Recognized for hundreds of years as an area where Druze and Jews lived peacefully together, Peki'in is notable for its place in Jewish history. In Jewish tradition, Peki'in is famous for a local cave in which Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and his son, Rabbi Elazar ben Shimon, hid from the Romans for 13 years after the collapse of the Bar Kochba rebellion against Roman rule. According to legend, Rabbi Shimon and his son lived off spring water and the fruit of a miraculous carob tree during their years of hiding, and passed the time by writing books about Jewish mysticism. It was there that he is said to have written the Zohar, the most important book in the Kabbalah.