זוהר ויקרא — דף טו ע”א

Rabbi Yossi explains 'Vayachel Noach, man of the earth' - in the sense of profanation, for it was his fault (not pleading for mercy) that the people of the world were destroyed; therefore the flood bears his name, 'the waters of Noah.' From this comes a sign: in the days of a righteous man who pleads for mercy and protects the world (such as Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai), the rainbow need not appear, for 'he rules over man' - the Holy One, blessed be He, decrees and the righteous man annuls. It is told that Rabbi Shimon saw a sign in the sun, which darkened three times; he went out with his son Rabbi Elazar, met a serpent, subdued it and sent it to tell the 'upper serpent' that Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai is present in the world, decreeing that it return to the abyss. After prayer, a voice was heard announcing that the destroying angels were annulled by his merit, like Moshe ('Vayechal Moshe'). When the sun shone again, Rabbi Shimon expounded the verse 'the upright shall behold His face': when people's deeds are proper, the Holy Ancient One is revealed within the Small Face, and the faces gaze upon one another directly, so that all the worlds are blessed and become one - 'the Lord is One and His Name is One.'