PROVIDE YOURSELVES WITH MEN, WISE,
UNDERSTANDING, AND KNOWLEDGEABLE, FOR YOUR TRIBES, AND I WILL SET THEM AS YOUR
HEADS.

(Devarim 1:13)

"Men wise and knowledgeable" – But "understanding" I did not
find. This is one of the seven attributes which Yitro had suggested to Moshe –
yet he found only three: Men righteous, wise and knowledgeable.

(Rashi ibid., ibid.)

The Halakhic Requirements for Judges

The Bet Din (court) of three, even though its requirements are less
stringent than those listed above, each member must possess seven attributes:
Wisdom, humility, fear of God, contempt for money, love of truth, be objects of
admiration by others, good reputation – all these are mentioned explicitly in
the Torah: "Men wise and understanding" – these are the wise; "Knowledgeable
for your tribes" – this refers to men who enjoy public esteem, and
they will be as such when they are generous and humble and friendly and deal
decently with people. Further on it says: "Men of valor" –
those who are courageous in observance of mitzvoth, and are exacting
with themselves, and control themselves, all to the point where their
reputation is good and unblemished. Included in men of valor is a heart
brave to save the oppressed from the hands of the oppressor, as is written, "And
Moshe rose up and saved them". And just as Moshe was humble, so must
every judge be humble. "God-fearing" – literally. "Hating
ill-gotten gains" – men who are not even overly-concerned over their
own wealth, and do not pursue the accumulation of money, for whoever is
desirous of wealth will eventually want. "Men of truth" – who
pursue justice, love truth, hate corruption, and flee from all wrong.

(Mishneh Torah of Rambam,
Laws of Sanhedrin 2:7)

A COMMUNITY OF
MOURNERS

On
Tish'a B'Av and the "Yemei Bein HaMetsarim"

Shira ben Sasson-Furstenberg

"Our Rabbis taught, all those
mitzvoth in effect during the period of mourning, are in effect on the 9^th
of Av. It is forbidden to eat and to drink and to launder and to wear shoes and
to have sexual relations and it is forbidden to study Torah and Prophets and
Scriptures…" (Taanit 30a)

In Jewish tradition, the fast of the 9^th
of Av and the nature of the period between the 17^th of Tammuz and
the 9^th of Av, (commonly called "Yemei Bein HaMetsarim"), take
on the character of days of mourning. Different communities observe the various
divisions of the three weeks ("Bein HaMetsarim", "from the
beginning of Av," "the week of the 9^th of Av")
differently, but all the customs reflect an intensification of the spirit of
mourning as we come closer to the 9^th of Av.

The behavior expected of society during the
days of "Bein HaMetsarim" is copied, to a large degree, from the
behavioral pattern generally expected of one mourning over a close relative. So
the Bavli, Tractate Taanit, says explicitly: "All the mitzvot
observed in mourning are observed on the 9^th of Av." In other
words, the mourning of the Jewish nation over the destruction of the Temple
crystallized according to a model closely resembling an individual's mourning
over the death of a beloved person.

This
collective grief, in which all the Jewish nation is invited to participate,
bears a close resemblance to practices customary during individual mourning. At
the same time it differs from individual mourning in some of its
characteristics. The imitation of mourning practices from the level of the
individual to the collective plane, presents an invitation to change of
required rules of conduct and of the meaning derived from them.

First of all, collective mourning and
personal grieving are structured inversely in terms of the order of practices
and times. Personal mourning is shaped in movement which we may define as "from
the heavy to the light." The peak of the practices affecting the mourner's
personal self, his effects, and his behavior, is to be found at the funeral and
the first days of mourning. The range of demands and their severity diminish
with time – from the week of mourning, to month, to the end of the year:

" Do not weep for the dead" – "Do
not weep for the dead" excessively, "and do not lament for him"
beyond measure. How is this to be done? Three days for weeping and seven
for eulogy and thirty for [abstinence from] laundering and haircutting. From
this point on, The Holy One, Blessed Be He, says: Have you more mercy on him
than do I? (Moed Kattan 27b)

The Talmud defines the decreasing intensity
of one's mourning over the death of a close one, from the day of death until
return to normal routine.

