29 Tishrei · Yahrzeit
Shimon HaTzadik
Shimon ben Chonio HaTzadik
Yahrzeit – 29 Tishrei – Erev Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan;
Burial place – northern Jerusalem, beneath the Arzei HaBira neighborhood on the edge of the Arab-occupied Sheikh Jarrah district.
Shimon HaTzadik was the last of [the sages] of the Great Assembly. He would often say: "The world stands on three things: on [the study of] Torah, on the service of G-d, and on acts of loving-kindness." (Pirkei Avot)
After all the others had departed this world, he alone remained who knew the entire Torah in perfection. Shimon HaTzadik held the post of High Priest after the prophet Ezra.
Shimon HaTzadik came from the family of Ezra HaSofer [Ezra the Scribe], founder of the Great Assembly, and studied under him (Seder HaDorot). For forty years he served as High Priest in the Second Temple (Yoma 9a).
The Talmud (39a) lists seven manifestations of Divine blessing that recurred in the Temple throughout the years of his service: the crimson thread tied to the head of the scapegoat on Yom Kippur would turn white [a sign that the sins of the people of Israel had been forgiven], and the fire on the altar burned without the need to add wood [evidence of the Shechinah's presence in the Temple].
Shimon HaTzadik twice performed the rite connected with preparing the ashes of the red heifer for the purifying waters [before him, only Moshe and Ezra had performed this rite] (Parah 3:5; Seder HaDorot).
Shimon HaTzadik and Alexander the Great
When Alexander the Great and his army entered the Middle East, they were greeted by the leaders of the Kutim, who slandered the Jews, claiming that every day they cursed Alexander in their Temple. Enraged, Alexander set out to destroy Jerusalem. Israel was gripped by fear, and the entire nation repented, fasted, and mourned. Hearing this news, Shimon HaTzadik put on the eight garments of the High Priest and went out to greet Alexander together with the honored men of Israel and thousands of young kohanim dressed in their white priestly garments.
At dawn the two camps met, and to the astonishment of his generals, Alexander rushed forward and prostrated himself before Shimon HaTzadik. He later explained that he had grown accustomed to seeing Shimon HaTzadik in his visions, leading him to victory in every battle: "the angel who appeared to him in night visions and granted him victories in war looked exactly like this man" (Yoma 69a).
Shimon HaTzadik explained that they had been praying in the Temple for Alexander's success, not cursing him. Now the tables were turned, and the Kutim were handed over to the Jews, who put them to death.
Shimon HaTzadik led Alexander into the Beit HaMikdash, allowing him to enter as far as a non-Jew was permitted. Alexander asked that they build a statue in his likeness and place it before the altar. Shimon HaTzadik explained that this was impossible for religious reasons, but that to prove their devotion to him, all kohanim born that year would be named Alexander. It is because of this incident that Alexander became a Jewish name.
"They traveled all night by torchlight," the Talmud relates, and at dawn met the advance guard of the invaders. Astonished by the majestic bearing of the High Priest, Alexander the Great stepped down from his chariot and bowed before him to the ground. He later explained to his generals that "the angel who appeared to him in night visions and granted him victories in war looked exactly like this man" (Yoma 69a). The assault on Jerusalem was called off.
Shimon showed Alexander the Temple, and his guest asked, as a token of their alliance, to set up his statue near the altar. Shimon HaTzadik replied that this was forbidden by the laws of the Torah, but promised that all kohanim born that year would be named Alexander in the general's honor. (Seder HaDorot)
Shimon HaTzadik served as High Priest for forty years. Every year, during the drawing of lots for the goat offering on Yom Kippur, the lot inscribed "LaShem" (for G-d) always came up in his right hand. This was regarded as a good omen for the Jewish people. In addition, the crimson thread used to signal the atonement of the Jewish people on Yom Kippur always turned white.
There were other heavenly signs confirming the leadership of Shimon HaTzadik and his generation, including the blazing strength of the altar's flame and the perpetual fire in the western cup of the Menorah, which never went out.
Shimon HaTzadik foretold the time of his own death, relating that for forty years, every Yom Kippur, an elderly man dressed in snow-white garments had entered the Holy of Holies with him and left with him as well, but this time the elder was dressed in black and, having entered the Holy of Holies together with Shimon, did not come out with him.
Immediately after the end of Sukkot, Shimon HaTzadik fell ill for seven days and then passed away (Menachot 109b).
After his death, the four-letter Name of the Most High, possessing special sanctity, was no longer pronounced in the Temple.
There is a tradition that Shimon HaTzadik's wife and his students were buried beside him. A 14th-century plaque has been preserved at the tzadik's grave:
"The grave of the sage of G-d, Shimon HaTzadik; may his merit protect us, amen."
Large crowds gather here on Lag BaOmer, especially members of the Sephardic and Eastern communities. This is because in earlier times it was difficult to travel to Meron on Lag BaOmer, and the residents of Jerusalem and its surrounding areas would celebrate the hillula of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai at the grave of his namesake – Rabbi Shimon HaTzadik.
The Abarbanel cites an interesting letter in which Aristotle describes to Alexander the Great his meeting with Shimon HaTzadik: "...I began to debate with him, and he showed me his profound knowledge of the Torah, handed down to him from Sinai. And my heart was drawn to the words of the Torah... If I could gather all my books, I would burn every one of them, so that they would not corrupt people's minds... Those who grasp the Torah walk toward the light of life, while those who grasp philosophy descend into the pit of the underworld."
May the merit of the tzadik protect our people!
Pilgrimage site:
Grave: Shimon HaTzadik