Reactions to the Destruction of the Mikdash

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  1. Shabbat Nahamu

    Haftarot: Vaethanan

    Rabbi Mosheh Lichtenstein

    Tisha B'Av has a dual nature of mourning and teshuva. Appropriately, we seek comfort on this day from a dual message of consolation and a call for teshuva. Immediately after Tisha B'Av we begin the process of the seven haftarot of consolation, which are followed by a reading of chapters relating to teshuva.

  2. The Book of Yehezkel

    Introduction

    Dr. Tova Ganzel

    The Book of Yehezkel covers a fateful period of some 22 years in the history of the Jewish People: beginning with year five of the exile of King Yehoyakhin and ending fifteen years after the Destruction of the First Temple. As opposed to other prophets, Yehezkel's prophecies are conveyed in Babylon and grapple with the contemporaneous crisis from a Diaspora vantage point.

    The purpose of Yehezkel's prophecies – in the years preceding the Destruction – was to inform the people that God had departed from His Temple in Jerusalem. He therefore describes in detail the Divine chariot and the journeys of God's glory outside the Temple.

    Yehezkel presents the view of the "inhabitants of Jerusalem," who say that the exiles have distanced themselves from God and from His Land, and that they are not counted among the inheritors of the land and those close to God. God's response, however, conveyed through the prophet, is that while those taken in captivity are currently in exile, God is with them there, as a "miniature Temple". For the first time, the prophet affirms the Jewish identity of the exiles: they remain part of God’s nation, even though the Jews still living in their homeland have a different view, and maintain that God's place is still in the Temple in their midst.

    Both groups, the inhabitants in the land and those exiled to Babylonia, despite their differences, have this in common: neither changed its behavior during these years. Thus, Yehezkel's prophetic mission during these years was not to call upon the people to mend their ways and repent, but rather to explain the significance of the events in Jerusalem, and thereby to prepare the ground for the prophecies of rebuilding which came after the Destruction, as well as the vision of the future Temple.

  3. 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.

  4. Responses to the Destruction

    HaTanakh.com Staff

  5. Introduction to Eikha

    Shiur #01

    Dr. Yael Ziegler

    תאריך פרסום: 5778 |

    In this series on Eikha, we will examine broad themes, such as theodicy, false prophets, national sinning, and human suffering, but we will also engage in a close reading of the text.  While drawing on academic sources and methodology, my interpretative framework is rooted deeply in the world of Torah learning. I hope that this reading will yield a stimulating understanding of the book, and that it will illustrate how biblical poetry works and how it offers its readers spiritual insights and wisdom.

    In this introductory class, I will raise some of the technical questions that arise with respect to the book of Eikha. The book’s title, its author, its unity, and its date of composition are all subject to dispute. After presenting a brief overview of various approaches to each of these issues, I will explain the approach that I will adopt in this series in addressing each of these subjects.