Parshat Devarim

A Re-reading of Kamtza and Bar Kamtza

Parshat Devarim is always the Shabbat before Tisha Be'Av, the anniversary of the destruction of our Temple and Jerusalem, the most horrific day in the Jewish calendar.

We have noted in a previous Sedra Short the connection between the parsha and Tisha Be'Av (see below from 2006).

This week I would to like to offer a re-reading of the story of Kamtza and bar Kamtza, the story behind the destruction of the Temple, as it appears in Gittin .

It begins with Rabbi Yochanan stating that Jerusalem was destroyed because of Kamtza and Bar Kamtza. Essentially a wealthy man wants to invite his good friend Kamtza to a feast, but a mix up occurs and his enemy Bar Kamtza comes instead. The man is furious and ejects Bar Kamtza from the feast, despite long pleas, in which Bar Kamtza offers to pay for the whole feast but not suffer the humiliation of being evicted. Bar Kamtza decides that since the rabbis who attended the feast did not intervene to save him from embarrassment, he would slander the Jews to the Romans.

Bar Kamtza persuades Caesar to send a sacrifice to the Temple to test the loyalty of the Jews. He then makes a minor blemish on the animal, in order to make it unfit for sacrifice. The rabbis at the Temple debate what they should do, after all the animal came from Caesar. Some rabbis suggested that they should make the sacrifice regardless, but Rabbi ben Zecharia Avkulos objected as people would then think that it was permitted to sacrifice animals with blemishes. It was suggested that Bar Kamtza be executed so that he could not report back to Caesar. Again Rabi Zecharia ben Avkolus objected as people would say that someone who offers a blemished sacrifice is liable for execution.

The animal was therefore not sacrificed and Caesar considered this a rebellion and sent his troops to destroy the city. The story ends with Rabbi Yochanan blaming the scrupulousness of Rabbi Zechariah ben Avkolus for destroying the Temple.

There are two questions we must ask:

• Is this story actually true? Were there really two men with similar names with one being a close friend and the other an enemy of a wealthy man?

• Rabbi Yochanan first blames Kamtza and Bar Kamtza and then at the end of the story blames Rabbi Zecharia ben Avkolus. Whose fault was it really?

Firstly, I think it is likely that the story is a metaphor for the state of the Jewish people at the time. Two people, Kamtza and Bar Kamtza, were pretty much the same. The only difference between them was the "Bar" – a minor difference. Yet, that very small difference, possibly in ideology, was enough for him to be hated by the other side. And despite the fact that it was only a minor difference, there could be no rapprochement whatsoever.

The Jews of Judea had so much in common with each other. Yet the minor differences between the groups became positions of such stiff hatred. They could only focus on what was different and could not see that they were one people with the same goals.

Secondly, we should note that both course of actions suggested to Rabbi Yochanan Ben Avkilus were permitted as it was an exreme situation. He was only concerned as to what people might think and was therefore, machmir, strict.

Rabbi Yochanan, therefore, is making a stunning indictment of the rabbis of the Second Temple. They were so worried about what people might think regarding ritual that they were overtly strict in keeping to the letter of the law when it came to Caesar's sacrifice. However, when it came to the feelings of Bar Kamtza, they were silent, and were unconcerned as to what others might think. Rabbi Yochanan is saying that the rabbis were not careful when it came to social laws, "Bein Adam le'Havero", yet overtly strict when it came to ritual laws, "bein Adam laMakom". It should have been the other way around.

Unfortunately, this story sounds too familiar.

Last year's Sedra Short on Parshat Devarim, entitled: "A 38 Year Perspective" appears at http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2008/08/parshat-devarim-38-year-perspective-in.html

Another Sedra Short on Parshat Devarim, entitled: " Fighting in the Mountains" appears at http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2007/07/parshat-devarim-fighting-in-mountains.html

A further Sedra Short on Parshat Devarim, entitled: "Devarim, Chazon and Tisha Be'Av" appears http://parshablog.blogspot.com/2006/07/parshat-devarim-devarim-chazon-and.html.