The Temple Field
We're now in the 9 Days and building up to the commemoration of the churban habayis. While the
9th of Av is designated as our annual day of mourning for the loss of the Bais Hamikdash, we also are aware of the day holding the status of a moed in keeping with the idea that in the future it will become a happy occasion. That dual nature of the day fit with the account of the contrast between Rebbi Akiva’s reaction to the seeing the site of the destroyed Temple and that of the other sages in Makkot 24b:
Another time, Rabban Gamliel, Rabbi Elazar ben Azaria, Rabbi Yehoshua, and Rabbi Akiva were ascending to Jerusalem. When they came to Har haTzofim [Mount Scopus], they tore their clothes [a sign of mourning]. When they reached the Temple Mount, they saw a fox emerging from the place of the Holy of Holies. They started to cry, but Rabbi Akiva was laughing.
The other sages said to him, “Why are you laughing?“
He said to them, “Why do you weep? “
They replied. “The place about which was written (Numbers 1:51) ‘and the non-Kohen that approaches shall be put to death’ is now a haunt of foxes. Should we should not weep!”
He replied, “That is why I laugh. It is written (Isaiah 8:2) ‘and I will take unto Me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Yeverechyahu.’
Now what was the connection between Uriah and Zechariah? Uriah was during the period of the First Temple, and Zechariah was during the period of the Second Temple. Rather, the verse was making the prophecy of Zechariah dependent on the prophecy of Uriah. Regarding Uriah, it is written, (Michah 3:12) ‘Therefore for your sake shall Zion be plowed.’ Regarding Zechariah it is written (Zechariah 8:4) ‘Yet shall old men and old women sit in the broad places of Jerusalem.’
“Until the prophecy of Uriah was fulfilled, I was afraid that the prophecy of Zechariah would not be fulfilled. Now that the prophecy of Uriah was fulfilled, I know that the prophecy of Zechariah will be fulfilled".
The sages then answered him, “Akiva, you have consoled us. Akiva, you have consoled us.”
When I heard this episode referenced in a shiur by Rabbi Trump this week, I was struck by a the significance. As Rabbi Trump mentioned, once the Bais Hamikdash was destroyed, the bayis status was lost. The site was now merely a field where wild animals like foxes wandered around. But for R' Avika that site was not an occasion for tears but for laughter.
What's the significance of laughter and a field? Both are associated with the second Patriarch, who is even named for laughter at an unexpectedly positive outcome.
As we know, the Har Habayis progressed through the Avos,. Avraham called it a mountain, as in Har Hamoriyah, and Yaakov called it a house, as in Bais Elolkim. The intermediate stage -- that of a field --is linked to Yitzchak who went out lasuach basadeh.
So it seems to me that even while we invoke all three Avos in our prayers and our hopes for geula, Yitzchak is uniquely suited to address our post-churban situation. That fits beautifully with the account of Yitzchak being the only one to get klal Yisrael off the hook when Hashem brings up their culpability for sins. It's in Shabbos 89b:
אברהם לא ידענו וישראל לא יכירנו אתה ה׳ אבינו גואלנו מעולם שמך לעתיד לבא יאמר לו הקדוש ברוך הוא לאברהם בניך חטאו לי אמר לפניו רבונו של עולם ימחו על קדושת שמך אמר אימר ליה ליעקב דהוה ליה צער גידול בנים אפשר דבעי רחמי עלייהו אמר ליה בניך חטאו אמר לפניו רבונו של עולם ימחו על קדושת שמך אמר לא בסבי טעמא ולא בדרדקי עצה אמר לו ליצחק בניך חטאו לי אמר לפניו רבונו של עולם בני ולא בניך בשעה
שהקדימו לפניך נעשה לנשמע קראת להם בני בכורי עכשיו בני ולא בניך
ועוד כמה חטאו כמה שנותיו של אדם שבעים שנה דל עשרין דלא ענשת עלייהו פשו להו חמשין דל עשרין וחמשה דלילותא פשו להו עשרין וחמשה דל תרתי סרי ופלגא דצלויי ומיכל ודבית הכסא פשו להו תרתי סרי ופלגא אם אתה סובל את כולם מוטב ואם לאו פלגא עלי ופלגא עליך ואם תמצא לומר כולם עלי הא קריבית נפשי קמך פתחו ואמרו (כי) אתה אבינו אמר להם יצחק עד שאתם מקלסין לי קלסו להקדוש ברוך הוא ומחוי להו יצחק הקדוש ברוך הוא בעינייהו מיד נשאו עיניהם למרום אומרים אתה ה׳ אבינו גואלנו מעולם שמך
Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said that Rabbi Yonatan said: What isthe meaning of that which is written: “For You are our Father; for Abraham knows us not, and Israel does not acknowledge us; You, Lord, are our Father, our Redeemer, everlasting is Your name” (Isaiah 63:16). In the future that will surely come, the Holy One, Blessed be He, will say to Abraham: Your children have sinned against Me. Abraham will say before Him:" Master of the Universe, if so, let them be eradicated to sanctify Your name."
