Biography
Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel is one of the most frequently cited tannaim in the classical sources preserved in our library. He appears across aggadic Midrash (Tanchuma passages on Beshalach, Vayetzei, Ki Teitzei, and others), in citations from Pirkei Avot, and in halachic codification, his rulings being invoked in such areas as the laws of judges (Choshen Mishpat), the restrictions of the eve of Tisha b’Av and the four cups (Orach Chaim 552), and mourning practice (Yoreh De’ah 344).
He is best remembered in these passages for two of his Mishnaic maxims. The first, quoted repeatedly (in Orchot Tzadikim and the Tanchuma on Vayetzei), is his teaching that “all my days I grew up among the Sages, and I found nothing better for the body than silence.” The second, cited at the opening of the laws of judges (Choshen Mishpat 1, with Rabbenu Yonah), is his statement that the world endures upon three things: justice (law), truth, and peace. He is also recorded reflecting on his own personal piety — for example, in a Midrash on Esau’s garments, where he contrasts his own service of his father with that of Esau.
Sources & notes. Dates and lineage per Wikidata.
Where traditions differ. Wikidata labels him as Shimon ben Gamliel II, but the cited passages refer simply to 'Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel'; identification of which sage of that name is intended in each passage is not independently verified here.
רַבַן שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן גַּמְלִיאֵל (רשב"ג) השני היה נשיא הסנהדרין באושא בדור שאחרי מרד בר כוכבא, בנו של רבן גמליאל. תנא בן הדור הרביעי, חברם של רבי מאיר, רבי יהושע בן קרחה ושאר תלמידי רבי עקיבא. בנו היה רבי יהודה הנשיא.
Simeon ben Gamaliel II was a Tanna of the third generation and president of the Great Sanhedrin. He was the son of Gamaliel II and father of Judah I.
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