Shimon Bar Yohai

Studying with Rabbi Akiva

Rabbi Shimon Bar Yohai was born in the family of Yohai and Sarah. At the age of 5, he began to study the Torah in Jerusalem.

Soon after his wedding, he went to Bnei Brak and studied with Rabbi Akiva for thirteen years at his yeshiva (academy) ^[1] without returning home. Subsequently, he opened his own yeshiva in Sidon , but continued to come to his teacher while he was alive. He was so connected with Rabbi Akiva that when the Romans imprisoned him for teaching the Torah , Rabbi Shimon secretly, endangering himself, made his way there to learn from him. All the while Rabbi Shimon studied with his teacher, he was in the shadows, and no one noticed his greatness and wisdom. Once, Rabbi Akiva told him: “Enough for you that the Almighty and I know about your strength!” Rabbi Akiva was very sympathetic to his student and called him “my son” ^[2] .

Subsequently, p. Shimon was honored to study the Torah on an equal footing with his great mentor: the Mishnah contains many discussions and legislative disputes between him and p. Akiva. ^[3]

Rabbi Shimon was one of the five disciples of Rabbi Akiva who survived after the terrible epidemic that claimed the lives of 24 thousand wise men. Among the teachers of Rashbi there were also other Torah sages - Rabbi Yehoshua, Rabbi Yehuda bin Baba, but Rabbi Shimon himself believed that he owed first of all his knowledge and deep understanding of the Torah to Rabbi Akiva .

Attitude to Roman rule ^[4]

During the reign of the Roman emperor Hadrian, cruel laws were introduced to suppress the spiritual life of the Jewish community and prohibit the observance of the basic commandments of Judaism.

In response to this, an uprising of Bar Kochba broke out in Israel, which was ruthlessly crushed. The Romans executed Rashbi teacher Rabbi Akiva and many other Jewish sages.

When p. Akiva was thrown by the Romans into prison, r. Shimon, risking his life, made his way to him so as not to interrupt the joint study of the Torah (Pesachim 112a). He witnessed the painful execution that his teacher was subjected to. After the death of the river. Akiva, he received a laugh from r. Yehuda bin Bava (Sanhedrin 14a). ^[3]

After the death of Hadrian in 138, Anthony Pius , who was more favored by the Jews, ascended the throne. However, laws introduced by his predecessor continued to be valid.

In the Talmud ^[5] , a story is given that Rabbi Shimon went to Rome as part of a delegation of Jewish sages to repeal orders prohibiting observance of the basic commandments of Judaism, such as circumcision and Shabbat . Thanks to his knowledge of miracles, Rashby was able to cure the emperor’s daughter from a mental illness. In gratitude, the emperor invited the sages to choose what they wish from the royal treasury. The sages asked as a reward to destroy the anti-Jewish decrees of Hadrian located there.

However, even after the repeal of the laws of Hadrian, the situation in Eretz Yisrael remained tense. Any attempt to criticize the Roman authorities led to persecution. Despite the imminent danger, Rabbi Shimon openly preached a negative attitude towards the Roman authorities, for which he was sentenced to death.

The Talmud says ^[6] :

Rabbi Yehuda, Rabbi Yosi, Rabbi Shimon and Yehuda Ben Gerim discussed the contribution of the Romans to the development of the country. Rabbi Yehuda said that the Romans did a lot of good things - they founded markets, bridges and baths. Rabbi Yosi said nothing. Rabbi Shimon said that everything the Romans did was for their own benefit. Markets - so that there is a place for prostitutes, baths - to please your own body, bridges - to collect duties. Yehuda bin Gerim blabbed the conversation. This came to the authorities, and they decided that p. Yehuda must be promoted for exalting Roman rule, p. Yoshi should be exiled to Tzipori for keeping silent, and p. Shimon must be executed for censuring the regime.

13 years in a cave

After the denunciation and the subsequent death sentence imposed by the Roman emperor, Rabbi Shimon was forced to hide.

Initially, he and his son Elazar hid in the house of teachings, where the wife of Rabbi Shimon brought them food. But soon it became dangerous to stay there and they fled to the cave, which, according to legend, is not far from the village of Pkiin in the Galilee. All the years spent in the cave, Rabbi Shimon and his son ate the fruits of the carob tree and drank water from the spring. So that the clothes did not wear out, they buried their throats in the sand, and dressed only for the duration of the prayer. All their strength was devoted to the study of the Torah .

In the books of bondage, it is reported that p. Shimon was one of the incarnations of Moshe - and as Moshe , fleeing from the wrath of the pharaoh, attained spiritual perfection and was awarded the Divine revelation in the desert, Shimon bar Yochai: fleeing from the wrath of the Roman emperor, he received the greatest revelations precisely during his stay in the desert (Seder adorot). ^[3]

Only after the death of the emperor and the ensuing amnesty with the abolition of the decree on the death penalty of Rabbi Shimon, they left the cave after spending 12 years in it. According to the Talmud, the news of the death of the emperor was transmitted to them by the prophet Elijah , who appeared at the entrance to the cave. The first thing they saw was people working in the fields. Since Rabbi Shimon supported the point of view according to which the understanding of the wisdom of the Torah, which grants eternal life, is considered the most important duty of the Jews, he became angry and said, “They leave eternal life and engage in temporary life.” Under their gaze, everything began to light up. Then a voice came from heaven, saying: “You went out to destroy my world? Return to your cave! ” ^[7] . There they spent another twelve months in the cave. During this time, they learned to treat ordinary people with understanding and appreciate their ability to fulfill God's commandments.