G-d said: "I will say it to Jacob. Since he experienced the pain of raising children, perhaps he will ask for mercy on their behalf." He said to Jacob: "Your children have sinned." Jacob said before Him: "Master of the Universe, if so, let them be eradicated to sanctify Your name."
The Holy One, Blessed be He, said: "There is no reason in elders and no wisdom in youth." Neither Abraham nor Jacob knew how to respond properly. He said to Isaac: "Your children have sinned against Me." Isaac said before Him: "Master of the Universe, are they my children and not Your children? At Sinai, when they accorded precedence to 'We will do' over 'We will listen' before You,didn’t You call them, 'My son, My firstborn son Israel?' Nowt hat they have sinned, are they my children and not Your children?"
"Furthermore, how much did they actually sin? How long is a person’s life? Seventy years. Subtract the first twenty years of his life. One is not punished for sins committed then, as in heavenly matters, a person is only punished from age twenty. Fifty years remain for them. Subtract twenty-five years of nights, and twenty-five years remain for them. Subtract twelve and a half years during which one prays and eats and uses the bathroom, and twelve and a half years remain for them. If You can endure them all and forgive the sins committed during those years, excellent. And if not, half of the sins are upon me to bear and half upon You. And if You say that all of them, the sins of all twelve and a half years that remain, are upon me, I sacrificed my soul before You and You should forgive them due to my merit."
The Jewish people began to say to Isaac: "You are our father."
Only Isaac defended the Jewish people as a father would and displayed compassion toward his children. Isaac said to them: "Before you praise me, praise the Holy One, Blessed be He."
And Isaac points to the Holy One, Blessed be He, before their eyes. Immediately they lifted their eyes to the heavens and declared, “You, L-rd, are our Father, our Redeemer, everlasting is Your name.”
Yitzchak, the middle one of the Avos, who never gets to stand on his own in the Torah but always shares his parshayios either with his father or his son, emerges as the only one who is able to defend his children and make a winning appeal to win G-d's forgiveness for us. His argument is not that we are so great but that the human condition is so very limited, and for the few years of life that are wasted in sin, he is willing to split the difference with the Almighty himself, confident that his own sacrifice at the akeida entitles him to do so.
It's an amazing turnaround from what one would expect. The standard response is what we see from Avraham and Yaakov, but Yitzchak is able to see beyond a fate of inevitable doom for sinners Like R' Akiva does, he takes a completely different view of the matter.
Some see a field as just a barren expanse of land. Others see the great potential it holds to nurture seeds planted in it. That's my understanding of the verses in Tehillim 126, from the Shir Hamaolos we sing before Birchas HaMazon on Shabbos and Festivals.
הזֹּֽרְעִ֥ים בְּדִמְעָ֗ה בְּרִנָּ֥ה יִקְצֹֽרוּהָ֘ל֚וֹךְ יֵלֵ֨ךְ | וּבָכֹה֘ נֹשֵׂ֪א מֶֽשֶׁךְ־הַ֫זָּ֥רַע בֹּֽא־יָבֹ֥א בְרִנָּ֑ה נֹ֜שֵׂ֗א אֲלֻמֹּתָֽיו
Those who sow with tears will reap with song. He will go along weeping, carrying the valuable seeds; he will come back with song, carrying his sheaves.
