POST GEDALIA
POST GEDALIA
Itzhak Streshinsky
On the third day of the month of Tishrei, the day after Rosh Hashanah, the Fast of Gedaliah (in Hebrew "Tsom Gedaliah") begins - one of the four fasts established by the prophets in memory of the destruction of the Temple. The story of Gedalya is instructive and interesting, but, unfortunately, many of its details remain unknown to this day. The activities of Gedalya, his death and subsequent events are briefly reported in Mlahim II, 25:22-26 and in more detail in Jirmeyau, 40:5-43:7.
The events, due to which this mourning date appeared in the Jewish calendar, occurred after the fall of Jerusalem, conquered by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, and the Jerusalem temple, built by King Solomon, was destroyed. Vassal ruler, governor of Judea, was appointed Gedalya (Gedalyahu), the son of Ahikam, who came from a famous and noble family. His grandfather Shafan was the scribe of King Yoshiyau, and Ahikam, the father of Gedaliah, saved the prophet Yirmeyau from death (see Yirmeyau, 26:24).
Gedalya made his residence Mizpah, a city in the allotment of the tribe of Benjamin, about 12 km north of Jerusalem. When the military leaders arrived in Mizpah, as well as the prophet Yirmeyau, Gedalya turned to them with an appeal: “Do not be afraid to serve the Chaldeans! Stay in the Country, serve the king of Babylon, and you will be fine. And here I live in Mizpah, ready to stand before the Chaldeans who will come to us. But you, gather grapes, and summer fruits, and olives, and put them in your vessels, and live in your cities, which you have occupied ”(Yermeyau, 40: 9-10). It is further reported that Jewish refugees who fled during the war in the territory of neighboring states - Moab, Amon and Edom - returned when they learned about the appointment of Gedaliah, and they managed to reap a large harvest.
As you can see, Gedalya, appointed governor, cared first of all about the welfare of the people, was ready to defend them before foreign authorities, and in these difficult conditions tried to restore normal life in the Land of Israel.
It seemed that after the national and religious catastrophe that had taken place in the country, a process of revival was beginning, but, as it often happened throughout Jewish history, it was interrupted due to unreasonable hatred and personal interests. Among those who arrived in Mitzpah was Ishmael, the son of Netanya, a descendant of the royal family. Yohanan, the son of Kareah, the commander, together with other commanders, warned Gedalya that Ishmael was sent by the king of the Ammonites, Baalis, to kill Gedalya, but the governor did not believe them. Yohanan insisted on his assumptions, he was ready to secretly kill Ishmael himself before he carried out his criminal plan, but Gedalya sharply besieged him. The viceroy was afraid to believe the slander and preferred to take risks, but not offend the innocent with suspicions.
The book of the prophet Yirmeyau says that in the seventh month of Tishrei, Ishmael, the son of Netanya, came with ten people to Gedaliah and, after a meal, treacherously killed him. He also killed the governor's associates and the Chaldean garrison. After capturing the remaining Jews in Mizpah, Ishmael intended to cross the Jordan and go to the Ammonites. When Yohanan and other generals who were not in Mizpah at the time of Ishmael's murders heard of what had happened, they gathered a militia and marched against Ishmael. They overtook him at Givon and freed the captives, but Ishmael himself escaped with eight men and fled to the Ammonites.
Unlike Gedaliah, Ishmael thought only of his own interests and was ready to treacherously kill for them. According to commentators, the mention of his origin indicates the possible background of the murder of Gedalya: Ishmael believed that power should belong to himself, a descendant of the royal family. Note that in the story of the murder of Gedalya in the Tanakh there is no indication that Ishmael tried to justify his actions with patriotic arguments or accused Gedalya of collaborating with the Babylonian authorities. On the contrary, Ishmael himself is presented as an accomplice of the king of the Ammonites, and this is evidenced not only by Yochanan's accusation against him, but also by the fact that in the end he fled to the Ammonites. Perhaps Ishmael hoped to enlist the support of Baalis, king of the Ammonites, and with his help to reign in Jerusalem, if the opportunity presented itself. Baalis, apparently, expected to include the territories of Judah in his kingdom and believed that if Gedalya was killed by a representative of the royal family, the Babylonians would consider this an uprising against them and punish the entire Jewish population.
