Simeon bar Yohai

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Mark (behind blue fence) over cave in which Rabbi Simeon bar Yohai is buried. This main hall is divided in half in order to separate between men and women

Rabbi Simeon bar Yohai, (Aramaic: שמעון בר יוחאי) Shimon son of Yohai, Simon son of Yohai or Rashbi (Hebrew: רשב"י, pronounced "Rash-bee", from Rabbi Shimeon bar Yochai.), was a famous rabbi who lived in the era of the Tannaim (scholars of the Mishnah) in the area of what is today Israel during the Roman period, after the destruction of the Second Temple. According to the Talmud, he criticized the Roman government and was forced to go into hiding with his son for many years. They sheltered in a nearby cave where tradition states that next to the mouth of the cave a carob tree sprang up and a spring of fresh water gushed forth. Provided against hunger and thirst they cast off their clothing, embedded themselves in the sand up to their necks, and studied the Torah all day long.

He is traditionally attributed with the authorship of the Zohar -- The Brightness, the chief work of the Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism according to Orthodox Judaism.

He was one of the most eminent disciples of Rabbi Akiva. His master was executed by Hadrian, and Simeon's anti-Roman sentiments led to his own condemnation by Varna c. 161 CE (according to Graetz). He escaped this doom and dwelt for some years in a cavern. Emerging from concealment, Simon settled in Tiberias and in other Galilean cities.

He acquired a reputation as a worker of miracles, and on this ground was sent to Rome as an envoy, where (legend tells) he exorcised from the emperor's daughter a demon who had obligingly entered the lady to enable Simeon to effect his miracle.

This rabbi bore a large part in the fixation of law, and his decisions are frequently quoted. To him were attributed the important legal homilies called Sifre and Mekhilta, and above all the Zohar, the main work of the Kabbalah. The fullest account of Simeon's teachings is to be found in W Bacher's Agada der Tannaiten, ii. pp. 70-149. When the Talmud attributes a teaching to Rabbi Simeon without specifying which Rabbi Simeon is meant, it means Simeon bar Yochai.

The Grave of Rabbi Simeon bar Yochai in Meron on Lag Ba'Omer

It is widely believed that Rabbi Simeon bar Yochai died on Lag Ba'omer. There is custom to celebrate on the "Yahrzeit," the anniversary of the death, at Meron, the burial place of Rabbi Simeon bar Yochai and his son, Rabbi Elazar bar Simeon. With torches, song and feasting, the Yahrzeit is celebrated, which may seem somewhat odd, but which was a specific request by Rabbi Simeon bar Yochai of his students. It is a custom at the Meron celebrations, dating from the time of Rabbi Isaac Luria, that three-year-old boys are given their first haircuts, while their parents distribute wine and sweets.