4:
Despite the fact that Yoĥanan ben-Zakkai had achieved some renown in his youth, as we have seen, he did not become one of the truly greats of our rabbinic history until after the destruction of the Bet Mikdash in the year 70 CE. During the great war against the Romans, which had broken out in 66 CE, he was one of the leaders of the 'peace camp', and probably 'the' leader of that camp. He foresaw that there was no way in which the forces available to the Jews would be able to withstand the Roman military machine
ad infinitum and he feared that the rebellion would leave the Jews in Eretz-Israel in a state worse than that which had prevailed before the 'Zealots' had resorted to arms. The Jewish population of Judah was sharply divided between the rabidly nationalistic segments, which were spearheaded by the Zealots and the Sicarii and their supporters on the one hand, and the hard core of the sages who still supported the pacific House of Hillel on the other.
5:
The war began with spectacular successes for the Zealot armies, but soon the tide turned the other way. To begin with, the Romans could not believe that the tiny nation of the Jews had the foolhardy temerity to rebel. Once they realized that this rebellion was serious they sent their best forces and best commanders to put down the rebellion at all costs. The last thing that the Romans wanted was turmoil and upheaval in the Middle East: the absolute crushing of the Jews would serve as an example and a warning to the other Roman provinces in the area. Under the command of Titus Flavius Vespasianus and with the augmentation of the army by the addition of the crack Tenth Legion summoned from Egypt, the country was gradually reduced. Vespasian had at his disposal an army of 60,000 legionaries, and he used them to subdue the country by working in sweeping circles that gradually isolated Jerusalem, the heart and soul of the rebellion.
6:
Midsummer of the year 68 CE saw political upheaval in Rome itself. The Emperor, Nero, committed suicide, and the next twelvemonth saw the highest power pass to three emperors in succession: each lacked broad-based military and senatorial support so each was violently deposed in turn. Vespasian met on the border of Judah and Syria with Gaius Licinius Mucianus, the governor of Syria, and after a series of private and public consultations, the two decided to revolt in order to bring order out of chaos. On July 1 69 CE, at the urging of Tiberius Alexander, prefect of Egypt, the legions of Alexandria declared for Vespasian, as did the legions of Judah two days later. By August all of Syria and the Danube legions had done likewise. Vespasian next dispatched Mucianus to Italy with 20,000 troops, while he set out from Syria to Alexandria in order to control grain shipments for the purpose of starving Italy into submission. The siege of Jerusalem he placed in the hands of his son Titus.
To be continued.
In Avot 112 I was asked about the propriety of driving on Shabbat bearing in mind the likelihood of necessities such as the changing of a punctured tyre, refuelling and so on. I responded that
changing a flat tire on Shabbat would be forbidden under all usual circumstances. But since I strongly disapprove of driving on Shabbat I find the question only to be indicative of why we should not use an automobile on Shabbat.
Ofer Ramon writes:
I do not find any difference between US and Israel in terms of the distance from the synagogue to my home. It could be that I have to drive due to the distance if I want to go to the synagogue on Shabbat, so if it is OK for a US citizen in US why it is not OK for an Israeli citizen, where there are only few Conservative synagogues available: it is a common need to drive a few miles to my specific synagogue. Thus I find it strange that the "Conservative" movement in Israel did not adopt this rule.
I respond:
I can only reiterate my uncompromising stance on this matter. There is no absolute requirement in halakhah for anyone to pray in a synagogue (although it is certainly preferable [Shulĥan Arukh, Oraĥ Ĥayyim 90:9]). The rules concerning melakhot on Shabbat are absolute, therefore they cannot be overridden by the need to go to synagogue. Unlike America, in Israel there is a synagogue in almost every conceivable locality – even if it is not Masorti. The responsum of the Law Committee of the Rabbinical Assembly in Israel was written in response to a question from someone in Petaĥ Tikvah, where there is no Conservative/Masorti congregation. All the answers to Ofer's questions and comments are given in Rabbi David Golinkin's responsum. A resumé in English is available online at this address. (Look for the English resumé in Volume 4.) The full Hebrew text of this responsum is available at this address.
Discussion on this topic is now closed.
