The Aggadah (non-legal rabbinic narrative) of Shimon Kefa preserves a remarkable tradition about how the early Jewish sages worked to establish a clear separation between the Jewish community and the emerging sectarian movement that broke away from it.
According to this midrash, the Jewish elders grew deeply troubled. The sectarians were persecuting Jews, and the boundaries between the communities had become dangerously blurred. Something had to be done — not through violence, but through clarity. The sages needed someone wise enough and brave enough to go among the sectarians and draw an unmistakable line.
Shimon Kefa — a righteous man who had mastered the ineffable Name — volunteered for this impossible mission. He went to the sectarian capital and, through signs and wonders, won their trust. Once he had their ear, he established new laws for them: they would observe different holy days, different dietary practices, different customs. The separation would be total.
The key teaching he gave them was this: "From now on, you shall not harm any Jew. If a Jew asks you to walk one mile, walk with him two. If a Jew is wronged, do not wrong him in return." Through this act of strategic separation, Shimon Kefa protected the Jewish community while ensuring that the two paths would never again be confused.
The sages praised his sacrifice. He had willingly entered the lion's den to save his people — and the tradition preserves his memory as one who gave up his own standing for the sake of Israel.
The Legend of Simeon Kefa And it was after these events, and there arose a great strife between the Christians and the Jews. For when a Christian would see a Jew, he would kill him, and the distress kept increasing for thirty years. And the Christians gathered by the thousands and ten thousands, and they prevented Israel from making the pilgrimage festival, and there was great distress in Israel like the day the [golden] calf was made, and they did not know what to do. But their faith strengthened more and more. And twelve men went out and traveled through the twelve kingdoms, and they prophesied false prophecies in the camp, and Israel strayed after them. And they were men of renown, and they strengthened the belief in Jesus, for they said they were his emissaries, and many of the children of Israel gathered after them. And the sages saw this evil thing, and it was very grievous to them. And a man said to his fellow, “Woe to us, for we have sinned, that this evil has come about in Israel in our days, that we and our fathers never heard of. And they were very distressed, and they sat and wept, and they lifted their eyes to heaven. And they said, “Please, Hashem, God of heaven, give us advice what to do, for we do not know what to do, and our eyes are upon You. For innocent blood has been spilled among Your people Israel because of that man. How long will this be a stumbling block for us, that [the belief in] Jesus strengthens the Christians against us, and they kill us - so many, and we remain few? And because of the stumbling blocks of Your people, the House of Israel, this has come about. And for the sake of Your name, give us advice what to do, to be separated from the congregation of Christians.” And it was when they finished speaking, an elder of the elders arose, and his name was Simeon Kefa, and he communicated with a heavenly voice. And he said to them: “Hear me, my brothers and people - if it is good in your eyes, I will separate these men from the congregation of the children of Israel, and they will have no portion or inheritance among Israel. But you must take upon yourselves the sin.” And they all answered and said, “We take upon ourselves the sin, but do as you have spoken.” And Simeon Kefa went inside the Temple, and he wrote the great name and tore his flesh and placed the writing inside it. And he left the Temple and took out the writing and studied the name. And he went to the Christian metropolis and cried out in a loud voice and said, “All who believe in Jesus, come to me, for I am his emissary.” And they said to him, “Give us a sign and miracle.” And he said, “What sign do you request from me?” And they said, “Perform for us the same miracles that Jesus performed in his lifetime.” And Simeon Kefa said, “Bring me a leper.” And they brought him one. And he placed his hands on him, and behold, he was healed. And he said to them, “Bring me a corpse.” And they brought one before him. And he placed his hand on him, and he came to life and stood on his feet. And those men saw and fell on their faces to the ground, and they said to him, “Truly, you are the emissary of Jesus, for he did thus for us in his lifetime.” And Simeon Kefa said to them, “I am the emissary of Jesus, and he commanded me to go to you. Swear to me that you will do everything that I command you.” And they all answered and said, “We will do everything you tell us.” And Simeon Kefa said to them, “Know that Jesus hated Israel and their Torah, as Isaiah prophesied, ‘Your new moons and appointed festivals my soul hates' (Isaiah 1:14). And further know that he does not desire Israel, as Hosea prophesied, ‘For you are not my people' (Hosea 1:9). And even though he has the power to uproot them from the world in an instant, in any case he does not want to destroy them entirely. Rather, he wants to leave them in order that his hanging and stoning will be remembered for all generations. And most of the great affliction that he suffered, all the torments, was in order to redeem you from Gehenna. And now he warns you and commands you not to do any more evil to any Jew. And if a Jew says to a Christian, ‘Come with me a mile,’ he shall go with him two miles. And if a Jew strikes him on the left cheek, he shall turn to him the right cheek as well - so that they will receive their reward in this world, while in the world to come they will be judged to Gehenna. And if you do thus, you will merit to dwell with him in his portion. And behold, he commands you not to celebrate the festival of Matzot anymore. Rather, celebrate the day of his death. And instead of Shavuot, celebrate forty days from when he was stoned and ascended to heaven. And instead of Sukkot, celebrate his birthday. And on the eighth day of his birth, celebrate the day on which he was circumcised. And they all answered and said, “We will do everything you have spoken, if only you stay with us.”And he said, “I will dwell among you, if you do for me as he commanded me - not to eat any food except dry bread and measured water. And you must build me a tower in the city, and I will dwell in it until the day of my death.” And they said, “As you speak, so shall we do.” And they built a tower for him, and he dwelled in the tower as his home. And they provided his daily ration, bread and water, until the day of his death. And he served the God of our fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And he composed very many liturgical poems, and he sent them throughout all the borders of Israel, so it would serve as a memorial for all generations. And all the liturgical poems he composed, he sent to his rabbis. And Simeon dwelled in the tower for six years, and then he died. And they instructed to bury him in the tower, and they did so. Afterwards they built upon it a magnificent building, and this tower still stands in Rome, and they call it Peter, which is a name meaning “stone”, because he dwelled there on a stone until the day of his death.
