שמעון הצדיק היה משירי כנסת הגדולה, הוא היה
אומר, על שלשה דברים העולם עומד: על התורה ועל העבודה ועל גמילות חסדים.
Shimon the Tzadik was from the remnants of the Great
Assembly. He used to say; “The world stands on three things, on Torah [study],
on the service [of HaShem], and on bestowing kindnesses.”
Unfortunately, despite the great stature of Shimon HaTzadik, our historical knowledge of him is very
poor. We know that he was the primary Torah leader of his time and that he was
the kohen gadol (high priest) for forty years. We also know that he was descended from
Yehoshua ben Yehotzedek HaKohen,[1] the first kohen gadol of the second Temple. Some authorities[2] say that he was the son of Yehoshua ben Yehotzedek and refer to Shimon HaTzadik as “Shimon ben Yehoshua ben Yehotzedek.”[3]
Most, however, say that Shimon was the seventh generation from Yehoshua ben
Yehotzedek, thus making Shimon HaTzadik, “Shimon ben Chonio ben Yadua ben
Yonasan ben Yo’yada ben Elyashiv ben Yo’yakim ben Yehoshua.”[4]
There is also some disagreement on the meaning of the
Talmud’s statement that Shimon HaTzadik was “from the remnants of the Great
Assembly.” Some authorities[5] maintain that he was one of the one hundred and twenty original members of the Anshei
Knesses HaGedolah, but that he, as one of the youngest members, outlived
the rest of the group. Others[6],
however, maintain that he was not an actual member of the Anshei Knesses
HaGedolah but that he received the mesorah (tradition) from them. Regardless of
his actual relationship with the Anshei Knesses HaGedolah, there is no
question regarding his immense importance in conveying the mesorah to
later generations. The Meiri (Pesicha L’Mesechta Avos) writes:
כאשר תמו הדורות ההם ונאסף עזרא הסופר אל
עמיו, הגענו לזמן אנשי חכמי התלמוד, וראשון שבהם היה שמעון הצדיק, שהיה אחרון
לאנשי כנה"ג וראשון לחכמים, כמו שכתבנו [לעיל, "והוא [שמעון הצדיק] היה
ממוצע בין זמן אנשי כנסת הגדולה לזמן חכמי התלמוד, דהיה אחרון לאנשי כנה"ג וראשון
לחכמים"].
When these generations [of the Knesses HaGedolah]
ended and Ezra HaSofer was “gathered unto his people”, we come to the period of
the Sages of the Talmud. The first of these was Shimon HaTzadik, who was the
last of the Anshei Knesses HaGedolah and the first of the Sages, as we
have written [earlier, “He [Shimon HaTzadik] is the intermediary between the
period of the Anshei Knesses HaGedolah and the Sages of the Talmud, for
he was the last of the Anshei Knesses HaGedolah and the first of the
Sages”].
The
Meeting with Alexander
Aside from the mishna
in Pirkei Avos, Shimon HaTzadik is probably best known for his famous
meeting with Alexander the Great. The story is recorded in numerous sources
with minor variations. The Talmud (Yoma 69a) tells us:
בחמשה ועשרים בטבת יום הר גריזים הוא דלא
למספד ביה יום שבקשו כותיים את בית אלקינו מאלכסנדרוס מוקדון להחריבו ונתן להם
רשות באו והודיעו לשמעון הצדיק מה עשה שמעון הצדיק לבש בגדי כהונה ונתעטף בבגדי
כהונה ומיקירי ירושלים עמו ואבוקות של אור בידיהם והיו מהלכין כל הלילה כולה הללו
מהלכין מצד זה והללו מהלכין מצד זה עד
שעלה עמוד השחר כיון שעלה עמוד השחר אמר להם מי הם הללו אמרו לו הללו יהודים שמרדו
בך כיון שהגיע לאנטיפרס זרחה חמה פגעו זה בזה כיון שראה את שמעון הצדיק ירד ממרכבתו
והשתחוה לו. אמרו לו מלך שכמותך משתחוה ליהודי הזה אמר להם דמות דיוקנו של זה היא
מנצחת לפני בבית מלחמתי. אמר להם למה באתם אמרו לו בית שאנו מתפללין עליך אעל
מלכותך שלא תחרב יתעוך כותיים הללו להחריבו ותתן להם רשות. אמר להם מי הם הללו.
אמרו לו הללו כותים שעומדים לפניך. אמר
להם הרי הם מסורין בידכם מיד נקבום בעקביהם ותלאום בזנבי סוסיהם והיו מגררים אותם
על הקוצים ועל הברקנים עד שהגיאו להר גריזים כיון שהגיאו להר גריזים חרשוהו
וזרעוהו כרשינין כדרך שבקשו לעשות את בית אלקינו ואותו היום עשאוהו יו"ט.