Collective mourning, however, is structured
on an inverse model: "From the light to the heavy". The laws of the
17^th of Tammuz are unlike those of the 9^th of Av; the
prohibitions grow as the day of the fast approaches. A short perusal of Chapter
122 in the Kittzur Shulchan Aruch (Ganzfried ed.) illustrates the trend toward
increased stringency:

Because on the 17^th of Tammuz the
misfortunes of the destruction began, therefore we observe a small measure
of mourning from this day until after the 9^th of Av… Upon
entering Av, we decrease rejoicing… It is a custom in Israel not to eat meat
nor to drink wine during these nine days… New clothes are not sewn in these
days… We do not bath in these days, even in cold water…"

This is the custom in Ashkenazic Jewry; among
Sephardim, the restrictions are in effect only during the week in which the 9^th
of Av falls.

We have noted the diametrical process: the
personal grieving begins with a peak, and progresses towards normative life,
whereas the collective mourning gradually departs from routine and – within
confines and prohibitions – progresses to a climax. The difference in the order
is explained by different goals. The mourning period for the individual is
intended to make possible return to normal life despite a heavy tragedy which
befell him and unsettled his life. The period of collective mourning, observed
during the Yemei Bein HaMetsarim is designed to induce a sense of
tragedy, in order to revive the Jewish people's pain at the destruction of
the Temple, through the customs which gradually build up to the proper
atmosphere.

At the basis of society's attitude to
personal mourning lies the goal of returning the mourner to normative social
life; therefore, the attention to his grief is gradually diffused. On the other
hand, in order to create a spirit of "togetherness" about the subject
of the induced collective mourning, it is necessary to gradually intensify the
forms, towards increasing severity.

Another difference between the two forms of
mourning lies in the social function attributed to the mourning customs in each
of the cases.

The social sciences' functional paradigm
explains human actions according to the function which they fulfill in society.
According to this approach, customs of mourning among the nations and in Israel
are comprehended as social mechanisms serving a number of primary purposes. The
functions attributed to Jewish mourning customs are related to the different
factors which are affected by the event of death; the deceased, the mourners,
and the surrounded society. Every death holds the potential danger of
undermining the existing social order and damaging the communal equilibrium.
The Jewish mourning customs serve to separate the mourner from the
group, while, at the same time, to direct the members of the community to a
variety of ways to support that person whose routine has been disrupted.

The marking of the mourner as a different and
separate member in the community takes place on a number of levels; his face is
unshaven and his hair is not cut, his clothing is torn and not laundered nor
ironed; he does not step outside his home, he is not greeted, and he does not
engage in business.

On the other hand, social support of mourners
is expressed through various laws: the community assists in funeral
arrangements and eulogy, and provides food for the mourners. The importance of
the mitzva of comforting the bereaved receives emphasis as one of the
ways in which man can resemble The Holy One, Blessed Be He:

"The Holy One, Blessed Be He,
comforts the mourners, as is written, "Following the death of Avraham,
the Lord blessed his son Yitzhak" – so do you comfort the bereaved." (Sotah
14a)

But what role do these functions play in
collective mourning? At first blush, there would seem to be no value to the
social functions enumerated in the context of private mourning: there is no
reason to isolate one of the members from the rest of the community, and there
is no support group surrounding the "marked" person. The entire
community plays the role of the mourner.

