In the Talmud: Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai Revisited

Why did Rabbi Shimon merit to serve as the conduit for the Zohar, the foundation of Jewish mysticism? He was undoubtedly a formidable sage. But if this distinction provided a reason, there were others even greater—for example, Rabbi Shimon’s teacher, Rabbi Akiva. And if the criterion was suffering for the sake of Torah, the latter suffered more. And another, related question: in this series devoted to fathers and sons, what was relation between the great Rabbi Shimon and his equally great son, Rabbi Eleazar? Talmudic fathers and sons generally lived in greater harmony than did those in the Torah, as the previous week’s lecture demonstrated. Were Rabbi Shimon and Rabbi Eleazar able to conduct themselves in this spirit? More pointedly, were they able to be reconciled despite the fact that the son, for a time, apparently collaborated with the enemy? There are elements that align Rabbi Shimon with mysticism, for instance the combination of self-confidence and humility. Further, his ordeal of living in hiding in a cave for thirteen years was lonelier and thus more arduous than the ordeal of his teacher. The true test ultimately came in the final thirteenth year, when Rabbi Shimon was able to transcend anger and opt instead for healing. He was a changed man--and that is what earned him the merit of authoring the Zohar. Indeed, even his Talmudic teachings come to reflect Kabbalistic themes. Father and son were also reconciled, since the son had voluntarily joined his father in exile. Their being together under such conditions recall another father and son, who during the dark period of recent history, also existed for one another. Yet in that case only the son emerged from the cave . . .