This Wednesday evening and Thursday, Jews throughout the world will observe Tisha B’Av, the Ninth of Av, which the sages set aside as a day of mourning several calamities suffered by the Jews of antiquity, including the destruction of the first and second Temples in Jerusalem. This week’s daily kavanot will trace the history and observance of Tisha B’Av from its establishment to the present day. Join us to observe this solemn day on Wednesday, July 26 at 7:15 p.m. at Temple Valley Beth Shalom.
Once the sages conquered what few hurdles lay in their path to establish Tisha B’Av as a yearly day of mourning, they quickly instilled the day with an enduring lesson for the Jews of antiquity, ensuring that Jewish mourning served a broader purpose. Specifically, the sages cautioned that, while the First Temple was destroyed due to acts of idolatry, sexual misconduct, and violence, the Second Temple was destroyed because the Jews had engaged in acts of sinat chinam—senseless hatred. Thus, caution the rabbis, sinat chinam represents just as grievous and dangerous an iniquity as the combination of idolatry, sexual misconduct, and violence.
The primary parable used by the rabbis to illustrate the dangers of sinat chinam is the tale of Kamtza and Bar Kamtza, two feuding landowners who accidentally find themselves at the same party. When the host unceremoniously dismisses Bar Kamtza to please his friend Kamtza, the sages fail to intervene. Enraged, Bar Kamtza devises a strategy for revenge against those communal leaders who did not defend him: Implicate the Jews in a plot to overthrow Roman rule over Judea. Through subterfuge and chicanery, his plot succeeds, and ultimately leads to the fall of Jerusalem.
Though fanciful in its depiction, the tale of Katza and Bar Kamtza eloquently satirizes the sociopolitical rifts of first-century Judean society that helped streamline the Roman conquest. Though the Jews were ill-disposed to thwart Rome, the bitter feuds between Pharisees, Sadducees, and messianic zealots, coupled with continual corruption and intrigue surrounding the throne and the priesthood, did them no favors.
Through artful storytelling, the sages craft an enduring reminder of the severe repercussions of sinat chinam, which we recall each time we observe Tisha B’Av. As contemporary events intensify the fractures inherent in Western society, as well as the global Jewish community, we would be wise to consider how the tale of Kamtza and Bar Kamtza may apply to our communities and to our nation today.
—Rabbi Josh Knobel