The
twenty-fifth day of Teves[7] is
Yom Har Grizim[8]
on which you may not eulogize, [for it was] the day that the Samaritans sought
[permission] from Alexander the Macedonian to destroy the Temple of God
and he gave them permission.[9]
They came and made this known to Shimon HaTzadik.[10]
What did Shimon HaTzadik do? He donned the priestly garments and wrapped
himself in the priestly garments and went with the nobility of Jerusalem with lit torches in their hands and
they walked the entire night, some walking on one side and some walking on the
other side, until morning. When morning rose, [Alexander] said to [the
Samaritans], “Who are these?” They said to him, “These are the Jews who
rebelled against you.” When they reached Antipras the sun shone forth and the
groups met. When [Alexander] saw Shimon HaTzadik he got down from his chariot
and bowed before him. [The Samaritans or his servants] said to him, “A king
like you bows before this Jew?!” He said to them, “The image of this man is
victorious for me in battle.”[11] [Alexander] said to [the Jews], “Why have you come?” They said to him, “The
Temple where we pray for you and your kingdom that it should not be destroyed,
these Kussim (Samaritans) have deceived you to destroy it and you have given them
permission.” He said to them, “Who are these?”[12]
They said to him, “These Kussim standing before you.” He said to them,
“Behold, they are given into your hands.” Immediately they punctured their
ankles and hung them from the tails of their horses and they dragged them upon
thorns and thistles until they reached Har Grizim. When they came to Har
Grizim, they plowed it under and they planted karshinim[13],
as [the Samaritans] wanted to do to the Temple of God,
and that day they made into a yom tov (festival).[14]
This story raises a problem with the opinion that Shimon
was several generations after Yehoshua ben Yehotzedek because, according to Chazal (the Sages)
(Avodah Zara 9a, Seder Olam Raba 30), Alexander came to Eretz
Yisrael only thirty-four years after the building of the Second Temple. At
first glance it would seem difficult to say that eight generations of kohanim
gedolim served during a period of only thirty-four years. However, if we
assume that each generation fathered the next at a young age, and that Yehoshua
ben Yehotzedek became kohein gadol at a very old age, it is indeed possible
that each generation served during this period. The Malbim (Nechemiah 12:10)
explains:
הנה בפסוק זה לא מצאו כל אנשי חיל ידיהם,
אחר שאמרו חז"ל ל"ד שנה פשטה מלכות פרס בפני הבית – ר"ל, מבנין
הבית עד אלכסנדר מוקדון היו ל"ד שנה – והם אמרו כי שמעון הצדיק יצא לקראת
אלכסנדר בשובו ממלחמת דריוש, והיה א"כ שמעון הצדיק דור שני לעזרא ונחמיה,
כמ"ש הרמב"ם בהקדמתו לסדר זרעים וכן כתבו רבים וכן שלמים, ואיך בזמן
הקצר ששה דורות? בפרט לרש"י שכתב שכלם היו כהנים גדולים....
בכ"ז לא ידעתי מה הרעש הזה. מי יאמר
להם שנולדו באותם ל"ד שנים? אם נאמר שיהושע בן יהוצדק ששב מגלות בבל ובנה
הבית היה אז בן ק"ה שנה, והוא ובניו הולידו כל אחד לט"ו שנה, א"כ
בעת שהיה יהושע בן יהוצדק בן תשעים שנה כבר נולד שמעון הצדיק ובעת שבנה הבית היה
שמעון הצדיק בן ט"ו שנה. ובעת אלכסנדר כבר היה בן מ"ה שנה וכו'
ע"ש.
Behold! Regarding this verse [Nechemiah 12:10-11, which
discusses the descendants of Yehoshua ben Yehotzedek] “none of the warriors can
find their hands!”[15] Chazal
state that “For thirty-four years the Persian Empire was spread before the Temple,” meaning that from the building of the [Second] Temple until Alexander
the Macedonian was thirty-four years. And [Chazal also] say that Shimon
HaTzadik went out to greet Alexander on his return from the war with Darius. If
this is so, then Shimon HaTzadik was the second generation from Ezra and
Nechemiah [i.e. Ezra and Nechemiah were one generation and Shimon was the
second], as the Rambam writes in his introduction to Seder Zeraim and is
also written by many great authorities. If so, how could there be six
generations in such a short time? Especially according to Rashi who writes that
all of them were kohanim gedolim.
Despite all this, I don’t know what all the noise is
about. Who says that they were all born within thirty-four years? If we say
that Yehoshua ben Yehotzedek was 105 years old when he returned from Bavel and
built the Temple, and that he and his sons all had children at the age of
fifteen, if so then when Yehoshua ben Yehotzedek was ninety years old, Shimon
HaTzadik was already born, and when the Temple was built he was fifteen years
old, and at the time of Alexander he was already forty-five years old….
Moreover, as mentioned earlier (in a footnote), Rav
Yitzchak Isaac HaLevy writes in his Doros HaRishonim (Vol. 1, pp. 196-7)
that Shimon HaTzadik was not yet the kohein gadol when Alexander came to
Eretz Yisrael:
...
הכהן גדול המשמש בשם כהן גדול היה אז ידוע, אבל בהיות ידוע אז כבר זקן גדול,
ושמעון הצדיק נכדו כבר היה אז לאיש, וכדברי המשנה המפורשים עליו שהיה משירי כנסת
הגדולה. ובהיות שמעון הצדיק – לבד גדלו בתורה ובמעשים אשר בטחו בו הכהנים והעם
בעזר ה' על יראיו – הנה היה גם מראהו כמלאך ה' בהוד נורא... כי על כן נבחר הוא
ללכת במלאכות עמו בראש הכהנים והעם לקראת אלכסנדר.
The kohein gadol that served in the office of kohein
gadol at that time was Yadua. But Yadua was a very old man and his
grandson, Shimon HaTzadik, was already a [respected] man, as the clear words of
the Mishna say that he was “from the remnants of the Great Assembly.” And
because – in addition to his greatness in Torah and deeds, which the kohanim
and the nation trusted in for HaShem helps those who fear Him – Shimon
HaTzadik also had the appearance of an angel of HaShem with his awesome glory….
Therefore he was chosen to go on the mission for his nation at the head of the kohanim
and the people to greet Alexander.
