|
 MUSIC OF HALACHA - SPECIAL EDITION
Fasting in our time in history raises some important issues about our relationship with the State of Israel. The fast of Asara B’Tevet (The Tenth of Tevet)
this year is especially appropriate to the current war in Gaza. Should we be fasting over the situation in Israel?
In 1920, Rabbi Yaakov Tzvi Ziselman asked Rabbi Abraham Isaac HaKohen Kook, the first Chief Rabbi of Israel (Letters 1:45), whether we will still be obligated to fast on the days commemorating the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, once we have been restored to our homeland in Israel.
This was not the first time that we read a record of such a question. In the Book of Zechariah (Chapter 7) we read that the Jews who had remained in Babylon, sent their question to the Kohanim (Priests) of the Temple of God and the prophets; “Should I weep in the fifth month (The Ninth of Av; the anniversary of the destruction of the Temple), abstaining from pleasures, as I have been doing for many years?”
Zechariah answered; “When you fasted and mourned in the fifth month and in the seventh (The Fast of Gedaliah) for these seventy years, was the fasting for My honor? Was it for Me?”
It is interesting to note that the Temple was still under construction and that the question came from Jews in the Diaspora, not the Jews who had returned to Israel to rebuild the house of God. The questioners are the people who ignored the pleas of Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, and Zechariah to return to Israel. They did not ask if they should move to Israel, but they were asking whether they should fast on the anniversary of the Temple’s destruction! It is as if they were asking, “Are you certain that this is the long hoped for rebuilding of the Temple?? Perhaps you are mistaken in your calculations and it is not yet the proper time. Can we rely on your work to declare an end to the fast?
Their questions and doubts resonate with many of our contemporaries who wonder whether we can believe that the State of Israel is the first step in the promised redemption.
The Seder HaYom shares a pertinent story in his commentary to “Emet V’yatziv”, (It is True and Certain) the blessing that immediately follows the Morning Shema,: This great praise was composed by Diaspora Jews, of Toledo, Spain, who refused Ezra’s invitation to join the effort to rebuild the Temple and Israel. They were certain that this Temple too would be destroyed and they did not want to sacrifice all they had accomplished in their new home for a building that was destined to fall. However, to alleviate any concerns that that had lost their connection to the Land of Israel they composed this prayer as an expression of their continuing faith in God and His promises. The prayer was accepted and, considered important enough to add to the nascent Prayer Book composed by the Men of the Great Assembly.
Ezra, the leader of the Great Assembly, accepted their argument and even honored their efforts.
However, the Seder HaDorot (page 126) tells an entirely different story. He quotes the Sema’s explanation of the terrible suffering of the Jews in Worms, Germany (the birthplace of Rashi): The Jews of Worms were being punished for refusing Ezra’s invitation to return to rebuild Israel. They were comfortable in Germany. They were wealthy and settled and simply refused to leave. The Jews of Toledo did not choose the comfort of Spain over the instability of Jerusalem. They were convinced that the return to Israel would not last.
(It is interesting to note that the Ninth of Tevet is the anniversary of the deaths of Ezra and Nehemiah, the people whose invitations were refused. It is even more interesting to recall that the 8th of Tevet is when the 70 sages completed the translation of the Torah into Greek for Ptolemy. The translation is considered a break with tradition as people would no longer seek guidance to study the Torah they could now read on their own. They began to relate to Torah as citizens of their new home countries rather than as citizens of Israel.)
They were not alone in their convictions. Ezekiel, the prophet, also stayed in Babylon and did not join Ezra and the others. It may have been due to his old age. However, he seemed to believe that even with the return to Israel, that Babylon would remain the bastion of Torah and Law. (Chapters of Rabbi Eliezer, Chapter 7) In fact, Ezekiel had prophesied the instructions for the Final Temple, and the people incorporated only some of his instructions, while attempting to recreate the Temple of Solomon. (Maimonides; Laws of God’s Chosen Home 1:4) The prophet had good reason to believe that this Temple was not the promised final Temple.
Zechariah responds to the question of fasting by reminding the people that God is interested in righteousness, compassion, generosity and charity. A fast without those qualities is meaningless. He focuses on what we can do to bring the final redemption. His words continue to resonate today almost 2500 years later; Zechariah challenges us to perfect our relationship with others, especially those less fortunate. The prophet does not want to discuss fasting until we have created an environment in which our fasting can be meaningful.
What would Zechariah tells us when we ask him whether we should focus our prayers and thoughts on the war in Gaza as we fast? He would surely tell us to concentrate on developing a community that deserves to be redeemed because of its high level of righteousness and compassion. He could have criticized his questioners for remaining in Babylon and ignoring the calls to return to Israel. He does not. He too, as Ezekiel and the Jews of Toledo, understood the vulnerability of the Second Temple. He urged the people to create a reality that would earn God’s protection. Fasting and praying can be effective, but Jerusalem would and will remain vulnerable until we have developed a community of such goodness that God will secure Israel and her inhabitants.
Rabbi Kook answered Rabbi Ziselman that we must continue to fast as long as people are suffering and there is danger in Israel. The issues that led to the first Tenth of Tevet remain very much alive. They must be acknowledged and addressed.
The Ari HaKodesh (Sha’ar Ruach HaKodesh 7b) explains that the holiest eating raises the physical to the spiritual. However, on a fast day, when we do not eat, we receive our sustenance from God. We live on Spiritual Influence that comes from God down to us. A fast day is an opportunity to open ourselves to receive increased Divine Abundance. However, we must transform ourselves into appropriate vessels to receive that Abundance. That can only be realized by taking Zechariah’s words to heart: “The fast days will be to the House of Judah for joy and for gladness and for happy festivals. Only love, truth and peace!” (8:19)
 |
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Subscribe
