Kever of Rabi Shimon bar Yochai Closed, First Time in Memory

Meron – For the first time in memory, the kever of Rabi Shimon bar Yochai was padlocked shut, its sainted interior closed to petitioners over coronavirus fears.

The makom kodosh in the northern Israel village of Meron always has at least a few dozen people there at all hours of the day or night. Authorities have hesitated to close it, even as nearly every other shul in the country was shut.

The closure happened shortly after the last minyan recited the Tehillim and tefillos for the yom tefilla ordered by gedolim.

The closure will last “until further notice.”