Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai zy"a, the Rashbi, in Meron
Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai zy"a
רבי שמעון בר יוחאי
Upcoming yahrzeit: 25 May 2027 (5787)
Yidden observe the hilula of the Rashbi on Lag BaOmer at Meron. The pilgrimage to Meron is old. Some historians note that the clear published link of Lag BaOmer to his petirah is documented from the Tzfas kabbalists onward (the earliest widely cited printed source is later still). The minhag of the hilula on 18 Iyar is firmly established.
Send a kvittel to this keverBiography
Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai zy"a, the Rashbi, was a Tanna, a leading talmid of Rabbi Akiva. After the tragedy of Rabbi Akiva’s talmidim, he is named among the five who continued the teaching (Yevamos 62b). His words are throughout the Bavli, the Yerushalmi, and the midrashim, and he is a foundation of both halacha and later kabbalah.
The Gemara in Shabbos 33b tells that after he spoke critically of Roman works, a death sentence was issued. He hid with his son, Rabbi Elazar, first in the beis midrash and then in a cave, for twelve years, and then another twelve months — thirteen years in all — until a Bas Kol said they could leave. A carob tree and a spring were provided for them. The Gemara does not name the cave. Later tradition identifies it with the cave in Peki'in. This page follows the Gemara for the story, and mentions Peki'in as that later identification.
The Zohar is traditionally attributed to Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and his circle. The sefer as we have it was first circulated in the thirteenth century; Yidden have long received it as his Torah. Where scholars discuss the history of the text, the page leaves that as a known machlokes in the academic literature, without taking away from the mesorah.
He and his son Rabbi Elazar are buried in Meron. On Lag BaOmer 5781 (2021), forty-five neshamos were lost in a tragedy of crowding at the hilula. We mention it only to remember them. A shliach in Eretz Yisroel brings your kvittel to the tziyun and sends back a photograph.
Historical background
Meron was already a place of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages, including to the kevarim of Hillel and Shammai, often around Pesach Sheini. From the time of the kabbalists of Tzfas in the sixteenth century, the hilula of the Rashbi on Lag BaOmer became the central gathering, with minhagim of bonfires and a child’s first haircut. The compound over the kevarim has been rebuilt and enlarged more than once.
Before & after
Who came before
- —
Who came after
- —
In his dor
- Rabbi Elazar bar Rabbi Shimon — His son, who hid with him in the cave and is buried beside him in Meron.
Sources
The facts on this page come from the earlier site and from the sources listed here. Where the sources are not one shittah, it is written in the text.
- Shabbos 33b — Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and his son in the cave for twelve years and twelve months
- Yevamos 62b — the Rashbi among the five talmidim of Rabbi Akiva who continued the teaching
- Chabad.org: Meron — Tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai (including a brief account of the 2021 tragedy)
- Chabad.org: What Is the Zohar? — traditional attribution to Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai
- Schechter Institute and related studies on the history of the Lag BaOmer pilgrimage to Meron
- Hebcal date converter (Hebrew–Gregorian yahrzeit dates, including 5787)
Send a kvittel
Send a kvittel to Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai zy"a
Write the names and your bakashah. The kvittel will be brought to this kever. A pidyon of eighteen dollars or more goes with it; you choose the amount, and you will be taken to a secure payment page. The shliach receives the kvittel only once the pidyon is received.