Posts
http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/953574/jewish/Hope.htm
Hope
History was to show that the conquered Jews were to outlive their Roman conquerors who had robbed them of their national independence and their country. And we eagerly await the day when G‑d will comfort and console us and return us to our homeland.
Our sages tell us that despite the sadness and pain associated with the 9th of Av, this is the birthday of Moshiach, our future redeemer (Jerusalem Talmud, Berachot 2:4):
"On the day that the Holy Temple was destroyed, a Jew was plowing his field when his cow suddenly called out. An Arab was passing by and heard the low of the cow. Said the Arab: 'Jew, Jew! Unyoke your cow, free the stake of your plow, for your Holy Temple has now been destroyed.' The cow then lowed a second time. Said the Arab: 'Jew, Jew! Yoke your cow, reset the stake of your plow, for the Redeemer has now been born...'"
The redeemer, and with him the potential for redemption, was born the moment after the destruction. Indeed, though ostensibly the destruction was a consequence of the Jews' sins, there was a deeper reason for it all. From the ashes of the destroyed temples will arise an infinitely greater Temple, one constructed by G‑d Himself, one that will stand for all eternity.
Friday, August 10, 2012
Titus's Death
http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/953573/jewish/Tituss-Death.htm
Titus's Death
Our Sages tell us: When Titus was traveling back to Rome on a ship with the Jewish captives and the vessels of the Holy Temple, a storm at sea threatened to drown him. He said: "It seems that the G‑d of these people only has power over water. When Pharaoh came, He drowned him in water. When Sisera came, He drowned him in water. Now He is about to drown me in water. If He wants to show His strength, let Him come onto dry land and fight with me there!"
A Divine voice came forth and said to him: "Wicked one, the son of a wicked one, descendant of Esau the wicked, I have an insignificant creature in My world called a gnat. Come ashore and do battle with it!" Titus went ashore and a gnat came and entered his nostril, and pecked at his brain for seven years.
One day, Titus was walking past a blacksmith's shop. The gnat heard the noise of the sledgehammer and became silent. Titus said: "There is a remedy!" Every day they brought a blacksmith and he hammered in Titus' presence. To a gentile blacksmith he would give a handsome stipend, but to a Jew he would say: "It is sufficient that you see your enemy suffering!"
For thirty days they brought smiths to hammer in Titus' presence. Then the gnat adjusted to the noise of the hammer, and continued pecking at Titus' brain even when the hammers were struck.
Rabbi Pinchas ben Arova said: "I was with the great men of Rome at the time when Titus died. They examined his brain and what they found in it was the size of a small bird!"
As Titus lay dying, he instructed his servants: "Burn me and scatter my ashes over the seven seas so that the G‑d of the Jews cannot find me and bring me to judgment."
Titus's Death
Our Sages tell us: When Titus was traveling back to Rome on a ship with the Jewish captives and the vessels of the Holy Temple, a storm at sea threatened to drown him. He said: "It seems that the G‑d of these people only has power over water. When Pharaoh came, He drowned him in water. When Sisera came, He drowned him in water. Now He is about to drown me in water. If He wants to show His strength, let Him come onto dry land and fight with me there!"
A Divine voice came forth and said to him: "Wicked one, the son of a wicked one, descendant of Esau the wicked, I have an insignificant creature in My world called a gnat. Come ashore and do battle with it!" Titus went ashore and a gnat came and entered his nostril, and pecked at his brain for seven years.
One day, Titus was walking past a blacksmith's shop. The gnat heard the noise of the sledgehammer and became silent. Titus said: "There is a remedy!" Every day they brought a blacksmith and he hammered in Titus' presence. To a gentile blacksmith he would give a handsome stipend, but to a Jew he would say: "It is sufficient that you see your enemy suffering!"
For thirty days they brought smiths to hammer in Titus' presence. Then the gnat adjusted to the noise of the hammer, and continued pecking at Titus' brain even when the hammers were struck.
