Catastrophe Stands Nearby

Today marks the seventeenth of Tammuz, a fast day that commemorates the moment the Romans breached Jerusalem’s walls nearly two thousand years ago.  It culminates three weeks later in the full fast day of Tisha B’Av, the ninth of Av, that marks the destruction of the city, the Temple and our exile from our ancestral land.  Like 9-11 and October 7th these days are so painful to recount that their names are the dates history seared into our collective memories. 

The first century historian, Josephus, notes that Jerusalem’s streets were littered with dead.  The Romans were ruthless.  One million were killed.  One hundred thousand were carted off to Rome as slaves.  Jerusalem was leveled.  One might imagine that the rabbinic tales about these days would focus on these horrors and the Romans’ evil ways. 

Instead, the rabbis turn inward.  In answer to the question of how this calamity befell us they looked away from Rome’s misdeeds.  And in typical rabbinic fashion, they asked, “What did we do wrong?”  They ignore history and look within for explanations.  Their answer is contained in a famous Talmudic story.  Here it is.

A certain man had a friend named Kamza and an enemy named Bar Kamza. The man once threw a party and said to his servant: “Go and invite Kamza.”  The servant went and instead invited Bar Kamza. When the man saw Bar Kamza at his party he said to him: “You gossip about me; what are you doing here?  Get out!” 

Bar Kamza replied: “Since I am already here, let me stay, and I will pay you for whatever I eat and drink.”  The man said: “No!”  Bar Kamza said: “Then let me give you half the cost of the party.”  The man again said, “No!”  Bar Kamza said: “Then let me pay for the whole party.  The man still said, “No.”  And he took Bar Kamza by the hand and threw him out.

Bar Kamza then said: “Since the Rabbis were sitting there and did not stop the man this shows that they agreed with what he did.”  And he said to himself: “I will go and inform against them to the government.”

He went and said to the emperor: “The Jews are rebelling against you.”  The emperor said: “How can I be sure?”  Bar Kamza said to him: “Send them an offering and see whether they will sacrifice it.”  So the emperor sent him with a fine calf.  On the way he made a blemish in a place where the Jews count it as a blemish, but the Romans do not.

The Rabbis were inclined to sacrifice the offering in order not to offend the government. Said Rabbi Zechariah ben Abkulas to them: “But people will then say that we offer blemished animals on the altar.”  They then proposed to kill Bar Kamza so that he would not go and inform against them again.  But Rabbi Zechariah ben Abkulas said to them: “Is one who makes a blemish on consecrated animals to be put to death?”

Rabbi Yohanan thereupon remarked: “Because of the scrupulousness of Rabbi Zechariah ben Abkulas our House was destroyed, our Temple burned and we were exiled from our land.  (Babylonian Talmud, Gittin 55b)

What began with an angry exchange at a party spiraled out of control.  Eventually it brought the wrath of our enemies down upon us.  What began with Bar Kamza’s pain led to the suffering of each and every Jew.

The lesson is clear.  Catastrophe always stands nearby. It can begin with the smallest of acts.