Because of mount zion, which lies desolate;

Jackals prowl over it

On another occasion they were coming up to Jerusalem together, and just as they came to Mount Scopus they saw a jackal emerging from the Holy of Holies. They fell a-weeping and R. Akiva seemed merry. Wherefore, said they to him, are you merry? Said he: Wherefore are you weeping? Said they to him: A place of which it was once said, And the common man that draweth nigh shall be put to death, is now become the haunt of jackals, and should we not weep? Said he to them: Therefore am I merry; for it is written: And I will take to Me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest and Zecharia the Son of Berechiah. Now what connection has this Uriah the priest to Zechariah? Uriah lived during the times of the first Temple, while Zechariah lived [and prophesied] during the second Temple; but Holy-Writ likened the prophecy of Zechariah to the prophecy of Uriah. In the [earlier] prophecy of Uriah it is written, Therefore shall Zion for your sake be ploughed as a field, etc. In Zechariah it is written, Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, There shall yet old men and old women in the squares of Jerusalem. So long as Uriah's [threatening] prophecy had not its fulfillment, I had misgivings lest Zachariah's prophecy not be fulfilled; now that Uriah's prophecy has been [literally] fulfilled, it is quite certain that Zechariah's prophecy also is to find its fulfillment. Said they to him: Akiva, you have comforted us! Akiva, you have comforted us!

(Bavli, Makkot 24b, Soncino edition)

 

Because of Mt. Zion which lies desolate, jackals prowl over it. - Said they to him: Akiva, you always puzzle us; we weep and you laugh! They suspected that he laughed because he believed that Ben Koziva was the Messiah, and the Children of Israel will be saved by him. Said he to them etc. and I rejoiced because as the words of Uriah were fulfilled, so will ultimately the words of Zechariah etc, and even if the words of Zecharia will reach fulfillment only at the end, in the distant future, I am comforted. And thus the phrasing "Akiva, you have comforted us" - Be comforted with the footsteps of the herald, meaning, [be comforted] with the Messiah who is preceded by a herald, and, as is written (Bavli, Eruvin 43b) "The Messiah will arrive only when preceded by Eliyahul", but [salvation] will not come through Bar Kochba, who was not preceded by a herald.

 (Meshekh Hokhmah, ibid., ibid.)

 

 

Rabbi Akiva, who was able to delve deeply into both thought and faith, to the point at which - standing by the ruins of the Temple and his companions are in tears - he is merry! You are all acquainted with the legend at the end of Tractate Makkot: Desolation... a jackel emerges from the Holy of Holies,... all are stunned, broken, shattered, but he already sees the vision of the Redemption: Just as the prophecy of Uriah has been fulfilled: "Yerushalayim shall become heaps of ruins and the Temple Mount a shrine in the woods," so shall Zechariah's prophecy be fulfilled: "There shall yet be old men and old women in the squares of Jerusalem, each with staff in his hand because of their great longevity. And the squares of the city shall be crowded with boys and girls playing in the squares". Rabbi Akiva, with his deep foresight, tried to encourage the people and strengthen their sprits: "How fortunate are you , Israel" - the existence of the people is not dependant upon the existence of the Temple!

(Meorot Neriah, Elul-Tishrei, p.87)

 

A midrashic narrative for the book of devarim

Elon Langbenheim

The three opening chapters of the Book of Devarim present the narrative of Israel's desert journey as described by Moshe on the steppes of Moab. There are discernable discrepancies between Moshe's version and that appearing in the Books of Vayikra and Bemidbar. For example, Yithro's role in initiating the system of 'of the thousands and of the hundreds' is absent and so is the Divine command to send spies. Many explanations offered by the commentators to these changes attribute them to Moshe's attempt to refashion the narrative for the children of the desert generation, those who are soon to cross over to Eretz Yisrael (so, for example the commentary of Ramban to the Book of Devarim, or Abarbanel's introduction to Devarim).

My intention is not to deal with the details of these explanations, but to suggest a general overview of Moshe's story of the desert journey. I wish to argue that two layers of meaning may be identified in Moshe's version. In order to clarify the two levels, I shall employ the midrashic method of parable, the parables being two stories written and popularized in the past decade which allegorically present the two layers in Moshe's story.

