Desecration without Destruction
חֲמִשָּׁה דְבָרִים אֵרְעוּ אֶת אֲבוֹתֵינוּ בְּשִׁבְעָה עָשָׂר בְּתַמּוּז וַחֲמִשָּׁה בְּתִשְׁעָה בְאָב. בְּשִׁבְעָה עָשָׂר בְּתַמּוּז נִשְׁתַּבְּרוּ הַלּוּחוֹת, וּבָטַל הַתָּמִיד, וְהֻבְקְעָה הָעִיר, וְשָׂרַף אַפּוֹסְטֹמוֹס אֶת הַתּוֹרָה, וְהֶעֱמִיד צֶלֶם בַּהֵיכָל. בְּתִשְׁעָה בְאָב נִגְזַר עַל אֲבוֹתֵינוּ שֶׁלֹּא יִכָּנְסוּ לָאָרֶץ, וְחָרַב הַבַּיִת בָּרִאשׁוֹנָה וּבַשְּׁנִיָּה, וְנִלְכְּדָה בֵיתָר, וְנֶחְרְשָׁה הָעִיר. מִשֶּׁנִּכְנַס אָב, מְמַעֲטִין בְּשִׂמְחָה:
There were five events that happened to our ancestors on the seventeenth of Tammuz and five on the ninth of Av.On the seventeenth of Tammuz: The tablets were shattered; The tamid (daily) offering was cancelled; The [walls] of the city were breached; And Apostomos burned the Torah, and placed an idol in the Temple. On the ninth of Av It was decreed that our ancestors should not enter the land, The Temple was destroyed the first And the second time, Betar was captured, And the city was plowed up. When Av enters, they limit their rejoicing.
Credit: Blink O'Fanaye under a CC BY-NC 2.0 license.
(21) I will give them as spoil to strangers, and as plunder to the wicked of the earth; and they shall defile them. (22) I will turn My face from them, and My treasures shall be defiled; ruffians shall invade it and defile it. (23) Forge the chain, for the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of lawlessness. (24) I will bring in the worst of the nations to take possession of their houses; so shall I turn to naught the pride of the powerful, and their sanctuaries shall be defiled.
...מִכָּאן אָמְרוּ: הַמִּזְבֵּחַ נִבְרָא לַאֲרִיכוּת יָמָיו שֶׁל אָדָם, וְהַבַּרְזֶל לְקַצֵּר יָמָיו. אֵינוֹ דִּין שֶׁיָּנִיף אֶת הַמְקַצֵּר עַל הַמַּאֲרִיךְ.
...From this verse they argued that since the altar was created to prolong the life of man, while the iron blade shortens it, it would not be fitting to use a thing that shortens life upon that which prolongs it.
Rabbi Shlomo Zuckier, As mobs stormed the Capitol, we lost something sacred
Set thousands of years ago, Ezekiel 7:22 describes the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple with the phrase, “and the raiders entered and defiled it.” The rabbis of the Babylonian Talmud understand this verse to mean that the Temple was defiled from the very moment that enemy soldiers entered. Upon the soldiers’ first steps into this holy territory, all the items belonging to the Temple immediately lost their sanctity.
How can this be? Why would all Temple property be deemed defiled before the enemy took any further action? And what can we learn from this today?
The Talmud’s rendering of Ezekiel reflects its understanding that there is something about an enemy breaching the walls of a sacred space that forever tarnishes it. The holy sanctuary was home to the most sacrosanct rituals of the Jewish people. The trauma of an enemy’s trespass onto sacred ground is incompatible with, and thereby undoes, that holiness.
A Temple is meant to be holy and fundamentally apart from the rest of the world. It is meant to be a realm beyond, a consensus institution above human reproach, a special place of convocation with the Divine. It thus belongs to all of society and forms the backbone of the Jewish experience.
Indeed, the rabbis tell us that the ancient capital city of Jerusalem did not belong to any one tribe because it belonged to all of Israel. The rituals and practices in the holy sanctuary were carried out on behalf of all Jews and directed at their ultimate well-being — even as some Jews of the Second Temple period fiercely debated how those rituals should proceed.
The violent act of penetrating a sacred space, of breaking the veneer of invulnerability and permanence of the Jerusalem Temple, destroyed something precious. The enduring trauma of this crashing down to earth of the vaunted sanctuary is the reason we mourn the destruction of the Temple and yearn for its return in our daily and holiday liturgy. When the Jewish community’s foremost institution was traumatically invaded, the holiness of the Temple and its sancta was undermined, mirroring the simultaneous human experience of loss.
