{"id":11,"date":"2010-10-24T18:27:28","date_gmt":"2010-10-24T18:27:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/talesfromthezohar.wordpress.com\/?p=11"},"modified":"2010-10-24T18:27:28","modified_gmt":"2010-10-24T18:27:28","slug":"2-rabbi-shimon-bar-yochei","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/zohar\/2010\/10\/24\/2-rabbi-shimon-bar-yochei\/","title":{"rendered":"2. Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochei"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Book of Radiance: Tales from the Zohar<\/em><\/p>\n

By Rabbi Yaakov Feldman<\/p>\n

2. Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochei<\/p>\n

We\u2019d already introduced R\u2019 Shimon Bar Yochei, so let\u2019s explore the sort of person he was and how important others considered him to be. For one thing, we\u2019re taught that he was gifted with Ruach<\/em> HaKodesh<\/em> (Breishit<\/em> Rabbah<\/em> 79), but so were others of his ilk. How did he stand apart from the rest?<\/p>\n

Perhaps one of the most significant things to know about R\u2019 Shimon Bar Yochei\u2019s spiritual stature is the fact that he was a student of the great R\u2019 Akiva for 13 years (Vayikra<\/em> Rabbah<\/em> 26). Recall that R\u2019 Akiva was the only individual we know of to have entered<\/em> the Pardes<\/em> (The Mystical Garden) “in peace\u201d, i.e., well aware of what he was doing; and to have left<\/em> it \u201cin peace\u201d as well, i.e., alive and well-grounded (Chaggiga<\/em> 14b). That itself speaks volumes about the quality and strength of the tradition that R\u2019 Shimon was privy to.<\/p>\n

In fact, we\u2019re told by other greats of his generation that R\u2019 Shimon Bar Yochei was so holy that \u201cwhoever would look upon him could see the entire world (and experience) the delight of the upper and lower worlds\u201d. And we\u2019re informed that thanks to his revelations he came to be regarded as \u201cthe light of the world and equal in worth to the entire world\u201d, that he could \u201clight up the world with (his) Torah (revelations), and could ignite many lights\u201d (Zohar 1, 155 b-156 a). So he was clearly in a class of his own. But do we have any other insights into this great sage?<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s an account that says something of the makeup of his heart. We\u2019re taught that \u201ca certain man and woman who\u2019d been married for 10 years and still hadn\u2019t had any children appeared before R\u2019 Shimon for a divorce\u201d. R\u2019 Shimon couldn\u2019t help but notice that the two still loved each other despite their impasse, and yet he knew that what they were asking for was perfectly halachically<\/em> acceptable. So R\u2019 Shimon came up with a ruse of sorts.<\/p>\n

He offered them the following proposal: \u201cSince your wedding was marked by a feast, let\u2019s mark your divorce with a feast, too\u201d, he said. So a lavish meal was set up. At a certain point husband and wife gazed at each other in the special light that shines at weddings alone, and they changed their minds. Thrilled by their decision, R\u2019 Shimon prayed for them to have a child, and G-d finally granted them one within the year (Shir<\/em> HaShirim<\/em> Rabbah<\/em> 1:4).<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s conclude by honing in on a few special moments near and at the end of R\u2019 Shimon\u2019s life as depicted in the Zohar that underscore his greatness.<\/p>\n

R\u2019 Shimon became deathly ill at a certain point and was visited by his anxious disciples. \u201cHow can someone (like you, R\u2019 Shimon,) who upholds the world be near to death?\u201d one cried out. They heard him say something, but they soon \u201crealized that R\u2019 Shimon wasn\u2019t there\u201d in fact. They\u2019d heard his voice out of nowhere and were dumb-struck. All of a sudden, \u201cthe aroma of many fine spices wafted by them\u201d, and R\u2019 Shimon began to speak again right before their eyes, as if nothing had happened.<\/p>\n

\u201cDid you notice anything else?\u201d (other than his having disappeared) he asked them. They had to admit that they hadn\u2019t. \u201cThat\u2019s because you aren\u2019t worthy of seeing the face of The Ancient of Days!\u201d he said. He went on to report that he\u2019d been \u201csent for from Above\u201d when he\u2019d been missing, and had been \u201cshown the place that the righteous occupy in The World to Come\u201d and that he\u2019d been addressed by Adam and hundreds of other souls. But he was told to return to earth because the time wasn\u2019t right (Zohar<\/em> Chadash<\/em> 18-19).<\/p>\n

The time did<\/em> come for him to die though, later on. All his greatest disciples had gathered about him. R\u2019 Shimon opened his eyes, \u201csaw what he saw\u201d, as the Zohar puts it — whatever or whomever he saw we can only imagine — when \u201cfire suddenly enveloped the house\u201d. And at a certain point R\u2019 Shimon said the following.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an auspicious moment and I want to enter The World to Come without shame. For, there are certain holy things I want to reveal this day \u2026 that I hadn\u2019t revealed until now — so that it won\u2019t be said that I left this world without completing my task here\u201d.<\/p>\n

He went on to discuss a number of esoteric things when he suddenly turned around and saw something. He tried to draw the attention of the others there to certain souls who where then in the room \u201ceach of whom was reflecting light from the shining countenance of the Holy Ancient One, The Most Mysterious of Mysterious\u201d, but his disciples just couldn\u2019t see them (Zohar 3, 287b-288a).<\/p>\n

There came a time though when a great fire and light shone throughout the house until it suddenly stopped short. It became clear that \u201cthe holy light, the Holy of Holies\u201d, R\u2019 Shimon, had died just then \u201clying on his right side, covered over by his cloak, with a smile on his face\u201d. A certain unearthly \u201cperfume filled the air\u201d.<\/p>\n

Arrangements were quickly made for R\u2019 Shimon\u2019s funeral. His bier was brought outside when it \u201carose in the air (on its own) with a flame in front of it, and a voice was heard to say, \u2018Come and assemble for the Hillulah<\/em> (Feast) of R\u2019 Shimon!\u2019\u201d. R\u2019 Shimon\u2019s body was then brought to the cave he was to be buried in, and another voice called out, \u201c\u2019Here is the man who made the earth tremble, who shook kingdoms\u2019 (Isaiah 57:2)\u2026.. How Blessed is his portion above and below!\u201d (Zohar 3, 296b).<\/p>\n

And how blessed is our portion too, who have so many teachings of R\u2019 Shimon\u2019s to draw upon and learn from!<\/p>\n

(c) 2010 Rabbi Yaakov Feldman
\nFeel free to contact me at feldman@torah.org<\/a>
\n——————————————————<\/p>\n

AT LONG LAST! Rabbi Feldman’s translation of Maimonides’ “Eight Chapters” is available here<\/a> at a discount.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

You can still purchase a copy of Rabbi Feldman’s translation of “The Gates of Repentance” here<\/a> at a discount as well.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Rabbi Yaakov Feldman has also translated and commented upon “The Path of the Just” and “The Duties of the Heart” (Jason Aronson Publishers).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Rabbi Feldman also offers two free e-mail classes on www.torah.org entitled “Spiritual Excellence<\/a>\u201d and \u201cRamchal<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Book of Radiance: Tales from the Zohar By Rabbi Yaakov Feldman 2. Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochei We\u2019d already introduced R\u2019 Shimon Bar Yochei, so let\u2019s explore the sort of person he was and how important others considered him to … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7iqmS-b","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/zohar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/zohar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/zohar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/zohar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/zohar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/zohar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/zohar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/zohar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rabbiyaakovfeldman.aishdas.org\/zohar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}