Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai (Rashbi)

Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai was a major 2nd-century Tanna and one of the most famous students of Rabbi Akiva. He lived during the Roman period after the Bar Kokhba revolt and is remembered for resisting Roman influence. Jewish tradition connects him with hiding in a cave with his son and later becoming one of the great mystical figures of Judaism.

He is traditionally associated with the Zohar and later Kabbalistic tradition, though modern scholars debate that attribution. His tomb in Meron became one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Jewish tradition, especially on Lag BaOmer.