The Destruction of the Second Bet Hamikdash - Page 3

Vespasian sent Titus the wicked [to command the legions]. Titus said [quoting the verse (Deuteronomy 32:37)]: Where is their G-d, the rock in whom they trust - and this is Titus the wicked, who desecrated the holy and blasphemed Heaven!

What did Titus do? He took a prostitute by the hand [i.e., premeditatedly] and entered the Holy of Holies [with her], spread out a Torah scroll and committed a sin upon it. Then he took a sword and slashed the curtain [that separated the Holy from the Holy of Holies] and a miracle occurred and blood bubbled up and flowed out and he thought that he had killed Him. [And Titus' actions are those to which the verse (Psalms 74:4)] refers: Those who are hostile to You have roared in the place where you appear. They have placed their signatures [as if they are] signs [of truth].

Abba Chanan said: [The apparent lack of Divine reaction to Titus' desecration of the Holy of Holies is indicative of that which the verse (Psalms 89:9) states:] Who is like You, Who are strong. [The verse should be interpreted as meaning] who is like You, strong [in Your restraint] and hard [to anger], for You hear the taunts and blasphemies of that wicked man and You are silent. The school of R. Yishma'el taught: [The apparent lack of reaction is indicative of that which the verse (Exodus 15:11) states:] Who is like You among the G-ds, Hashem - i.e., who is like You among the silent. [The Talmud's exegesis is based on the similarity between the words eilim
What did he [Titus] do [after he had desecrated the Holy of Holies]? He took the curtain and made it into a sack. He took all of the vessels from the Bet Hamikdash and placed them inside and loaded them onto a ship, in order to show them off in Rome and to be lauded for his success.

A storm at sea threatened to drown him. He said: "It would seem to me that the power of the G-d of these [people] is only manifested through water, [for when] Pharaoh came, He drowned him in water. When Sisera came, He drowned him in water. Now He stands upon me to drown me in water. If He is mighty, let Him come onto dry land and do battle with me!"

A Divine voice came forth and said to him: "Wicked one, the son of a wicked one, descendant of Esav the wicked, I have an insignificant creature in My world called a gnat." And why is it called an insignificant creature? For it has the ability to imbibe, but lacks the ability to expel. "Come ashore and do battle with it!" Titus went ashore and a gnat came and entered his nostril, and pecked at his brain for seven years.

One day, Titus was walking past a blacksmith's shop. The gnat heard the noise of the sledgehammer and became silent. Titus said: "There is a remedy [for my suffering]!" Every day they brought a blacksmith and he hammered in Titus' presence. To a gentile blacksmith he would give four zuzim, but to a Jew he would say: "It is sufficient that you see your enemy suffering!"

For thirty days they did this [i.e., brought smiths to hammer in Titus' presence]. Afterwards, the gnat became accustomed [to the noise of the hammer and continued pecking at Titus' brain even when the hammers were struck].

We were taught, R. Pinchas ben Arova said: "I was with the great men of Rome [at the time] and when Titus died, they examined his brain and what they found in it was like a bird, weighing two sela'im." In the baraysa it says, like a year-old dove weighing two litrin. Abbaye said: "We have a tradition that its beak was of copper and its claws were of iron."

As Titus lay dying, he instructed his servants: "Burn me and scatter my ashes over the seven seas so that the G-d of the Jews cannot find me and bring me to judgment."

Onkelos, the son of Kalonikus, was the son of Titus' sister. He wanted to convert to Judaism. After Titus died, Onkelos made contact with his spirit, and asked him: "Who is considered important in that world?" Titus replied: "Israel."

Onkelos asked: "Is it worthwhile to join them?" Titus replied: "Their commandments are many and you will be unable to fulfill them. Go and torment them in this world, and you will be great, as the verse (Eicha 1:5) states: Her tormentors are great, her enemies are serene- All who torment Israel become great."

Onkelos then asked him: "How are you being punished?" Titus said to him: "According to what I brought upon myself. Every day they gather my ashes, judge me, burn me, and spread my ashes on the seven seas."

Onkelos then went and raised the spirit of Bilam and said to him: "Who is considered important in that world?" Bilam said to him: "Israel."

Onkelos asked: "Is it worthwhile to join them?" Bilam said: Do not seek their peace nor their welfare all of your days (Deuteronomy 23:7).

He [Onkelos] said to him: "How are you being punished?" He said to him: "In boiling semen."

He [Onkelos then] went, raised the spirit of a renegade Jew and said to him: "Who is considered important in that world?" He replied: "Israel."

Onkelos asked: "Is it worthwhile to join them?" He said to him: "Seek their welfare but do not seek to do them harm, for all who harm them, it is as if they have harmed the apple of His eye."

Onkelos said to him: "How are you being punished?" He replied: "In boiling feces."

[And the reason why he received this punishment is] as Mar said: Anyone who ridicules the words of the Sages is punished by [being placed in] boiling feces.

***

We learned: R. Elazar said, "Come and see how great is the punishment for causing embarrassment - for G-d assisted Bar Kamtza [i.e., He allowed Bar Kamtza's plot to succeed because of the embarrassment caused him] and He destroyed His house and burned His Tabernacle."

Why was the first Bet Hamikdash destroyed? Because of three sins that were prevalent: idolatry, forbidden relationships, and murder. During the second Bels ha-Mikdash, the people learned Torah, fulfilled the mitzvos, and engaged in acts of kindness - why then was it destroyed? Because baseless hatred was prevalent. This teaches us that baseless hatred is equivalent to the three cardinal sins of idolatry, forbidden relationships, and murder.

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