The US Capitol is no Jerusalem Temple. But however one views the Capitol, it is of great consequence to the American people, and we can see a parallel between the experiences of two nations witnessing the invasion of their revered institutions.
As Sen. Chuck Schumer put it, Wednesday was the day that “this temple to democracy was desecrated.” The American people experienced the violation of its hallowed halls of government in real time, forcefully invaded by those wishing to undermine the democratic process they hold dear.
Something of America’s unity, shared purpose, and indelible commitment to democracy was profaned as those Capitol walls were breached. While some of these norms and values can hopefully still be salvaged, a part of the Capitol’s powerful symbolism was lost as “the raiders entered and defiled it.”
Rabbi Shlomo Zuckier, comment on Facebook
Some people wanted to know how I could compare the destruction of the Capitol to the destruction of the Beis Hamikdash (LB: The Temple in Jerusalem). Of course, they are right - the two are not identical. And, at the same time, many people view American democracy as a civic religion. And, more to the point, the piece wasn't comparing breaking in to the Mikdash *itself* to breaking into the Capitol; it was comparing people's *experience* of those two phenomena...To that end, I believe Chazal (LB: The Talmudic sages)preserved some deep insights that are worth considering.
Why was Abraham Chosen? Seeing & Celebrating the Light of our World, and Noticing and Acting when it's on Fire
וַיֹּאמֶר ה' אֶל אַבְרָם לֶךְ לְךָ מֵאַרְצְךָ וגו' (בראשית יב, א), רַבִּי יִצְחָק פָּתַח (תהלים מה, יא): שִׁמְעִי בַת וּרְאִי וְהַטִּי אָזְנֵךְ וְשִׁכְחִי עַמֵּךְ וּבֵית אָבִיךְ, אָמַר רַבִּי יִצְחָק מָשָׁל לְאֶחָד שֶׁהָיָה עוֹבֵר מִמָּקוֹם לְמָקוֹם, וְרָאָה בִּירָה אַחַת דּוֹלֶקֶת, אָמַר תֹּאמַר שֶׁהַבִּירָה הַזּוֹ בְּלֹא מַנְהִיג, הֵצִיץ עָלָיו בַּעַל הַבִּירָה, אָמַר לוֹ אֲנִי הוּא בַּעַל הַבִּירָה. כָּךְ לְפִי שֶׁהָיָה אָבִינוּ אַבְרָהָם אוֹמֵר תֹּאמַר שֶׁהָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה בְּלֹא מַנְהִיג, הֵצִיץ עָלָיו הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא וְאָמַר לוֹ אֲנִי הוּא בַּעַל הָעוֹלָם. (תהלים מה, יב): וְיִתְאָו הַמֶּלֶךְ יָפְיֵךְ כִּי הוּא אֲדֹנַיִךְ. וְיִתְאָו הַמֶּלֶךְ יָפְיֵךְ, לְיַפּוֹתֵךְ בָּעוֹלָם, (תהלים מה, יב): וְהִשְׁתַּחֲוִי לוֹ, הֱוֵי וַיֹּאמֶר ה' אֶל אַבְרָם.
Adonai said to Abram, "Go you forth from your land…" … Rabbi Yitzchak said: this may be compared to a man who was traveling from place to place when he saw a birah doleket (transl. palace/castle full of light. atl. trans: palace/castle on fire). He said, "Is it possible that this castle lacks a person to lead/guide/look after (?) it? The owner of the building looked out and said, “I am the owner of the castle.”
Similarly, because Abraham our father said, “Is it possible that this world has no person to lead/guide/look after (?) it?" The Holy Blessed One looked out and said to him, “I am the Master of the Universe.” … Hence, God said to Avraham, Lech Lecha.
