Rabban Yochan ben Zakkai and Vespasian - Gittin 56a, Uganda Shiur

Rabban Yochan ben Zakkai and Vespasian - Gittin 56a, Uganda Shiur

Meeting Purpose

To study the Gemara's account of the Second Temple's destruction.

Key Takeaways

• Zealots' Self-Destructive Tactics: To force a war, Zealots burned Jerusalem's food stores, causing a famine that killed the wealthy Martha Bat-Betus and rendered money worthless.
• Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai's Escape: The leading sage escaped the city by faking his death, a plan devised with his Zealot-leader nephew, Abba Sikra.
• Strategic Requests to Vespasian: Ben Zakkai secured three favors from the Roman general (sparing Yavneh, the Nasi's dynasty, and Rabbi Tzadok) to ensure Jewish survival, choosing modest requests over a doomed plea to save the Temple.
• Titus's Blasphemous Act: The new Roman general defiled the Holy of Holies, interpreting the curtain's miraculous bleeding as a sign he had "killed God," a moment the Gemara uses to explain divine silence in the face of evil.

Topics

The Zealots' Famine & Its Consequences

• Goal: Force a war against the Romans by creating a desperate situation.
• Method: Burned Jerusalem's food stores (wheat, barley).
• Outcome: A severe famine that killed the wealthy Martha Bat-Betus.
  • Her agent failed to find any flour, even coarse or barley.
  • She died from disgust after stepping on dung, a symbol of her sudden loss of privilege.
  • Alternative Account: She died from disgust after eating a fig from Rabbi Tzadok, whose 40-year fast left him too weak for solid food.
  • Symbolic Act: She threw her gold and silver into the streets, proving money was worthless without food.

Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai's Escape

• Context: The leading sage (peace faction) and his nephew, Abba Sikra (Zealot leader), met in secret.
• Plan: Ben Zakkai would fake his death to escape the city.
  • Method: Pretend illness → place putrid material nearby → have students carry the coffin for burial.
  • Rationale: Only students could carry the coffin; others would notice a living person is lighter than a corpse ("dead weight").
• Execution:
  • Zealot guards at the gate demanded to stab the body to confirm death.
  • Ben Zakkai's students refused, arguing it would disgrace their rabbi and be seen as a Roman propaganda victory.
  • The guards relented, allowing the escape.

Encounter with Vespasian & Strategic Requests

• Prophecy: Ben Zakkai greeted Vespasian as "king," prophesying his future emperorship.
• Vespasian's Analogy: He rejected saving Jerusalem, comparing it to breaking a honey barrel to kill a snake (the Zealots).
• Ben Zakkai's Counter-Analogy (Post-Facto): He should have suggested using tongs to remove the snake, saving the barrel.
  • Gemara's Explanation: God prevented this thought, as the Temple's destruction was part of a divine plan.
• Vespasian's Favor: After becoming emperor, he offered Ben Zakkai a request.
• The Three Requests (Pillars of Post-Destruction Survival):
  1. Yavneh: Spare the city and its sages to rebuild Torah scholarship.
  2. Rabban Gamliel: Spare the Nasi (political leader) and his dynasty to preserve leadership.
  3. Rabbi Tzadok: Provide doctors to heal him.
• Rationale for Modest Requests: To ensure at least some survival, as asking for too much (e.g., sparing the Temple) would likely result in nothing.

Titus's Defilement of the Holy of Holies

• Successor: Vespasian left for Rome, appointing his son Titus to continue the siege.
• Blasphemous Act: Titus entered the Holy of Holies with a prostitute, spread a Torah scroll as a mattress, and cut the curtain with a sword.
• Miracle & Misinterpretation: The curtain bled, a sign of God's mourning. Titus, an idol-worshipper, believed he had "killed God."
• Gemara's Theological Point: God's silence in the face of evil preserves free will.
• Loot: Titus used the curtain as a basket to carry sacred vessels to Rome.
• Arch of Titus: A Roman monument celebrating this victory, featuring a sculpture of the menorah.
  • Jews avoided walking under it until 1948, when Israel's independence symbolized their ultimate survival.