Meron and Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai

The building containing the tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai (Rashbi).

Meron and Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai (Rashbi)

The tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, commonly known as Rashbi, is a major attraction in Meron. There is a major gathering here on the anniversary of his death on the holiday of Tu Bishvat. There are also other sites in and around Meron that make a visit worthwhile. Close to the main parking lot are the ruins of Meron's ancient synagogue. A pleasant 2-hour hike to the ruins of Shema and its ancient synagogue starts from Meron.

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Meron is well-known because it contains the tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai (Rashbi). This has made Meron the second-most popular religious site in Israel after the Western Wall. It was not always like this. Benjamin of Tudela visited Meron in the 12th century CE and described the burial cave of Hillel the Elder, but mentioned nothing about the burial place of Rashbi. Kabbalistic ideas from the nearby city of Safed were responsible for this change.

Safed in the 16th century attracted a group of messianic kabbalists, including Rabbi Yitzhak Luria (the Arizal), the originator of Lurianic Kabbalah. His ideas in kabbalah would have a major influence on the Jewish world. Rashbi is credited with writing the Zohar, the foundational text of kabbalah. The kabbalists of Safed believed that the messianic era was approaching and that the Messiah would arise from Meron before making His way to Jerusalem.

Present-day Meron was founded as a moshav in 1949 at the foot of Mount Meron by the Hapoel HaMizrachi movement on the ruins of an Arab village. Meron was probably never a biblical city. Excavations have revealed ruins from the Hellenistic and Roman periods. It was then a Jewish town that was well-known for its olive oil production. It was fortified by Josephus during the Great Revolt. The town was abandoned after an earthquake in 363 CE. During the Ottoman period, it was a mixed Muslim-Jewish town, although predominantly Muslim.

The ancient synagogue of Meron

Just above the main parking lot for Rashbi's tomb are the ruins of the ancient synagogue of Meron. It was built in the late Roman period, in the 3rd century CE, in the typical Romanesque style found in some other synagogues in the Galilee. Its southern façade is still standing and you can see its three entrances that face towards Jerusalem. The third entrance is reconstructed. This design meant that congregants entered the synagogue in the same direction towards which the congregation was praying. Later communities would change this, including the synagogue found in the ruins of Shema (see below). The western aspect of the synagogue is carved into bedrock. There are fallen pillars on the ground. As in other Galilean communities, the synagogue was in close proximity to members’ homes and not at a distance from the town.

Entranceway to the synagogue in Meron that was built during the Roman period.

HIKE TO THE RUINS OF SHEMA

This is a very pleasant hike along the Schvil Yisrael with wonderful scenery and several interesting sites along the way. None of these sites have been definitively identified with respect to their historic context, but this makes this hike all the more intriguing!

THE HIKE:

Time: About 2 hours there and back.

Distance: About 3 Km there and back.

Type of hike: There and back on the same path.

Difficulty: An easy hike.

Directions: Enter “Kever Rashbi” into Waze. The parking lot is in front of the building containing the tomb.

Public transport: There are numerous bus lines to Meron, including from Safed. Enter “Kever Rashbi” into Moovit.

Roman mausoleum said to be the tomb of Shammai seen on the way to Shema.

DIRECTIONS:

Starting in the main parking lot and facing the entrance to Rashbi’s tomb, turn to the left and proceed behind the building. You will immediately see the presumed burial cave of the 1st century sage Hillel the Elder. Its identification is a medieval tradition and there are no texts to support it. One cannot enter the cave and other than a non-conspicuous notice one would have difficulty even knowing that such a tradition exists. Proceed down the hill on a gravel footpath with stairs and railings.

At the bottom of the stairway turn to the right on the paved path. Turn onto the first turning on the left marked by a short green metal pole with a Schvil Yisrael marking next to the path and two concrete structures on the other side of the road.

Continue along this footpath until you come to large stone structure. This is a Roman mausoleum which since the medieval period has been identified as the tomb of the sage Shammai (50 BCE to 30 CE). Again, there are no texts to support this.

Shortly on turning to the left you will come to the ruins of Shema. Prominent among the ruins are those of its synagogue.

This was a Jewish village in the Roman/Byzantine period. It has been given the name Shema so that it has a name, but it has not been identified with any Jewish village of that period. An interesting suggestion is that this could be the village of Tekoa. There were two places in Israel called Tekoa. One was south of Jerusalem at the edge of the Judean Desert, and this is where the prophet Amos lived. There was also a Tekoa in the Galilee whose location is unknown. We do know, though, that Rashbi had a beis midrash or study hall in Tekoa. The synagogue ruins you see were built at the beginning of the 4th century CE on the foundations of an earlier synagogue from the 3rd century, and it remained in use until the 6th century. Interestingly, the synagogue faced towards the east, as did its ark, and not towards Jerusalem. There are a few other synagogues in the Galilee like this.

The hike turns back at this point. It is possible, however, to continue along the Schvil Yisrael to as far as Mount Meron.

Map of hike from Meron to the ruins of Shema

To follow your location on your smart phone, click on https://israelhiking.osm.org.il/share/EOrAYeUNz5 . Click on the black box with a cross at the top left of the map and it should change color to green. It is not necessary to download the free app unless you wish to.

The synagogue ruins in Shema.

For the overview "What's the big deal about Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai (Rashbi)" — see my book "The North of Israel for Everyone: The Best Family Activities, Hikes and Historic Sites."

NEARBY PLACES OF INTEREST:

The Tomb of Rabbi Yose HaGlili:

Rabbi Yossi Haglili spent his early life in the Galilee, and was a teacher of Rabbi Eleazar ben Azaria. In his later life he joined the sages who assembled at Yavne after the destruction of Jerusalem. He was a contemporary of Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Tarphon.

He is buried within a brick structure on a mountaintop on the outskirts of Dalton in the Upper Galilee. The mountain provides an incredible view over the Hula Valley. There are picnic benches in the compound. Enter into Waze "קבר רבי יוסי הגלילי.”