Rabbinical eras |
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Simeon the Yemenite ( Hebrew: שמעון התֵּימָנִי, translit: Shimon HaTeimani) or the variant Simeon of Timnah ( Hebrew: שמעון התִּימְנִי, romanized: Shimon HaTimni) (fl. c. 80 - 120 CE) [1] was a third-generation Tanna of possible Yemenite origin who was active in Judaea. [2]
He was one of the three Simeons who were considered among the great "students" of the generation before the Bar Kokhba Revolt, the other two being Ben Azzai and Ben Zoma. [3] His teachers were Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah, Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Tarfon. [4] [5] He had a daily study session with Judah ben Baba. [6] His teachings recorded in the Mishnah and Baraitot generally refer to matters of Halakhah, only a few being of an Aggadic nature. [4] Renowned for his ability to solve complex issues, [7] he was one of the most important sages of the Sanhedrin in Jabneh and was among the few who were proficient in seventy languages. [4] He reportedly died at a young age before gaining ordination and is therefore never referred to as "Rabbi". [7]
He is noted for saying: "A bastard is anyone who is born from an [illegal] union for which his parents are liable to kareth", [8] and which teaching comes to exclude a single parent who gave birth to a child outside of wedlock, and whose child is often wrongly called " bastard" under common law.
There is a dispute regarding Rabbi Simeon's origin, whether he was from Yemen or from the Judean town of Timnah. This is due to a variant reading of the Hebrew word "תימני" which can either be pronounced as "Teimani" or "Timni". A reference in tractate Ketubot is identified by Adin Steinsaltz as being "Shimon HaTimni", named so after his native town of Timnah. [4] This is a position taken by earlier commentators, such as Rashi ( Ta'anit 19a), Bartenura ( Mishnah Ta'anit 3, 7) and Machzor Vitri. [9] Steinsaltz suggest's he was active in his hometown, though he seems to have spent much of his time in the academy at Jabneh. [4] Other commentators believe this tanna was from Yemen, a view taken by Jacob Emden. [10] One attempt to reconcile the issue based on a list of tannaim prepared by Maimonides suggests that there were in fact two rabbis, one from Yemen and one from Timnah. [11] Another view suggests that he was from Teman, an important city of ancient Edom, [12] a view ratified by the Jewish Encyclopedia which calls him "Simeon of Teman". [13]
Rabbinical eras |
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Simeon the Yemenite ( Hebrew: שמעון התֵּימָנִי, translit: Shimon HaTeimani) or the variant Simeon of Timnah ( Hebrew: שמעון התִּימְנִי, romanized: Shimon HaTimni) (fl. c. 80 - 120 CE) [1] was a third-generation Tanna of possible Yemenite origin who was active in Judaea. [2]
He was one of the three Simeons who were considered among the great "students" of the generation before the Bar Kokhba Revolt, the other two being Ben Azzai and Ben Zoma. [3] His teachers were Rabbi Joshua ben Hananiah, Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Tarfon. [4] [5] He had a daily study session with Judah ben Baba. [6] His teachings recorded in the Mishnah and Baraitot generally refer to matters of Halakhah, only a few being of an Aggadic nature. [4] Renowned for his ability to solve complex issues, [7] he was one of the most important sages of the Sanhedrin in Jabneh and was among the few who were proficient in seventy languages. [4] He reportedly died at a young age before gaining ordination and is therefore never referred to as "Rabbi". [7]
He is noted for saying: "A bastard is anyone who is born from an [illegal] union for which his parents are liable to kareth", [8] and which teaching comes to exclude a single parent who gave birth to a child outside of wedlock, and whose child is often wrongly called " bastard" under common law.
There is a dispute regarding Rabbi Simeon's origin, whether he was from Yemen or from the Judean town of Timnah. This is due to a variant reading of the Hebrew word "תימני" which can either be pronounced as "Teimani" or "Timni". A reference in tractate Ketubot is identified by Adin Steinsaltz as being "Shimon HaTimni", named so after his native town of Timnah. [4] This is a position taken by earlier commentators, such as Rashi ( Ta'anit 19a), Bartenura ( Mishnah Ta'anit 3, 7) and Machzor Vitri. [9] Steinsaltz suggest's he was active in his hometown, though he seems to have spent much of his time in the academy at Jabneh. [4] Other commentators believe this tanna was from Yemen, a view taken by Jacob Emden. [10] One attempt to reconcile the issue based on a list of tannaim prepared by Maimonides suggests that there were in fact two rabbis, one from Yemen and one from Timnah. [11] Another view suggests that he was from Teman, an important city of ancient Edom, [12] a view ratified by the Jewish Encyclopedia which calls him "Simeon of Teman". [13]