The Worldview of Rabban Shimon Bar Yochai

R. Hannina b. Pappa said : Whoever enjoys anything of this world without a benediction is as though he robbed the Holy One, blessed be He, and the Community of Israel ; as it is said, "Whoso robbeth his father or his mother and saith, It is no transgression, the same is the companion of a destroyer" (Prov. xxviii, 24) — "father" is none other than the Holy One, blessed be He ; as it is said, "Is not He thy father that hath gotten thee?" (Deut. xxxii. 6) ; and "mother" is none other than the Community of Israel ; as it is said, "Hear, my son, the instruction of thy father, and forsake not the teaching of thy mother" (Prov. i. 8). What means "the companion of a destroyer" ? R. Hannina b, Pappa said : He is the companion of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who corrupted Israel against their Father in Heaven. R. Hannina b. Pappa asked : It is written, "Therefore will I take back My corn in the time thereof" etc. (Hosea ii. 11), and it is written, "And thou shalt gather in thy corn" etc. (Deut. xi. 14) ! There is no contradiction; the latter referring to the time when Israel perform the will of the All-present, the former to when Israel neglect His will. Our Rabbis have taught : "And thou shalt gather in thy corn" — what has this teaching to tell us ? Since it is written, "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth [but thou shalt meditate therein day and night]" (Josh. i. 8), it is possible to think that these words [are to be understood] as they are written; therefore there is a teaching to say, "And thou shalt gather in thy corn," ie. conduct at the same time a worldly occupation. These are the words of R. Ishmael. R. Simeon b. Johai says : Is it possible for a man to plough at the time of ploughing, sow at seed-time, reap at harvest-time, thresh at the time of threshing, and winnow at the time of wind — what is to become of Torah? But when Israel perform the will of the All-present, their work is done by others; as it is said, "And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks," etc. (Is. Ixi. 5) ; and at the time when Israel perform not the will of the All-present, their work has to be done by themselves ; as it is said, "And thou shalt gather in thy corn." Not that alone, but the work of others will be done by them ; as it is said, "And thou shalt serve thine enemy" etc. (Deut. xxviii. 48). Abbai said : Many acted in accord with the teaching of R. Ishmael and it proved efficacious ; but he who acted in accord with R. Simeon b. Johai did not find it so. Raba said to the Rabbis : I beg of you not to appear before me during the days of Nisan and Tishri, so that you may not be concerned about your maintenance the whole year. Rabbah b. Bar Hannah stated that R. Johanan said in the name of R. Judah b. R. El'ai : Come and see that the later generations are not like the former generations. The former generations made their Torah their principal concern and their work only occasional, and both flourished in their hand ; whereas the later generations made their work their principal concern and their Torah only occasional and neither flourished in their hand. Rabbah b. Bar Hannah also stated that R. Johanan said in the name of R. Judah b. R. El'ai :

It was said, That Rabbi Akiva had twelve thousand pairs of disciples, from Gabbat to Antifaras; and they all died at the same time because they did not treat each other with respect. The world remained desolate until Rabbi Akiva came to our Masters in the South and taught the Torah to them. and it was they who revived the Torah at that time. These were Rabbi Meir, Rabbi Judah, Rabbi Yossi, Rabbi Shimon and Rabbi Eleazar ben Shammua; And it was they who revived the Torah at that time. A Tanna taught: All of them died between Passover and Pentecost. Rabbi Hama bar Abba or, it might be said, Rabbi Chiyya bar Abin said: All of them died a cruel death. What was it? — Rabbi Nahman replied: Croup.

Since Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Yose and Rabbi Shimon sat [together], and Rabbi Yehudah ben Gerim sat with them. Rabbi Yehuda opened and said, "How fine are the deeds of [the Roman] nation; they set up markets, they set up bridges, they set up bathhouses." Rabbi Yose was quiet. Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai answered and said, "All that they set up, they didn't set up except for their own needs; they set up markets to place prostitutes in them, bathhouses to pamper themselves, bridges to take taxes from them." Rabbi Yehudah ben Gerim went and told over their words and they were heard by the government. [The government officials] said, "Yehuda that elevated [us] should be elevated, Yose that was quiet should be exiled to Tsippori, Shimon that disgraced [us] should be killed." He and his son went [and] hid in the study hall, every day, his wife would bring them bread and a container of water and they ate. When the decree became more pronounced, he said to his son, "women have weak resolve; maybe [the Romans] will distress her and she will reveal [our location]." They went and hid in a cave. A miracle occurred [and] a carob tree and a spring of water were created for them. And they would take off their clothes and would sit up to their necks in sand; the whole day they would study; at the time of prayers they would get dressed, cover themselves and pray; and [then] they would go back and take off their clothes so that they would not get worn out. They sat for twelve years in the cave. Eliyahu came and stood at the entrance of the cave [and] said, "Who will inform Bar Yochai that the Caeser has died and that his decree has been annulled?" They came out; they saw people that were plowing and planting. [Rabbi Shimon] said, "They are leaving over eternal life and involving themselves with temporary life." Every place upon which they would set their eyes would immediately burn. A Heavenly voice came out and said to them, "Did you come out [of the cave] to destroy my world? Go back to your cave!" They returned and went [back]; they sat for twelve months of a year; they [then] said, "the judgment of the wicked is twelve months in Gehinnom." A Heavenly voice came out and said, "go out from your cave." As the [sun was setting] on the eve of Shabbat, they saw an hold man holding two bundles of hyssops and running at twilight. They said to him, "what are these to you?" He said to them, "For the honor of the Shabbat." [They said back,] "Would one not suffice?" [He responded,] "One corresponding to Exodus 20:7), 'Remember' and one corresponding to (Deuteronomy 5:11) 'Guard.'" [Rabbi Shimon] said to his son, "See, how beloved the commandments are to Israel." [And so] their minds were put at ease.... He said, "Since a miracle took place, I will go and fix a matter, as it is written (Genesis 33:18), 'And Ya'akov returned intact' (and Rav said [about that], "Intact in his body, intact in his money and intact in his[knowledge] of Torah.") 'and he graced the face of the city.'" (Rav said [about that], "He instituted a coin." And Shmuel said "He set up marketplaces." And Rabbi Yochanan said, "He set up bathhouses.")