Tomb of Simeon the Just

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According to Jewish tradition, the Tomb of Simeon the Just, (Hebrew: קבר שמעון הצדיק‎; translit. Kever Shimon ha-Tzaddik), and his students, is located on Derech Har ha-Zeitim (Mount of Olives Way), the road which runs through the Sheikh Jarah neighbourhood towards Mount Scopus in northern Jerusalem. Archaeologists date the burial cave to the Roman or the beginning of the Byzantine period.

The first recorded mention of the site is from 1235. Rabbi Yaakov ha-Shaliach, a student of Rabbi Yechiel of Paris, writes that “near Jerusalem is the cave of Shimon ha-Tzaddik and his students.” In centuries gone by the cave was only accessible by paying an Arab who would give the privilege of entering the cave to pray. This was common at Jewish and Christian sites in Jerusalem. However in 1876 the Jewish community purchased the site and surrounding land for 15,000 francs. Under the guidance of Jerusalem’s chief rabbi, Shmuel Salant, housing construction in the area around the tomb commenced in 1891. Twenty families lived in Shimon ha-Tzaddik neighbourhood until 1948. When Jordan administered the area between 1948 and 1967, the tomb was used as a stable; Arab families took over the houses in the area and Jews were prohibited from accessing the site.^[1]

During the Ottoman period, Wasif Jawhariyyeh mentions the site as the location of communal festivities known as the Yehudia, attended by Jewish, Christian, and Muslims in honor of Shimon the Just.^[2]

While people flock to the tomb of Shimon bar Yochai on Lag Ba'omer to perform the Upsherin ceremony, the tomb of Simeon the Just in Jerusalem is used by many as an alternative location.