שמעון בן יצחק

Simeon bar Isaac, Rabbi Shimon bar Yitzchak bar Avun of Mainz (שמעון בן יצחק), known as Rabbi Shimon HaGadol (c. 950–1020), was a rishon of early Ashkenaz: a rav, a mekubal (kabbalist), a shtadlan (one who pleads for the community before the rulers) and a paytan. He was a contemporary and friend of Rabbeinu Gershom Meor HaGolah, and was called “the Great” because of his greatness in every area of Torah. He came from one of the leading families of Ashkenaz, the grandson of Rabbi Avun HaGadol, and learned under Rabbi Meshullam bar Kalonymus. The Or Zarua relates that Rabbi Meshullam once sent a din Torah to him, but Rabbi Shimon would not decide it because he was young.

His piyyutim dwell much on the middah of anavah, and although he was older than Rabbeinu Gershom, he took no offense when Rabbeinu Gershom was appointed rav of Mainz, and the two remained friends. More titles were attached to his name than to any other early rav of Ashkenaz: tzaddik, one for whom miracles were done, kadosh, and more. He excelled in the revealed Torah and in the hidden Torah alike, and his piyyutim show his knowledge of kabbalah. The memorial book of the Mainz community notes that Rabbeinu Shimon bar Yitzchak labored on behalf of the communities and lit the eyes of the exile with his piyyutim.

A legend tells that his son Elchanan was taken as a small child and placed in a monastery, that he rose to become Pope Andreas, and that when he discovered who he was he left Christianity and was killed al kiddush Hashem by the Crusaders. In his piyyut “Melech Amon Maamarcha,” Rabbi Shimon worked the name of his son Elchanan into the acrostic, together with a blessing.

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