important than the interests and rights of the individual, and the latter must be sacrificed to the former. He especially strove to maintain the authority of the magistrates; according to his opinion the decisions of a court of law must be upheld, even though a slight error has been made; otherwise its dignity would suffer. Simeon's decisions are mostly founded on sound common sense and an intimate acquaintance with the subjects treated, and, with three exceptions, his views, as set forth in the Mishnah, have been accepted as valid. He often cites the conditions of the past, which he learned probably from the traditions of his house, and which are highly important for the knowledge of older customs and habits. He speaks of the earlier festive celebrations in Jerusalem on the Fifteenth of Ab and on the Day of Atonement; of the customs followed there at meals when guests were present; of the work on the pools of Siloah; of the nature of the marriage contract and the bill of divorce. Aggadah Simeon praised the Samaritans for observing more strictly than did the Israelites such commandments of the Torah as they recognized. The Bible is in many places to be understood figuratively rather than literally. Quotes "Great is peace, for Aaron the priest became famous only because he sought peace". "Justice must be accorded to non-Jews as to Jews; the former should have the option of seeking judgment before either a Jewish or a pagan court". Monuments (i.e. tombstones) are not erected for the righteous, for their words are their memorials. In three things do I praise the men of the East: That they do not exchange kisses with their mouths, but with their hands; that they do not bite into [a loaf of] bread, but will first cut it with a knife; and that they do not take counsel except in a broad place, for they do not consult the advice [of another] except in the field. References Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography: Heilprin, Seder ha-Dorot, ii. 368-370; Frankel, Hodegetica in Mischnam, pp. 178–185; Weiss, Dor ii. 171–177; Brüll, Einleitung in die Mischna, i. 203–209; , in Monatsschrift, 1864, pp. 81–97, 121-133; Grätz, Gesch. iv. 173, 187–189; Bacher, Ag. Tan. ii. 322-334. Mishnah rabbis 2nd-century rabbis Sanhedrin