Shifra & Puah: The Brave Aides
(8) A new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph. (9) And he said to his people, “Look, the Israelite people are much too numerous for us. (10) Let us deal shrewdly with them, so that they may not increase; otherwise in the event of war they may join our enemies in fighting against us and rise from the ground.” (11) So they set taskmasters over them to oppress them with forced labor; and they built garrison cities for Pharaoh: Pithom and Raamses. (12) But the more they were oppressed, the more they increased and spread out, so that the [Egyptians] came to dread the Israelites. (13) The Egyptians ruthlessly imposed upon the Israelites (14) the various labors that they made them perform. Ruthlessly they made life bitter for them with harsh labor at mortar and bricks and with all sorts of tasks in the field. (15) The king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah, (16) saying, “When you deliver the Hebrew women, look at the birthstool: if it is a boy, kill him; if it is a girl, let her live.” (17) The midwives, fearing God, did not do as the king of Egypt had told them; they let the boys live. (18) So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, letting the boys live?” (19) The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women: they are vigorous. Before the midwife can come to them, they have given birth.” (20) And God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied and increased greatly. (21) And because the midwives feared God, He established households for them. (22) Then Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, “Every boy that is born you shall throw into the Nile, but let every girl live.”
למילדות העבריות לאותן שהיו בעיר מצרים...
למילדות העבריות, to the midwives resident in the [capital] city of Egypt...
שפרה SHIPHRAH — This was Jochebed; she bore this additional name because she used to put the babe after its birth into good physical condition (משפרת) by the care she bestowed upon it (Sotah 11b).
פועה PUAH — This was Miriam, and she bore this additional name because she used to Call aloud and speak and croon to the babe just as women do who soothe a child when it is crying (Sotah 11b).
Noticing the Small Fires, too.
What are they, and which can we address as a collective and as individuals?
Now Moses, tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, drove the flock into the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. An angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire out of a bush. He gazed, and there was a bush all aflame, yet the bush was not consumed. Moses said, “I must turn aside to look at this marvelous sight; why doesn’t the bush burn up?” When the LORD saw that he had turned aside to look, God called to him out of the bush: “Moses! Moses!” He answered, “Here I am.”
וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה אָסֻרָה נָּא וְאֶרְאֶה. רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן אָמַר: שָׁלֹש פְּסִיעוֹת פָּסַע מֹשֶׁה. רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן לָקִישׁ אָמַר, לֹא פָּסַע, אֶלָּא צַוָּארוֹ עִקֵּם. אָמַר לוֹ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא: נִצְטַעַרְתָּ לִרְאוֹת, חַיֶּיךָ, שֶׁאַתָּה כְּדַאי שֶׁאֶגָּלֶה עָלֶיךָ. מִיָּד וַיִּקְרָא אֵלָיו אֱלֹהִים מִתּוֹךְ הַסְּנֶה.
And Moses said: I will turn aside now, and see this great sight (Exod. 3:3). R. Johanan held that Moses took three steps forward. R. Simeon the son of Lakish insisted that he did not step forward at all but simply turned his neck to observe it. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: Because you troubled to look, be assured you will merit that I shall reveal Myself unto you. Forthwith, And God called unto him out of the midst of the bush (ibid., v. 4).
בְּלַבַּת אֵשׁ, בַּתְּחִלָּה לֹא יָרַד אֶלָּא מַלְאָךְ אֶחָד שֶׁהָיָה מְמֻצָּע וְעוֹמֵד בְּאֶמְצַע הָאֵשׁ, וְאַחַר כָּךְ יָרְדָה שְׁכִינָה וְדִבְּרָה עִמּוֹ מִתּוֹךְ הַסְּנֶה. רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר אוֹמֵר, מָה הַסְּנֶה שָׁפָל מִכָּל הָאִילָנוֹת שֶׁבָּעוֹלָם, כָּךְ הָיוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל שְׁפָלִים וִיְרוּדִים לְמִצְרַיִם...וְלָמָּה הֶרְאָה לוֹ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְמשֶׁה בָּעִנְיָן הַזֶּה, לְפִי שֶׁהָיָה מְחַשֵּׁב בְּלִבּוֹ וְאוֹמֵר, שֶׁמָּא יִהְיוּ הַמִּצְרִיִּים מְכַלִּין אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל, לְפִיכָךְ הֶרְאָהוּ הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אֵשׁ בּוֹעֶרֶת וְאֵינֶנּוּ אֻכָּל, אָמַר לוֹ כְּשֵׁם שֶׁהַסְּנֶה בּוֹעֵר בָּאֵשׁ וְאֵינֶנּוּ אֻכָּל, כָּךְ הַמִּצְרִיִּים אֵינָן יְכוֹלִין לְכַלּוֹת אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל. דָּבָר אַחֵר, לְפִי שֶׁהָיָה הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא מְדַבֵּר עִם משֶׁה וְלֹא הָיָה מְבַקֵּשׁ לִבָּטֵל מִמְּלַאכְתוֹ, הֶרְאָה לוֹ אוֹתוֹ דָּבָר כְּדֵי שֶׁיַּהֲפֹךְ פָּנָיו וְיִרְאֶה וִידַבֵּר עִמּוֹ, שֶׁכָּךְ אַתָּה מוֹצֵא מִתְּחִלָּה וַיֵּרָא מַלְאַךְ ה' אֵלָיו, וְלֹא הָלַךְ משֶׁה, וְכֵיוָן שֶׁבָּטַל מִמְּלַאכְתוֹ וְהָלַךְ לִרְאוֹת, מִיָּד (שמות ג, ד): וַיִּקְרָא אֵלָיו אֱלֹהִים.
