This morning, I was carried on foot to the light rail station in Shimon Tzadik, to see the routine flourishing, the concrete shacks. From there, I had a conversation, "Believe me, it's a crazy situation, what can I tell you?" with another brave Jerusalemite who, like me, put his life in his hands and went out onto the death path.
- Tell me, I pointed to the sign at the station and asked, "Do you know who Shimon the Righteous is?"
- Walla no, thank God there are many righteous people. Who is this?
The train had just arrived, and the guy who managed to outwit me and quickly slip into another car was saved from my notorious old hobby of forcing a crash course in Jewish history on helpless passersby too exhausted to resist.
You are less lucky.
So, whether you were interested or not, Shimon the Tzadik is considered the last of the original "Great Knesset," the one that is present on the collection of its chosen ones, ministers, and rebels, and bears its name in vain with piety. He also earned the first exclusive citation by name in Tractate Avot, below, "On three things the world stands: on Torah, on work, and on acts of kindness.".
But what is most relevant now is the close connection between Shimon the Righteous, the Temple Mount, and the haters of Israel who rise up against us to destroy us because of him.
And the Gemara says about this in Tractate Yoma:
""On the day when the Kuthites asked Alexander the Great for the house of our God to destroy it, and he gave it to them, they came and informed Simeon the righteous. What did he do? He put on the garments of a priest, and wrapped himself in the garments of a priest, and the beloved of Israel were with him, and torches of light in their hands, and all night long they went on this side and that side until the pillar of dawn rose.
When the dawn rose, he said to them (Alexander the Great to the Levites): Who are these?
They said to him: Jews who rebelled against you.
When he arrived at Antipater, a heat wave broke out, and they struck each other. When he saw Simon the righteous, he got down from his chariot and bowed down before him.
They said to him: "Will a great king like you bow down to this Jew?" He said to them: "The image of this man's portrait triumphs before me in my house of war.".
He said to them (Alexander the Great to the Jews): Why have you come?
They said: Is it possible that a house in which prayers are made for you and your kingdom will not be destroyed, and that Gentiles will conspire to destroy it?
He said to them: Who are these? (Who are these who want to destroy him?)
They said to him: These are the Kutites who stand before you.
He said to them: "They are in your hands.""
Nothing has changed.
In short, gentlemen, history repeats itself. The haters, the reasons, and also the international community that came to stir up trouble and give us a hard time. Only Shimon the Righteous has long since been gone, to teach those in charge of our well-being a lesson in effective diplomacy and, above all, common sense.
So if you meet a guy on the train with a green stocking cap and a schoolbag the size of a tank, make sure to pass the message on to him too.
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