“God said: This is the sign of the covenant that I place between Me and you, and every living soul that is with you, for eternal generations” (Genesis 9:12). “God said: This is the sign of the covenant that I place between Me and you…for eternal generations [ledorot]” – ledorot is written [missing two vavs], to exclude two generations;4The abbreviated spelling intimates that not all generations required this sign. the generation of Hezekiah, and the generation of the members of the Great Assembly.5During these two generations a rainbow was never seen, as it was unnecessary.
Rabbi Ḥizkiya omits the generation of the members of the Great Assembly and substitutes the generation of Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai. Elijah of blessed memory and Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi were sitting and studying Mishna together. They came across a teaching of Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai.6And they had a disagreement regarding some detail of the teaching. They said: ‘The author of the teaching is right here,7They referred to the grave of Rabbi Shimon, which was located in a cave nearby. let us go in and ask him.’
Elijah of blessed memory went in to him. He [Rabbi Shimon’s spirit] said to him: ‘Who is with you?’ He said: ‘It is the foremost figure of the generation, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi.’ He said to him: ‘Has a rainbow ever been sighted in his days?’
He said to him: ‘Yes.’ He said: ‘If a rainbow has been sighted in his days, he is not worthy to see my countenance.’ Rabbi Ḥizkiya said in the name of Rabbi Yirmeya: Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai once said as follows: ‘Valley, valley be filled with gold dinars.’ And it became filled.
Rabbi Ḥizkiya said in the name of Rabbi Yirmeya: Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai once said as follows: ‘If Abraham would wish to do so, he could draw near everyone8If he would want to, he could draw all of them closer to God and grant them a share in the World to Come, on the basis of his own merit. from his contemporaries through to my contemporaries, and I would draw near everyone from my contemporaries until the advent of the messianic king.
And if he does not wish to do so, Aḥiya the Shilonite could join me and together we could draw near everyone from Abraham to the advent of the messianic king.’ Rabbi Ḥizkiya said in the name of Rabbi Yirmeya: Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai said the following: ‘The world cannot endure if there are fewer than thirty men living who are as righteous as Abraham our patriarch. If there are thirty [in the world at present], I and my son are two of them.
If there are twenty,9Twenty righteous people of a higher caliber. I and my son are among them. If there are ten, I and my son are among them. If there are five, I and my son are among them. If there are two, I and my son are they. If there is only one, it is I.’