Several sources extend the story of the meeting with
Alexander further. Yossipon (ch. 5) states:
ויהי אחרי כן, ויבא הכהן ואלכסנדרוס המלך אל
ירושלים. ויביאהו הכהן אל מקדש אלקינו, ויראהו הכהן את היכל ה' ואת חצרות המקדש
ואת גנזיו ואולמיו. ויראהו את מקום קדשי הקדשים, ואת מקום המזבח ואת מקום העולה,
ויאמר המלך: "ברוך ה' אלקי ישראל אלקי הבית הזה! ואשריכם אתם עבדיו המשרתים
לפניו במקום הזה. ועתה אעשה לי זכר הנה ואתן זהב לרוב לאומנין ויבנו את צלמי
ויקימו אותו בין הבית ובין קדש הקדשים ויהי צלמי לזכרון לי בבית הזה, בית אלוק
הגדול." ויאמר הכהן אל המלך: "הזהב אשר נדבו שפתיך, תנהו למחית כהני ה'
ולמחית עמו הבאים להשתחות בבית הזה. ואני אעשה לך זכר פה, טוב מאשר שאלת
אתה." ויאמר המלך: "ומה יהיה הזכר ההוא?" ויען הכהן ויאמר:
"זכרך יהיה זה, כי כל ילדי הכהנים אשר יולדו בשנה הזאת בכל יהודה וירושלים,
יקראו על שמך אלכסנדרוס, ויהיה לך זה לזכרון, כאשר יבאו לעבוד את עבודת ה' בבית
הזה. כי אין לנו רשיון מאת אלקי הבית הזה, הוא ה' אלקינו, לקבל פסל וכל
תמונה." ויתמה המלך את דברי הכהן ויכשרו בעיניו ויעש כן. ויתן המלך זהב לרוב
לבדק הבית וישתחו לה' אלקינו ויצא.
And after this, the kohein and Alexander came to Jerusalem, and the kohein brought him to the Temple of God,
and the kohein showed him the Heichal of God and the
courtyards of the Temple
and its treasuries and halls. And he showed the place of the Holy of Holies and
the place of the altar and the place of the offering. And the king said,
“Blessed is HaShem, God of Israel, God of this House! Fortunate are you, His
servants, who serve before Him in this place. And now, I shall make a memorial
for myself here and I shall give abundant gold to the craftsmen and they will
construct [a statue of] my image and they will erect it between the Temple and
the Holy of Holies, and my image will be a memorial for me in this Temple, the
Temple of the Great God.” And the kohein said to the king, “The gold
which your lips have donated, give it for the sustenance of the kohanim
of God and for the sustenance of His people who come to bow [to God] in
this House, and I will make a memorial for you here that is better than what
you have asked for.” And the king said, “What will this memorial be?” The kohein
answered and said, “Your memorial will be this, that all the children of
the kohanim that are born this year in all Judea and Jerusalem will be called by your name,
Alexander. And this will be your memorial, when they come to serve God in
this House. For we do not have permission from the God of this House – He is
HaShem our God – to accept sculpture or any image.” The king wondered at the
words of the kohein and it was proper in his eyes and he did so. The
king gave abundant gold to the bedek habayis (fund for upkeep of the Temple), he bowed to HaShem our God, and he went out [of
the Temple].[16]
Several sources[17]
add that Shimon HaTzadik also offered to commemorate Alexander’s arrival by
having all documents dated from that period on. This was the system called minyan
shtaros, which was used in all Jewish legal documents until the late Geonic
period. However, not all sources agree that this was the reason for the
adoption of the minyan shtaros dating system.[18]
Josephus and Yossipon also both record that
Alexander was shown the verses in the book of Daniel that predicted his
rise to power.
Leader of the Jewish Nation
Shimon HaTzadik served as kohein gadol for
forty years. During his tenure as kohein gadol, several special
blessings were granted to the Jewish people. The Talmud states (Yoma
39a):
תנו רבנן, מ' שנה ששימש שמעון הצדיק היה
גורל עולה בימין, מכאן ואילך פעמים עולה בימין פעמים עולה בשמאל, והיה לשון של
זהורית מלבין, מכאן ואילך פעמים מלבין פעמים אינו מלבין, והיה נר מערבי דולק, מכאן
ואילך פעמים דולק פעמים כבה, והיתה אש של מערכה מתגברת ולא היו כהנים צריכין להביא
עצים למערכה חוץ משני גזירי עצים כדי לקיים מצות עצים, מכאן ואילך תשש כחה של
מערכה, פעמים מתגברת פעמים אינה מתגברת ולא היו כהנים נמנעים להביא עצים למערכה כל
היום כולו, ונשתלחה ברכה בעומר ובשתי הלחם ובלחם הפנים וכל כהן מגיעו כזית יש אוכל
ושבע יש שבע ומותיר, מכאן ואילך נשתלחה מארה בעומר ובשתי הלחם ובלחם הפנים וכל כהן
מגיעו כפול מצרי הצנועין מושכין את ידיהם והגרגרנין נוטלין ואוכלין
The Rabbis taught, [during the] forty years that Shimon
HaTzadik served [as kohein gadol] the lot [cast for the Yom Kippur
sacrifice] always came up in the right hand, from then on it sometimes came in
the right and sometimes in the left; the tongue of scarlet wool [tied to the
head of the scapegoat] would turn white, from then on sometimes it would turn
white and sometimes it would not turn white; the western lamp [of the menorah]
would remain lit, from then on sometimes it would remain lit and sometimes it
would go out; the fire of the ma’aracha (the pile of wood on the altar)
would stay strong and the kohanim only needed to bring two pieces of
wood [a day] for the ma’aracha to fulfill the mitzvah of wood,
from then on the power of the ma’aracha was weakened, sometimes it would
stay strong and sometimes it would not stay strong and the kohanim did
not cease from bringing wood all day long; and a blessing was sent into the omer,
the two loaves [of Shavuos], and the lechem hapanim, and every kohein
received a k’zayis – some ate and were satisfied and some were satisfied
and [even] left over, from then on a curse was sent into the the omer,
the two loaves, and the lechem hapanim, and every kohein received
the amount of an Egyptian bean (i.e. a very small amount), the modest [kohanim]
withdrew their hands and the gluttons took and ate.