"In a flame of fire." At first only one angel descended and stood in the center of the fire as an intermediary. Only afterwards did the Shechinah descend and spoke with him from within the thorn-bush. Rabbi Eliezer said: Just as the thorn-bush is the lowliest of all trees in the world, so too Israel were lowly and downtrodden in Egypt...And why did the Holy One, Blessed be He reveal Himself to Moses in this way? Because he [Moses] thought in his heart, saying, Maybe the Egyptians will destroy Israel. Therefore the Holy One, Blessed be He revealed Himself in a thorn-bush that was burning but not consumed. He said to him, just as the thorn-bush is burning but is not consumed, so too the Egyptians will not be able to destroy Israel. Alternatively, since the Holy One, Blessed be He was talking with Moses and he did not want stop his task [of minding the sheep], He showed him this thing so he would turn his face and see Him. You find this [intimated] from the beginning [of the verse]: "An angel of the LORD appeared to him" - yet Moses did not go. Once he stopped doing his task and went to see, immediately "God called him" (Exodus 3:4).
בחנוכה: בִּימֵי מַתִּתְיָֽהוּ בֶּן יוֹחָנָן כֹּהֵן גָּדוֹל חַשְׁמוֹנָאִי וּבָנָיו כְּשֶׁעָמְ֒דָה מַלְכוּת יָוָן הָרְ֒שָׁעָה עַל־עַמְּ֒ךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל לְהַשְׁכִּיחָם תּוֹרָתֶֽךָ וּלְהַעֲבִירָם מֵחֻקֵּי רְצוֹנֶֽךָ, וְאַתָּה בְּרַחֲמֶֽיךָ הָרַבִּים עָמַֽדְתָּ לָהֶם בְּעֵת צָרָתָם רַֽבְתָּ אֶת־רִיבָם דַּֽנְתָּ אֶת־דִּינָם נָקַֽמְתָּ אֶת־נִקְמָתָם מָסַֽרְתָּ גִבּוֹרִים בְּיַד חַלָּשִׁים וְרַבִּים בְּיַד מְעַטִּים וּטְמֵאִים בְּיַד טְהוֹרִים וּרְשָׁעִים בְּיַד צַדִּיקִים וְזֵדִים בְּיַד עוֹסְ֒קֵי תוֹרָתֶֽךָ וּלְךָ עָשִֽׂיתָ שֵׁם גָּדוֹל וְקָדוֹשׁ בְּעוֹלָמֶֽךָ וּלְעַמְּ֒ךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל עָשִֽׂיתָ תְּשׁוּעָה גְדוֹלָה וּפֻרְקָן כְּהַיּוֹם הַזֶּה וְאַחַר־כֵּן בָּֽאוּ בָנֶֽיךָ לִדְבִיר בֵּיתֶֽךָ וּפִנּוּ אֶת־הֵיכָלֶֽךָ וְטִהֲרוּ אֶת־מִקְדָּשֶֽׁךָ וְהִדְלִֽיקוּ נֵרוֹת בְּחַצְרוֹת קָדְשֶֽׁךָ וְקָבְ֒עוּ שְׁמוֹנַת יְמֵי חֲנֻכָּה אֵֽלּוּ לְהוֹדוֹת וּלְהַלֵּל לְשִׁמְךָ הַגָּדוֹל:
On Chanukah: In the days of Matisyahu, son of Yochanan the High Priest, the Hasmonean and his sons, when the evil Greek kingdom rose up against Your people Israel to make them forget Your Torah. and to turn them away from the statutes of Your will— You, in Your abundant mercy, stood by them in their time of distress, You defended their cause, You judged their grievances, You avenged them. You delivered the mighty into the hands of the weak, many into the hands of the few, defiled people into the hands of the undefiled, the wicked into the hands of the righteous, and insolent [sinners] into the hands of diligent students of Your Torah. And You made Yourself a great and sanctified name in Your world. And for Your people, Israel, You performed a great deliverance and redemption unto this very day. Afterwards, Your sons entered the Holy of Holies of Your Abode, cleaned Your Temple, purified Your Sanctuary, and kindled lights in the Courtyards of Your Sanctuary, and designated these eight days of Chanukah to thank and praise Your great Name.
