Simeon the Just

So the mitzvah of kindness is one of the pillars on which the world stands.

Shimon HaTzadik says in Pirkei Avot, On three things does the world rest on the Torah.

What does that mean? Without the ethics and the morals of the Torah, the world will be destroyed.

Hitler came along to destroy a world which is based on ethics and morals.

So the mitzvah of kindness is one of the pillars on which the world stands.

Shimon HaTzadik says in Pirkei Avot, On three things does the world rest on the Torah.

What does that mean? Without the ethics and the morals of the Torah, the world will be destroyed.

Hitler came along to destroy a world which is based on ethics and morals.

But unlike, but the years of the wicked shall be shortened, this refers to the second temple, which stood for 420 years, during which more than 300 high priests served.

So even though the second temple actually lasted 10 years longer than the first temple, although it's interesting how close they are in terms of how long they lasted, there was so many more high priests, over 300, right? And Rabbi Yochanan notes, subtract from those years, the 40 years during which Shimon HaTzadik served, the 80 years during which Yochanan the High Priest served, the 10 years during which Yochanan ben Narbai served, and the 11 years during which Elazar ben Charsom served.

Um, so these are all obviously considered good priests, especially cause they've, they served for such a long, long periods of time.

So these are like the, the jewels amongst the rough in terms of the second temple.

But there's a Gemara that tells the story.

that when he came to Etz Yisroel, Shimon HaTzadik, Shimon Ken Godel, put on the big dikun of Godel, and he went out to greet his army.

They didn't want to panic, because this was a showing up, you know, they used to call these men gods, you know, human beings, gods.

And Shimon HaTzadik put on the big dikun of Godel, it seemed that he's showing him up.

And when Alexander smoked and saw Shimon HaTzadik, he got off his horse and he bowed to him.

So his general said, since when does a God bow to a man? And Alexander Smugdon says, when I go into battle, he goes into battle with me.

Which means what? If you think about it, that Shemin HaTzadik decided That the world is better off with Alexander Smugdon than it was better off with what was before Alexander Smugdon.

And after that time, Aved Hazara didn't go away overnight.

So therefore, everyone starts off idealistic and then afterwards they change.

So because of that, Shimon HaTzadik, the high priest, the Kohen God, would not eat from the sacrifice of a Nazir, but for one occasion.

There was a young man who came from the Galilee.

Very handsome, beautiful young man.

And he arrived because he was in Nazir.

So Shimon Hatzadik said, why would you want to be in Nazir? Don't you know, at the end of the Nazir process, after your hair has grown so long, you know what you've got to do? You've got to shave it all off.

It's part of the process.

Why would you do that? So he said, I'll tell you what happened.

So the mitzvah of kindness is one of the pillars on which the world stands.

Shimon HaTzadik says in Pirkei Avot, On three things does the world rest.

On the Torah.

What does that mean? Without the ethics and the morals of the Torah, the world will be destroyed.

Alexander asked Shema Tzadik, why have you come? Who are these terrible people that want to destroy your temple? So that's the miracle.

And then the Gemara asks, What was the header of Shimon HaTzadik to where they go on the outside, the Shalom, the Shalom, the Shalom, So once again, one might argue,

this is saving the entirety of Klal Yisrael.

It was a time of strife, of war.

Is it legitimate to use non-Jewish names? And I brought the interesting phenomena that Alexander today probably is more Jewish than Greek.

But I wrote, according to the Seder Ado, it is no wonder.

Because that is what Shimon Hatzadik promised Alexander when he spared the Beis Hamidosh.

So if all the

And thanks to the hard work of Ezra and Nehemiah, they started to build up, and they had trouble with the n- with the, the nations there, and they, and they surrounded the wall of Jerusalem, and they built the temple.

The head of the Jewish people at the time was a Kohen Gadol called Shimon HaTzadik.

He was called Shimon the Righteous.

Now, during the Second Temple period, the Kohen Gadol, the high priest, was occupied by very few Tzadikim, because later it became something that you just bought.

Shimon HaTzadik was one of the greatest, and he was Kohen Gadol for 40 years.

He was acknowledged as the leader of the Jews, and the Persians respected him as well.

In Israel at the time, there were a group of people who were very much trouble for us.

I'll go and I'll destroy the temple." And Alexander starts marching towards Jerusalem.