Rabbi Pinchas ben Arova said: "I was with the great men of Rome at the time when Titus died. They examined his brain and what they found in it was the size of a small bird!"
As Titus lay dying, he instructed his servants: "Burn me and scatter my ashes over the seven seas so that the G‑d of the Jews cannot find me and bring me to judgment."
The Aftermath destruction of the 2nd temple
http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/953571/jewish/The-Aftermath.htm
The Aftermath
It had taken Titus almost half a year to capture Jerusalem, and it had cost him more soldiers than many other famous military campaigns. But now his triumph was complete. Titus ordered that that all the surviving warriors and anyone connected to the Zealots should be killed, as well as any old or sick people.
The remaining captives were divided into groups. Those over seventeen were sent to work to their deaths in Egyptian copper mines, while those under seventeen were sold as slaves. Many captives were sent to circuses where they were forced to fight hungry lions for the pleasure of the mobs. Seven hundred of the tallest and most attractive Jewish youths were chosen to be marched in Titus' victory parade in Rome. Yochanan of Gush Chalav and Simon ben Giora were also kept alive to be paraded. While this selection was going on, 11,000 more people died of hunger.
In 71 CE, Titus sailed home. An Arch of Triumph was constructed, engraved with images of Jewish captives carrying the vessels of the Temple. The victorious troops marched through the arch with Titus at their head and in front of him the young and handsome captives, carrying the golden vessels of the Temple, as well as Yochanan of Gush Chalav (who was then imprisoned for life) and Simon ben Giora (who was executed soon after). The arch can still be seen in Rome today.
The Romans also minted a coin in honor of their victory. On one side of the coin there was an image of Emperor Vespasian's head, and on the other side there was a woman, chained and crying under a palm tree, guarded by a Roman soldier, with the words "Judea Capta" (Judea is captured).
In those last few years before the Temple was destroyed, vast numbers of Jews – over a million – died from disease, hunger, or battle. The holy vessels of the Temple were carried away by the conquerors. A hundred thousand Jewish captives were sold into slavery. The last group of Zealots was put down in Masada three years later.
The Aftermath
It had taken Titus almost half a year to capture Jerusalem, and it had cost him more soldiers than many other famous military campaigns. But now his triumph was complete. Titus ordered that that all the surviving warriors and anyone connected to the Zealots should be killed, as well as any old or sick people.
The remaining captives were divided into groups. Those over seventeen were sent to work to their deaths in Egyptian copper mines, while those under seventeen were sold as slaves. Many captives were sent to circuses where they were forced to fight hungry lions for the pleasure of the mobs. Seven hundred of the tallest and most attractive Jewish youths were chosen to be marched in Titus' victory parade in Rome. Yochanan of Gush Chalav and Simon ben Giora were also kept alive to be paraded. While this selection was going on, 11,000 more people died of hunger.
In 71 CE, Titus sailed home. An Arch of Triumph was constructed, engraved with images of Jewish captives carrying the vessels of the Temple. The victorious troops marched through the arch with Titus at their head and in front of him the young and handsome captives, carrying the golden vessels of the Temple, as well as Yochanan of Gush Chalav (who was then imprisoned for life) and Simon ben Giora (who was executed soon after). The arch can still be seen in Rome today.
The Romans also minted a coin in honor of their victory. On one side of the coin there was an image of Emperor Vespasian's head, and on the other side there was a woman, chained and crying under a palm tree, guarded by a Roman soldier, with the words "Judea Capta" (Judea is captured).
