Rabbi Simlai רבי שמלאי
the aggadist who counted the 613 commandments
Rabbi Simlai, an Amora of the second generation, was a famed preacher; the halakhists teased the aggadah, but his expositions outlived their rulings. Chief is the count of the commandments: 613—365 prohibitions and 248 positive commands—and then the ladder: David brought them to eleven, Yeshayahu to six, Micah to three, Habakkuk set all upon one—"the righteous shall live by his faith" (Makkot 23b–24a).
His too is the midrash of the soul before birth: the infant in the womb learns the whole Torah, and at the coming into light an angel strikes it on the mouth—and it forgets (Niddah 30b). All life after that is remembering.
The sources give no years of life; the window of activity is set by generation, following Aharon Hyman's Toldot Tannaim ve-Amoraim.
On the timeline
Sources
Chazal: Mishnah, Talmud, midrash, Zohar
- Makkot 23b–24a — the count of 613 and the prophets' ladder
- Niddah 30b — the soul learns Torah in the womb
Basis: Talmud and midrash.