Simeon bar Yohai

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Rabbi Simeon bar Yohai, (שמעון בר יוחאי Shimon son of Yohai, Simon son of Yohai), was a famous rabbi 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.

He is traditionally attributed with the authorship of the Zohar, 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 AD (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.

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Reference

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition{{#if:{{{article|}}}| article {{#if:{{{url|}}}|[{{{url|}}}}} "{{{article}}}"{{#if:{{{url|}}}|]}}{{#if:{{{author|}}}| by {{{author}}}}}}}, a publication now in the public domain.

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