In those last few years before the Temple was destroyed, vast numbers of Jews – over a million – died from disease, hunger, or battle. The holy vessels of the Temple were carried away by the conquerors. A hundred thousand Jewish captives were sold into slavery. The last group of Zealots was put down in Masada three years later.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Rumania Orders Re-trial of Organizers of Massacre of 10,000 Jews in Jassy
http://archive.jta.org/article/1945/08/08/2867850/rumania-orders-retrial-of-organizers-of-massacre-of-10000-jews-in-jassy
August 8, 1945
Rumania Orders Re-trial of Organizers of Massacre of 10,000 Jews in Jassy
Bucharest, Aug. 7 (JTA) –
A re-trial of these charged with responsibility for the anti-Jewish pogrom in Jassy in 1941 in which 10,000 Jews were massacred, was ordered today by the central authorities, following the presentation of evidence by the public prosecutor that the pogrom was carried out according to a plan prepared by the chiefs of the Rumanian Army.
Citation - Click to see see this article's citation
"Rumania Orders Re-trial of Organizers of Massacre of 10,000 Jews in Jassy." Jewish Telegraphic Agency 8 Aug 1945.
August 8, 1945
Rumania Orders Re-trial of Organizers of Massacre of 10,000 Jews in Jassy
Bucharest, Aug. 7 (JTA) –
A re-trial of these charged with responsibility for the anti-Jewish pogrom in Jassy in 1941 in which 10,000 Jews were massacred, was ordered today by the central authorities, following the presentation of evidence by the public prosecutor that the pogrom was carried out according to a plan prepared by the chiefs of the Rumanian Army.
Citation - Click to see see this article's citation
"Rumania Orders Re-trial of Organizers of Massacre of 10,000 Jews in Jassy." Jewish Telegraphic Agency 8 Aug 1945.
Forty Jewish Boys, Survivors of Oswiecim Camp, Placed in Swiss Hospital by Red Cross
http://archive.jta.org/article/1945/08/08/2867854/forty-jewish-boys-survivors-of-oswiecim-camp-placed-in-swiss-hospital-by-red-cross
August 8, 1945
Forty Jewish Boys, Survivors of Oswiecim Camp, Placed in Swiss Hospital by Red Cross
Berne, Aug. 7 (JTA) –
Forty Jewish boys, survivors of the notorious German extermination camp of Oswiecim were brought here by the Red Cross and placed in the Tiefenau Hospital, a municipal institution situated five miles from Berne, where they are receiving care and attention of Swiss physicians and nurses.
All are suffering from tuberculosis. Physicians say it will take from two to three years before some of them will be well. Deep in the flesh of the arms of each of the boys, the Germans burned the number of the camp in which they were held. All lack clothing, shirts and shoes. One of the boys, Wolf Factor, says that his dead father was a cousin of Max Factor, Hollywood cosmetic manufacturer.
"I am the only survivor of our entire family," he told the correspondent of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency." My mother and sister were executed in a gas chamber in Oswiecim and cremated in the camp there. My father was shot by the Germans in Lodz."
Citation - Click to see see this article's citation
"Forty Jewish Boys, Survivors of Oswiecim Camp, Placed in Swiss Hospital by Red Cross." Jewish Telegraphic Agency 8 Aug 1945.
August 8, 1945
Forty Jewish Boys, Survivors of Oswiecim Camp, Placed in Swiss Hospital by Red Cross
Berne, Aug. 7 (JTA) –
Forty Jewish boys, survivors of the notorious German extermination camp of Oswiecim were brought here by the Red Cross and placed in the Tiefenau Hospital, a municipal institution situated five miles from Berne, where they are receiving care and attention of Swiss physicians and nurses.
All are suffering from tuberculosis. Physicians say it will take from two to three years before some of them will be well. Deep in the flesh of the arms of each of the boys, the Germans burned the number of the camp in which they were held. All lack clothing, shirts and shoes. One of the boys, Wolf Factor, says that his dead father was a cousin of Max Factor, Hollywood cosmetic manufacturer.
"I am the only survivor of our entire family," he told the correspondent of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency." My mother and sister were executed in a gas chamber in Oswiecim and cremated in the camp there. My father was shot by the Germans in Lodz."
Citation - Click to see see this article's citation
"Forty Jewish Boys, Survivors of Oswiecim Camp, Placed in Swiss Hospital by Red Cross." Jewish Telegraphic Agency 8 Aug 1945.
