Shimon b. Chalafta

Shimon b. Chalafta came from an illustrious family and was a regular at R. Yehudah haNasi's academy. There he developed a close friendship with R. Yehudah's son, Shimon, and with the academy's leading student, R. Chiyya. In spite of his lineage, he subsisted on little until helped by R. Chiyya.