Gedalya's Murder

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Murdering with Guile
Rabbi Yaakov Medan
To which murderer is the Torah referring when it states “you shall take him from My altar to die”? Chazal’s interpretation included only one who murders intentionally with premeditation, as opposed to one who murders accidentally. The verses, however, include a third type of murderer who is a composite of the first two types. He murders intentionally, but pretends to have done so unknowingly. It is concerning this murderer that the Torah commands that he be removed from the place of his refuge, from the 'altar,' and put to death. Examples exist throughout the biblical text, from Cain who murders Hevel, through Yoav ben Tzeruya’s murder of Avner, Amasa and Uriya, to Yishmael ben Netanya who murders Gedaliya ben Achikam.
Rachel's Death and Burial
Rabbi Yaakov Medan
Where was Rachel buried? Why is she the one crying for her children, and why does God answer her prayers? The answers to these questions leads us on a fascinating journey that begins with the Yosef and Binyamin (from the birth of Binyamin and the selling of Yosef through the Concubine on Givah, the destruction of Shiloh, and the exile of the ten tribes), continues with the civil wars throughout the generations (from the selling of Yoself through the murder of Gedalia to the destruction of the Second Temple and the Bar Kokhva Revolt). Rachel's prayer for Binyamin in the merit of her selflessness for him, and her prayer for Yosef and for all of Israel in the merit of her ability to conquer her natural jealousy toward her sister - these prayers have stood by Israel throughout the generations.
Eikha: A Historical Introduction
Part 1
Dr. Yael Ziegler | 48 minutes
Eikha depicts a grieving process. It does not contain historical dates - because its relevance exceeds its own particular historical context of the churban. Nevertheless, a historical context is crucial to understanding Eikha. This introductory shiur explores how four biblical/historical events helped shape problematic attitudes leading to the disaster of the churban.
Aviya, Assa, and Ba'sha – Civil War
Rabbi Alex Israel
Sharp discrepancies between the account of Aviyam in Melakhim and in Divrei Hayamim lead to the conclusion that Aviya served God while concurrently tolerating other religious phenomena - an anathema to the worldview of Melakhim: zero tolerance for idolatry and hence absolute condemnation of Aviya. Assa, the next king, removes idolatry from Yehuda and reestablishes the covenant with God. However, when he perceives a military threat from the Northern Kingdom he turns to Aram for help and not to God.
The End
Rabbi Alex Israel
Sefer Melakhim has little to say about the life of the last king of Yehuda, Tzidkiyahu. No specific happening or event that occurred during the first nine years of his eleven year rule are recorded. It is as if his reign was almost inconsequential and the Hurban just happens to transpire on his watch.

From the book of Yirmiyahu, King Tzidkiyahu emerges as a weak leader, a spineless and fickle character. On the one hand, he seeks Yirmiyahu's advice and assistance, and then, when intimidated by his own officials, he submits to their demands that Yirmiyahu be imprisoned as a traitor. When conditions get dire, Tzidkiyahu tries to escape Jerusalem, saving his own life but abandoning his nation still entrapped within. Tzidkiyahu conspires with other kings to rebel against Babylon, supported by local false prophets, but Yirmiyahu continues to prophesy the imminent destruction of the Beit HaMikdash.

In the aftermath of the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash, Gedaliah is murdered, sealing the fate on any chance of continued Jewish life in Israel. Yehoyakhin's reprive at the end of Sefer Melakhim gives a glimmer hope for a better future for the Jewish people.
The Assassination of Gedalya
Part 1
Rabbi David Sabato
Yirmiyahu decided to join Gedalya out of religious-prophetic motives, since he saw in his appointment God's desire to rebuild the nation. The military personal decided to join him for political motives, relying on Gedalya's official status vis-à-vis the Babylonian kingdom, which they feared. And the Diaspora Jews joined Gedalya out of nationalistic-popular motives and a desire to return to their own country.

Yohanan ben Kareah and his men attempt to convince Gedalya of the assassination plot of Yishmael ben Netanya. Gedalya's refusal to heed the warning is not merely complacency on the personal plane regarding the danger posed to his life, but also a great risk on the public-national level. The political struggle against Gedalya has widespread national consequences.

Having failed to heed the warning of Yohanan, Gedalya falls into a trap that was set for him by Yishmael the son of Netanya and his men; he is killed in his house in Mitzpa in the course of a Rosh Hashana dinner that he hosted for them. Here Gedalya's naiveté reveals itself in a most striking manner – not only did he not agree to prevent the assassination, but he did not even take any precautions against Yishmael.

