlomo Yitzchaki ( he, רבי שלמה יצחקי; la, Salomon Isaacides; french: Salomon de Troyes, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi (see below), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a compre ...
to the
tanna Johanan HaSandlar. He was rabbi of
Hlusk,
Minsk Voivodeship
, la, Palatinatus Minscensis) was a unit of administrative division and local government in Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1566Stanisław Kutrzeba: Historia ustroju Polski w zarysie, Tom drugi: Litwa. Lwów i Warszawa: 1921, s. 88. and later in Pol ...
until 1711, when he was called to the rabbinate of
Minsk
Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...
, where he officiated also as head of the
yeshivah
A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are stud ...
until his death. Heilprin was one of the most eminent
Talmudists
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the center ...
of his time. He was opposed to
casuistry
In ethics, casuistry ( ) is a process of reasoning that seeks to resolve moral problems by extracting or extending theoretical rules from a particular case, and reapplying those rules to new instances. This method occurs in applied ethics and ju ...
, and on this account succeeded in grouping around him a great number of liberal-minded pupils. For a long time he had to sustain a hard struggle with
Aryeh Leib ben Asher Gunzberg Aryeh Leib ben Asher Ginzburg (or Wallerstein) ( he, אריה ליב גינסבורג) ( 1695 – June 23, 1785), also known as the Shaagas Aryeh, was a Lithuanian rabbi and author.
Life
Born in Lithuania, c. 1695, he was a Rabbinical casuist. ...
, who, while still a young man, had founded a yeshivah at Minsk, which at first was very flourishing. Aryeh Leib attacked Heilprin's method of teaching, and the antagonism between them spread to their pupils. Later, Aryeh Leib, being obliged to assist his father in the district rabbinate, neglected his yeshivah, which was ultimately closed, and Heilprin was no longer interfered with.
Heilprin devoted a part of his time to the study of
Kabbalah
Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "receiver"). The defin ...
, on which subject he wrote a work. He was opposed to giving approbations to new books, deviating, as he himself says, only twice from his general principle in this regard. The two works so favored were the ''Ir Ḥomah'' of
Abraham Judah Elijah and the ''Magen HaElef'' of
Aryeh Löb of Plock.
Seder HaDorot
Heilprin is especially known through his ''Seder HaDorot.'' This work consists of three independent volumes or parts:
* The first of these, entitled ''Yemot Olam,'' is a history from the Creation down to his own time. The author always endeavors to give, by means of calculation, the dates of
Biblical personages. He bases his work on the ''Yuḥasin'' of
Abraham Zacuto, on the ''Shalshelet HaKabbalah'' of
Gedaliah ibn Yaḥya Gedaliah ibn Yahya ben Joseph (Hebrew: גדליה אבן יחיא בן יוסף; – 1587) was a 16th-century Italian Talmudist and Biblical chronologist chiefly known for his Biblical Chronology "Shalshelet HaḲabbalah".
Biography
Born in I ...
, and on the ''Ẓemaḥ Dawid'' of
David Gans
David Gans ( he, דָּוִד בֶּן שְׁלֹמֹה גנז; 1541–1613), also known as Rabbi Dovid Solomon Ganz, was a Jewish chronicler, mathematician, historian, astronomer and astrologer. He is the author of "Tzemach David" (1592 ...
. It seems that this first part was written when the author was still young, for the last event which he registered was one occurring in 1697.
* The second part, ''Seder HaTanna'im VehaAmoraim,'' contains lists of the
Tannaim
''Tannaim'' ( Amoraic Hebrew: תנאים , singular , ''Tanna'' "repeaters", "teachers") were the rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah, from approximately 10–220 CE. The period of the ''Tannaim'', also referred to as the Mis ...
and
Amoraim in alphabetical order with their dates.
* The third part is a kind of catalogue containing first the names of all the authors, then those of their works, both arranged in alphabetical order. Heilprin based this part on the ''Sifte Yeshenim'' of
Shabbethai Bass Shabbethai ben Joseph Bass (1641–1718) ( he, שבתי בן יוסף; also known by the family-name Strom), born at Kalisz, was the founder of Jewish bibliography, and author of the ''Siftei Chachamim'' supercommentary on Rashi's commentary on the ...
, but added a great number of other titles. He states in the preface the many advantages of a knowledge of the chronological order of the
Talmudists
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the center ...
, which indeed in certain cases is absolutely necessary.
The whole work is followed by notes on the Talmud, also arranged in alphabetical order. It was published for the first time by Heilprin's grandson,
Judah Löb Heilprin, at
Carlsruhe in 1769. There exist several other editions, the latest (as of 1906) being the revised one of
Naphtali Maskileison, son of
Abraham Maskileison, Warsaw, 1882.
Of Heilprin's numerous other works mentioned in the ''Seder HaDorot,'' the only one which has been published is ''Erke HaKinnuyim,'' a dictionary of synonyms and homonyms occurring in the
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...
,
Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...
, and other works, chiefly kabbalistic (Dyhernfurth, 1806).
References
Its bibliography:
* De Rossi, ''Dizionario,'' i.166;
* Naphtali Maskileison in the preface to his edition of the ''Seder HaDorot,'' as above;
*
Benzion Eisenstadt, ''Rabbanei Minsk,'' pp. 14–16, Wilna, 1898.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heilprin, Jehiel
1660s births
1740s deaths
17th-century Polish–Lithuanian rabbis
18th-century Polish–Lithuanian rabbis
Kabbalists