Page 23 - HaMizrachi Tisha B'Av AUS 2021

TISHA B’AV READING

Rabbi Dr. Aharon Adler

The Execution of

Rabbi Elazar ben Shamua

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.א ָר ְקִ ּיַו ׁש ֵד ַקְיַו ׁשוּד ִק ן ַמְז הי ָה תָב ׁש ב ֶרֶע םֹוי .ה ָר ֵק ְד ַמ ְב ג ַרֳהֶנ הָנֹורֲח ַאָב ַעו ּמ ׁש ןֶב רָזָע ְל ֶא י ִב ַר קי ִדַצ
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.ה ָרוצ רָצְו רֵצֹוי ,םיקלֱא א ָר ָב ְב ֹות ָמ ׁשִנ ה ָת ְצי .ה ָר ְמָג ְל םיִ ּי ַחַב והוחִנ ִה אלְו ויָלָע ופל ׁש ב ֶר ֶח
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The righteous Rabbi Elazar ben Shamua was killed with a chisel.
It was Sabbath eve, the time of Kiddush, and as he recited it,
They drew the sword upon him, not permitting him to live to finish it.
His soul departed at the words “G-d created,” the Creator and Sculptor of forms.
ne of the central themes of We learn that this all happens while Rabbi in reference to the final moments leading
the Tisha B’Av kinot is the cat- Elazar ben Shamua is still reciting the pre- up to the First Temple’s destruction. There
astrophic collapse of Torah liminary verses to Kiddush. He is now in the it states that the Levites were singing the
Oauthority, along with its giants, middle of the third verse, which includes appropriate Psalm (94) in utter despera-
as foretold in Eicha 2:9, “Her king and her the word, “ ׁש ּ ֵד ַקְי ַו”: tion, given the impending catastrophe.
princes are among the nations: there is ל ָּכ ִמ ת ַב ׁש ֹוב י ִּכ ֹותֹא ׁש ּ ֵד ַקְי ַו י ִעי ִב ּׁ ש ַה םֹוי ת ֶא …ך ֶר ָבְי ַו Approaching the final verse (23), “And He
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no Torah; her prophets also find no vision .תֹוש ֲע ַל םי ִקל ֱא א ָר ָּב ר ׁש ֲא ֹו ּ ת ְכא ַל ְמ has brought upon them their own iniquity
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from the L-rd.” This theme reverberates and will cut them off in their own evil”
throughout the kinot in a plethora of his- This is the meaning in the poem: “ ׁשּו ּ ד ִק ן ַמ ְז (ם ֵתי ִמ ְצַי ם ָת ָע ָר ְבּו ם ָנֹוא ת ֶא ם ֶהי ֵל ֲע ב ׁשָּי ַו), Chazal
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torical settings, including the Temple’s א ָר ְקִּי ַו ׁשּ ֵד ַקְי ַו.” We then learn that at this very say, ּוא ָּב ֶׁש ד ַע ּוני ֵקֹל ֱא ’ה ם ֵתי ִמ ְצַי ר ַמֹול ּוקי ִּפ ְס ִה אֹל ְו
destruction, the Bar Kochba defeat, the moment the execution takes place and that םּו ׁש ָב ְכּו םִיֹוג, “and they hardly had time to
Crusades in medieval times, as well the Rabbi Elazar is one word shy of completing say, ‘The L-rd our G-d will cut them off,’
modern-day Holocaust. the verse. His life expires as he is saying, when the heathens came and captured
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“םי ִקל ֱא א ָר ָּב,” with the final word, “תֹוש ֲע ַל,” them.”
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One particular elegy stands out which is remaining unsaid.
dedicated exclusively to this theme: the The Talmud concludes with an ambiguous
disintegration of the Torah world. Arzei In his commentary to Bereishit 2:3, comment: “The same thing happened in
HaLevanon, composed by the 13th-century Ramban proposes that all the days of Cre- the Second Temple” (הָּיִנ ְ ּׁ ש ַּ ב ן ֵכ ְו). The pre-
Ashkenazi Rabbi Meir ben Yechiel, bewails ation represent a blueprint for six millen- cise details of Rabbi Elazar ben Shamua’s
the martyrdom of the famous 10 great nia of world history. The ultimate objective execution might very well be that which
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scholars (תּוכ ְל ַמ י ֵגּור ֲה ה ָר ָש ֲע) executed by the and aspiration is to move the world into is alluded to in that closing Talmudic com-
Romans in the aftermath of the Second the eschatological seventh millennia. This ment, “הָּיִנ ְ ּׁ ש ַּ ב ן ֵכ ְו.”
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Temple’s destruction and the Bar Kochba is the pro-active meaning of “תֹוש ֲע ַל.” On Tisha B’Av, we beg for ּוני ֵקֹל ֱא ‘ה ם ֵתי ִמ ְצַי,
rebellion. In this particular Tisha B’Av ver- Clearly, Rabbi Akiva and colleagues viewed as we engage in doing our part: “תֹוש ֲע ַל,”
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sion of these tragic episodes (there are four the Bar Kochba uprising as a prelude to in ushering in the era of full redemption
such versions – including the Yom Kippur Messianic days. They were engaged in speedily in our days.
version of Eila Ezkara), each of the Sages “תֹוש ֲע ַל” activities, in their gallant attempt
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murdered is enveloped with a particular to move the Jewish nation out of exile and
mitzvah reflecting enormous significance usher in “the end of days” as quickly as pos-
to his martyrdom. sible. But, tragically, Divine Providence had
In the case of Rabbi Elazar ben Shamua, a very different plan for the nation. Rabbi
the mitzvah is the Kiddush recitation on Elazar ben Shamua would not be allowed
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Friday night. Whether absolutely histori- to utter the word “תֹוש ֲע ַל” in his Kiddush, Rabbi Dr. Aharon Adler is a former stu-
cal or purely allegorical, the poet provides as the entire nation’s drive to implement dent of, and special assistant to, Rabbi
“תֹוש ֲע ַל” would fall short. And for this we
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the setting – the murder takes place while Joseph B. Soloveitchik.
reciting the Kiddush, along with a focus weep and cry on Tisha B’Av.
upon the precise word in the Kiddush – Most remarkable is a similar thought A member of the Mizrachi Speakers Bureau
thereby leaving the Kiddush unfinished. echoed by our Talmudic Sages (Ta’anit 29a) mizrachi.org/speakers
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