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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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