Shimon bar Yochai

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Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai
Entrance to the tomb of Shimon bar Yochai
Personal
Born	Galilee
Religion	Judaism
Children	Eleazar ben Simeon
Yahrtzeit	Lag BaOmer (Hillula of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai)
Buried	Kever Rashbi, Meron, Israel

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 acronym Rashbi,^{[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.

According to modern legend, he and his son, Eleazar ben Simeon, were noted kabbalists.^[2] Both figures are held in unique reverence by kabbalistic tradition. By tradition, they were buried in the same tomb in Meron, Israel, which is visited by thousands year-round.

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