Shimon HaTzadik was also unique in that he was both the kohein
gadol and the head of the Sanhedrin. The Doros HaRishonim (Vol. 1,
p. 197) points out:
והנה, היה בימי שמעון הצדיק דבר גדול ונפלא
מאד אשר לא היה בכל ימי הבית בשני כי הכהן הגדול הוא היה גם המופלא שבסנהדרין ראש
כל חכמי התורה.
In the days of Shimon HaTzadik there was a very great and
amazing thing that did not exist throughout the days of the Second Temple,
that the kohein gadol was also the mufla (primary authority,
instructor) of the Sanhedrin, the chief of all the Torah sages.
The period of time of Shimon HaTzadik’s primary activity
as the leader of the Jewish people was after the death of Alexander, under the
rule of the Greek king of Egypt,
Ptolemy son of Lagos,
also known as Ptolemy Soter.[19]
Ptolemy Soter was one of Alexander’s generals and had been appointed by
Alexander as the governor of Egypt.
After the death of Alexander, Ptolemy had assumed power in Egypt. A
lengthy and violent series of struggles began among the various successors of
Alexander[20], and the land of Israel passed in
and out of the hands of different rulers several times over the next several
decades. Ptolemy conquered the land of Israel four different times, and in at
least some of these conquests he inflicted great suffering on the Jewish
population. Josephus (Antiquities XII:1:1) tells us:
While these princes ambitiously strove one against
another, every one for his own principality, it came to pass that there were
continual wars, and those lasting wars too; and the cities were sufferers, and
lost a great many of their inhabitants in these times of distress, insomuch
that all Syria, by the means of Ptolemy the son of Lagus, underwent the reverse
of that denomination of Savior (Soter), which he then had. He also seized upon
Jerusalem, and for that end made use of deceit and treachery; for as he came
into the city on a Sabbath day, as if he would offer sacrifices he, without any
trouble, gained the city, while the Jews did not oppose him, for they did not
suspect him to be their enemy; and he gained it thus, because they were free
from suspicion of him, and because on that day they were at rest and quietness;
and when he had gained it, he ruled over it in a cruel manner. Nay,
Agatharchides of Cnidus, who wrote the acts of Alexander’s successors,
reproaches us with superstition, as if we, by it, had lost our liberty; where
he says thus: “There is a nation called the nation of the Jews, who inhabit a
city strong and great, named Jerusalem.
These men took no care, but let it come into the hands of Ptolemy, as not
willing to take arms, and thereby they submitted to be under a hard master, by
reason of their unseasonable superstition.”[21]
This is what Agatharchides relates of our nation. But when Ptolemy had taken a
great many captives, both from the mountainous parts of Judea, and from the
places about Jerusalem and Samaria,
and the places near Mount Gerizzim, he led them all into Egypt, and
settled them there.[22] And as
he knew that the people of Jerusalem were most faithful in the observation of
oaths and covenants; and this from the answer they made to Alexander, when he
sent an embassage to them, after he had beaten Darius in battle; so he
distributed many of them into garrisons, and at Alexandria gave them equal
privileges of citizens with the Macedonians themselves; and required of them to
take their oaths, that they would keep their fidelity to the posterity of those
who committed these places to their care. Nay, there were not a few other Jews
who, of their own accord, went into Egypt, as invited by the goodness
of the soil, and by the liberality of Ptolemy.
As we see from this account from Josephus, during the wars
Ptolemy inflicted severe sufferings upon the Jewish population of the land of Israel, especially on the Jews of Jerusalem, and many Jews were taken as
slaves to Egypt.
Although it appears that in peacetime he was not an excessively oppressive
ruler, this does not make up for the immense harm he inflicted on the Jewish
people during these wars.
Shimon HaTzadik was the leader of the Jewish people during
this extremely difficult period and he succeeded in rebuilding the land and
repairing the damage.
In a famous passage, the ancient writer Yeishua (or
Yehoshua) ben Sira[23]
describes the greatness of Shimon HaTzadik (Ben Sira[24]
50):[25]
Shimon the high priest, the son of Chonio[26],
who in his life repaired the house again, and in his days fortified the temple:
And by him was built from the foundation the double height, the high fortress
of the wall about the temple: In his days the cistern to receive water, being
in compass as the sea, was covered with plates of brass: He took care of the
temple that it should not fall, and fortified the city against besieging:
How was he honored in the midst of the people in his
coming out of the sanctuary! He was as the morning star in the midst of a
cloud, and as the moon at the full: As the sun shining upon the temple of the
most High, and as the rainbow giving light in the bright clouds: And as the
flower of roses in the spring of the year, as lilies by the rivers of waters,
and as the branches of the frankincense tree in the time of summer: As fire and
incense in the censer, and as a vessel of beaten gold set with all manner of
precious stones: And as a fair olive tree budding forth fruit, and as a cypress
tree which grows up to the clouds.
When he put on the robe of honor, and was clothed with
the perfection of glory, when he went up to the holy altar, he made the garment
of holiness honorable. When he took the portions out of the priests' hands, he
himself stood by the hearth of the altar, compassed about, as a young cedar in Lebanon; and as
palm trees compassed they him round about.
So were all the sons of Aaron in their glory, and the
fire offerings of HaShem in their hands, before all the congregation of Israel. And
finishing the service at the altar, that he might adorn the offering of the
most high Almighty, He stretched out his hand to the cup, and poured of the
blood of the grape, he poured out at the foot of the altar a sweet smelling
savor unto the most high King of all. Then shouted the sons of Aaron, and
sounded the silver trumpets, and made a great noise to be heard, for a
remembrance before the most High.
