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Shimon the prophet shrine

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Shimon Bar Yochai

Rabbi Shimon was a “fifth-generation” Tanna, according to the classification of Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz in “The Talmud – A Reference Guide,” who flourished in years 135 C.E. - 170 C.E. He was a student of Rabbi Akiva, and a contemporary of Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel II, who was the Nasi, the Scholar-President, and of Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Yehudah ben Ilai, among other great contemporaries. He was a complex individual, a Torah giant who was influenced by his father, Yochai, by his great teacher, Rabbi Akiva, and by the events of his day. His main achievement was the authorship of the “Zohar,” the Torat HaNistar, the hidden Torah that he received orally from his teacher, Rabbi Akiva. The latter is described in the Talmud as the only one of a group of four outstanding Torah scholars who attempted to enter the “Pardes,” the Orchard, a metaphor for the depths of Kabbalah, Jewish Mysticism, who was able to emerge safely.

His father was a man of considerable honor among the Jewish People. Yochai was a pacifist, was well-liked by the Romans, and was a bitter opponent of the

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The grave of Shimon bar Yochai in Meron, Israel, on the Jewish Holiday of Lag Ba'Omer.

Shimon bar Yochai, (Aramaic: רבן שמעון בר יוחאי), also known as Simeon son of Yohai, or Rashbi (from Rabbi Shimeon bar Yochai.), was a famous ancient rabbi and one of the greatest of the tannaim in the second century CE. He was an eminent disciple of Rabbi Akiva and is often quoted in the Talmud, the Mishnah, and other Jewish texts. To him were attributed the exegetical works called Sifre and Mekhilta.

A noted patriot, who, like Akiva, ran afoul of the Roman authorities, Shimon bar Yochai is said to have spent 13 years living in a cave with his son to escape a death sentence against him. After coming out of hiding he became famous for cleansing the city of Tiberias of its ritual impurity. He soon developed a reputation as a powerful miracle-worker and, according to legend, was sent to Rome as an envoy, where he exorcised from the emperor's daughter a demon who had obligingly entered the lady to enable Rabbi Shimon to effect his miracle.

Also known as a great myst

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Shimon bar Yochai

Tannaitic sage of the 2nd century

Shimon bar Yochai (Zoharic Aramaic: שמעון בר יוחאי, Šimʿon bar Yoḥay) or Shimon ben Yochai (Mishnaic Hebrew: שמעון בן יוחאי),[note 1] also known by the acronymRashbi,[note 2] was a 2nd-century tanna or sage of the period of Roman Judaea and early Syria Palaestina. He was one of the most eminent disciples of Rabbi Akiva. The Zohar, a 13th-century foundational work of Kabbalah, is ascribed to him by Kabbalistic tradition, but this claim is universally rejected by modern scholars.

In addition, the essential legal works called the Sifre and Mekhilta of Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai are attributed to him (not to be confused with the Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael, of which much of the text is the same). In the Mishnah, where he is the fourth-most mentioned sage,[1] he is referred to as simply "Rabbi Shimon" except in Hagigah 1:7. In baraitas, midrash, and gemara, his name occurs either as Shimon or as Shimon ben Yochai. An 8th-century pseudonymous attribution of divine revelations to Shimon by

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