Aged Jewish General Who Defied the Nazis in Vienna Returns Home from Theresienstadt
http://archive.jta.org/article/1945/08/08/2867852/aged-jewish-general-who-defied-the-nazis-in-vienna-returns-home-from-theresienstadt
August 8, 1945
Aged Jewish General Who Defied the Nazis in Vienna Returns Home from Theresienstadt
Vienna, Aug. 7 (JTA) –
Major Gen. Emil von Sommer, a famous Jewish general of the old Austro-Hungarian Empire, who for long was believed to have been executed by the Nazis, has reappeared in Vienna to take up his life again. The general and his wife returned to Vienna from the former concentration camp at Theresienstadt, Czechoslovakia.
(Gen. Von Sommer, a few days after the Anschluss, in March 12, 1938, created something of a world sensation by the course of action he took when Nazi storm troopers called at his home and ordered him to report immediately for compulsory street cleaning work. Asking permission to change his clothes, he appeared in a few minutes in his full general's uniform, wearing all of his medals, and announced he was then ready to wield shovel and broom. The party of stormetroopers, shamed and apparently unwilling to degrade the general's uniform, saluted and retired.)
Still vigorous at the age of 75, Gen. von Sommer has apparently largely recovered from the effects of his confinement. Both he and his wife told the J.T.A. correspondent they hopefully anticipate an opportunity eventually to migrate to the United States to join their daughter, Mrs. Ellen Fryer, of Middleborough, Mass. Her husband is a physician of the Lakeville State Sanatorium in that town. A son is a physician in the French Congo.
Like all survivors of that camp, Gen. von Sommer and his wife recall with vivid emotion the horrors of their experiences there. "We don't know how we escaped death," his wife said. "We would be among those selected to be sent to the gas chambers in Poland, and then-there would be a change in plans. That was a miracle that happened again and again."
Citation - Click to see see this article's citation
"Aged Jewish General Who Defied the Nazis in Vienna Returns Home from Theresienstadt." Jewish Telegraphic Agency 8 Aug 1945.
August 8, 1945
Aged Jewish General Who Defied the Nazis in Vienna Returns Home from Theresienstadt
Vienna, Aug. 7 (JTA) –
Major Gen. Emil von Sommer, a famous Jewish general of the old Austro-Hungarian Empire, who for long was believed to have been executed by the Nazis, has reappeared in Vienna to take up his life again. The general and his wife returned to Vienna from the former concentration camp at Theresienstadt, Czechoslovakia.
(Gen. Von Sommer, a few days after the Anschluss, in March 12, 1938, created something of a world sensation by the course of action he took when Nazi storm troopers called at his home and ordered him to report immediately for compulsory street cleaning work. Asking permission to change his clothes, he appeared in a few minutes in his full general's uniform, wearing all of his medals, and announced he was then ready to wield shovel and broom. The party of stormetroopers, shamed and apparently unwilling to degrade the general's uniform, saluted and retired.)
Still vigorous at the age of 75, Gen. von Sommer has apparently largely recovered from the effects of his confinement. Both he and his wife told the J.T.A. correspondent they hopefully anticipate an opportunity eventually to migrate to the United States to join their daughter, Mrs. Ellen Fryer, of Middleborough, Mass. Her husband is a physician of the Lakeville State Sanatorium in that town. A son is a physician in the French Congo.
Like all survivors of that camp, Gen. von Sommer and his wife recall with vivid emotion the horrors of their experiences there. "We don't know how we escaped death," his wife said. "We would be among those selected to be sent to the gas chambers in Poland, and then-there would be a change in plans. That was a miracle that happened again and again."
Citation - Click to see see this article's citation
"Aged Jewish General Who Defied the Nazis in Vienna Returns Home from Theresienstadt." Jewish Telegraphic Agency 8 Aug 1945.