A situation of quasi-collective mourning is
liable to occur upon a death in an especially close-knit community. In Tractate
Semachot we find a communal prohibition against interpersonal greetings:

"Within the town, one does not inquire
as to welfare [shalom] of his friend. This applies only in the case of a
small village, but in a large city, it is permitted." (Semachot 1:7)

In other words, the demise of a person in a
place where the social web is especially close-woven affects the community as
though it were one family. As a single body, this community stands apart from
the Jewish public, thus defining the boundaries of the mourning. The mourning
practiced in Israel over the destruction of the Temple does not affect a
restricted, close-knit community. Throughout the generations, the Jewish people
ceased to be organized in a tight, completely united, social fabric (if ever
there was such a thing). How, in such a state, do we re-fashion customs of
mourning of the Bein Hametsarim?

The mourning customs practiced with the
approach of Tisha B'Av might have been seen only as symbolic acts. As Rabbi
Daniel Sperber writes in "Customs of Israel": "There is a set of
customs whose primary content lies in their symbolism, customs which are
intended to give some tangible expression to an abstract idea" ("Customs of Israel, III, 113). It seems,
however, that this definition which remains on a symbolic plane does not fully
express the power of mourning customs in Jewish practice.

Two dimensions contribute to the fleshing-out
of the picture.

The social function of separation, realized
in the case of individual mourning, receives a new cast in the case of
collective mourning; the days of Yemei Bein HaMetsarim are set apart
from the other days of the year. Just as the individual learns to place his
feelings according to his place in his surrounding society, so the totality of
Israel [Klal Yisrael] defines the place of mourning alongside life's
routines throughout the year. Were it not for the defined placement of the
period of mourning, were the mourning distributed throughout the year, the
feeling of loss and the ability to totally identify with it could not be so
intensified.

Alongside the importance of the separation – spatial
and temporal – between life and the mourner, there is an additional perceptible
dimension in collective mourning, one which we ourselves experienced lately.
But in the current difficult collective mourning there is no need to structure
the sense of trauma and to arouse the memory; the painful atmosphere and the
natural grief are there. The mourning of the public, both natural and induced,
is a clear sign of solidarity and social adhesion. Different people live
differently, but in their mourning, they are alike. The customs of collective
mourning both reflect the common tragedy and also heighten the sense of
partnership towards a life of unity.

The end of days – so it is promised – will
see the inversion of these two types of mourning. The resurrection of the dead
will mend personal mourning; collective mourning will be ameliorated by the
erection of Temple.

In these days, when Israel is sated with
mourning in all its forms – the personal and the collective – may we merit the
fulfillment of: "All who mourn over Yerushalayim will merit to witness
her joy."

Shira Ben
Sasson-Furstenberg is studying for her Master's Degree in anthropology in the
Hebrew University, and works for the Center for Research and Information of the
Knesset.

Yerushalayim has sinned" – Israel's
Uniqueness As A Chosen People

Commenting on the passage in Lamentations – "Yerushalayim has
sinned, therefore she became a menstruant", the Midrash asks: "Yerushalayim
has sinned – do not other nations of the world sin?! But even though
they sin, it is nothing, but Israel sinned and
was punished." This indicates that the responsibility weighing upon
the Jewish people is greater than that of the nations; when the nations sin,
they sometimes are successful despite their sins, whereas for the Jewish people
this is not so; iniquity and evil – which do not weaken the foundations of
other nations' existence – have the potential to undermine the existence of the
Jewish people. This is the uniqueness of the Jewish people which finds
expression is the well-known phrase "You have chosen us from all the
peoples", a choice which is the acceptance of obligations and their
fulfillment alone; this alone is its z'chut – its privilege – as a
the people of God.

 (From
Leibowitz, Discussions on Israel's Festivals and Appointed Times, p. 138)

What’s Happening in
Our Movement

Beth Midrash for
Peace

Lectures and Sheurim within the framework of Beth
Midrash L'Shalom will take place this year in
seven locations.

Editorial Board: Pinchas Leiser
(Editor), Miriam Fine (Coordinator), Itzhak
Frankenthal and Dr. Menachem Klein

Translation: Kadish Goldberg

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