OPEN A GATE FOR US AT THE HOUR OF THE GATE'S CLOSING – FOR THE DAY HAS PASSED

 

When is the Time for Ne'ila?

The rabbis of Caesarea say: Rav and R. Yohanan disagree about it.

Rav said: At the closing of the gates of Heaven.

R. Yohanan: At the closing of the gates of the Temple.

(Yerushalmi Berakhot 4:1)

 

And so they established a service following the minha service, performed only on the fast day, just as the sun sets, in order to increase pleas and requests because of the fast. This is the service known as Teffilat Ne'ila {literally: the locking prayer], in reference to the gates of Heaven, which then close behind the disappearing sun, since it is only performed at sunset

(RaMBaM, Hilkhot Tefillah 1:7)

 

The matter of Yom Kippur and Ne'ila is like a parable: one makes a chest and closet; when they are completed a lock is made for them to guard their contents.

(R. Naftali Tzvi Horowitz's Zera Kodesh, quoted by S.Y. Agnon in his Yamim Nora'im, pg. 362)

 

 

So very open that it will never close again, so very closed that it shall never reopen...

Forget, remember, forget

Open, close, open

(From Y. Amichai's Patuah, Sagur, Patuah)

 

 

Revenge and Retribution is Mine - Is there a "Jewish Morality"?

Shemuel Herr

When I whet My flashing blade and My hand lays hold on judgment, vengeance will I wreak on My foes, will I deal to those who reject Me. I will make My arrows drunk with blood - as My sword devours flesh - blood of the slain and captive from the long-haired enemy chiefs. O nations, acclaim His people! For he will avenge the blood of his servants, wreak vengeance upon His foes, and cleanse the land of His people. (Devarim 32: 41-42)

In course of the past few weeks we have repeatedly heard people contrast Jewish morality with Christian morality. Twisted Christian morality speaks of turning the other cheek, while Jewish morality is a morality of vengeance - an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. This is a very ancient claim; anti-Semites have made it throughout the generations and in our own days. It begins with Marcion in the second century of the Common Era, through Eisenmenger's 18^th century collection of anti-gentile quotes from Jewish literature, and on to anti-Semitic propaganda of the contemporary European media. Astonishingly, we now get to hear the same false claim from the mouths of rabbis and Torah scholars. Perhaps some of them repeat it naively.

Of course one can find expressions of intolerance and vengefulness in Judaism, just as one can in Christianity or in any other culture. However, the idea of "turning the other cheek" is actually a distinctly Jewish notion. It is explicitly stated in Scripture, and is repeatedly mentioned by the Sages. It is one of the distinctive elements of the thought of Hillel the Elder and his students.

Isaiah (50: 6) says: I offered my back to the floggers and my cheeks to those who tore out my hair. I did not hide my face from insult and spittle. In Lamentations (3:29) we read of the virtues befitting a man - he offers his cheek to those who strike him, satiated with humiliation.

Even an extended essay would not suffice us to trace this idea's history in the literature of the Sages. He we shall only mention some of the better known sources. In the end of the chapter Ha'Hovel (Bava Kama 93a) it is written: "R. Abahu said - a person should always belong to the pursued and not to the pursuers, for no bird is more pursued than the doves and pigeons, and Scripture allows [only] these to be offered on the altar."

A page earlier, we find:

Rava said to Rava bar Mari: What is the source for the Sages' dictum - "If your fellow calls you an ass, set a saddle on your back"? He told him: It is written - And he said, "Hagar, slave of Sarai, where have you come from and where are going?" And she said, "I am running away from my mistress Sarai."

That is to say: when we are called asses, we must place a saddle upon our backs and not rebel. We are to learn this from Hagar the Egyptian; although our Mother Sarah oppressed her, she still called Sarah my mistress.

We will also mention the wonderful b'raita that appears in Perek HaShole'ah (Gitin 36b): "Those who suffer insult but do not insult, hear themselves abused but do not respond, act from love and are content in afflictions; of them Scripture says: His lovers are like the sun coming out in its valor." While the Song of Deborah uses the image of the sun in its valor in reference to warriors, the Sages adopt that phrase to speak precisely of those who are insulted but do not insult.