What were the motives of Yishmael the son of Netanya? It is likely that this murder is just the tip of the iceberg of the fierce political struggle that took place in the kingdom of Yehuda prior to the destruction. The royal family and most of the ministers supported the rebellion against Babylon, and apparently received support from the people of Ammon in the east, who opposed Babylonian rule. Against them stood the "pro-Babylonian" faction, with Yirmiyahu's support and led by members of the family of Shafan the scribe. Thus, the assassination plot stems from deep political memories and from the tension between the royal family of Yishmael and the family of Shafan, to which Gedalya belonged. Apart from this, there is also a deeply personal cause: Yishmael, who was of royal descent, cannot accept the possibility that Gedalya, who came from a family of scribes, should become the political leader of the people of Yehuda.

Three biblical events are alluded to as the backdrop for the story of the murder of Gedalya: the massacres of Yehu, the war between Asa and Basha, and the story of the meeting between Avner and Yoav at Givon. These events paint Yishmael's deed with the red color of mass murder and civil war, and turn it into another link in the chain of internal civil wars in the history of the people of Israel that led to the destruction. Internal strife and narrow personal and political motivations joined together in the story of the assassination of Gedalya to become the fatal blow to the last chance to rebuild the nation in its land.
The Assassination of Gedalya
Part 2
Rabbi David Sabato
There has been no mention of Yirmiyahu since his meeting with Nevuzar'adan; we do not know how he reacted to the assassination and the events that preceded it. The text, as it were, has made Yirmiyahu disappear. On the other hand, in contrast to the period that preceded the destruction when the people bluntly and repeatedly rejected the words of Yirmiyahu, here they seek the word of God from his mouth. It seems that now they are finally ready to listen to him and receive the word of God from his mouth.

Yirmiyahu urges Yohanan and his men to remain in Eretz Yisrael and warns them against going down to Egypt. This reverses the prophetic message that Yirmiyahu preached during the years that preceded the destruction – that of submission and acceptance and encouraging life in exile. But now the time has come for building and planting in Eretz Yisrael.

The second part of Yirmiyahu's words, which is several times longer, moves on to the negative side – the refusal to remain in the land and its consequences. Yirmiyahu senses the mood of the people and their inclination to go down to Egypt, and he begins to warn them not to go down to Egypt. The warning is repeated and intensified from one stage to the next. There is a fundamental contradiction between the building and reconstruction of Eretz Yisrael and the descent to Egypt.

Not only do they refuse to listen to him, contrary to their own declaration, but they accuse him of speaking falsely to them. Yirmiyahu is accused here with the same old accusation levelled against him by his opponents – that he is a false prophet who seeks the detriment of his people. Yohanan wisely sought the word of God from the mouth of Yirmiyahu, but lacked the strength to listen to it. His timidity, his irresoluteness, and his little faith made him a partner in the self-destruction of the remnant of Yehuda.
The People, the Prophet, and God in Response to the Destruction
Dr. Tova Ganzel
Yehezkel and the Jews in Babylon receive the news of the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash. Yehezkel must contend with the claim of the remnant left in the land that they are the ones who will eventually inherit it despite their small numbers. And indeed, size or number is not the decisive factor. The argument of the remnant is erroneous: not because of their small number, but rather their due to the multitude of their sins.

The claim of the remnant seems to belong to the period preceding the murder of Gedalya. The claim of the remnant in the land indicates that they assumed that exile was a matter pertaining only to those now in Babylonia, while they themselves were continuing the national survival of Am Yisrael, and were therefore deserving of possession of the land. The murder of Gedalya brought this claim to an end. They ceased to view themselves as a distinct group that was separate from their brethren in Babylonia.

An understanding of the prophecy from which its historical context raises two exegetical possibilities: If Gedalya was murdered in the Tishrei immediately after the destruction of the Mikdash, then Yehezkel’s prophecy – taking place in the month of Tevet – which seem polemical is no longer relevant. The other, seemingly more likely possibility is that this prophecy describes the situation in the land at a slightly later stage – not during the weeks immediately following the Destruction. At this time there were still a good number of Jewish inhabitants in the land, and they still viewed their group as an alternative to the Babylonian exiles. This perspective rests upon the assumption that Gedalya was assassinated not in the month of Tishrei immediately after the Destruction, but rather a year or more later.

