This Tuesday is Tisha B'Av, the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av. It is a day of fasting, of mourning, and of deep personal introspection. We remember this day as the anniversary of the destruction of the first Holy Temple by the Babylonians, the second Temple by the Romans, and the myriad tragedies, pogroms and disasters that have befallen the Jewish people on this ill-fated day throughout history.
We are taught that the cause of the destruction of the second Temple was sinat chinam, gratuitous hatred between Jew and Jew. We are directed to the infamous incident in Gittin 56a of Kamtza & Bar Kamtza.
Briefly: a wealthy man held a sumptuous banquet and invited all the "A-List" dignitaries of Judea. He also sent an invite to his friend Kamtza. By accident, the invitation was delivered to a guy named Bar-Kamtza (no relation.) Bar-Kamtza also happened to be a bitter enemy of the host. (You can see where this is going.)
Bar-Kamtza goes to the banquet, thinking that the invite might be an opening to a rapproachment between the adversaries. But when he gets there, the host goes ballistic at the temerity of his enemy showing up at the exclusive shindig and orders Bar-Kamtza unceremoniously ushered to the curb.
Bar-Kamtza sizes up the situation. He quietly and urgently pleads with the host not to make an awkward situation worse and humiliate him in front of all the rabbis, politicians, business moguls and celebrities in attendance. He offers to pay for his meal. No. He offers to pay for half of the banquet. No. He finally offers to pay for the entire blasted affair if the host will merely allow the evening to pass without incident. Again the answer is an unyielding NO.
The anger that consumes Bar-Kamtza over his humiliation and mistreatment leads to a chain of events which resulted in the Temple being razed by the Romans. In other words, sinat chinam was the precipitate cause of the destruction of the Temple and ultimately, the Roman expulsion which we experience down to today.
In thinking about this gemara, most people focus on the egregious behavior of the host. People think, "if I ever hosted an A-List-black-tie soiree, I'd never behave that ungraciously to a guest, even an enemy." Excellent, but few (if any) of us will be having Gwyneth Paltrow to dinner anytime soon. Since, when we look in the mirror, we don't see someone who would act with that much venom, we conclude that sinat chinam is somebody else's problem. We cluck our tongues, point to the other guy, and conveniently exempt ourselves.
Let me clue you in to a little secret: the REAL sinat chinam in the story was that the learned rabbis in attendance did not intervene on Bar-Kamtza's behalf; and once he was bodily ejected, they shrugged their shoulders and went back to the party.
True sinat chinam is ignoring the plight of your fellow. It is plugging your ears with your fingers, squeezing your eyes shut, and saying, "leave me out of it, I have enough troubles of my own."
Sinat chinam is moral cowardice. Sinat chinam is not standing up to speak truth and righteousness on behalf of a friend in distress; it's taking the easy and convenient path; it's averting your eyes, turning your back and going about your own business. This kind of sinat chinam is very relateable and tragically is very, very prevalent in Jewish life today.
This week, I witnessed this pernicious form of sinat chinam firsthand. A person in our community was accused of a monstrous crime based only on hearsay and innuendo, with no evidence to support the charge. In fact, strong evidence exculpated him, but the campaign of whispers persisted.
Thank Gcd, some people stood up for their friend; but several more, rabbis among them, sided with the fear, with the lies, with innuendo and rumor and shadows. It was self-evidently a case of first degree character assassination. But instead of standing up for truth, the moral cowards averted their eyes, chose not to get involved, cowered behind their voice mails, shunning this hapless victim. In the end, he lost his job over nothing more than a vile, malicious whisper.
What do we mourn for on Tisha B'Av? A building? A return of the ritual sacrifices? I suggest we mourn for something much deeper.
The Jewish people are supposed to be the exemplars of ethical monotheism. Our elevated and holy society, driven by love of Gcd, love of Torah and love of our fellow man is intended to be what Isaiah calls 'a light unto the nations.' Our highest ideals and aspirations are embodied in the order, beauty and splendor of the Temple, resplendent on Gcd's holy mountain.
But the Temple is in ruins, and the Jewish people have lost the voice of moral authority in the world. If the world thinks about us at all, they look at us as an anachronism, or as a curiosity, or as a nuisance.
It is over our personal failings and the inability to fulfill our holy mission that we cry on Tisha B'Av.
How do we presume to preach truth to world if we turn our backs to our own brother in distress? That is the sinat chinam that destroyed - and continues to destroy - everything that the Temple represents.
To those who stood up for truth this week - and you know who you are - it is in your merit that the Holy Temple will be speedily rebuilt in our lifetimes.
And to the moral cowards - and you know who you are - shame on you.
May we merit to see Tisha B'Av go from a fast day to a feast day, and from a day of mourning to a day of joy.
Shabbat Shalom.
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