Halafta or Rabbi Halafta (רבי חלפתא) was a rabbi who lived in Sepphoris in the

Galilee Galilee (; he, הַגָּלִיל, hagGālīl; ar, الجليل, al-jalīl) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. Galilee traditionally refers to the mountainous part, divided into Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and Lower Gali ...

during the late 1st and early 2nd centuries CE (second generation of

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 ...

). He was the father of

Jose ben Halafta Jose ben Halafta or Yose ben Halafta (or Yose ben Halpetha) (Hebrew: רבי יוסי בן חלפתא; IPA: /ʁa'bi 'josi ben xa'lafta/) was a tanna of the fourth generation (2nd century CE). He is the fifth-most-frequently mentioned sage in the M ...

, and one of the latter's teachers of

halakha ''Halakha'' (; he, הֲלָכָה, ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws which is derived from the written and Oral Torah. Halakha is based on biblical commandm ...

. He is always cited without

patronymic A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. Patronymics are still in use, including mandatory use, in many countries worldwide, alt ...

cognomen A ''cognomen'' (; plural ''cognomina''; from ''con-'' "together with" and ''(g)nomen'' "name") was the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. Initially, it was a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became here ...

. His descent is traced back to Jonadab the Rechabite. He was a senior contemporary of Gamaliel II and

Johanan ben Nuri Rabbi Yochanan ben Nuri (Hebrew: יוחנן בן נורי) was a '' tanna'' of the 1st and 2nd centuries. Biography He initially studied under the watch of Rabban Gamliel of Yavne and senior of Rabbi Akiva, and later took up residence in Beit Sh ...

and conducted a rabbinic school at Sepphoris. Here he introduced some ritual reforms. Tradition relates that, together with Hananiah ben Teradion and Eleazar ben Mattai, he saw the monuments which

Joshua Joshua () or Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' lit. 'Yahweh is salvation') ''Yēšūaʿ''; syr, ܝܫܘܥ ܒܪ ܢܘܢ ''Yəšūʿ bar Nōn''; el, Ἰησοῦς, ar , يُوشَعُ ٱبْنُ نُونٍ '' Yūšaʿ ...

had placed in the

Jordan River The Jordan River or River Jordan ( ar, نَهْر الْأُرْدُنّ, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn'', he, נְהַר הַיַּרְדֵּן, ''Nəhar hayYardēn''; syc, ܢܗܪܐ ܕܝܘܪܕܢܢ ''Nahrāʾ Yurdnan''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Shariea ...

. Ḥalafta seems to have attained an advanced age. He communicated to Gamaliel II an order given by his grandfather Gamaliel I, and which he had himself heard in the last years of Judea's independence; he subsequently participated in the Akavia controversy, and later he is met with in the company of Eleazar ben Azariah, Ḥuẓpit the interpreter, Yeshebab, and Johanan ben Nuri, when they were old. But few halakhot are preserved in his name, and most of these were transmitted by his more famous son, R. Jose.Kilaim 26:6; Tosefta Ma'aser Sheni 1:13; Tosefta Bava Batra 2:10; Tosefta Ohalot 5:8; Bekhorot 26a One of Jose's sons was named Halafta after his grandfather, but he died young.

References

Jewish Encyclopedia Halafta
1st-century rabbis 2nd-century rabbis Mishnah rabbis 1st-century births 2nd-century deaths {{MEast-rabbi-stub