Then all the people together hasted, and fell down to the
earth upon their faces. To prostrate themselves before the Most High, before
the Holy One of Israel. The singers also sang praises with their voices, with
great variety of sounds was there made sweet melody. And the people besought
HaShem, the most High, by prayer before him that is merciful, till the
solemnity of HaShem was ended, and they had finished his service.
Then he went down, and lifted up his hands over the whole
congregation of the children of Israel,
to give the blessing of HaShem with his lips, and to rejoice in his name. And
they bowed themselves down to worship the second time, that they might receive
a blessing from the most High.
Shimon has been remembered throughout history with the name
Shimon HaTzadik (the Righteous). Josephus explains that “He was called Simon the Just
because of both his piety towards God, and his kind disposition to those of his
own nation.[27]
Shimon HaTzadik is best known for his statement, quoted in
the second mishna of Pirkei Avos, “The world stands on three
things, on Torah [study], on the service [of HaShem], and on bestowing
kindnesses.” As the Bartenura there tells us, this was something he always
repeated and stressed; it was his primary teaching to his generation. What was
the significance of this particular lesson? Rav Shlomo Brevda explains:[28]
והנה מתחילת שלטונם בארצנו הקדושה, השתדלו
היוונים להשפיע עלינו מחכמתם, חכמת הטבע (ובסוף שלטונם גזרו גזירות להשכיח מאתנו
את התורה הקדושה ולהעבירנו מחוקי רצונו ית"ש). שמעון הצדיק שהיה גדול הדור
וגם כהן גדול בתחילת מלכות יון, השתדל בכל כחו לחזק את העם שישארו שלמים ונאמנים
אך ורק לתורתנו הקדושה, ושלא ישימו לב כלל וכלל לחכמי יון ודבריהם. על כן באו תמיד
דבריו הקדושים לעם סגולה שהעולם עומד על ג' דברים, עסק התורה, עבודת הקודש,
וגמילות חסדים. ודבריו הקדושים סותרים לגמרי את שיטת חכמי הטבע. כי תורה ועבודה
וגמילות חסדים לא יעניקו לאדם, על פי טבע, אפילו פת לחם, ואיך יתקיים האדם. אבל
אנחנו מקבלי התורה, מאמינים בני מאמינים, יודעים שמצבינו למעלה מהטבע, והקב"ה
זן ומפרנס ומכלכל העוסקים בתורה ובעבודה וגמ"ח. והצליח שמעון הצדיק בזמנו
להחזיק את העם בשלימות האמונה וקיום המצוות. ולכן זכו בדורו לסייעתא למעלה מדרך
הטבע. וראו חבתם לפניו ית"ש כי כל מצבם בבית המקדש, יום יום ובש"ק ובימים
טובים, הכל היה למעלה מהטבע.
From the beginning of their rule in our holy land, the
Greeks strove to influence us with their wisdom, the wisdom of nature [i.e.
science] (and towards the end of their rule they made decrees to make us forget
our holy Torah and to remove us from the decrees of His Will). Shimon HaTzadik,
who was the gadol hador and also the kohein gadol at the
beginning of the Greek dominion [over Eretz Yisrael], strove with all
his strength to strengthen the people that they should remain completely loyal
only and exclusively to our holy Torah, and they should not pay any attention
at all to the wise men of Greece and their words. Therefore he would always
repeat his words to the treasured people that the world stands on three things,
Torah study, the holy service, and bestowing kindnesses. His holy words
completely contradicted the philosophy of the wise men of nature [i.e.
scientists]. For, according to nature, Torah, service, and kindness do not
provide a person with anything, not even bread, so how will a person survive
[on these alone]?[29]
But we who have received the Torah, believers and children of believers, know that
our circumstances are above nature, and the Holy One, blessed be He, feeds,
supports, and provides those who involve themselves in Torah, service, and
kindnesses. Shimon HaTzadik was successful in his time in strengthening the
people in perfection of emunah (faith) and in fulfillment of the mitzvos (commandments).
Therefore, in his generation they merited to receive supernatural help, and
they saw how beloved they were before Him, for their entire situation in the Holy Temple, on ordinary days and on the Sabbath and festivals,
was supernatural.[30]
The Death of Shimon HaTzadik & the Fall
of the Kehuna Gedolah
The Talmud records the following information regarding the
death of Shimon HaTzadik:
דתניא אותה שנה שמת שמעון הצדיק אמר להן שנה
זו הוא מת. אמרו לו מנין אתה יודע? אמר להן כל יום הכפורים נזדמן לי זקן אחד לבוש
לבנים ונתעטף לבנים ונכנס עמי ויצא עמי שנה זו נזדמן לי זקן אחד לבוש שחורים
ונתעטף שחורים ונכנס עמי ולא יצא עמי. לאחר הרגל חלה שבעת ימים ומת ונמנעו אחיו
הכהנים מלברך בשם.
For it is taught, the year that Shimon HaTzadik died he
said to them that this year he would die. They said to him, from where do you
know this? He said to them, “Every Yom Kippur an old man dressed in white and
wrapped in white meets me and goes in with me [to the Kodesh haKedoshim (the Holy of Holies)]
and comes out with me. This year an old man dressed in black and wrapped in
black met me and went in with me but did not come out with me.” After the
festival he was sick for seven days and died. And his brothers, the kohanim,
refrained from blessing with the Name [of God in the Birchas Kohanim - the Priestly Blessing].[31]
Shimon HaTzadik passed away during the reign of Ptolemy
Philadelphus, the son and successor of Ptolemy Soter. After his death, the
status of the kehuna gedola (high priesthood) fell dramatically. As the Bartenura records
(Yoma 1:1 based on the Gemora 8b):
...הכהנים
הגדולים שהיו בבית שני אחר שמעון הצדיק היו נותנים ממון כדי לשמש בכהונה גדולה,
ומתוך שרשעים היו לא היו משלימין שנתן והיו מתחלפין כל שנים עשר חדש כפקידי המלך
שהמלך מחליפן כל שנה...
