R. Jehiel ben Solomon Heilprin (1660–1746) was a Lithuanian talmudic scholar and historian. The son of the rabbi of Sokolov, R. Heilprin studied Kabbalah and, according to legend, performed miracles. He served as rabbi first in Glussk (Bobruisk district), where his compilation of rules and regulations for the hevra kaddisha were preserved in his own manuscript for several generations. In 1711 he was appointed head of the yeshivah in Minsk. His method of teaching the Talmud, contrary to pilpul, caused friction between him and R. Aryeh Leib b. Asher Gunzberg, who was also a rosh yeshivah in Minsk. R. Aryeh Leib later left Minsk, and R. Heilprin was able to continue in his own yeshivah, unhampered, and with the affection of his pupils. R. Heilprin became famous mainly for his historical-chronological book Seder ha-Dorot (Karlsruhe, 1769), which is divided into three parts: a) chronology of events and personages dated from the Creation to 1696; b) the biographies and chronologies of the tannaim and amoraim in alphabetical order; c) the names of Hebrew authors and books, listed alphabetically, up to Heilprin's period. In the first part of this work he made use of stories from the Sefer ha-Yashar and the earlier chronological books, including Zemah David by David Gans, Sefer Yuhasin by Abraham Zacuto, and Shalsft ha-Kabbalah by Gedaliah ibn Yahya. In the third part he used Siftei Yeshenim by Shabbetai Bass; Heilprin copied the list of books from this work with all its errors. The second part, devoted to the history of the tannaim and amoraim, is of utmost importance. Although Heilprin followed Sefer Yuhasin in compiling the list of individuals, the history he wrote was the first modern-type biography of the tannaim and amoraim, being based on original research of the talmudic sources. In the introduction to his book Heilprin discussed the importance of the history of the tannaim to halakhic decisions. Seder ha-Dorot was published a second time (Lemberg, 1858) with comments by Joseph Saul Nathanson, the rabbi of Lemberg. An improved edition of the book with a preface was later published by Naphtali Maskil le-Eitan (Maskileison; Warsaw, 1878). Heilprin also published annotations to the Babylonian Talmud (Vilna, 1880); Erkhei Kinnuyim (Dyhernfurth, 1806), a work similar to a concordance and a new edition entitled Kav Shalom with notes and comments (letters (A-H) was published by S. Z. Adler (Satu Mare, 1939).

עמ' [10-23]: תולדות הגאון המחבר, מאת ר' נפתלי משכיל לאיתן. אות א-ז בלבד. שער חלקי נוסף לועזי מעבר לשער העברי. יש טפסים ששער חלקי זה הוא ברומנית ויש טפסים שעל הטכסט הרומני נדבק טכסט אונגארי.

הסכמות: ר' יואב אדלער, האנשאוויטץ, א דראש-חודש [מר]חשון תרצ"ט; ר' משה קליין, גרוו"ד [גראסווארדיין], ה לך תרצ"ט; ר' יוסף צבי דושינסקיא, ירושלם, יב אייר תרצ"ח; ר' יהודא ליב צירלסאהן, קעשנוב, יז סיון תרצ"ז; ר' שאול בראך, קאשוי, ה קרח תרצ"ז, וההסכמות שבאו בהוצאה הראשונה.