Babylonian Talmud

Rodkinson 1918 — source 8, scan section 35

the tables, as it is written [ibid, xxxii. 19]: "And it came to pass, when he (Moses) came nigh unto the camp, and he saw the calf and the dancing, that the anger of Moses waxed hot, and he cast from his hands the tables, and broke them at the foot of the mount." That the continual daily offerings ceased on the 17th of Ta- muz is traditional ; and the statement that the city was stormed on that day refers to the second destruction. That the other two calamities occurred on that day is also traditional. " On the gth of Abh it was decreed" etc. Whence do we know that? From the following Boraitha: We have learned that on the twenty-ninth day of Sivan Moses sent out the spies, as it is written [Numb. xiii. 25]: "And they returned from spying out the land at the end of forty days," and those forty 86 THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD. days (included the day of their return, that is) were in reality forty less one, and Abayi said that in that year the month of Tamuz was a full month of thirty days, as it is written [Lam. i. 15]: " He hath called an assembly against me to crush my young men." * Further, it is written [Numb. xiv. 1] : " And all the congrega- tion lifted up their voice, and cried aloud, and the people wept that night." Said Rabba in the name of R. Johanan: " That night was the eve preceding the ninth of Abh, and the Holy One, blessed be He, said: ' Ye have cried on this night in vain, and I shall ordain it that your generations shall lament on this day forever.' " ■ ' On that day the first and second Temples were destroyed. ' ' It is written [II Kings, xxv. 8]: " And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month," etc., and [Jeremiah, Hi. 12]: " And in the fifth month, on the tenth day of the month." It cannot be said that on the seventh day the calamity occurred, because it is also written " on the tenth." Neither can it be said that it happened " on the tenth," because it says " on the seventh " — hence it must be assumed that entrance to the Tem- ple was gained by the enemy on the seventh, and they ate and did damage therein on the seventh, on the eighth, and on the ninth. Toward the evening of the ninth they set it on fire, and it continued to burn all day on the tenth, as it is written [ibid, vi. 4] : " Wo unto us! for the day waneth, for the shadows of the evening are stretched out." And this bears out the state- ment of R. Johanan, who said as follows: " Were I living in those days, I would have ordained the fast for the 10th of Abh ; for on that day the greater part of the temple was burned." The sages of that day, however, held that the day when the calamity began should be observed as a fast-day. Whence do we know that the second Temple was also de- stroyed on the 9th of Abh ? We have learned in a Boraitha : " A happy event is credited to the day on which another happy event happened, while a calamity is ascribed to the day when another calamity occurred ; and it was said that when the first Temple was destroyed it was on the eve preceding the 9th of Abh, which was also the night at the close of the Sabbath and also the close of the Sabbatical year. The watch at the time * How it is inferred from the passage is not understood by us, nor explained by any commentary, TRACT TAANITH (FASTING). 87 was that of Jehoyoreb, and the Levites were chanting in their proper places, at that moment reciting the passage [Psalms, xciv. 23]: " And he will bring back upon them their own injus- tice, and in their own wickedness will he destroy them"; and they did not have time to end the passage, which concludes, " yea, he will destroy them — the Lord our God," before the enemy entered and took possession of the Temple. This hap- pened also at the destruction of the second Temple. That the city of Bethar was taken on the 9th of Abh is tradi- tional. "And the site was ploughed up like a field. ' ' We have learned in a Boraitha : When Torosnopos the Wicked destroyed the Tem- ple, a decree was promulgated that Rabbon Gamaliel (the First) should be executed. A certain master came into the house of learning, and said that the man of the nose * was being looked for (i.e., the most prominent member of the community). R. Gamaliel understood that he was meant thereby, and hid him- self. The same master surreptitiously came to the place where R. Gamaliel was concealed and asked him if, should he (the master) be instrumental in saving his (R. Gamaliel's) life, he would assure him a share in the world to come, and R. Gamaliel answered that he would. The master then demanded that he swear to it, and R. Gamaliel swore. Thereupon the master ascended to an attic, threw himself down, and died. The tradi- tion goes on to say that if one of the signers of a death-warrant or any other unfavorable decree died, the decree became null and void. Thus was Rabbon Gamaliel saved. A heavenly Voice then came forth, and declared that the master would have a share in the world to come. The rabbis taught : When the first Temple was destroyed, groups of young priests, who had the keys of the Temple, went up to the roof and said : " Creator of the Universe ! it being that we were not destined to live and be trustworthy keepers of thy treasure, we herewith return the keys." With that they threw the keys up into the air, and something like a hand was seen to come forth and grasp them, whereupon the priests immediately threw themselves down into the fire beneath. They were mourned by Isaiah the prophet in the verses [Isaiah, xxii. I and * The expression in the original is 'Hotam, meaning nose ; but Abraham Kroch- mal asserts that 'Hotam should read 'Ilotham, meaning a seal, and thus the passage would read " the man of the seal," i.e., the prince of the community. 88 THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD. 2]: " The doom of the valley of vision. What aileth thee now, that thou art wholly gone up to the roofs ? O noiseful, tumul- tuous city, joyous town ! thy slain ones are not slain with the sword, and not those that die in battle." " From the \st of Abh it is incumbent upon a person to lessen his participation in joyful events." Said R. Jehudah, the son of R. Samuel bar Shilath, in the name of Rabh : " As from the 1st of Abh participation in joyful events must be lessened, so, as soon as the month of Adar enters, joyous festivities should be increased." " During the week in which the gth of Abh occurs," etc. Said R. Na'hman: " The washing of clothes is prohibited only when they are washed for the purpose of immediate wear, but it is allowed to wash clothes and put them away for future wear." R. Shesheth, however, said that even washing for future wear is also not allowed, and the proof is that the laundresses of Rabh would stop work on that entire week. It was taught also that