The kohanim gedolim of the Second Temple
after Shimon HaTzadik would give money [to the non-Jewish rulers] in order to
serve in the kehuna gedolah. Because they were wicked, they would not
survive the year, and they would switch every twelve months [to a new kohein
gadol], like the officers of a king which the king changes every year.[32]
In fact, this degradation of the kehuna gedolah did
not take place immediately, and there were some kohanim gedolim – even
in later periods – who were good men, although none of similar status to Shimon
HaTzadik. Nevertheless, the process did begin almost immediately after the
death of Shimon HaTzadik with the dispute that took place between Shimon’s sons
on the succession. The Talmud continues (Menachos 109b)[33]:
בשעת
פטירתו אמר להם חוניו בני ישמש תחתי. ... לא קיבל עליו חוניו שהיה שמעי אחיו גדול
ממנו שתי שנים ומחצה ואף על פי כן נתקנא בו חוניו בשמעי אחיו. אמר לו בא ואלמדך
סדר עבודה והלבישו באונקלי וחגרו בצילצול והעמידו אצל המזבח. אמר להם לאחיו הכהנים
ראו מה נדר זה וקיים לאהובתו אותו היום שאשתמש בכהונה גדולה אלבוש באונקלי שליכי
ואחגור בצילצול שליכי. בקשו אחיו הכהנים להרגו. סח להם כל המאורע בקשו להרוג את
חוניו. רץ מפניהם ורצו אחריו רץ לבית המלך ורצו אחריו. כל הרואה אותו אומר זה הוא
זה הוא. הלך לאלכסנדריא של מצרים ובנה שם מזבח והעלה עליו לשם שמים, שנאמר
"ביום ההוא יהיה מזבח לה' בתוך ארץ מצרים ומצבה אצל גבולה לה'" (ישעיה
יט:יט)
At the time of [Shimon HaTzadik’s]
death, he said to them, “Chonio my son shall serve in my place.”[34]
Chonio would not accept the office, for his brother Shimi was two and a half
years his elder. Even so, Chonio became jealous of his brother Shimi. He said
to him, “Come and I will teach you the procedure of the avodah.” He
dressed him in an un’klie[35]
and girded him with a tziltzul[36] and stood him by the altar. [Chonio] then said to his brothers, the kohanim,
“Look at what this one swore to and fulfilled for his beloved[37],
‘the day when I shall serve in the kehunah gedolah, I will wear your un’klie
and I will gird myself with your tziltzul.’”[38]
His brothers, the kohanim, wanted to kill [Shimi] [for denigrating the kehuna].
[But Shimi] told them all that had happened, and they [the kohanim]
wanted to kill Chonio. [Chonio] fled away from them and they pursued after him. He
fled to the palace of the king and they pursued after him; all who saw him
said, “This is he! This is he!” He went to Alexandria of Egypt and erected
there an altar and offered upon it offerings for the sake of Heaven, as it says
(Isaiah 19:19), “On that day there will be an altar to God within the land of Egypt, and a monument to God by its
border.”[39]
This
incident resulted in a great fall in the prestige of the kehuna gedolah.
In the end, neither Chonio nor Shimi succeeded their father. Instead, Shimon
HaTzadik was succeeded by his brother, Elazar, in the position of kohein
gadol. In his position as head of the Sanhedrin, Shimon HaTzadik was
succeeded by his primary disciple, Antignos Ish Socho.[40]
[1] Also
known as Yeishua ben Yehotzedek.
[2] Sefer
HaKabala, Sefer Yuchsin, Abarbanel (Nachalas Avos, hakdama and 1:2).
[3] The Toldos
Am Olam maintains that the Sefer HaKabala and Yuchsin do not
intend this literally, but only that he was descended from Yehoshua ben
Yehotzedek. He does not mention the
Abarbanel who does appear to hold this opinion to be literally true.
[4] See Seder
HaDoros (ג"א
תמ"ח) for discussion.
[5] Rambam, Mishneh
Torah – Hakdama
[6] Rashi, Avos
1:2, Doros HaRishonim
[7] Megillas
Taanis places this event on the twenty-first of Kislev.
[8] Har
Grizim was the location of the main Samaritan city and later became the
location of their temple.
[9] Josephus
tells us that when Alexander was besieging Tyre, an important city north of the
land of Israel, the Samaritans, who were—like the Jews—subjects of the Persian
Empire, approached Alexander and offered to join him and betray the Persians.
The Jews, however, remained loyal to the Persian emperor. This combination of
events caused Alexander to initially favor the Samaritans and to believe their
false accusations against the Jews.
[10] In Yossipon
the kohein that meets Alexander is named Chananya. However, some
versions of Yossipon omit this and the name is probably erroneous.
