Rabbi Shimon ben Halafta was invited to a brit milah — the circumcision ceremony of a newborn child. He came, he prayed, and through the power of his prayer, the life of the infant, which had been in danger, was saved. The ceremony was completed in joy.
But on his way home, Rabbi Shimon encountered something unexpected. A group of children saw the old sage walking along the road and began to mock him. They threw insults, laughed, and made sport of the man who had just saved a baby's life through prayer.
Rabbi Shimon was a man of immense spiritual power — the same power that had just healed an infant. When the children's mockery became unbearable, he exercised that power in a different direction. He caused the house where the children lived to collapse.
But even in his anger, Rabbi Shimon was careful. He saved the owner of the house — an innocent man who bore no responsibility for the children's behavior. The structure fell, but its owner was pulled from the rubble unharmed.
When the homeowner learned what had happened — and who had caused it — he found Rabbi Shimon and begged forgiveness for the children's behavior. The sage accepted, and the matter was closed.
The story captures a tension that runs throughout rabbinic literature: the same spiritual power that heals can also destroy. The sage who saves a child at a brit milah can topple a house when provoked. Power does not come with a built-in governor. It responds to the will of its wielder — and even the righteous can be pushed too far. The sages preserved this story as both an illustration of Rabbi Shimon's extraordinary abilities and a warning about the responsibility that comes with them.