Part II
This is a collection of various remarks by Maran HaRav
Eliashiv about the Churban. Each stands on its own.
Because They Left My Torah
It is ruled in Orach Chaim (747): "One must be
extremely careful to recite birchos HaTorah." The
Mishnah Berurah (par. 2) writes that one should thank
Hashem for choosing us and giving us the vessel that He
covets, and cites what Chazal teach us on the posuk,
"`Why was the land lost?' — that no one in that
generation was able to answer that question. Only HaKodosh
Boruch Hu, Who knows a person's inner feelings, knew that
although they were engaged in Torah study, that study wasn't
important enough for them to recite a brochoh on
it."
The Mishnah Berurah (ibid.) adds that Chazal reveal to
us that a person is not zocheh to a son who is a
talmid chochom if he is not careful to recite
birchos haTorah.
Externally no difference could be discerned. We could not
discern anything lacking in their Torah commitment. Even the
nevi'im and chachomim were asked why the land
was lost but they were unable to offer any answer. Only
Hashem answered that they left My Torah— that they did
not recite a brochoh before studying Torah. At that
time they [still] studied Torah. They studied it diligently
and fulfilled, "This book of the Torah shall not depart from
your mouth" (Yehoshua 1:8). The problem was that they
could not possibly transmit the Torah to the coming
generation. The next generation would not receive the Torah
from them since they felt that in the hearts of the people
trying to transmit the Torah that Torah study is not
important enough. The result: spiritual deterioration of
future generations.
[Collection of Teshuvos III Mili De'Agodoh p.
162]
Request of R' Yochonon ben Zakai from Caesar
Aspasyanus
Concerning ma'aser sheini the Torah writes (Devorim
14:23): "So that you will learn to fear Hashem your G-d."
The Tosafos (Bovo Basra 21a s.v., Ki MiTziyon)
cite the Sifrei : "The significance of ma'aser
sheini is its causing one to study [Torah]." Since
bnei Yisroel would remain in Yerushalayim until they
finished eating their ma'aser sheini and they would
see everyone engaged in meleches Shomayim and
avodas Hashem, they too would direct their hearts to
be lesheim Shomayim and engage in Torah study."
The Torah describes the impression that Yerushalayim left on
anyone visiting there. "Our feet would stand in your gates
Yerushalayim" (Tehillim 122:2). When a guest would
visit Yerushalayim and see how the Jews acted he would be so
excited that he would stand frozen in his place, unable to
move.
Chazal (Brochos 17b) teach us: "Those who live in
Mechoza are hardhearted. Two times a year they see the honor
of the Torah but none of them converted to Judaism." Rashi
explains (ibid., s.v. Shevochoh deOraisa):
"Jews would gather [in Mechoza] to hear the halochos
of Pesach, and in Elul to hear the halochos of
Succos." These non-Jews would see how the Jews would abandon
their homes and all lusts of this world in order to convene
to hear the word of Hashem. If those non-Jews were not
hardhearted, what they saw would have naturally left a great
impression on them. The posuk therefore tells us,
"Their feet would stand"—the Jews visiting Yerushalayim
were simply enchanted and unable to budge.
After Shlomoh Hamelech completed the building of the Beis
Hamikdosh all of Yisroel assembled and brought up the
Oron Hakodesh to Yerushalayim. The posuk
writes, "And the Cohanim brought the Oron, the
testimony of Hashem, to its place . . . to the Kodesh
Kodoshim . . . nothing was in the Oron except the
two Luchos that Moshe placed there in Chorev when
Hashem made a covenant with bnei Yisroel" (Divrei
HaYomim II 5:7). Why would we possibly presume that
something else was put there besides the Luchos and
the sefer Torah that were in the Oron?
"There were ten kedushos one higher than the other
— the Heichal, the Ulom, the Ezras
Cohanim, Ezras Yisroel, Ezras Noshim, the
Cheil, Har Habayis, Yerushalayim, the cities
surrounded by a wall and the other cities" (Yalkut
Shimoni, Bamidbar ch.5, Remez 695). The
posuk reveals to us that all of these tremendous
levels of kedushoh stem from one source: "The Oron
had only two Luchos and a sefer Torah." On
that, all of our happiness depended. Where is all of our
happiness? Only in this sefer Torah.
Therefore when Rabban Yochonon ben Zakai found favor in the
eyes of Aspasyanus who told him: "Ask from me something
and I will give it to you" (Gittin 56b), R' Yochonon
ben Zakai did not request from Aspasyanus to leave the
Beis Hamikdosh but he rather requested, "Give me
Yavneh and its scholars," since he clearly saw that the
Beis Hamikdosh did not have such a great influence any
more on the life of the nation.
[Collection of Teshuvos III Mili De'Agodoh, p.
