Today’s daf TB
Shabbat 33 recounts the very famous story about Rabbi Shimon bar Yoḥai
and his son Elazar. They were on the run from the Roman government because Rabbi
Shimon bar Yoḥai denounced the Roman government. “when Rabbi Yehuda and
Rabbi Yosei and Rabbi Shimon were sitting, and Yehuda, son of converts,sat
beside them. Rabbi Yehuda opened and said: How pleasant are the actions of this
nation, the Romans, as they established marketplaces, established
bridges, and established bathhouses. Rabbi Yosei was silent. Rabbi
Shimon ben Yoḥai responded and said: Everything that they established, they
established only for their own purposes. They established marketplaces, to
place prostitutes in them; bathhouses, to pamper themselves; and bridges,
to collect taxes from all who pass over them. Yehuda, son of converts,
went and related their statements to his household, and those
statements continued to spread until they were heard by the monarchy. They
ruled and said: Yehuda, who elevated the Roman regime, shall be
elevated and appointed as head of the Sages, the head of the speakers in
every place. Yosei, who remained silent, shall be exiled from his home
in Judea as punishment, and sent to the city of Tzippori in the
Galilee. And Shimon, who denounced the government, shall be killed.” (Sefaria.org
translation)
At first they hid in
the Bet Midrash and his wife brought them bread and water. He was afraid that
the Romans would pressure his wife to reveal their whereabouts. Consequently,
he chose to hide out in an undisclosed cave.
“They went and
they hid in a cave. A miracle occurred and a carob tree was
created for them as well as a spring of water. They would remove their clothes
and sit covered in sand up to their necks. They would study
Torah all day in that manner. At the time of prayer, they would
dress, cover themselves, and pray, and they would again remove their clothes
afterward so that they would not become tattered. They sat in the cave for
twelve years. Elijah the Prophet came and stood at the entrance to the
cave and said: Who will inform bar Yoḥai that the emperor died
and his decree has been abrogated? They emerged from the cave, and saw
people who were plowing and sowing. Rabbi Shimon bar Yoḥai said:
These people abandon eternal life of Torah study and engage in
temporal life for their own sustenance. The Gemara relates that every
place that Rabbi Shimon and his son Rabbi Elazar directed their eyes was
immediately burned. A Divine Voice emerged and said to them: Did you
emerge from the cave in order to destroy My world? Return to your cave.
They again went and sat there for twelve months. They said: The
judgment of the wicked in Gehenna lasts for twelve months. Surely
their sin was atoned in that time. A Divine Voice emerged and said to
them: Emerge from your cave. They emerged. Everywhere that Rabbi Elazar
would strike, Rabbi Shimon would heal. Rabbi Shimon said to Rabbi
Elazar: My son, you and I suffice for the entire world, as the
two of us are engaged in the proper study of Torah” (Sefaria.org translation)
Rabbi Shimon bar Yoḥai and his son were fanatics. They could
not tolerate others who were not as dedicated to their ideal of Jewish life as
they were. With this tale the rabbis are trying to teach us that fanaticism,
religious or any other kind, destroys the world. The religious fanaticism of
Spanish Catholicism led to the expulsion of the Jews in 1492 and the
Inquisition. Osama bin Laden and his religious fanatics planned and executed
the 9/11 attack on American soil killing so many innocent people. Some
historians estimate that Stalin’s regime murdered over 20 million people. Of
course, I don’t have to mention that Nazi fanaticism murdered over 6 million
Jews along with millions of others who are considered subhuman.
We should be wary of any fanatic and learn the lesson that Rabbi
Shimon bar Yoḥai did after God sent him back into the cave for another 12
months. We need to heal the world by accepting others who are different than we
are.
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