Iyar 15

Yahrtzeit of Rabbi Meir Baal HaNeis (second century), a prominent scholar whose opinion is quoted more than any other in Mishnaic literature. Rabbi Meir studied under the great Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Yishmael, and was one of five scholars ordained during the persecutions that followed the Bar Kochva revolt. Rabbi Meir's wife was the famous wise woman, Beruriah. When their two sons died, she broke the news gently and comforted him. Rabbi Meir is buried on a hillside overlooking the Sea of Galilee, and today his tomb is a popular place of pilgrimage and prayer. (Some sources list his yahrtzeit as Iyar 14.)