Rabbi Simlai was a talmudic sage from Palestine the early third century. The calculation of 613 Mitzvot is attributed to him. He was a student of Rabbi Judah I, the grandson of the author of the Mishnah. A famous Haggadist, Simlai endeavored to induce Judah II to abrogate the prohibition against using bread prepared by pagans. One of the earliest polemicists against Christianity, he engaged Origen in a debate on the Trinity.… (More on Simlai)