Finally, consider the summarization of the Torah attributed to the House of Hillel in Eruvin 13a: "Anyone who lowers himself is raised up by the Holy One blessed be He; and anyone who raises himself up is cast down by the Holy One blessed be He. Anyone who courts greatness - greatness flees from him; anyone who flees greatness - greatness courts him. Anyone who presses the hour - the hour shall press him, anyone who sets himself aside before the hour - the hour awaits him."

Let us return to parashat Ha'azinu. The song of Ha'azinu concludes with God's promise to wreak vengeance upon His enemies. This vengeance is not arbitrary; it is not even aimed at helping Israel. It comes to reveal God's power in the world: See now that I, I am He and there is no other god beside me. I kill and bring to life, I crush and I restore, and none can save from My hand. The Sages correctly saw a direct connection between this song and the vengeance wreaked upon the nations as described in the Book of Ezekiel (see Mekhilta De'Rabbi Yishmael Bo. 12, pg. 40). Ezekiel's prophesy also states that the Holy One blessed be He will wreak vengeance upon the nations and return Israel to its land. Israel, however, will not actually be worthy of redemption. God's purpose will be to address the nations' false impression that Israel's weakness is a symptom of God's own weakness. Instead of understanding that God has punished Israel for its sins, the nations mistakenly believe that their gods have vanquished the God of Israel. It is impossible to leave such a desecration of God's Name unanswered: But when they came to those nations, they caused My holy Name to be profaned, in that it was said of them, "These are the people of the Lord, yet they had to leave His land." Therefore I am concerned for My holy Name, which the House of Israel have caused to be profaned...I do not [act] for your sakes O House of Israel, but for my holy Name... and I shall sanctify My great Name that has been profaned among the nations...and I shall take you out of the nations...(Ezekiel 36).

The Sages take this common element from Ha'azinu and Ezekiel and turn it on its head. In the end of the tractate Yoma we read the following drasha:

And you shall love the Lord your God - that your deeds make the name of Heaven beloved; that one should read and restudy and serve Torah scholars, and one's dealings with others should be conducted pleasantly. What do people then say of him? "Happy is his father who taught him Torah, happy is his rabbi who taught him Torah. Woe unto those people who have not studied Torah: so-and-so who was taught Torah - see how pleasant his ways are, how perfect his deeds." Regarding him Scripture says: And He said to me, "You are My servant, Israel in whom I glory" (Isaiah 49). But he who reads and restudies and serves Torah scholars but is dishonest in his dealings and does not speak pleasantly with people, what do people say about him? "Woe unto so-and-so who studied Torah, woe unto his father who taught him Torah, woe unto his rabbi who taught him Torah. So-and-so who studied Torah - see how corrupt his deeds are and how ugly his ways! Of him Scripture says: in that it was said of them, "These are the people of the Lord, yet they had to leave His land." (Yoma 86a).

Desecration of the Name is not caused by Israel's weakness, but by the immoral behavior of God's servants; and the opposite is true regarding sanctification of the Name. It is caused when God's servants behave in a moral and worthy fashion. The darshan uses the verse from Ezekiel, in that it was said of them, "These are the people of the Lord, yet they had to leave His land" whose plain meaning is that the nations scoff at Israel's weakness - the Holy One blessed be He's own people, and lend it an entirely new meaning - the nations see the Jewish People's immoral behavior, and that constitutes a great desecration of the Name. In contrast, if the Jewish People comports itself properly, even in exile it can serve as the Holy One blessed be He's "good ambassador," as is explained in Isaiah's wonderful concluding prophecy: I will send survivors from them to nations... who have not heard My fame and who have not seen my glory, and they shall declare my glory among the nations.

A later version of this midrash contains and additional passage:

The Torah was only given in order to sanctify His great Name, for it is said: And He said to me, "You are My servant, [Israel in whom I glory]" (Isaiah 49:3). From this [verse] they said: One should distance himself from stealing, be it from Israelite or from a gentile, and even from anyone in the marketplace. For one who steals from the gentile ends up stealing from the Israelite, and one who robs the gentile ends up robbing the Israelite, he who swears [falsely] to the gentile ends up swearing [falsely] to the Israelite, he who lies to the gentile ends up lying to the Israelite, he who spills the gentile's blood ends up spilling the Israelite's blood. The Torah was not given for this, but rather in order to sanctify His great Name, and I shall place a sign upon them and I will send survivors, etc (Isaiah 66:19). What does he say of this matter? And they shall declare my glory among the nations. (Eliyahu Rabba - Ish Shalom edition - 26, s.v. davar aher ve'ahavta)

It is impossible to contrast morality for Jews to morality for gentiles. There is only one morality.

