HEILBRONN, JACOB BEN ELHANAN

HEILBRONN, JACOB BEN ELHANAN (16th century), rabbi and mathematician. Born in Italy, Heilbronn studied in Prague and traveled through various German and Italian cities, earning his livelihood from teaching. For some time he was employed as a tutor to the children of Nehemiah Luzzatto in Venice. He finally settled in Padua, where he was appointed rabbi. Many scholars of renown addressed their halakhic queries to him, including samuel archivolti , simone luzzatto , abraham menahem porto , and Avigdor Cividal. Heilbronn is the author of Seder Meliḥah in Judeo-German, on the precept of salting meat, based on Moses Isserles' Torat Ḥattat (Cracow, c. 1570), issued with a memorial address on the death of Avigdor Cividal (Venice, 1602); Shoshannat Ya'akov (Venice, 1623), mathematical riddles and elementary arithmetic, edited as a supplement to the Orḥot Ḥayyim (Prague, 1521) of R. Eliezer ha-Gadol; Naḥalat Ya'akov (Padua, 1623), responsa and halakhic novellae, dedicated to his benefactor Simḥah Luzzatto. In his approbation, R. Isaiah horowitz praises Heil bronn for his erudition, as did others in their exchange of responsa with him. Other responsa of Heilbronn are included in the Mashbit Milḥamot (Venice, 1606). He also translated into Italian Seder Mitzvot Nashim on women's religious obligations by benjamin slonik of Grodno (Venice, 1606). -BIBLIOGRAPHY: Ghirondi-Neppi, 173; Fuenn, Keneset, 544. (Jacob Hirsch Haberman)