Rabbi Shimon ben Halafta was a

rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

who lived in the 2nd century CE (fourth generation of

tannaim ''Tannaim'' ( Amoraic Hebrew: תנאים , singular , ''Tanna'' "repeaters", "teachers") were the rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah, from approximately 10–220 CE. The period of the ''Tannaim'', also referred to as the Mis ...

His life

Little is known of his life, but a number of stories are recorded involving him, often involving miracles. He was the brother of R'

Jose ben Halafta Jose ben Halafta or Yose ben Halafta (or Yose ben Halpetha) (Hebrew: רבי יוסי בן חלפתא; IPA: /ʁa'bi 'josi ben xa'lafta/) was a tanna of the fourth generation (2nd century CE). He is the fifth-most-frequently mentioned sage in the M ...

and the son of R'

Halafta Halafta or Rabbi Halafta (רבי חלפתא) was a rabbi who lived in Sepphoris in the Galilee during the late 1st and early 2nd centuries CE (second generation of tannaim). He was the father of Jose ben Halafta, and one of the latter's teachers of ...

. He lived in ''Ein Teenah'', which some identify with modern-day עין תינה in the

Golan Heights The Golan Heights ( ar, هَضْبَةُ الْجَوْلَانِ, Haḍbatu l-Jawlān or ; he, רמת הגולן, ), or simply the Golan, is a region in the Levant spanning about . The region defined as the Golan Heights differs between di ...

. He was obese. Once on a hot day, he asked his daughter to fan him, offering to pay her for this service with packages of ''nard'' spices. Suddenly the wind blew, and he exclaimed, "How many packages of ''nard'' do I owe to the master of the wind (God)?" He was extremely poor. It is said that once he did not have money for

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...

expenses, and upon praying he was miraculously given a precious stone. However, his wife refused to use the stone, so as not to have his reward in this world detract from his reward in the

world to come The world to come, age to come, heaven on Earth, and the Kingdom of God are eschatological phrases reflecting the belief that the current world or current age is flawed or cursed and will be replaced in the future by a better world, age, or par ...

. He prayed again, and the stone was miraculously taken back. It is reported that once he was confronted by lions while traveling. He prayed, and two cuts of meat miraculously descended from heaven. The lions ate one, allowing him to escape. He took the second cut to the

beit midrash A ''beth midrash'' ( he, בית מדרש, or ''beis medrash'', ''beit midrash'', pl. ''batei midrash'' "House of Learning") is a hall dedicated for Torah study, often translated as a "study hall." It is distinct from a synagogue (''beth knes ...

, where it was ruled kosher to eat. He was known as the "researcher of matters", and would perform various experiments to understand nature better. He once performed an experiment to determine the social patterns of

ants Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of 22,00 ...

, but a later rabbi, Rav

Aha b. Rava Rav Aha b. Rava (or Rav Aha b'reih deRava; he, רב אחא בריה דרבא) was a Babylonian rabbi (sixth and seventh generation of amoraim). Biography His name indicates that he was the son of Rava. Some believe this was the famous Rava who ...

, criticized its methodology. He is said to be buried in the old cemetery in

Tzfat Safed (known in Hebrew as Tzfat; Sephardic Hebrew & Modern Hebrew: צְפַת ''Tsfat'', Ashkenazi Hebrew: ''Tzfas'', Biblical Hebrew: ''Ṣǝp̄aṯ''; ar, صفد, ''Ṣafad''), is a city in the Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevat ...

Teachings

He is known for his

aggadic Aggadah ( he, ''ʾAggāḏā'' or ''Haggāḏā''; Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: אַגָּדְתָא ''ʾAggāḏəṯāʾ''; "tales, fairytale, lore") is the non-legalistic exegesis which appears in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism, ...

teachings, particularly those regarding the value of

peace Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...

Quotes

* The Holy One - blessed be He - found no better vessel in which to hold blessing for Israel than peace. * Great is peace, for when the Holy One - blessed be He - created His world, He made peace between the upper and the lower world... On the second day He created from the upper world... on the third day He created from the lower world... on the fourth day from the upper world... on the fifth day from the lower world... On the sixth day He came to create man. He said: If I create him from the upper world, the upper world will have one more creation than the lower world; if I create him from the lower world, the lower world will have one more creation than the upper world. What did He do? He created him from the upper world and the lower world. As it says: "The Lord God fashioned man dust from the earth" - from the lower world; "and blew in his nose the breath of life" - from the upper world.Vayikra Rabbah 9

References

{{reflist Mishnah rabbis 2nd-century rabbis