The prophet does not focus on the Destruction itself; he looks to the past and to the future. The reason for this is that the exiles in Babylonian have not experienced the direct crisis, and they have already begun to internalize the new reality. These prophecies contain nothing in the way of consolation, sorrow, reconciliation or compassion over what has happened in Jerusalem. This is especially conspicuous if we compare these chapters with Yirmiyahu, who laments at length over the Destruction.
Politics and Murder: the Assassination of Gedalya
Rabbi David Sabato
Post-Gedalya Fallout: Yirmiyahu Warns Against Fleeing Israel
Rabbi David Sabato
Gedalya ben Ahikam and the Return to Zion
Rabbi Yaakov Medan
The Seventh Month in Nevi'im and Ketuvim
Elisheva Brauner
Yirmiyahu 39-40
Matan Al Haperek
Rabbi David Sabato
Perek 39 describes the bitter end of Jerusalem, when after a prolonged siege of about a year and a half the walls are breached. Yirmiyahu's attempts to convince the nation to surrender, to accept the yoke of Babylonia and to save the city from destruction have been unsuccessful, and the city has fallen to the hands of the Babylonians. Yirmiyahu's prophecies have been fulfilled: the city, and within it the Temple, have been burnt and destroyed, the remainder of the residents of Jerusalem who were in the besieged city have been exiled to Babylonia, and Tzidkiyahu, who tried to escape the Babylonians, has been caught and punished cruelly. But even within the harsh description of destruction we can see signs of hope: Nevuzaradan leaves a remnant of the nation under the authority of Gedalyahu ben Achikam (10), and by command of Nevuchadnezzar saves Yirmiyahu (11-14). The perek ends with a prophecy of rescue about Eved-Melech the Kushi who saved him from death in the mud pit which Yirmiyahu prophesied before the destruction, in the court of the guard (15-18).

Perek 40 describes what happens among those left in the land after the destruction. The perek opens with the story of Yirmiyahu, who chooses to stay in the land after the destruction and join forces with Gedalyahu ben Achikam, who is appointed by the king of Babylonia over the meager group of people who are left in the land (1-6). Perakim 40-43 deal with the gloomy story of this group led by Gedalya, which was the hope for reconstruction after the destruction; a hope which disappeared with the murder of Gedalya.
Yirmiyahu 41-42
Matan Al Haperek
Rabbi David Sabato
The appointing of Gedalya as governor over Judah gave hope for a renewal of life after the destruction. With the assassination of Gedalya by Yishmael ben Netanya and his men, this hope was cut off, and the destruction and the exile became an indisputable fact. Gedalya refuses to hear the warnings of Yochanan ben Kareach and his soldiers (in perek 40) and is caught in the trap set for him by Yishmael ben Netanya and his men, who murder him in Mitzpa during the Rosh Hashana meal. In addition to this foul murder, there is a massacre of the pilgrims to Jerusalem who came from the Shomron area. Gedalya's murder has an immediate effect on the small Jewish population remaining in Israel, who are hesitant to stay in Israel and want to emigrate to Egypt because they are afraid of the Babylonians taking revenge on them.

After the Assassination, those remaining in Judah are at a loss as to what to do. In their distress, they turn to Yirmiyahu, and ask to hear the word of God from him. Yirmiyahu encourages them to stay in Israel and to continue Gedalyahu's work to rebuild the nation. He warns them not to go to Egypt, despite their fear of revenge by the Babylonians for murdering the governor whom they had placed in the land. But their fear of revenge overcomes their commitment to God and the remaining people, under the leadership of Yochanan ben Kareach and his officers, decide to go to Egypt and request refuge there.
The Teshuva Revolution
Part 2
Rabbi Tzvi Sinensky
Consistent with the transition detailed from a Temple-based Judaism to a Torah-centered lifestyle, the emphasis in this chapter is decidedly not on the Temple service. Many, if not all, of the practices omitted in this chapter bear significant connections to the Temple service. Ezra’s revolution, which seeks to reimagine Jewish life in the aftermath of the destruction of the First Commonwealth, envisions an observance of the holidays that does not revolve around the sacrificial service.

Putting Esther and Nehemya together, it appears that repairing the Jewish People’s social fabric was a major point of emphasis for both post-exilic communities. It is almost as if Tanakh implies that Jews of Persia and Israel sought to “undo” the sins of previous generations, in which the wealthy trampled upon the poor and there were irreparable divisions between the different classes of society. Both Esther and Nehemya worked to create greater unity by emphasizing the importance of generosity at times of communal celebration, so that no one would feel excluded.

The extraordinary moment of solidarity around the celebration of Sukkot – with all the difficulties it raises regarding contemporary observance of that holiday - coupled with the dramatic impact of the Torah reading ceremony just a few days earlier, combines to make the events of Nehemya chapter eight some of the most climactic known to biblical history.
Sefer Yirmiyahu: Archaeology
Nachliel Selavan | 30 minutes
Sefer Yirmiyahu accompanies us through the last five kings of Yehuda: Yoshiyahu, Yehoahaz, Yehoyakim, Yechonia and Zedekiah. He witnessed the destruction of Yehuda by Babylon, which he tried to prevent be rebuking the people to correct their bad ways, and encouraging them to stay out of foreign affairs...but to no avail.

This episode covers highlights form each of those five kings, and expands on the geopolitical situation, all the way to the assasination of Gedaliah - the governor of Yehuda appointed by Nebuchadnezzar. With his death, all hope for rebuilding the kingdom was done.

Archaeology Snapshot is a discussion on the location, timeline, main characters and highlights from history and archaeology, for each Sefer in Tanach.