276]
Minchah of Yehuda and Yerushalayim
"R' Shimon bar Nachmani said (Bereishis Rabba 33):
`How unfortunate are the reshoim who turn the
middoh of rachamim to the middoh of
din . . . How fortunate are the tzaddikim who
turn the middoh of din to rachamim, as
is written (Bereishis 8:1), `And Elokim (middoh
of din) remembered Noach.' When Noach left the ark the
Torah writes (Bereishis 8:20-21), `Then Noach built a
mizbeiach to Hashem . . . Hashem smelled the pleasant
aroma.'" From this saying of Chazal (Bereishis Rabba
34) we learn that HaKodosh Boruch Hu sensed in
Noach's korbon the smell of Avrohom Ovinu who ascended
from the furnace of fire, and the smell of Chananyah,
Misho'el and Azaryah. This was the smell of shmad,
meaning the smell of all those who endangered their lives for
Hashem.
About this matter, Chazal (Vayikra Rabba 7) expound:
"`And it was pleasant to Hashem the minchah of Yehuda
and Yerushalayim, like the days of the world and previous
years' (Malachi 3:4). Rebbe says, `Like the days of
the world' — like the days of Noach, as is written,
`This is like the waters of Noach for me. `And like previous
years' — like the days of Hevel when there was no
avodoh zorah in the world."
"In the times of Hevel" the world was clean since no
avodoh zorah existed at all at that time. However, in
the days of Noach the world became already a little "richer."
Although the Mabul destroyed the whole inhabited area,
the air was not altogether pure. Nonetheless Noach's
korbon was pleasant to Hashem.
And we pray that may it be that the minchah of Yehuda
and Yerushalayim should be pleasant like Noach's
korbon. We pray for this since we see that because of
his korbon, HaKodosh Boruch Hu said that, "Because
this is like the water of Noach for me about which I
swore."
[Collection of Teshuvos III Mili De'Agodoh, p.
318]
Upon Your Walls Yerushalayim
We learned (Middos 1:1): "The Cohanim guard in three
places in the Beis Hamikdosh: in Beis Avtinos
where they would make the incense, in the Beis
HaNitzotz where they would bring fire for the
mizbeiach since it was a mitzvah to bring fire from
mortals, and in the Beis HaMoked where there was a
large bonfire to keep the Cohanim warm."
Who was in charge of this guarding? The rovim, meaning
the young Cohanim, were the guards. "Upon your walls O
Yerushalayim I have assigned guards" (Yeshayohu 62:6).
Torah needs strengthening and guarding so that the "the
permanent fire upon the mizbeiach will not become
extinguished," that the Cohanim will not become cold and will
be able to daily sacrifice the temidim.
[Collection of Teshuvos III Mili De'Agodoh, p.
385]
Why Was the Second Beis Hamikdosh Destroyed?
"This teaches you that the taharoh of keilim
bothered them more than bloodshed. It is not clear [how they
came to consider them equivalent,] if spilling blood was
cheap by them or that the taharoh of keilim was
considered more severe to them. Since the gemora
writes, `And also Menasheh spilt clean blood,' we
understand that bloodshed was cheap by them" ( Yoma
23a).
This needs some explanation. The story (ibid.) about
Rebbe Tzodok [concerning two Cohanim who were running down
the ramp of the mizbeiach and one pushed the other off
it] happened during the Second Beis Hamikdosh, and we
learned above in the gemora, "There was neither
avodoh zorah in the second Beis Hamikdosh, nor
was their illicit relations, nor was there bloodshed." If so,
how could the gemora possibly bring proof from
Menasheh since Menasheh lived during the First Beis
Hamikdosh? The Maharsha in his Chidushei
Aggodos discusses this grave difficulty.
It seems to me that we can explain as follows: The gemora
(Avodoh Zorah 8b) writes that a hundred and eighty years
before the Beis Hamikdosh was destroyed, the Sanhedrin
was exiled and resided in Chanuyos. The gemora
explains that the Sanhedrin was moved because, "they saw many
murderers and were unable to study Torah. They therefore
decided it was preferable to go into exile so that it would
not obligate them. Apparently forty years before the
Churban there were many murderers— meaning there
was much bloodshed.
According to what Chazal (quoted above) tell us: "In the
Second Beis Hamikdosh that there was no avodoh
zorah, gilui arayos and spilling of blood, why was it
destroyed? They teach: "It was destroyed because of
unjustified hatred." In the beginning of the Churban,
which was a hundred-and-eighty years before the final
Churban, the Roman kingdom took control and that
marked the beginning of the Churban. At that time they
were spiritually deficient because of "unjustified hatred"
but they did not transgress the three primary sins. However,
later on, forty years before the Churban, they were
engaged also in bloodshed. Therefore the gemora does
well in its citing the posuk of Menasheh since he was
an example of such.
[Kuntros Halichos VeHanhogos]
