Cara, Simeon, Ben-chelbo

Cara, Simeon, Ben-Chelbo, also called R. Simeon had-Darshan, a celebrated Jewish commentator, lived in the eleventh century. He was a brother of the celebrated Menachem ben-Chelbo, and received the name Kara (קָרָא) in the synagogue for his lesson on the Sabbath, and the name had-Darshan from his collecting and explaining (דִּרשָׁן) the Midrashim. Cara is the author of the celebrated Jalkut (יִלקוּט), a collection of Midrashim on almost every verse of the Old Testament. He brought together a catena of traditional expositions from upward of fifty different works of all ages, many of which are of great value. Ten different editions of this work appeared between 1526 and 1805; one of the best and most convenient is that published at Frankfort on the Maine, 1687, folio. See Rapaport in the Hebrew annual called Kerem Chomned (כֶּרֶם חֶמֶד, 7:4, etc.); Zunz, Die Gottesdienstlichen Vorträge der Juden (p. 295-303); Steinschneider, Cataloqus Librorum Hebrceorum in Bibliotheca Bodleiana (Berlin, 1852- 60, col. 2600, 2604; Kitto, Cyclop. 1:444).