Where is Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai really buried?

EVIDENCE LACKING: Is Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai really buried at Meron? It’s complicated. On one hand some rock cut burials dating back to the time of the Mishna are present in Meron. On the other, no archaeological evidence linking them to the Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai was ever found (Rossella Tercatin, Jerusalem Post).

Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai (Yohai), who flourished during the early second-century, is the traditional (but pseudepigraphic) author of the Zohar (cf. here, here, and here). For more on his traditional tomb in Meron, see here and links (cf. here). His Yahrzeit (death anniversary) is traditionally commemorated on Lag B'Omer. This year the festivities at Mount Meron were marred by a tragic accident.

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