Parsha Halacha

Parsha Halacha – Parshat Emor 

Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai

Who his Parents Were and How He Was Born

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The Torah portion of Emor is always read around the time of Lag Ba’Omer which is traditionally celebrated as the day of the passing of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai.^[1] As such, this article will discuss the parents and birth of this famous tzadik.

Who was Yochai?

The father of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai was a righteous scholar in his own right who is mentioned in the Zohar^[2] and Talmud.^[3] He also had connections within the Roman government. Some say he was wealthy and that he was one of the leaders of his generation.^[4] According to Rabbi Chaim Eliezer Shapiro of Munkacs, he used his connections with the government to advocate on behalf of the Jewish people. Out of humility, his son Rabbi Shimon called himself “Bar Yochai” as if to say that his father was greater than he, since Yochai saved the lives of many Jews.^[5]

The Correct Spelling of Yochai

The Talmud spells the name Yochai as יוֹחַאי^[6] or יוֹחַי.^[7]

According to the Rabbi Yaakov Emden (known as the Ya’avetz), Rabbi Shimon’s father’s original name was יוֹחָא,^[8] a name found several times in Tanach.^[9] The Yud at the end may have been added by mistake or as a manner of speech.^[10]

His Mother’s Name

The Talmud says^[11] that if a woman wants to have a baby, she should have one like Rabbi Shimon (bar Yochai). 

Despite the importance of her son, the name of Rabbi Shimon’s mother isn’t well known. 

There are three opinions as to her name:

●      Rabbi Yosef Mashash (1892 – 1974 of Menkes - Morocco, Tlemcen - Algeria and Tiberias) says it was Sarah.^[12]

●      Rabbi Avigdor Kohen Tzedek (one of the Tosafists in Austria) writes^[13] that her name was Chami (which means “to see” in Aramaic). 

●      According to Rabbi Chaim Cohen (1935 – 2019, a Kabbalist who was known as “the milkman”)^[14] Rabbi Shimon’s mother had two names, one of which was Esther.

His Birth

Rabbi Yosef Mashash tells the story of Rabbi Shimon’s birth which he found in an ancient handwritten storybook.^[15]

Yochai was from the tribe of Judah and was one of the great men of his generation. He was wealthy, respected, and close to royalty. He was especially beloved in the house of the Emperor Hadrian (may his bones be crushed)^[16]. His wife Sarah was a descendant of princes, a descendant of Hillel, the Elder, of blessed memory.

But Sarah was barren; she had no children. Yochai, the tzadik, considered divorcing her or marrying another woman as an additional wife. He instructed a matchmaker to find him a modest, fitting woman from a good family.

When Sarah heard of this, she said nothing to him. Instead, she increased her fasting, her giving of tzedakah, and her prayers, praying daily while alone in her room. She wept bitterly before G-d with a broken heart, pleading to be saved from divorce and that she should not have a rival wife through G-d granting her a child.

G-d heard her cry. It was on the night of Rosh Hashanah that Yochai had a dream. He saw himself standing in a great and wondrous forest, with tens of thousands of trees. Some were fresh and bore fruit while others were dry. Yochai leaned on a dry tree.

He lifted his eyes and saw: Behold, a man of awe-inspiring appearance was passing through the forest. On his shoulder was a flask full of water. He went around watering some of the dry trees, while he passed others by, leaving them as dry as they were.

The man reached the tree upon which Yochai was leaning, and he took from his bosom a small vial filled with pure spring water and watered the tree that Yochai was leaning upon, and he blessed it. Yochai saw that those few drops of water were blessed as they swelled greatly and covered the entire tree. Immediately, the tree bore large and precious apples surrounded by fresh, vibrant leaves. The tree grew tall, with many branches, boughs, leaves, and fruits that gave off a strong fragrance.

Yochai rejoiced greatly at the vision and awoke from his sleep full of joy. The following verse was on his lips when he awoke. “He turns the barren woman of the house into a joyful mother of sons, praised be the L-rd.”^[17]

He told his wife the dream and said to her:

“I had a dream, and its interpretation seems obvious to me. The forest is the world, and the trees are women — some bear fruit, and some are barren, like dry trees. On Rosh Hashanah, some are remembered to give birth, and some remain barren. You, my dear, are the tree I was leaning upon. They watered you from the fountain of blessing to bear righteous and wise children. 

“But there is one thing I do not yet understand from the dream: why was it that all the other trees were watered from the flask, but the tree I leaned on — that is, you — was watered from the small vial? The entire contents of it were poured out only upon that one tree and no other tree was watered from it, neither before nor after.”

His wife replied:

“Your question is indeed a valid one. Therefore, allow me to go to the holy Rabbi Akiva and tell him the dream, and he will explain it to us.”