Shimon HaTzadik was of the remnants (last members) of the Great Assembly
http://sn111w.snt111.mail.live.com/default.aspx#!/mail/InboxLight.aspx?n=597426947!n=1063429564&fid=1&fav=1&mid=c61d0f19-e0ec-11e1-8ca7-002264c1d2c0&fv=1
Chapter 1: Mishna 2: Part 3
Shimon HaTzakik was of the remnants (last members) of the Great Assembly. He used to say: On three things the world stands. On Torah, on Service of G-d, and on deeds of kindness.
After understanding the concept of the pillars upon which the world stands, we can now better understand the Gemara in Sanhedrin (74a) that teaches us: There are three cardinal sins in Judaism that require "yeihareig v'al ya'avor," give up your life rather than violate. The three are:
1. "Avodah zarah" -- Idol worship;
2. "Giylui arayoth" -- Incestuous sexual relations and adultery;
3. "Shfichuth damim" -- Murder. Why should these three specific sins require one to forfeit his life (while in the rest of the Torah we have a principle (Vayikra 18:5) "v'chai bahem," that the Mitzvoth are given in order to live, and if they lead to death, G-d's preference is that they be violated -- Sanhedrin 74a, Yoma 85a)?
Each of these three sins is the polar opposite of one of the three pillars upon which the existence of the world stands.
"Avodah Zarah" is obviously the opposite of "Avodah." Rather than devoting himself to service of the Creator, he devotes himself to service of false gods and values.
"Sfichuth damim," where one KILLS another human being, depriving him of his most basic possession, his life, is obviously the polar opposite of "gemiluth chassadim" where one gives of himself and his possessions to another, something which he is not required to do.
"Giylui arayoth" is the polar opposite of Torah. Sexual impropriety is man behaving in his most animalistic form, deviating from his humanity, while Torah is the elevation of man's humanity to the Divine. The Torah considers the fundamental source of sexual deviance to be the animal and material side of man (the "chomer") which is illustrated by the type of sacrifice a woman suspected of adultery must bring. (Instead of wheat, which is considered human food, she brings barley, which is the food of animals. See Bamidbar 5:15 and Sotah 9a.) Chazal also see an allusion to the abdication of intellectual control that accompanies any sin, but particularly one of a sexual nature, in the verse (Bamidbar 5:12) "Ki thisteh..." which introduces the crime of adultery. The word "thisteh" has at its root "shoteh" which means a fool, devoid of intelltual clarity, indicating that it is a loss of the intellect, the indentifying trait of man over an animal, that precedes submission to sexu al temptation. Sexual deviation, an act emanating from the purely materialistic side of man, stands in direct opposition to Torah, which embodies the most intellectual/spiritual side of man.
Man's entire being depends on the existence of the three foundations of the world. Since each of these three sins undermines one of those foundations, violating any one of them would be man destroying his own existence. His violation would be simply another form of death (a classic lose-lose situation...). So the preference is that he leave this world without sinning, rather than "leave the world" through sin. Yeihareig -- he should (passively) allow himself to be killed -- v'lo ya'avor -- and he should not actively violate a prohibition that undermines his entire existence.
From the above we understand why the "dor hamabul," the generation of Noach that was destroyed by the flood, was not destroyed until they had committed all three of these cardinal sins, thereby undermining every aspect and justification of their existence. Chazal teach us (Sanhedrin 57a) on the verse (Breishith 6:11) "Vatishacheit ha'aretz lifnei Ha'Elokim," -- the land was "destroyed" before G-d -- that the word "hashchatha" refers to sexual deviance and idol worship. (See Devarim 4:17 and Breishith 6:12.) Here was the undermining of two pillars of the world, Torah and Avodah. In addition, there was "gezel," robbery, as it is written "vatimalei ha'aretz chamas." This is the opposite of "gemiluth chassadim." Rather than giving someone from your resources, you take his resources for yourself.
When the generation had uprooted all three foundations of the world's existence, through behaviour that contradicted them, there was no means of support for the world, and destruction resulted.