[credit for connection: Rabbi Tali Adler]
Seeing the Bigger Picture and Accepting Small Errors
ועל דרך האמת והשבח הגדול בזאת המצוה אמרו זכרונם לברכה (ספרי כאן) לא תסור ממנו ימין ושמאל אפילו יאמרו לך על ימין שהוא שמאל לא תסור ממצותם, כלומר, שאפילו יהיו הם טועים בדבר אחד מן הדברים אין ראוי לנו לחלק עליהם, אבל נעשה כטעותם, וטוב לסבל טעות אחת ויהיו הכל מסורים תחת דעתם הטוב [ה] תמיד, ולא שיעשה כל אחד ואחד כפי דעתו, שבזה יהיה חרבן הדת, וחלוק לב העם, והפסד האמה לגמרי. ומפני ענינים אלה, נמסרה כונת התורה אל חכמי ישראל, ונצטוו גם כן שיהיו לעולם הכת [ה] מועטת מן החכמים כפופה לכת המרבים מן השרש הזה, וכמו שכתבתי שם במצות להטות אחרי רבים.
And by way of the great truth and praise of this commandment, they, may their memory be blessed, said (Sifrei Devarim 154), "'You shall not stray from [it] right or left' - even if they tell say to you about right that it is left, do not stray from their commandments" - meaning to say that even if they err in one of the things, it is not fitting for us to differ with them. Rather, we should do like their mistake. And it is better to suffer one mistake, and everything be given over under their constant good opinion; and not that each and every one go according to his [own] opinion. As with [the latter], there would be destruction of the religion, dissent in the heart of the people and total loss of the nation. And because of these things, the intention of the Torah was given over to the sages of Israel. And from this root, they were also commanded that the small group of the sages is subordinate to the group of the numerous, and as I wrote there about the commandment of "to incline towards the many."
Rabbi Ezra Schwartz, A Call for Moral Clarity
Even accepting that the election was decided incorrectly (which it wasn’t), halacha (Jewish Law) demonstrates that we should accept a single erroneous decision rather than undermine the entire governmental process. The Sefer HaChinuch in mitzva 496 famously explains the mitzva of lo tassur, understood by him to mean that we follow Beth Din even when they issue an erroneous ruling, articulating a social contract theory. In order to maintain society, we must accept certain risks and even errors. A system that may at times be wrong is better than no system at all. Absence of a system will allow everyone to act on his or her own wishes. This would destroy society. The Chinuch presents an insurmountable question to any ben or bat (male or female follower of) Torah who possibly felt that attempting to overturn the election was proper.
"I have no other land."
‘I can’t keep silent’: Pelosi quotes Israeli poet to urge Trump removal
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday quoted an Israeli poet and songwriter as she urged Republican lawmakers to back the removal of US President Donald Trump from office over his supporters’ storming of the Capitol last week.
Pelosi quoted Ehud Manor’s poem “I Have No Other Land” (“Ein Li Eretz Aheret” in Hebrew) during a floor speech as the House of the Representatives debated a bill calling for US Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment.
Pelosi, a San Francisco Democrat, hailed Ehud Manor as a “great Israeli poet” and said she has previously recalled his poem during Trump’s presidency.
“I can’t keep silent in light of how my country has changed her face, won’t quit trying to remind her. In her ears, I’ll sing my cries until she opens her eyes. I can’t keep silent of how my country has changed her face,” she said, reciting the words.
Pelosi also quoted the poem, which was later made into a song, during her speech to the J Street conference last year.
Written in 1982 when a right-wing Likud government was waging a controversial war in Lebanon, the song speaks of Manor’s love for Hebrew but features a pledge to “not remain silent and sing” to a country that “has changed its face.” Manor’s widow, Ofra Fuchs, said in 2015 that it was intended as a left-wing protest song.