For R' Akiva, seeing the field cleared of the Temple was tantamount to seeing a vision of the harvest of the ultimate redemption will happen. This is tapping into the power of Yitzchak who achieves salvation for his children even when no one else can.
Related posts
Double vision from churban to geula
The last laugh
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Another time, Rabban Gamliel, Rabbi Elazar ben Azaria, Rabbi Yehoshua, and Rabbi Akiva were ascending to Jerusalem. When they came to Har haTzofim [Mount Scopus], they tore their clothes [a sign of mourning]. When they reached the Temple Mount, they saw a fox emerging from the place of the Holy of Holies. They started to cry, but Rabbi Akiva was laughing.
The other sages said to him, “Why are you laughing?“
He said to them, “Why do you weep? “
They replied. “The place about which was written (Numbers 1:51) ‘and the non-Kohen that approaches shall be put to death’ is now a haunt of foxes. Should we should not weep!”
He replied, “That is why I laugh. It is written (Isaiah 8:2) ‘and I will take unto Me faithful witnesses to record, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Yeverechyahu.’
Now what was the connection between Uriah and Zechariah? Uriah was during the period of the First Temple, and Zechariah was during the period of the Second Temple. Rather, the verse was making the prophecy of Zechariah dependent on the prophecy of Uriah. Regarding Uriah, it is written, (Michah 3:12) ‘Therefore for your sake shall Zion be plowed.’ Regarding Zechariah it is written (Zechariah 8:4) ‘Yet shall old men and old women sit in the broad places of Jerusalem.’
“Until the prophecy of Uriah was fulfilled, I was afraid that the prophecy of Zechariah would not be fulfilled. Now that the prophecy of Uriah was fulfilled, I know that the prophecy of Zechariah will be fulfilled".
The sages then answered him, “Akiva, you have consoled us. Akiva, you have consoled us.”
When I heard this episode referenced in a shiur by Rabbi Trump this week, I was struck by a the significance. As Rabbi Trump mentioned, once the Bais Hamikdash was destroyed, the bayis status was lost. The site was now merely a field where wild animals like foxes wandered around. But for R' Avika that site was not an occasion for tears but for laughter.
What's the significance of laughter and a field? Both are associated with the second Patriarch, who is even named for laughter at an unexpectedly positive outcome.
As we know, the Har Habayis progressed through the Avos,. Avraham called it a mountain, as in Har Hamoriyah, and Yaakov called it a house, as in Bais Elolkim. The intermediate stage -- that of a field --is linked to Yitzchak who went out lasuach basadeh.
So it seems to me that even while we invoke all three Avos in our prayers and our hopes for geula, Yitzchak is uniquely suited to address our post-churban situation. That fits beautifully with the account of Yitzchak being the only one to get klal Yisrael off the hook when Hashem brings up their culpability for sins. It's in Shabbos 89b:
אברהם לא ידענו וישראל לא יכירנו אתה ה׳ אבינו גואלנו מעולם שמך לעתיד לבא יאמר לו הקדוש ברוך הוא לאברהם בניך חטאו לי אמר לפניו רבונו של עולם ימחו על קדושת שמך אמר אימר ליה ליעקב דהוה ליה צער גידול בנים אפשר דבעי רחמי עלייהו אמר ליה בניך חטאו אמר לפניו רבונו של עולם ימחו על קדושת שמך אמר לא בסבי טעמא ולא בדרדקי עצה אמר לו ליצחק בניך חטאו לי אמר לפניו רבונו של עולם בני ולא בניך בשעה
שהקדימו לפניך נעשה לנשמע קראת להם בני בכורי עכשיו בני ולא בניך
ועוד כמה חטאו כמה שנותיו של אדם שבעים שנה דל עשרין דלא ענשת עלייהו פשו להו חמשין דל עשרין וחמשה דלילותא פשו להו עשרין וחמשה דל תרתי סרי ופלגא דצלויי ומיכל ודבית הכסא פשו להו תרתי סרי ופלגא אם אתה סובל את כולם מוטב ואם לאו פלגא עלי ופלגא עליך ואם תמצא לומר כולם עלי הא קריבית נפשי קמך פתחו ואמרו (כי) אתה אבינו אמר להם יצחק עד שאתם מקלסין לי קלסו להקדוש ברוך הוא ומחוי להו יצחק הקדוש ברוך הוא בעינייהו מיד נשאו עיניהם למרום אומרים אתה ה׳ אבינו גואלנו מעולם שמך
Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said that Rabbi Yonatan said: What isthe meaning of that which is written: “For You are our Father; for Abraham knows us not, and Israel does not acknowledge us; You, Lord, are our Father, our Redeemer, everlasting is Your name” (Isaiah 63:16). In the future that will surely come, the Holy One, Blessed be He, will say to Abraham: Your children have sinned against Me. Abraham will say before Him:" Master of the Universe, if so, let them be eradicated to sanctify Your name."
