Simeon the Just
Simeon the Righteous or Simeon the Just (Hebrew: שִׁמְעוֹן הַצַּדִּיק Šimʿōn Haṣṣaddīq) was a Jewish High Priest during the Second Temple period. He is also referred to in the Mishnah, where he is described as one of the last members of the Great Assembly.[1]
Commemoration[edit]
His personality, and the high esteem in which he was held, are shown by a poem in Sirach which compares him, at the moment of his exit from the Holy of Holies, to the sun, moon, and stars, and to the most magnificent plants.[18] This poem appeared with certain changes in the Yom Kippur mussaf service, known by the title Mareh Kohen.
Without the presence of Shimon HaTzaddik among them, the Jewish people were no longer worthy of the miracles that had occurred during his lifetime. For this reason, following his death, the priests, refrained from blessing the Jewish people with the explicit name of God, the Tetragrammaton in the priestly blessing.[19]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the : Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Simeon the Just". The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
