A book from over 300 years ago still sparks interest and indicates the rich heritage of the Jewish community of Hebron. Rabbi Shimon Ben Yehuda Habillo was the rabbi of Hebron in the 17th century and was responsible for the publication of the book Hevel Bnei Yehuda, a commentary on the Passover Haggadah.
His father Yehuda Habillo rabbi of Hebron before him and worked on the manuscript. Rabbi Shimon edited his father’s work and had it published in Matua, Italy in 1694. The next year, Rabbi Shimon had Hevel Bnei Yehuda along with his own work Ḥeleḳ Yehuda, a commentary on the Book of Ruth, published in Venice. The book also includes a prayer he wrote arranged in the style of Psalm 119.
Rabbi Shimon was a contemporary of Rabbi Moses ben Mordecai Zacuto, known as the RAMAZ, who lived in Italy and founded a school for kabbalah study there. He wrote the approbation for Rabbi Shimon’s works. As a youth in Amsterdam, Rabbi Zacuto was a fellow student of Baruch Spinoza.
Rabbi Shimon’s grandfather was David Habillo (d. 1661), a rabbi from Tzfat who later lived in Jerusalem and became an emissary in Turkey and Smyrna where he met Shabbatei Zevi.
The Habillo family is part of Hebron’s deep roots and the contributions it has made to the literature and legacy of Judaism.
(alternative name spellings: Simon ben Judah ben David Ḥabillo, Shimon ben Yehudah Habillo)
NOTES:
• Sefer Hebron edited by Oded Avisar second edition, page 213
• HaKol Baseder Haggadah Kit by Michael Toben and Mitch Heifetz, page 114
• David Habillo – Encyclopedia.com
• הגדה של פסח – חבל בני יהודה – Kedem
• Helek bene Yehudah by Shimon Habillo – full text, HebrewBooks.org
• Simon Ben Judah Ben David Ḥabillo – 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia
• Rabbi Moses Zacuto – 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia
• Simon Habillo – Grokipedia