The first level

The first story/parable tells of a father and his son walking on a path in a desolate world, dark and cold. The father hovers over his son, protecting him from evil people, feeding him, nourishing him in his illness. Even though the son angers his father with his stubbornness, with his despairing of the long distance, the father persists and carries him along. The son follows the father, holds on to him, loves and admires him. He knows nothing of the world that was before, he knows only one reality: a cruel world in which nothing other than his father can be trusted. This is the essence of "The Road" by the American author Cormack McCarthy. It is really the story of the Children of Israel's journey, following the Father in Heaven: "…And in the wilderness that you have seen, where the Lord carried you as a man caries his son all the way that you went as far as this place" (Devarim 1:31) Moshe tells the Children of Israel the story of the journey in which God carries the Israelite nation on his shoulders, feeding it the manna, and fulfilling its needs.

But in contrast to the child who is tied to his father with all his soul, who follows the noble and resilient man who tends to him, the Children of Israel who went out of Egypt do not develop a similar attitude towards the Holy One. Yet worse, they do not trust him, and have no faith in his promises regarding the Land: "And despite this thing you do not trust the Lord your God, Who goes before you on the way to search out for you a place for our... And the Lord heard the sound of your words, and He was furious..." (Ibid 32-33). Why?

The people coming out of Egypt did not see in God a father image. The commitment, the admiration and dependence of a child upon his father characterizes the attitude of the Children of Israel to Moshe. This is the reason for their fear of entering the Land, which led to the sin of the spies. Thus suggests the "Meshekh Hokhma" on Parashat "Shlakh Lekha", on the basis of the preacher in Sanhedrin 17b. He claims that the Children of Israel heard from Eldad and Medad that Moshe will die and not lead them into the Land, and therefore they doubted their ability to conquer and expressed lack of trust in the Lord.

In the beginning of the Book of Devarim, Moshe tries to tell the story differently. True, he tells about the generation of the wilderness and does not hide their sins, but he quickly moves to emphasize the Holy One's support of the Children of Israel in their recent battles. Moshe makes clear that he will die and not enter the Land, but God's protection of the people will continue. Thus Moshe tries to describe the difficult journey as did McCarthy, a journey in which there is no mercy, but there is a father.

The second level

The second layer describes a mother protecting her son from afar. The son is a soldier who goes out on a military operation, and the mother goes on a journey and tells the story of herself and her son, in the hope that her words will protect him. The son was born to a father who had suffered Arab imprisonment, remaining severely wounded in soul and body. The father's fate is sealed, and he is socially marginalized. The mother tries to raise the son alone, far from the father, to create for him a different reality, but the child grows up, joins the army, and she senses and knows the worst is embedded in her son's personality, and that he is in great danger. The mother does not protect her son physically; the story that she tells to herself, to the father of the son, and to the earth on which she walks, this is intended to guard over him. This is the great drama in the novel "To the End of the Land"*, written by David Grossman, a story which teeters between hope and despair and ends with the author's terrible tragedy.

The mother in Grossman's story is compared to Moshe Rabeinu, the father and son - two generations in Israel. Therefore, the story which Moshe writes is not directed only to the people, but also to the Supreme Power - the Holy One, Blessed Be He, the only one capable of preventing the destruction of the generation of the children who grew up in the laps of those who departed Egypt. Moshe fears that the trust-lacking genetic makeup of  'the complainers of evil' may come to light in the generation or the sons, and that history will repeat itself. Moshe fears that the nation will sin, and that the Almighty will punish it as He did the generation of the wilderness. Therefore, in a hidden underlying layer, Moshe turns to God and tells the story somewhat differently from the actual occurrence. He hopes thereby to protect the people he will soon depart, and uses the revised history to appease the Lord and change fate. Reading the story on this level also explains Moshe's references to the destruction of Temple "Oh, how can I carry by myself your trouble and your burden and your disputing?" and the Sages' decision to arrange the yearly calendar so that this parasha in particular will always be read before the Fast of the 9^th of Av.

The two stories/parables share a common basic line; both describe a journey of parents which is intended to protect the children. The stories were written during the same period in different places which were subject to murderous terror attacks. A somber atmosphere hovers over both stories, but whereas at the end of the American story hope awaits, the Israeli story leaves the reader with the painful sensation of uncertainty. Can the parent protect the child, or is it too late?

Many parents in Israel believe that the Jewish State will always have to live by the sword. Therefore they are prepared to accept the fact that their children will have to live a reality of war and uncertainty just as they did, and they do not do enough to change the future. Are we indeed destined to always live on the threshold of destruction? Must we accept the evil sentence? Is this not the time to differentiate between our generation and that of our children?

*Original Hebrew title àéùä áåøçú îáùåøä[Lit: A Woman Fleeing a Message]

Eilon Langbheim teaches physics and is a doctoral      candidate in Science Education. He lives in Yerushalyim.