Today we are challenged by difficult and serious moral quandaries. We must face them to the best of our intellectual and emotional abilities. Perhaps we shall not always be able to apply Hillel the Elder's approach, but we cannot avoid authentic discussion by employing the false claim of there being a "Jewish morality." We must incessantly remind ourselves of the self-evident truth: there is no such thing as "Jewish morality." There is one morality in God's world; He is King over all the world" and we all believe that he is "beneficent to all, is good and does good to both the wicked and the good."

Shemuel Herr is an educator in the Hartman School in Jerusalem

 

Readers Respond

I find it difficult to understand Dr. Ariel Rathaus's self-flagellation.

The prohibition against destroying fruit trees is to be understood against the clear background of the intention to permanently control the territory. That is why its trees should not be destroyed - since those trees shall remain in the possession of the Israelite conqueror, and it would be a shame if they be lost.

Even if we assume that we are dealing with a prohibition that is independent of the intention of conquest, the prohibition only applies to that which it mentions - trees, but not buildings.

To return to our subject: how else can you deter an enemy from destroying your house if not by destroying his houses in return?!

As for the villages regarding which it was suggested that one stone should not be left on top of another - the author was incorrect to attribute that idea to some destructive drive; it was meant to keep the Hezbollah fighters from being able to hide. In practice it turned out that the careful policy we followed cost us not a little blood. Would the honored author agree to adopt his conscientious policy if he or his sons found themselves in a similar situation? Is there an army in the world that would have acted differently? I wonder...

Furthermore, the territory in question is part of the inheritance of the tribe of Asher. It was stolen from our people in an arbitrary agreement made between the great powers, contradicting the accepted notion up to that time that the Litani marks the northern border of the Land of Israel. It most certainly contradicts the Scriptural borders. Is it not just to wage a war to dry up the economic infrastructure that allows strangers to possess part of our land?

Dov Meir - Jerusalem

 

A Response to the Response

I shall make three comments regarding Mr. Dov Meir's criticisms:

1. As for "self-flagellation." I do not accept this newly coined expression; I find the tone of contempt that usually accompanies it particularly unacceptable. The Sages of the Talmud spoke of "the world's accounting" and the medieval sages spoke of "the soul's accounting." It is good that Jews involve themselves in soul-searching, both at the individual and public levels; it is nothing to be ashamed of.

2. Regarding the prohibition on the destruction of fruit trees in times of war: I shall quote a passage from Sefer HaHinukh (Shoftim, commandment 530, Torat Hayyim edition):

That we are prohibited from destroying the trees when we lay siege to a city in order to upset the people of the city and cause their hearts pain...similarly, this prohibition includes [the laws that] one should not create any loss, such as burning or tearing a frock, or purposelessly breaking a vessel...

From here we see that in opposition to Dov Meir's opinion, the Hinukh does not hold that "the prohibition only applies to that which it mentions." Rather, it broadens the prohibition beyond fruit trees to include any destructive act. As for the purpose of the prohibition, it seems that the Hinukh disagrees with Dov Meir's adamant opinion:

The root of this commandment is known: it is meant to teach us to love the good and the useful, and cling to them. In that way, the good shall cling to us and we shall be taken away from every bad thing and every destructive thing. This is path of the saints and men of deeds who love peace and who are pleased by people's good fortune and draw them close to the Torah. They would not cause a single mustard seed to be lost in the world, and they are sorrowed by any loss or destruction they see. If they can, they save anything they can from destruction with all their might. The wicked - who are brothers to destructive forces - are not like this; they rejoice at the world's destruction and they destroy… (loc. cit)

3. In the light of these words it would be a bit difficult to justify - and all the more so to instigate "a war to dry up the economic infrastructure that allows strangers to posses part of our land," as Dov Meir wishes to do. Perhaps my honorable critic believes that the author of Sefer HaHinukh is also tainted with the sin of "self-flagellation"?

Ariel Rathaus

 

 

 

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