Wednesday, July 29, 2015

The Falsehood of P

Regarding P, it has been noted already in what sense P is Lo-Ammi. Importantly, P is directly responsible for the second Churban, as detailed below in the secret of Kamtza and Bar-Kamtza, the famous story of Cbazal (Gittin 55b-56a) [my comments in bold between square brackets]:

A man was organizing a Seuda [of "Chaverim"] and wanted to invite the Chaver Kamtza. His servant, however, by mistake brought the non-Chaver, Bar-Kamtza. [The "Chaverim" is code for people that have the Chumrah to always eat ritually pure food in a state of ritual purity. Ritual purity is a complicated concept of P.] When the host realized the mistake, he went to Bar-Kamtza and demanded that he leave [so that he would not spoil the Chumrah of the Chaverim, as Bar-Kamtza, the non-Chaver, was ritually impure, and the food he touched would become impure.]. Embarrassed, Bar-Kamtza offered to pay for his food and his drink in the hope that he could stay, and when that did work, to pay for half the Seuda, and at the end even for the whole Seuda. But the host threw him out. [He had to throw him out because of this Chumrah, shared by all attendants, all "lovers" of P who totally lost the way in the laws of P.]

Bar-Kamtza said, “Since the Rabbis were sitting there and did not stop him from embarrassing me, this shows that they agreed with him. I will go and inform against them to the government.” [The Rabbis totally lost the way, in the laws of P, Lo-Ammi.]

He went and said to the emperor, “The Jews are rebelling against you.” Said the emperor, “How can I know that this is true?” “Send them an offering,” said Bar Kamtza, “and see whether they will offer it on the altar.” So he sent with him a fine calf. While on the way he made a blemish on its upper lip (or as some say, on the white of its eye)—in a place where we count it a blemish but they do not.[The Issur to offer animals with a blemish is a concept of P.]

The rabbis were inclined to offer it in order not to offend the government. Said Rabbi Zechariah ben Avkulas to them: “People will say that blemished animals are offered on the altar.” They then proposed to kill Bar Kamtza so that he should not go and inform against them, but Rabbi Zechariah ben Avkulas said to them, “Is one who makes a blemish on consecrated animals to be put to death?” Rabbi Yochanan thereupon remarked: “Because of the scrupulousness of Rabbi Zechariah ben Avkulas our House has been destroyed, our Temple burnt, and we ourselves exiled from our land.”[He was scrupulous in the laws of P, Lo-Ammi. P is to blame directly for the second Churban, not E, not J, not D.]

הַעַל אֵלֶּה לֹא אֶפְקֹד נְאֻם יְהֹוָה אִם בְּגוֹי אֲשֶׁר כָּזֶה לֹא תִתְנַקֵּם נַפְשִׁי. שַׁמָּה וְשַׁעֲרוּרָה נִהְיְתָה בָּאָרֶץ. הַנְּבִיאִים נִבְּאוּ בַשֶּׁקֶר וְהַכֹּהֲנִים יִרְדּוּ עַל יְדֵיהֶם וְעַמִּי אָהֲבוּ כֵן וּמַה תַּעֲשׂוּ לְאַחֲרִיתָהּ

(Yeremyahu 5:29-31)