Simeon ben Jehozadak
SIMEON BEN JEHOZADAK
SIMEON BEN JEHOZADAK (first half of the third century), Palestinian amora. Simeon, who came of a family of priests, was the teacher of *Johanan, who transmitted halakhah and aggadah in his name (Yoma 22b, et al.). His name may also be mentioned in a baraita in Sukkah 11b (see Tos. ibid.; but see also the reading on 33a there). He died in Lydda and *Yannai and Johanan were among those who attended his funeral (tj, Naz. 7:1, 56a). Among his aggadic dicta are "Any scholar who does not avenge himself and retains anger like a serpent is no scholar" (Yoma 22b) and "A man should not appoint an administrator over the community unless he has a basket of reptiles suspended on his back, so that if he becomes arrogant, he can say to him: Turn around!" (ibid.). The Talmud (Sanh. 26a) relates that he once went with Ḥiyya b. Zarnuki to intercalate the year at Asia (Ezion-Geber on the bank of the Red Sea – see Klein (ed.), Sefer ha-Yishuv (1939), s.v.). On their way they saw men working their fields in the sabbatical year. *Simeon b. Lakish, who accompanied them, criticized these men, but Simeon b. Jehozadak justified their action. It is possible, however, that the reference is to another amora of the same name.
bibliography:
Hyman, Toledot, s.v.; Ḥ. Albeck, Mavo la-Talmudim (1969), 161.
[Yitzhak Dov Gilat]