רבי שמעון בן יוסי

Rabbi Shimon ben Yosi was a tanna whose teachings appear in both the midrashic and halachic literature. In the aggadic midrashim he draws lessons from the Torah’s narratives: on the verse describing Moshe’s arrival at Chorev (Shemot), he teaches that Moshe’s flock walked forty days without tasting anything, comparing it to Eliyahu’s journey of forty days. His comments are also found in Esther Rabbah, Kohelet Rabbah, and Devarim Rabbah, set among the words of other sages of his circle.

In the halachic realm he is recorded engaging the teachings of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. In Zevachim he poses a question to Rabbi Yosi about whether there is open space between the ramp and the altar, citing Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. In Horayot he brings a teaching in the name of Rabbi Shimon, deriving from the verse in Vayikra that one who turns back from his sin upon realizing it brings an offering for his error, while one who does not turn back from it does not.