Works and Legends
According to rabbinic sources, he acquired a reputation as a worker of miracles, and on this ground was sent to Rome as an envoy, where, according to legend, he exorcised from the emperor's daughter a demon who had obligingly entered the lady to enable Rabbi Shimon to effect his miracle.
This rabbi bore a large part in the fixation of law, and his decisions are frequently quoted. To him were attributed the important legal homilies called Sifre and Mekhilta. Some modern scholars claim that Moses de León who is said to have published the Zohar in the 13th century was actually its author, however kabbalists reject this claim.
The fullest account of Rabbi Shimon's teachings is to be found in W Bacher's Agada der Tannaiten, ii. pp. 70–149. When the Talmud attributes a teaching to Rabbi Shimon without specifying which Rabbi Shimon is meant, it means Shimon bar Yochai.
There is a mid-eighth century, Jewish, apocalypse attributed to the Rabbi; see The Secrets of Rabbi Simon ben Yohai.
The authenticity of his claim of authorship of the Zohar has been challenged by both secular and religious scholars.
Read more about this topic: Simeon Bar Yochai
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