G-d said: "I will say it to Jacob. Since he experienced the pain of raising children, perhaps he will ask for mercy on their behalf." He said to Jacob: "Your children have sinned." Jacob said before Him: "Master of the Universe, if so, let them be eradicated to sanctify Your name."
The Holy One, Blessed be He, said: "There is no reason in elders and no wisdom in youth." Neither Abraham nor Jacob knew how to respond properly. He said to Isaac: "Your children have sinned against Me." Isaac said before Him: "Master of the Universe, are they my children and not Your children? At Sinai, when they accorded precedence to 'We will do' over 'We will listen' before You,didn’t You call them, 'My son, My firstborn son Israel?' Nowt hat they have sinned, are they my children and not Your children?"
"Furthermore, how much did they actually sin? How long is a person’s life? Seventy years. Subtract the first twenty years of his life. One is not punished for sins committed then, as in heavenly matters, a person is only punished from age twenty. Fifty years remain for them. Subtract twenty-five years of nights, and twenty-five years remain for them. Subtract twelve and a half years during which one prays and eats and uses the bathroom, and twelve and a half years remain for them. If You can endure them all and forgive the sins committed during those years, excellent. And if not, half of the sins are upon me to bear and half upon You. And if You say that all of them, the sins of all twelve and a half years that remain, are upon me, I sacrificed my soul before You and You should forgive them due to my merit."
The Jewish people began to say to Isaac: "You are our father."
Only Isaac defended the Jewish people as a father would and displayed compassion toward his children. Isaac said to them: "Before you praise me, praise the Holy One, Blessed be He."
And Isaac points to the Holy One, Blessed be He, before their eyes. Immediately they lifted their eyes to the heavens and declared, “You, L-rd, are our Father, our Redeemer, everlasting is Your name.”
Yitzchak, the middle one of the Avos, who never gets to stand on his own in the Torah but always shares his parshayios either with his father or his son, emerges as the only one who is able to defend his children and make a winning appeal to win G-d's forgiveness for us. His argument is not that we are so great but that the human condition is so very limited, and for the few years of life that are wasted in sin, he is willing to split the difference with the Almighty himself, confident that his own sacrifice at the akeida entitles him to do so.
It's an amazing turnaround from what one would expect. The standard response is what we see from Avraham and Yaakov, but Yitzchak is able to see beyond a fate of inevitable doom for sinners Like R' Akiva does, he takes a completely different view of the matter.
Some see a field as just a barren expanse of land. Others see the great potential it holds to nurture seeds planted in it. That's my understanding of the verses in Tehillim 126, from the Shir Hamaolos we sing before Birchas HaMazon on Shabbos and Festivals.
הזֹּֽרְעִ֥ים בְּדִמְעָ֗ה בְּרִנָּ֥ה יִקְצֹֽרוּהָ֘ל֚וֹךְ יֵלֵ֨ךְ | וּבָכֹה֘ נֹשֵׂ֪א מֶֽשֶׁךְ־הַ֫זָּ֥רַע בֹּֽא־יָבֹ֥א בְרִנָּ֑ה נֹ֜שֵׂ֗א אֲלֻמֹּתָֽיו
Those who sow with tears will reap with song. He will go along weeping, carrying the valuable seeds; he will come back with song, carrying his sheaves.
For R' Akiva, seeing the field cleared of the Temple was tantamount to seeing a vision of the harvest of the ultimate redemption will happen. This is tapping into the power of Yitzchak who achieves salvation for his children even when no one else can.
Related posts
Double vision from churban to geula
The last laugh
Like and follow on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/KallahMagazine/
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