There is one seeming inconsistency which needs to be explained. Earlier we stated that the opposite of gemiluth chassadim was murder, while here we have stated that it is robbery.
When the Torah speaks about the society undermining the foundation of gemiluth chassadim, this refers to robbery. When we speak about the individual opposing that foundation, it refers to murder. It is impossible to have the ENTIRE society undermine the foundation of gemiluth chassadim through murder, for this would be an overt destruction of that society, and the Torah describes an existing society involved in underming that foundation of the world. It must refer to a less serious activity that also stands in opposition to gemiluth chassadim, which would be robbery. It is very possible for the entire society to be involved in robbery, where everyone is stealing from everyone else, and this is the only way that the entire society can be undermining that foundation. The INDIVIDUAL's action which stands in direct opposition to that foundation, however, is the complete destruction of another, murder.
(A note should be added here about a seeming inconsistency in the discussions about the verses in Breishith 6:11 and 13. The Torah writes that the earth was filled with "chamas." The halachic definition of chamas refers to a person FORCING another to SELL him one of his possessions, paying full price for it. "Gezel," robbery, is when one takes the object without compensating the owner; chamas is when one takes the object while providing compensation. (See Bava Kama 62a.) So it is difficult to understand how Rashi comments on verse 11, which states that the world was filled with "chamas." by explaining that it means "gezel." They are two very different activities! And in his explanation of our Mishna, the Maharal, too, seems to ignore the very real difference between the two crimes.
(The Maharal, in "Gur Aryeh," his commmentary on Rashi, raises the question and provides a wonderful and precise answer. It is unlikely that the members of the society were so meticulous as to always pay for the objects that they violently took. They certainly took what they wanted without providing compensation. But since the next day the victim would turn around and steal something else from the person who stole from him, this victim actually did receive compensation. The accepted norm of the society which tolerated robbery ensured that every victim recieved compensation by virtue of his being able to steal from someone else. Every robber ultimately provided compensation to his victim through his own property which was stolen from him. So Rashi is telling us that the "chamas" that was filling the land was actual "gezel" -- on a mass scale.)
Chapter 1: Mishna 2: Part 3
Shimon HaTzakik was of the remnants (last members) of the Great Assembly. He used to say: On three things the world stands. On Torah, on Service of G-d, and on deeds of kindness.
After understanding the concept of the pillars upon which the world stands, we can now better understand the Gemara in Sanhedrin (74a) that teaches us: There are three cardinal sins in Judaism that require "yeihareig v'al ya'avor," give up your life rather than violate. The three are:
1. "Avodah zarah" -- Idol worship;
2. "Giylui arayoth" -- Incestuous sexual relations and adultery;
3. "Shfichuth damim" -- Murder. Why should these three specific sins require one to forfeit his life (while in the rest of the Torah we have a principle (Vayikra 18:5) "v'chai bahem," that the Mitzvoth are given in order to live, and if they lead to death, G-d's preference is that they be violated -- Sanhedrin 74a, Yoma 85a)?
Each of these three sins is the polar opposite of one of the three pillars upon which the existence of the world stands.
"Avodah Zarah" is obviously the opposite of "Avodah." Rather than devoting himself to service of the Creator, he devotes himself to service of false gods and values.
"Sfichuth damim," where one KILLS another human being, depriving him of his most basic possession, his life, is obviously the polar opposite of "gemiluth chassadim" where one gives of himself and his possessions to another, something which he is not required to do.