Similarly, Josephus (Antiquities XI:8:4-5) writes that the kohein
was named – in Greek – “Iaddou”, which most translations understand as Yadua,
the name of Shimon HaTzadik’s grandfather. There are a number of possible
explanations for this discrepancy (asides from simple scribal error). Some
authorities, most notably the Sefer HaKabala, claim that Shimon was also
known by the name Iddo (עדו),
which may be a different reading of the Greek name used by Josephus. (The
Abarbanel, in Nachalas Avos 1:2, points out that the use of multiple
names was common throughout the Second Temple period.) Other
authorities, such as the Doros HaRishonim (Vol. 1, pp. 196-7), believe
that at this time Yadua was still the kohen gadol but he was too old to
go out to meet Alexander, so he sent his grandson Shimon in his place. Thus,
Josephus may have erroneously concluded that the entire story happened with
Yadua. Rabbi Avigdor Miller, however, believes that Josephus changed the story
deliberately (Torah Nation 206).
[11] Megillas Taanis states slightly
differently, דיוקנו של זה אני רואה כשאני יורד במלחמה
ונוצח – “The image of this
person I see when I go down to war and am victorious.”
[12] The
implication here is that Alexander was not aware of the actual plans of the
Samaritans. In fact, in the version told in Megillas Taanis, the
Samaritans did not actually inform Alexander of their intentions,
they simply “purchased” the location of the Temple from Alexander. Alternatively, the Ben
Ish Chai explains that Alexander certainly knew that the Samaritans were
guilty, but he wanted to know if any of his own officers were also included in
the plot. To this the Jews responded that only the Samaritans were guilty.
[13] A kind
of inferior grain used primarily as animal feed.
[14] This
story is also told in Yossipon and Josephus. However there are a
number of differences, some of which raise historical difficulties. According
to the both of these alternate accounts, after his conquest of Gaza,
Alexander marched on Jerusalem with intent to
destroy it and he met the Jews just outside the gates of Jerusalem. However, according to the
non-Jewish accounts of Alexander’s conquests, Alexander traveled from Gaza to Egypt
in just one week, making a visit to Jerusalem
(which is in the opposite direction) impossible. However, according to the
Talmudic account there is no reason to believe that Alexander planned on
traveling to Jerusalem
himself. The Talmud also does not specify at what point in his conquests he met
the Jews. Moreover, the location of the meeting, according to the Talmud, was a
town called Antipras. This almost certainly refers to the town Antipatris (Kefar
Saba), a town not far from the ocean shore along which Alexander traveled.
The relatively brief meeting described in the Talmud took place early in the
morning and would not have significantly affected the traveling time of
Alexander’s army, which may explain why it is unmentioned in non-Jewish
accounts. As for the accounts of Alexander’s visit to Jerusalem and the Temple,
which most authorities accept as reliable, this may have taken place later,
after Alexander’s conquest of Egypt, when he was traveling back towards
Babylon. Josephus and Yossipon may have combined two separate stories.
[15] A
phrase from Tehillim 76:6 poetically expressing the idea that the great
scholars appear to have lost their skills.
[16] Josephus adds that Alexander summoned the Jews and “bid them ask what favors
they pleased of him; whereupon the high priest desired that they might enjoy
the laws of their forefathers, and might pay no tribute on the seventh year. He
granted all they desired. And when they entreated him that he would permit the
Jews in Babylon and Media to enjoy their own laws also, he willingly promised to do hereafter
what they desired. And when he said to the multitude, that if any of them would
enlist themselves in his army, on this condition, that they should continue
under the laws of their forefathers, and live according to them, he was willing
to take them with him, many were ready to accompany him in his wars.” (Antiquities
XI:8:5)
Unfortunately, it appears that Alexander was not always fully
consistent in fulfilling this promise. Josephus, in his Contra Apion (1:22), quotes
extensively from Hecateus of Abdera, a Greek historian who was also a
contemporary of Alexander, about the Jews in Alexander’s armies. He writes
that, “Alexander was once at Babylon, and had an
intention to rebuild the temple of Belus [an idol] that
was fallen to decay, and in order thereto, he commanded all his soldiers in
general to bring earth thither. But the Jews, and they only, would not comply
with that command; nay, they underwent stripes and great losses of what they
had on this account, till the king forgave them, and permitted them to live in
quiet.”
[17] Sefer
HaKabala, Yuchsin, Abarbanel Avos 1:2, Gr”a on Seder Olam
Raba 30, and others.
[18] Tzemach
Dovid
[19] The
name “Soter” means “Savior” in Greek.
[20] The
Macedonian generals who succeeded Alexander are referred to as the “Diadochi”,
the Greek word meaning “successors”.
[21] This
supposed incident appears to be the source of the myth that the ancient Jews
would not wage war – even defensive war – on the Sabbath. In fact, as is clear
from the previous statements of Josephus, Ptolemy Soter took the city by
deceit, by pretending to come in peace.
[22] The Doros
HaRishonim adds (presumably based on the Ben Sira passage quoted
below) that Ptolemy also destroyed the walls of Jerusalem to prevent it from being used as a
fortress against him. Victor Tcherikover, in his Hellenistic Civilization
and the Jews (p. 58), argues that the destruction of the walls was done
when Ptolemy, in the course of the war, was forced to evacuate from Jerusalem and he wished
to prevent its use as a fortress by his enemies.
[23] The Doros HaRishonim (Vol. 1, p. 194)
writes about Ben Sira, ובן סירא אשר הלך עם חכמים ויתחמם
לאור חכמי התורה וכו' – “And
Ben Sira, who walked with the sages and warmed himself by the fire of the Torah
sages…”
[24] The book of Ben Sira (also known as Sirach
or Ecclesiasticus) was originally written in Hebrew, but the original
Hebrew text was lost for a very long time, and the book only existed in its
Greek translation. In modern times scholars have found parts of what they
believe to be the original Hebrew version, but the full Hebrew original text is
still not found and much of what has been found is of uncertain reliability.
Thus there are no fully reliable editions of Ben Sira available. The
primary Hebrew edition in print is the edition published by Avraham Kahana in
his Seforim Chitzonim.