He said to her: “My dear, it is a good idea. We will go to him together and tell him the dream, and he will reveal its interpretation with the divine spirit that G-d has bestowed upon him.”

So it was, on the night after Rosh Hashanah, they both went to the holy Rabbi Akiva, and Yochai told him the dream. Rabbi Akiva interpreted it just as Yochai had, but he also revealed the reason why that particular tree was watered only from the vial.

Rabbi Akiva said to him: “Know, Yochai, that your dream is a parable about women — those who give birth and those who are barren. Your wife Sarah is among the barren, and by natural means she is completely unable to bear children. But her prayer and the many tears she poured out before G-d merited her to be transformed from a barren woman to (a future) mother. The vial you saw is the vial of her tears that were gathered, and from those tears she was watered, and they gave her the ability to give birth. That is why no other tree was watered from that vial — only that one tree which represents your wife.”

Rabbi Akiva said to Sarah: “This year, you will conceive and give birth to a son who will illuminate Israel with his wisdom and good deeds.”

Yochai and his wife Sarah rejoiced greatly at Rabbi Akiva’s words and returned home in peace. Yochai knew his wife, and she conceived and gave birth to a son on the festival of Shavuot, the day the Torah was given to Israel. The house was filled with light from the majesty and splendor that hovered over the child, and all who saw him knew he was blessed.

A great light shone for Israel through him. His parents rejoiced in him greatly, praised G-d, gave charity, and made a great feast on the day of his circumcision. They named him “Shimon,” for G-d had heard the voice of his mother's prayer and her weeping.

From that day onward, they kept their eyes on him to guard him from anything impure and to raise him in holiness and purity. From the time he began to speak, they accustomed him to only speak words of holiness — Torah verses and the teachings of the sages.

When he was five years old, they sent him to the study halls which Rabban Gamliel had established in Jerusalem. His wisdom increased like a flowing river. Even as a child, he would ask halachic questions of the great Tanna’im, such as Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chanania and Rabban Gamliel, as is mentioned in Berachot 27b, where he asked Rabbi Yehoshua whether the evening prayer is optional or obligatory, and he returned and asked Rabban Gamliel, who told him it was obligatory, as is discussed in that story.

And that student was none other than Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai.”

May the merit of Rabbi Shimon and his parents protect us and all of Israel!

 [1] See Etz Chayim, Sha’ar Sefirat Ha’Omer, 7.

But see Marit Ha’Yayin by the Chida, Likutim on Siman 493 ,that Lag Ba’Omer may have been the day that Rabbi Akiva started to teach Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai rather than his yohrtzeit.

The Benei Yissachar writes (Mamarei Lag BaOmer, 3:2) that, presumably, Lag Ba’Omer was also Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai’s birthday. (See below that some say his birthday was Shavu’ot.)

Lag Ba’Omer may also be the day on which Rabbi Akiva gave smicha to Rabbi Shimon and his other four (later) students. See Sha’ar HaKavanot by Rabbi Chaim Vital, Derush 12 on Pesach.

[2] Vol. 1, 11a.

[3] Pesachim 112a.

[4] Rabbi Yosef Mashas, in Nachalat Avot, Derush 146, based on information he read in “sefarim” (books).

[5] Sha’ar Yissachar, Ma’amarei Chodesh Iyyar, Ma’amar Gal Einai, ot 19.

[6] Brachot 5a.

[7] Ibid. 43b.

[8] In his notes on Nazir 60b, the Ya’avetz writes “יוֹחַא is his true name.” In his Kolan shel Sofrim (printed in the Vagshall edition of the Talmud), the Ya’avetz explains the basis of his opinion as explained above (that it’s based on a name in Tanach).

[9] I Chronicles 8:16 and 11:45. 

[10] Rabbi Yisroel Danerovitz in this article. 

[11] Makkot 17b.

[12] Rabbi Yosef Mashash in Nachalat Avot, quoted above.

[13] In Pirushim Upsakim, Parshat Beshalach, verse 62 (this is the 62^nd verse of the parsha, not of the chapter) Rabbi Kohen Tzedek quotes the following Talmud Yerushalmy (which is a slightly different version of the story as printed in the standard Talmud Yerushalmy of Shabbat 15:3). When Rabbi Shimon’s mother Chami would talk loudly on Shabbat, Rabbi Shimon (i.e., her son) would remind her that this is inappropriate on Shabbat by saying, “It’s Shabbat today.” She would then speak more softly.

[14] Quoted in Osri LaGefen, by Rabbi Yehudah Sheinfeld, vol 14b, page 324.

[15] Translation is with the assistance of AI.

[16] “May his bones be crushed” is an expression used for wicked people and is similar to “May his name be erased.”

[17] Psalms 113:9

Wishing you and your family a happy Lag Ba’Omer and a Shabbat Shalom UMevorach!