2023/5783
The foolishness of the people of Beitar, as related by the Gemara, is astonishing! The Gemara (Gittin 57a) relates: “Beitar was destroyed on account of a shaft from a carriage. The Gemara explains that it was customary in Beitar that when a boy was born they would plant a cedar tree and when a girl was born they would plant a cypress. And when they would later marry each other they would cut down these trees and construct a wedding canopy for them with their branches. One day the emperor’s daughter passed by there and the shaft of the carriage in which she was riding broke. Her attendants chopped down a cedar from among those trees and brought it to her. Owing to the importance that they attached to their custom, the residents of Beitar came and fell upon them and beat them. The attendants came and said to the emperor: The Jews have rebelled against you. The emperor then came against them in war.
“The losses at Beitar were staggering, as the Gemara continues and relates: “It was in connection with the war that ensued that the Sages expounded the following verse: “He has cut off in His fierce anger all the horn of Israel” (Eichah 2:3). Rabi Zeira says that Rabi Avahu says that Rabi Yochanan says: These are the eighty thousand officers bearing battle trumpets in their hands, who entered the city of Beitar when the enemy took it and killed men, women, and children until their blood flowed into the Great Sea. Lest you say that the city was close to the sea, know that it was a Mil away.
“It is similarly taught in a Braitta that Rabi Eliezer the Great says: There are two rivers in the Yadayim Valley in that region, one flowing one way and one flowing the other way. And the Sages estimated that in the aftermath of this war these rivers were filled with two parts water to one part blood. Likewise, it was taught in a Braitta: For seven years the gentiles harvested their vineyards that had been soaked with the blood of Israel without requiring any additional fertilizer.”
Beitar’s Many Mistakes
Upon reflection, we realize that the people of Beitar made a series of inexplicably foolish mistakes that led to their awful demise. First, attacking the attendants of the Roman emperor’s daughter was astoundingly dangerous. The story takes place decades after the Romans destroyed the second Beit HaMikdash. The Romans were severe in their punishments for those they perceived as rebels. So how could Beitar even think of attacking those attending to a high-ranking Roman dignitary? What did they believe would result from this recklessly aggressive action?
Second, the Romans did not intend to intrude on a Jewish practice by cutting down the tree – they intended only to fix the carriage of the daughter of the Roman emperor. Attacking the Romans was an overwrought and irresponsible response. Third, if the Jews were so concerned about these trees, why did they not think ahead and plant them away from the road? Planting the trees so laden with meaning so close to the road is an invitation to trouble!
Finally, the tree practice was not a Torah or rabbinic law; it was merely a Minhag. It is hardly worth waging war over a custom! What a lack of perspective!
Thinking Ahead
It is not for naught that the Sugya of the Churban begins (ibid. 55b) by citing the Pasuk, “אַשְׁרֵי אָדָם, מְפַחֵד תָּמִיד וּמַקְשֶׁה לִבּוֹ, יִפּוֹל בְּרָעָה,” “Happy is the man who fears always, but he who hardens his heart shall fall into mischief” (Mishlei 28:14). Rashi (Gittin 55b s.v. Mephacheid) explains that happy is one who “carefully anticipates the results of his actions, realizing the terrible results if he were to act in a particular manner.”
The people of Beitar failed miserably in this regard. They were caught in the emotional heat of the moment and recklessly caused the total demise of their community. They hardened their collective hearts to their future and fell into misery.
How ironic is it that Beitar failed to consider the future in defense of a beautiful practice rooted in thinking about the future? Its beauty is thinking ahead and preparing for marriage as soon as a child is born. If so, why did Beitar not think ahead before they attacked the Romans?
A Failure to De-escalate
Similar to Kamtza Bar Kamtza, a minor annoyance spiraled into a major catastrophe, the Jews of Beitar dramatically overreacted to an unintended provocation. The Roman emperor, in turn, misinterpreted Beitar’s actions as a full-scale rebellion.
The importance of de-escalating a collision of cultures (as occurred in this case where the Roman and Jewish cultures unintentionally collided) is on full display in this story.
Sometimes a conflict is unavoidable. However, the carriage situation in Beitar was a conflict that we should have squelched early on. The failure to nip the problem in the bud resulted in a devastating disaster.
Beitar’s Leadership
Many questions emerge from thoughtful reflection on this Gemara. For example, where were the leaders of Beitar? Why did they not prevent the attack? Why did they not hand over the irresponsible perpetrators to the Roman authorities to save Beitar (as did the wise woman of Avel Beit Ma’acah, Shmuel II Perek 20)? Why did they not try to bribe the Roman leadership (as done in Ta’anit 21a) to save their community?
As in the Kamtza Bar Kamtza story, the apparent silence and inaction of Beitar’s rabbis and lay leaders looms large and should be included in a long list of blunders that brought about Beitar’s end.
Hashem’s Role
Several Sha’arei Orah congregants thought that the magnitude of fatal errors points to divine manipulation. We find the Tanach attributing Rechavam’s staggeringly foolish handling of the northern tribes’ rebellion (in Melachim I Perek 12) to Hashem’s control of Rechavam (Melachim I 12:15 and 24). Perhaps the same applies here to the fall of Beitar.
However, the Gemara’s introduction of the Sugya – happy is one who always fears – leads us to conclude that Chazal are teaching how reckless decision-making leads to catastrophe. Thus, we cannot shift the responsibility to Hashem for these foolish moves. Instead, we must reap the sobering lessons of the capacity of otherwise intelligent people to make irrational decisions that lead to their destruction.
Conclusion
Interestingly, many stories associated with the Churban involve a wedding. Weddings are times of high emotion, and therefore, much can go wrong. Chazal (Berachot 31a) wisely introduced mourning for the Churban at a Chuppah to temper the emotions slightly.
Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik explains why the Halachah declares children lack Da’at, sensible reason. He notes that when children are happy, they are engulfed in complete happiness, but when they are sad, they are immersed in sadness. Such an imbalance reflects a lack of Da’at.
It is often tempting to fall into the emotional high of the moment. However, adults must never fall into the emotional trap of unfettered joy or complete sadness. We must always retain the capacity for rational judgment. The stories associated with the Churban, such as the fall of Beitar, are dramatic and vivid reminders of the horrifying results of failing to do so.