[25] This
translation is taken, with some minor changes, from the KJV translation. It does not agree, in many details, with
the Kahana version, but the basic ideas are the same. (The Catholic Church
includes the book of Ben Sira in its version of the “Old Testament.”
Such books are called Apocrypha.)
[26] In most
English translations the name used here is Onias, which is the English
equivalent of Chonio. Kahana’s Hebrew edition, and some translations, use the
name Yochanan. (The name Chonio may be a diminutive for Yochanan.) The Doros
HaRishonim (Vol. 1, p. 194), in quoting this passage, uses the name Chonio.
[27] Antiquities
12:2:5. The Doros HaRishonim (Vol. 1, p.194-195) points out that the
description, “HaTzadik”, was not added to Shimon’s name until many years later.
As proof he cites the passages from Ben Sira which praise Shimon
HaTzadik. If Shimon was already popularly known as Shimon HaTzadik, then Ben
Sira, who was a contemporary of Shimon’s, would certainly have referred to him
by that title. Thus, the Doros HaRishonim argues that the title
“HaTzadik” was added later to distinguish Shimon HaTzadik from a later kohein
gadol also named Shimon ben Chonio who caused great troubles for the Jewish
people.
[28] In his Kuntres
L’Hodos U’l’Hallel b’inyanei Chanuka, p. 16.
[29] Shimon
HaTzadik’s list implies that only these three things are truly necessary for
the support of the world, yet, by normal “laws of nature”, none of a person’s
basic needs are provided by these three things!
[30] Rav
Brevda is referring here to the special blessings which took place in the Beis
HaMikdash while Shimon HaTzadik was alive mentioned earlier.
[31] See
Rabbeinu Gershom Menachos 109a, Rashi Yomah 39b, Tosafos Sotah
38a ד"ה הרי , and
Rambam Hil. Nesias Kapayim 14:10, for explanations. Although most of the
commentaries appear to maintain that this was a permanent change, the Ben
Yehoyada (Yoma 39b) suggests that the kohanim may have ceased
using the sheim hameforash only during the period immediately after
Shimon HaTzadik’s death, when they felt great grief, because the sheim
hameforash can only be used in a state of joy. However, after the grief
lessened they returned to using the Name.
[32] To
properly understand this passage one should see the context in mesechta Yoma.
Here I have only quoted the portions directly relevant to our discussion.
[33] The
following selection is abridged. There are actually two versions of the story
of Chonio told in the Talmud in Menachos, the version told by Rabbi Meir and the
version told by Rabbi Yehuda. As the commentaries clearly consider Rabbi Yehuda’s
version to be the primary version, we are only including his version here.
[34] Although Chonio was younger than his brother Shimi, he was more knowledgeable
in the laws of the avodah. (Rambam, Bartenura – Menachos 13:10)
[35] Rashi
defines this as a “leather garment”. Rabbeinu Gershom says it was “a woman’s garment”. Bartenura describes it as “a shirt of thin
linen that women wear upon their skin.”
[36] A kind
of belt or girdle. This was also a feminine garment.
[37] His
wife (Rashi, Rabbeinu Gershom) or his lover (Rambam, חשוקה שהוא מזנה עמה).
[38] Rambam
writes that Chonio’s intent was to kill Shimi so that he could get the position
of kohein gadol. Rav Yerucham Levovitz (Daas Torah, Lech Lecha
p. 107) writes that this incident is a classic example of the principle from Pirkei
Avos (2:4), אל תאמן
בעצמך עד יום מותך – “Do not trust yourself until the day you die”,
meaning that no matter how many good things you have done in your life, the yetzer
hara (evil inclination) is always ready to trap you if you let down your guard. So, even after
Chonio did this great kindness of surrendering the position of kohein gadol
so as to give honor to his elder brother, when he let down his guard the yetzer
hara of jealousy was able to trap him.
[39] The
nature of this altar, and the temple that followed called Beis Chonio
(which was not located in or near Alexandria,
is a matter of some debate. Tosafos comments that the altar in Alexandria may have been
only for non-Jews, thus avoiding the prohibition of shchutei chutz (slaughtering offerings outside of the Temple). This
also explains how Chonio was permitted to become the kohein gadol at a
later period. A later Chonio, during the reign of Ptolemy Philometor, erected a
temple in Leontopolis, a village in the district of Heliopolis. See the
discussion of this topic in Toldos Am Olam, p. 394.
[40] Another
important sage of this period was Rav Elazar ben Charsom (Yuchsin, Tzemach
Dovid, and Seder HaDoros). He is best known for his immense wealth,
which, the Talmud (Yoma 35b) tells us, “obligates the wealthy” to study
Torah. Interestingly, the Talmud (Yoma 9a) states that R’ Elazar ben
Charsom served as kohein gadol for eleven years.
Note: This material was originally written for a course in Jewish history at a yeshiva high school. I have modified it for a general audience.
pp.63-64) brings this point out with regard to a Talmudic debate with regard to the laws of the Sabbath. The Talmud states that one who violated the Sabbath because he "forgot the essence of the Sabbath" (השוכח עיקר שבת) is obligated to bring a sacrifice which atones for inadvertent sin. There is a debate in the Talmud as to the exact meaning of this category of "one who forgot the essence of the Sabbath." One opinion is that this refers to a Jewish child who was abducted and raised as a Gentile (תינוק שנשבה בין העכו"ם). Even though this Jew did not even know that he was Jewish, and had no awareness of the laws of the Sabbath, he is still obligated to bring an offering for his violation of the Sabbath because, even in such a circumstance, there is still some degree of guilt that requires atonement. The obvious question is how can a person in that situation be held responsible at all?