"Giylui arayoth" is the polar opposite of Torah. Sexual impropriety is man behaving in his most animalistic form, deviating from his humanity, while Torah is the elevation of man's humanity to the Divine. The Torah considers the fundamental source of sexual deviance to be the animal and material side of man (the "chomer") which is illustrated by the type of sacrifice a woman suspected of adultery must bring. (Instead of wheat, which is considered human food, she brings barley, which is the food of animals. See Bamidbar 5:15 and Sotah 9a.) Chazal also see an allusion to the abdication of intellectual control that accompanies any sin, but particularly one of a sexual nature, in the verse (Bamidbar 5:12) "Ki thisteh..." which introduces the crime of adultery. The word "thisteh" has at its root "shoteh" which means a fool, devoid of intelltual clarity, indicating that it is a loss of the intellect, the indentifying trait of man over an animal, that precedes submission to sexu al temptation. Sexual deviation, an act emanating from the purely materialistic side of man, stands in direct opposition to Torah, which embodies the most intellectual/spiritual side of man.
Man's entire being depends on the existence of the three foundations of the world. Since each of these three sins undermines one of those foundations, violating any one of them would be man destroying his own existence. His violation would be simply another form of death (a classic lose-lose situation...). So the preference is that he leave this world without sinning, rather than "leave the world" through sin. Yeihareig -- he should (passively) allow himself to be killed -- v'lo ya'avor -- and he should not actively violate a prohibition that undermines his entire existence.
From the above we understand why the "dor hamabul," the generation of Noach that was destroyed by the flood, was not destroyed until they had committed all three of these cardinal sins, thereby undermining every aspect and justification of their existence. Chazal teach us (Sanhedrin 57a) on the verse (Breishith 6:11) "Vatishacheit ha'aretz lifnei Ha'Elokim," -- the land was "destroyed" before G-d -- that the word "hashchatha" refers to sexual deviance and idol worship. (See Devarim 4:17 and Breishith 6:12.) Here was the undermining of two pillars of the world, Torah and Avodah. In addition, there was "gezel," robbery, as it is written "vatimalei ha'aretz chamas." This is the opposite of "gemiluth chassadim." Rather than giving someone from your resources, you take his resources for yourself.
When the generation had uprooted all three foundations of the world's existence, through behaviour that contradicted them, there was no means of support for the world, and destruction resulted.
There is one seeming inconsistency which needs to be explained. Earlier we stated that the opposite of gemiluth chassadim was murder, while here we have stated that it is robbery.
When the Torah speaks about the society undermining the foundation of gemiluth chassadim, this refers to robbery. When we speak about the individual opposing that foundation, it refers to murder. It is impossible to have the ENTIRE society undermine the foundation of gemiluth chassadim through murder, for this would be an overt destruction of that society, and the Torah describes an existing society involved in underming that foundation of the world. It must refer to a less serious activity that also stands in opposition to gemiluth chassadim, which would be robbery. It is very possible for the entire society to be involved in robbery, where everyone is stealing from everyone else, and this is the only way that the entire society can be undermining that foundation. The INDIVIDUAL's action which stands in direct opposition to that foundation, however, is the complete destruction of another, murder.
(A note should be added here about a seeming inconsistency in the discussions about the verses in Breishith 6:11 and 13. The Torah writes that the earth was filled with "chamas." The halachic definition of chamas refers to a person FORCING another to SELL him one of his possessions, paying full price for it. "Gezel," robbery, is when one takes the object without compensating the owner; chamas is when one takes the object while providing compensation. (See Bava Kama 62a.) So it is difficult to understand how Rashi comments on verse 11, which states that the world was filled with "chamas." by explaining that it means "gezel." They are two very different activities! And in his explanation of our Mishna, the Maharal, too, seems to ignore the very real difference between the two crimes.
(The Maharal, in "Gur Aryeh," his commmentary on Rashi, raises the question and provides a wonderful and precise answer. It is unlikely that the members of the society were so meticulous as to always pay for the objects that they violently took. They certainly took what they wanted without providing compensation. But since the next day the victim would turn around and steal something else from the person who stole from him, this victim actually did receive compensation. The accepted norm of the society which tolerated robbery ensured that every victim recieved compensation by virtue of his being able to steal from someone else. Every robber ultimately provided compensation to his victim through his own property which was stolen from him. So Rashi is telling us that the "chamas" that was filling the land was actual "gezel" -- on a mass scale.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)