"To be a teacher in the right sense is to be a learner.  I am not a teacher, only a fellow student."  (Soren Kierkegaard)

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A FEW PRE-SHABBAT WORDS FROM RABBI AARON

Eve of Destruction
On this Shabbat we read the third (and final) "haftarah of warning" - the 9th of Av is around the corner. As we find ourselves in the shadow of this sorrowful day, let's revisit the petty struggle between Kamza and Bar Kamza. The needless heartache they unleash should serve as a much-needed cautionary tale.

Devouring Hatred - A Slice of Talmud
R. Johanan said: What is illustrative of the verse, "Happy is the man that is always filled with reverence, but he that hardens his heart shall fall into mischief?" The destruction of Jerusalem came through a Kamza and a Bar Kamza...A certain man had a friend Kamza and an enemy Bar Kamza. He once made a party and said to his servant, Go and bring Kamza. The man went and brought Bar Kamza. 

When the man who gave the party found him there he said, See, you tell tales about me; what are you doing here? Get out! 
Said the other: Since I am here, let me stay, and I will pay you for whatever I eat and drink.
He said: I won't. 
Then let me give you half the cost of the party. 
No, said the other. 
Then let me pay for the whole party. 
He still said, No!, and he grabbed him by the hand and threw him out.

Said the other to himself - seething with rage, Since the Rabbis were sitting there and did not stop him, this shows that they agreed with him. I will go and inform against then, to the Government. 

He went and said to the Emperor, The Jews are rebelling against you. 
He said, How can I tell? 
He said to him: Send them an offering and see whether they will offer it on the altar. 

So he sent with him a fine calf. While on the way he made a blemish on its upper lip, or as some say on the white of its eye, in a place where we Jews count it a blemish but they do not. The Rabbis were inclined to offer it in order not to offend the Government. 

Said Rabbi Zechariah ben Abkulas to them: People will say that blemished animals are offered on the altar. 
They then proposed to kill Bar Kamza so that he should not go and inform against them, 
but Rabbi Zechariah ben Abkulas said to them, Is one who makes a blemish on consecrated animals to be put to death? 

Rabbi Johanan thereupon remarked: Through the "scrupulousness" of Rabbi Zechariah ben Abkulas our House has been destroyed, our Temple burnt and we ourselves exiled from our land.

Lessons Learned (or Not)

1.       When our people turn upon each other out of pettiness and jealousy, the damage done far exceeds the designs of our enemies.

2.       If we witness someone being humiliated and we hold our tongue (because we want to avoid creating a scene), we acquire a share of the blame for the wrongdoing.

3.   Our Rabbinic leadership, in its meticulous pursuit of ritual perfection, sometimes loses its focus, and the resulting failures are catastrophic.

Tisha B'av principally marks the tragic destructions of the two temples. But our sages considerably enlarged the focus by handing down food for thought, such as the famous tale told above. The scorching fires of baseless hatred have been a part of humanity's struggle through the ages; they still threaten. Tisha B'av - for good reason - has become a serious Facing Ourselves moment.

Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi Aaron

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