Pupils

Rabbi Shimon had yeshiva in Sidon , and then in Meron and Tekoa . Among his students r. Yehuda ha-Nasi - the compiler of the Mishnah , the son of Rashbi - r. Elazar, p. Dosta Berabi Yehida, p. Zakay, p. Shimon Bin Eliezer, Rav - the Great of Amorama , p. Shimon Bin Yehuda and many other prominent sages.

To study the hidden part of the Torah, Rabbi Shimon chose 9 students. They composed the “Hydra of the Slave” (“The Great Assembly”). This group included ten sages: Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai himself, his son Rabbi Elazar, Rabbi Aba, Rabbi Yehuda, Rabbi Yosi Bar Yaakov, Rabbi Yitzchak, Rabbi Hizkiya Bar Rav, Rabbi Chiya, Rabbi Yosi and Rabbi Isa. The sages of the "Hydra Slave" gathered in a cave located between Meron and Safed . There, Rabbi Shimon told his students the secrets of the Torah, which formed the basis of the Kabbalistic book of the Zohar . Rabbi Shimon himself transmitted knowledge to his students orally. He charged Rabbi Abe to record them. Based on these notes, the book “Zogar” was subsequently created, which is the main book studied by those who want to comprehend the hidden meaning of being.

Today, at the entrance to the cave of "Hydra Raba" a marble plaque with the names of Rashbi and his 9 great students is installed.

Rashby's Death

Rabbi Shimon died around 160 CE. e.

According to the description given in the book “Zohar”, before his death, he gathered his disciples at home and revealed to them the deepest secrets of the Torah, like fire. On the day of the death of their teacher, the students saw a flame surrounding the house of Rabbi Shimon. This flame did not allow strangers to approach the place where the teacher last passed on the divine wisdom to his students. Bright light and fire did not stop all day, and when they dispersed, the students saw that Rashby had died. During the funeral, a pillar of fire accompanied the stretcher with the body and stopped near a cave located near the village of Meron. Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai was buried in this cave. Many years later, his son Rabbi Elazar was buried there.

The date of death of Rabbi Shimon is not given in Jewish written sources ^[8] , but according to tradition, Rashby’s memorial day is celebrated on the eighteenth day of the month of Iyar, in Lag b'Omer . On this day, Jews around the world light fires that resemble the bright light of the Torah. In recent decades, the custom in Lag b'Omer to come to the Rashbi grave, located on Mount Meron , near Safed, has become widespread in Israel.

Based on the interpretations and legislative opinions of p. Shimon, his students recorded the Alahic Midrash Sifri, commenting on two books of the Torah - Bemidbar and Dvarim (Sanhedrin 86a).

Subsequently, his students and followers also recorded the book of the Zohar, which became the fundamental work of bondage. The prevailing opinion is that this book, in its essence, was created during the long-term stay of r. Shimon and Elazar in the cave (Seder adorot).

Tomb of the river. Shimon, located on Mount Meron, near the town of Safed, has long been a place of pilgrimage. Especially many worshipers gather there in Lag Baomer - the anniversary of the death of the river. Shimon. On this day, in memory of r. Shimone, Jews make bonfires around the world.

In works on bondage it is said that in the future, in the era of the Messiah, the law will be established in accordance with the legislative opinions of p. Shimon (Seder Adorot).

Hemar’s statements are quoted hundreds of times by Rabbi Shimon. According to the Talmudic tradition, anywhere in Mishnah and the Talmud , which simply mentions Rabbi Shimon without mentioning the name of his teacher or father, refers to Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai.

The most famous among the books, the author of which is considered Rabbi Shimon, the book " Zogar " is a classic book of Kabbalah. It was recorded at his direction by Rabbi Abba after the death of Rashby, so that the hidden part of the Torah would be preserved for future generations. The Zogar is a detailed commentary on the Pentateuch and is written in Aramaic.

Also, Rashby is credited with authorship of the Midrash Sifri ^[9] and Mehilt.

Some sayings

• “It is better for a person to rush himself into a burning furnace, but not to publicly humiliate his comrade.” ^[10]
• “The one who transfers ideas that he heard from another, but does not mention their author, violates the prohibition of theft” ^[11]
• “The punishment of a liar is that he will tell the truth, but they will not believe him.” ^[12]
• “A man praises quietly, but scolds loudly” ^[13]
• “One who refrains from doing a bad thing receives a reward as if he had done a good thing” ^[14]
• “A divine presence accompanies the righteous everywhere.” ^[15]
• “A woman wants to get married more than a man wants to get married” ^[16]
• “Only a gap made by large ones is significant.” (If representatives of the elite violate accepted norms, then ordinary people begin to do the same.) ^[17]

• Shimon Bar Yohai - article from the Electronic Jewish Encyclopedia