Ninth of Av (Historical Analysis) – Part 2

Destruction of Second Temple

Introduction

The Talmud (Taanit 29a) establishes Tisha B’Av as the date of the destruction of the Second Temple on the principle of “Good things occur on an auspicious day and bad things on an ominous day.” Josephus, a Jewish historian at the time of this war, puts the date of the destruction as the 10^th of Av (Chapter 6 – Of the War). However we can assume that like the first temple, the burning started on the 9th towards late afternoon with the main burning on the 10^th. He also recorded that the battle for Jerusalem started a few days after Passover and concluded on the 8^th of Elul, about one month after the burning of the temple. The destruction of the second temple and the Bar Kochva rebellion led to the exile of Edom (fourth exile as described in Daniel 7:7-8), which still applies today. In addition the lessons of baseless hatred and overconfidence are timeless and provide a moral framework for introspection on the 9^th of Av.

Cause for the Destruction of the Second Temple

In addition to recording the dates of these calamites, the Talmud investigates their moral cause to answer the obvious question, “Why did Hashem not protect his people?” and to provide instruction for the future. The Talmud Yoma 9b answers that the first temple was destroyed because the Israelites committed the three major sins – idolatry, forbidden marital relations, and murder. However, during the Second Temple period were engaged in Torah study, observance of mitzvoth, and acts of kindness and therefore not guilty of these sins. Rather the Second Temple was destroyed because of baseless hatred between Israelites. This comes to teach you that the sin of baseless hatred is equivalent to the three major sins (Yoma 9b). The story of Kamtza and Bar Kamtza illustrates this point as follows.

Kamta and Bar Kamtza

The Talmud (Gittin 55b) relates that there was a man whose friend was named Kamtza and his enemy Bar Kamtza. This man prepared a large feast and asked his servant to invite Kamtza. By mistake the servant invited Bar Kamtza. When the host saw Bar Kamtza at the banquet, he asked him to leave. To avoid embarrassment, Bar Kamtza asked to stay and was willing to pay for his meal. The host refused and insisted that he leave. In turn Bar Kamtza was prepared to pay for the entire banquet. The host refused and eventually ejected Bar Kamtza. After leaving, Bar Kamtza reasoned since the rabbis who were present did not protest they must have agreed to his public humiliation.

As a result, Bar Kamtza sought revenge and became an informant against the Jews. He went to the Roman emperor saying that the Jews were rebelling against Rome and this claim may be verified by sending an animal offering to the temple in Jerusalem. If the Jews refuse the offering they do not recognize the authority of Rome. To bolster his claim, Bar Kamtza purposely blemished the animal to prevent its offer on the altar. The rabbis were faced with a dilemma, either offer a blemished animal or kill the informant. They could not come to a conclusion and left the animal unoffered resulting in Roman retaliation. Secular historians, based on Josephus, understand that the zealots did not let the rabbis offer the animal to provoke a rebellion against Rome.

Burning of Storage Houses

The Talmud (ibid. 56a) relates that three wealthy residents of Jerusalem were prepared to provide the city with the necessities of grain, oil, and fire wood for 21 years. However the zealots thwarted their plan of resisting the Roman siege. The sages said to the zealots, “Let us make peace with the Romans” and save many lives. The zealots refused the peace offer and in turn said to the sages, “Let us go out and fight the Romans.” The sages replied “You will not be successful”. The sages realized that Rome was too powerful and the Israelites lacked the merit to overcome Rome.

With this standoff, the zealots decided to burn the storehouses of grain and thereby force the residents to engage in battle rather than waiting out the siege and expecting Rome to withdraw. This resulted in widespread famine and a weakening of the zealot forces. In addition the zealots fought amongst themselves resulting in many deaths thereby losing the moral advantage against Rome. In this context the Talmud says that baseless hatred led to the destruction of the temple.

Negotiation with Rome (Gittin 56a and Lamentations Rabah 1:31)

During the Roman siege, Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai realized that the rebellion against Rome was doomed because the Israelites lacked the physical strength to fight Rome. After burning the storage houses the Israelites were reduced to boiling straw and drinking its water. He felt that the he had to take action to save what he could through some form of negotiation with Rome. Abba Sikkara was the leader of the zealots and a nephew of Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai. The Rabbi sent a message to his nephew, “Come to me in secret”, because the zealots would not have agreed to any open negotiation with Rome.

When he came, the rabbi said to his nephew, “Until when, will you kill everyone through starvation?” His nephew replied, “What can I do, if I mention any peace initiative the zealots will kill me.” Aware of the difficulty of the situation, the Rabbi responded, “Show me a method to leave the city and attempt a small salvation by speaking to the Roman authorities.” His nephew said the he should attempt the following ruse. He should pretend to be mortally sick, feign death, be placed in a coffin, and be carried out by his students for burial. Once out of Jerusalem he would meet the Roman authorities. The rabbi followed his plan and eventually met Vespasian. During the meeting, the rabbi predicted that Vespasian would become Caesar and asked for some form of clemency.

Lessons: Avoid hatred between Israelites, maintain supplies when in war, and attempt negotiation with a world power.