The tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai, one of the most well-known and
respected rabbis of the second century, is located on Mount Meron. The
Romans sought Rabbi bar Yohai because he incited his colleagues to disobey
their anti-Jewish laws. He and his son therefore took refuge in a cave
where they lived on well water and the fruit of the carob tree for thirteen
years. The Talmud gives its version of the circumstances and conditions
of their exile.
A Spring and a Carob Tree
Rabbis Judah, Yosse, and Shimon bar Yohai were together. The first exclaimed,
'The work of the Romans is admirable. They construct stairs, bridges
and public baths!' Rabbi Yosse prefered to say nothing. Rabbi Shimon
answered, 'They build steps to put whores on them, baths to cultivate
their bodies, and bridges to force us to pay tolls.' Judah ben Guerim
repeated their remarks which eventually came to the attention of the
Roman authorities who decreed: 'Judah praises our works for which he
will be recompensed. Yosse chose to say nothing, for which he will be
exiled to Sepphoris. Shimon condemns our work for which he will be put
to death.'
Rabbi Shimon and his son
went to hide in a house of study where his wife brought them bread and
water each day. Roman efforts to find him became increasingly intense
and Rabbi Shimon said to his son, 'Women are not generally very attentive,
and your mother could reveal the location of our hiding place if she
is tortured.' They therefore went to hide in a cave where, by miracle,
a spring and a carob tree were available to them. They were in the habit
of undressing and hiding up to their ears in the earth, spending the
day in the study of Torah. When it was time for prayer, they got dressed
again, covered themselves with their taleth and fulfilled their religious
duty. Then they undressed again in order to protect their clothing.
Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 33a-b
The pseudoepigraphic rabbinic tradition attributes the Zohar, or the Book
of Splendor, to Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai. The Zohar is the masterpiece of
kabbalistic litterature. Gershom Scholem, perhaps the best-known twentieth
century scholar and Zohar commentator, considers that most of the diverse
texts that comprise it were written by Moses ben Shemtov of Leon (ca.
1240-1305), the author of a number of works including the Shushan Edut,
The Rose of Witness, and the Sefer Rimon, the Book of the Pomegranate.
While Gershom Scholem's attribution is generally acknolwedged in academic
circles, those loyal to Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai continue to venerate him
as the author of the Zohar. Every year on the 18th of iyyar, which generally
falls during the month of May, more than 200,000 pilgrims gather around
his tomb to celebrate and commemorate his death.
The Zohar is presented as an anthology of homelies written in Aramean
that comment Scripture, and particularly The Book of Genesis. These commentaries
typically include a mixture of dialogues, legends and theosophical discussions
which are generally set in Palestine. The principal figures are Rabbi
Shimon bar Yohai, his son Eleazar, and ten companion-disciples, or havraya
to whom the master submits his religious ideas. Other Talmudic figures
join the discussions upon occasion. Both the wise man or sava, dressed
as a poor donkey driver, and the prodigious child or yenuka figure in
every mystical production. Zohar homelies take their inspiration from
Talmudic literature, from older Kabbalistic treatises like the Sefer Yetzira,
The Book of Creation, and the Sefer ha-Bahir, The Book of Clarity, as
well as from such medieval mystical writers as Eleazar of Worms and Rabbi
Nahmanide of Gerone, among many others. As they unravel the skein of creation
and revelation, their discussions include all sorts of ideas for penetrating
the mysteries of the soul and elucidating the role of Israel in the designs
of God. Discussions between the protagonists generally begin with passages
of the following type : |