 

"Get you wise and understanding and knowing men well known to your tribes"

"Wise": Knowledgeable of law and justice; "and understanding": Persons with the ability to derive from given data the correct conclusions in order to render judgment; "known to your tribes": His character is known to you. I [Moshe] could have examined them by myself in order to evaluate their wisdom and understanding, but their moral character can be known only to those who come into contact with them. Therefore, I can appoint them only on your advice. "Known to your tribes" includes all the moral character traits which Yithro enumerated, saying "God-fearing men, truthful men, haters of lucre"... and from here we learn: the truth of the matter is that according to the views of Moshe and Yithro, these character traits - fear of God, love of truth, hating of lucre - are more essential to the execution of justice than are knowledge and intellectual acuity. But in the eyes of the general public, the judge's main advantage lies in his knowledge and his perspicacity.

(Rabbi Shimshon Rafael Hirsch, Devarim 1:13)

 

Torah and Redemption are Conditional upon Justice

These are the laws (Shemot 21:1), as it is written mighty King Who loves justice (Psalms 99:4). Moses told Israel: God has given you His Torah. If you do not observe its laws, He will take His Torah away from you. Why? Because God only gave you the Torah in order that you keep its laws, for it is said, mighty King Who loves justice. If you keep the laws, in the future God will give you back your own courts of law, for it is said: I will restore your judges as of old (Isaiah 1:26). And what is written afterwards? Zion shall be saved by justice (1:27).

 (Shemot Rabbah 30)

 

"I will espouse you with righteousness and justice" - that you shall practice them. And with goodness and mercy" - Which you will receive from me by virtue of your actions. With regard to our Father Avraham it is written (Bereishit 18), "For I have embraced him because he charges his sons and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord to do righteousness and justice" and in return the Lord gave his sons righteousness and mercy, as is written (Devarim 13) "And He will give you compassion"... and the Lord your God will keep the covenant and the faith (ibid 7:12). Should they desist from righteousness and justice, as is written (Amos 5) "You who turn justice into wormwood and hurl righteousness to the ground!'- so will God take away from you righteousness and mercy, as is written (Yirmiyahu 16) "For I have withdrawn my favor from that people - declares the Lord- my kindness and compassion." And when they return to practice righteousness and justice, as is written (Yeshaayahu 1) "Zion shall be redeemed through justice"... The Holy One, blessed be He, will add them mercy and righteousness and will make of the four a crown and will place them upon their heads.

(Rashi, Hoshea 2:21)

 

For R. Yohanan said: Jerusalem was destroyed only because they rendered judgment in accordance with Biblical law. Were they then to have judged in accordance with untrained arbitrators?! -  But say thus: because they based their judgments [strictly] upon Biblical law, and did not go beyond the requirements of the law.

(Bava Metziah 30b).

 

The Tosafists (loc. it) point out a seeming contradiction between two sources: "Jerusalem was destroyed only etc." and the cause cited in Yevamot 9b, "Because of baseless hatred." The Tosafists reconcile the sources: "It may be said that both caused the destruction of the Temple."

(Bava Metsia 30b)

 

Parties of high principle

…It was essential that the State devise a plan to forestall the calamity. But the inhabitants of the country were divided into two factions, those who covered their heads, and those who did not, and whatever one faction sought , the other blocked, and the factions themselves were contentious among themselves, each hating each other, perhaps even more than the common enemy hated both the covered heads and the bare heads. How did it come about that one nation should become as two nations who so hated each other? The explanation lies in events in the nation's history which continue to influence, even though the world realities had changed and the character of the people had changed, and its sons had abandoned all that was dear to their parents. There existed a tradition in that nation that its founding fathers were Jews, and since it was the practice of Jews to cover their heads, therefore some were wont to cover their heads. And others, why did they bare their heads? Because they consider themselves as Jews prior to receiving the Torah, when they was no command to cover the head, and therefore they bared their heads. And because these covered their heads and those bared their heads they were divided and they hated each other. And why did those who covered their heads hate each other, if all covered their heads? The answer is that these wore yarmulkes [skullcaps], and those wore turbans... the latter were larger out of jealousy, and the former were smaller than a louse... there was actually no need for a head at all as long as the covering was conspicuous. And why did the bare-headed hate each other, if all uncovered their hair? The answer is that these grew forelocks and those cut their hair short; these were partially bald and those were completely bald. Actually there was really no need for a head at all, as long as it was bare... In one respect alone were they alike; each group contended that all ills which befell the country were the fault of the opposing side. And if the author of the Book of the State were not fearful of redundancies, he might have said: "Both these and those are words of truth".

(From Agnon: "The Book of the Nation", Samooch V'Nir'eh. Page 261

 

 

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