לימוד ט' באב - כיתה ח

Gittin 55b

Summary: Jerusalem was destroyed because of Kamtza and bar Kamtza. A man [we don't know his name] held a party and asked his worker [we don't know his name either] to invite his friend Kamtza. His enemy bar Kamtza was accidentally invited instead. The man wanted to kick bar Kamtza out of his party. Bar Kamtza begged to stay -- he offered to pay for his meal, and for half, and even the entire, party. The man still kicked bar Kamtza out. Bar Kamtza said: Rabbis were at the party and saw what happened to me and they didn't say anything, which means they supported the man who held the party and kicked me out in front of everyone. Therefore, they are also to blame and now I will "dob in" all of the Jews to the Roman rulers. Bar Kamtza told the Roman rulers that the Jews were rebelling against him. To "prove" this he got the Romans to give him [bar Kamtza] an animal to be sacrificed in the Temple, which he would pass on to the Jewish priests to see whether they would actually sacrifice it or not. Before bar Kamtza passed it on, he cut it on the lip, thereby making it unsuitable for sacrifice. The Sages wondered whether to sacrifice the animal which the Roman rulers gave bar Kamtza, which he had cut and made unsuitable for sacrifice. Should they do this so that the Roman rulers don't get angry? Rabbi Zekharya ben Avkolas argued against this. If they don't sacrifice it, maybe they should kill bar Kamtza so that he doesn't "dob on" them to the Roman rulers. Rabbi Zekharya argued against this. Rabbi Yochanan says: Because Zekharya didn't make a firm a decision to let the animal be sacrificed or to let bar Kamtza be killed, the Romans destroyed the Second Temple and kicked us out of the Land of Israel. Go to the discussion questions on the next page.

§ ... Jerusalem was destroyed on account of Kamtza, and bar Kamtza [who are two different people]. ... The Gemara explains: Jerusalem was destroyed on account of Kamtza and bar Kamtza.

This is as there was a certain man whose friend was named Kamtza and whose enemy was named bar Kamtza [bar means son [of], like in bar mitzvah]. He once made a large feast and said to his servant: Go bring me my friend Kamtza. The servant went and mistakenly brought him his enemy bar Kamtza.

The man who was hosting the feast came and found bar Kamtza sitting at the feast. The host said to bar Kamtza. That man is the enemy of that man, that is, you are my enemy. What then do you want here? Arise and leave. Bar Kamtza said to him: Since I have already come, let me stay and I will give you money for whatever I eat and drink. Just do not embarrass me by sending me out. The host said to him: No, you must leave. Bar Kamtza said to him: I will give you money for half of the feast; just do not send me away. The host said to him: No, you must leave. Bar Kamtza then said to him: I will give you money for the entire feast; just let me stay. The host said to him: No, you must leave. Finally, the host took bar Kamtza by his hand, stood him up, and took him out.

After having been cast out from the feast, bar Kamtza said to himself: Since the Sages [wise people, like Rabbis today] were sitting there and did not protest the actions of the host, although they saw how he humiliated me, learn from it that they were content [satisfied] with what he did. I will therefore go and inform against them to the [Roman] king.

He went and said to the [Roman] emperor: The Jews have rebelled against you. The emperor said to him: Who says that this is the case? Bar Kamtza said to him: Go and test them; send them an offering to be brought in honor of the government, and see whether they will sacrifice it. The emperor went and sent with him a choice [quality] three-year-old calf. While bar Kamtza was coming with the calf to the Temple, he made a blemish [a small mark, perhaps like a cut or a bruise] on the calf’s upper lip. ...

The blemish notwithstanding, the Sages thought to sacrifice the animal as an offering due to the imperative [thing of vital importance] to maintain peace with the government. Rabbi Zekharya ben Avkolas said to them: If the priests do that, people will say that blemished animals may be sacrificed as offerings on the altar. The Sages said: If we do not sacrifice it, then we must prevent bar Kamtza from reporting this to the emperor. The Sages thought to kill him so that he would not go and speak against them. Rabbi Zekharya said to them: If you kill him, people will say that one who makes a blemish on sacrificial animals is to be killed. As a result, they did nothing, bar Kamtza’s slander [the action of saying something false to damage someone's reputation] was accepted by the authorities, and consequently [as a result] the war between the Jews and the Romans began. Rabbi Yoḥanan says: The excessive humility of Rabbi Zekharya ben Avkolas destroyed our Temple, burned our Sanctuary, and exiled us from our land.

The Rabbis bring this story as an example of שנאת חינם (unnecessary hatred/sinat chinam) and teach that it led to the Second Temple being destroyed by the Romans on Tisha Beav (the 9th day of the Hebrew month of Av) in the year 70 CE.

1. Who is at fault in this story and why? (Try and come up with as many guilty parties as possible.)

2. Would you have sacrificed the blemished animal on the altar in the Temple anyway? Why/why not?

3. Would you have killed bar Kamtza before he had a chance to report back to the Roman authorities? Why/why not?

According to the above text, unnecessary hatred (שנאת חינם) is as bad as idol worship, forbidden sexual relations and bloodshed.

1. How can we promote unnecessary love (אהבת חינם/ahavat chinam) between Jews?