The Tanakh does not indicate the exact date of the murder of Gedalya, it is only reported that he was killed in the seventh month, that is, in Tishrei. It appears that Gedaliah's reign in Mizpah did not last long, only about two months after the conquest of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple. According to the Babylonian Talmud treatise Rosh Hashanah, the murder of Gedaliah took place on the third day of the month in which the fast was established. There is also an opinion that the murder of Gedalya took place on the very day of Rosh Hashanah, Tishrei 1, but fasting was established on Tishrei 3, since it is forbidden to fast on holidays.
When the sages of the Talmud explain why the fast was instituted on this day, they emphasize the righteousness of Gedalya, saying: "The death of the righteous is tantamount to the burning of the Temple" (Rosh Hashanah, 18b). At the same time, while recognizing the merits of Gedalya, the sages criticize him for his excessive credulity. In the description of the murder of Jews by Ishmael, there are the following words: “And the pit where Ishmael threw the corpses of all the people whom he killed because of Gedalyahu…” (Irmeyau, 41:9). The sages ask why it can be understood from the words of the prophet that the responsibility for their death lies with Gedalya, because these people were killed by Ishmael? Their answer is: “Because [Gedalya] should have heeded the advice of Yohanan, the son of Kareah, and did not do so, the Scripture holds him responsible as if he had killed them” (Nida, 61a). Gedalya showed "excessive righteousness", considering Yohanan's warning about Ishmael's evil intent as slander, and as a result, not only he himself, but also other Jews died. Jewish leaders have a heavy responsibility - loving their people with all their hearts, they must be aware of the danger posed by some of its representatives, and be able to stop them in time.
After Yochanan, the son of Kareah, and the people who were with him freed the captives, they decided that the Babylonians who had survived would be punished for the murder of the governor, and set out to flee to Egypt. The military leaders and the whole people asked the prophet Irmeyau to pray to the Almighty for the surviving representatives of the people and ask what they should do now, promising to follow the instructions that they would receive.
The answer transmitted through Irmeyau was unambiguous: “If you stay to live in this country, then I will rebuild you - I will not destroy you, and I will plant you - I will not tear you out. Because I am sorry for the evil that I have done to you. Do not be afraid of the king of Babylon, who is terrible to you, do not be afraid of him, - the word of Gd, - for I am with you to save you and deliver you from his hand. And I will favor you with mercy, and he will have pity on you, and he will return you to your land!” (Yirmeyau, 42:10-12). The Almighty, through the prophet Irmeyau, predicted that if the Jews still decide to go to Egypt, then everything that makes them afraid to stay in the Land of Israel will overtake them in the country of asylum. But Jochanan and the military leaders who joined him chose not to obey, accused the prophet of lying and took the remnant of the people to Egypt. Among those taken away by force was the prophet himself.
Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon (Rambam; 1138–1204) draws attention to the nationwide aspect of the assassination of Gedaliah and the events that followed. In his work “Mishneh Torah”, he writes that the fast of Tishrei 3 was established due to the fact that after the murder of Gedaliah, the last hope of the Jews for a peaceful rebirth was extinguished and the process of their complete expulsion from the Land of Israel was completed (see: Laws of fasting, 5: 2).
It is worth noting that the last chance to preserve the Jewish community in the Land of Israel was lost after the murder of Gedaliah, when the Almighty guaranteed this to the Jews through the prophet Yirmeyau. Gedalya did not heed Yohanan's advice and because of this he was killed. But Yohanan himself did not listen to the prophet, and this led to yet another trouble. If in the past the Jews did not heed the warnings of the prophet and this led to the expulsion and destruction of the Temple, now, having again disobeyed him and choosing to flee to Egypt, they have missed the opportunity to stay in their native land. The Jewish community in Eretz Israel was not restored until after the exiles began to return from Babylon, about fifty years after the assassination of Gedaliah and the events that followed.
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