Matos: 5786 - Once Av begins, we decrease in joy – but how can joy possibly diminish the tragedy of the destruction? The moving story of Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai and the doubt that accompanied him his whole…

00:00 Speaker 1 Please.

00:02 Speaker 2 We are in the midst of the Three Weeks. This Shabbos is Shabbos Mevarchim for the month of Av.

00:10 Speaker 1 Menachem.

00:11 Speaker 2 When Menachem Av begins—right. “When Av begins, we diminish joy.” There is an interpretation of what that means: when Av begins, we diminish—the mourning and the sense of destruction. How can we diminish them? Through joy. Through joy, we diminish the mourning and the destruction. Of course, within the bounds of halachah and according to the customs observed during these days. I have a grandson who, when people ask him when his birthday is, says, “On the happiest day of the year.” What does he mean? It says, “When Adar begins, we increase joy.” Until when? Each day we have to increase it. Until when? Until it says, “When Av begins, we diminish joy.” Until then, each day we have to increase it. He was born on 29 Tammuz. He says that’s the happiest day of the year. The Gemara tells a story about Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai. He lived at the time of the destruction. The Gemara relates that when Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai fell ill, his students came to visit him. They saw him lying there and crying. His students asked him, “Our teacher, mighty hammer, right-hand pillar, why are you crying?” Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai told them, “If I were brought before a flesh-and-blood king, who is here today and in the grave tomorrow, and whose decrees can be overturned, a person would still be afraid of him. When I am being brought before the King of Kings, Who is eternal, and everything He says and does endures forever, how could I not be afraid?” And he gave another reason: “There are two paths before me.” One path leads to Gan Eden and one to Gehinnom, “and I do not know which path they will lead me down. How could I not cry?” People ask: Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai was one of the greatest sages of the Jewish people. The Gemara relates all kinds of virtues of Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai. For forty years he studied; for forty years

02:34 Speaker 2 he taught. He was a student of Hillel the Elder. He didn’t know which path they would lead him down? Was that a question for him, a doubt? What does “I do not know which path they will lead me down” mean? Many people ask this question. The Rebbe also asks it in one of the maamarim, a maamar of Chassidus, and the Rebbe explains what Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai meant. The Rebbe says that Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai was so busy with his shlichus, spreading Torah, that he never thought about where he himself stood. Now, when he was about to pass on to the world that is entirely good, he began to think: Wait, what about me? Especially when it comes to the essence of the soul—a person has the essence of his soul—“I do not know which path they will lead me down,” because he had never had time to think about himself, where he stood, what level he was on. That is the Rebbe’s explanation. But there is a very interesting interpretation from my grandfather, the rabbi of Jerusalem. He explained something very interesting. The Gemara relates that at the time of the destruction, Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai, who lived then, opposed the rebellion and the war against Rome. He opposed it not only in principle but also in practice, and he thought about what could be done. The Gemara then relates at length how they used a trick, pretending he had died, because no one could leave Jerusalem. It was closed off and sealed; no one could go in or out. Somehow he managed to leave the city and came before the general Vespasian. Vespasian was the general, and Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai said to him, “Peace to you, O king.” Vespasian told him, “You deserve death twice over.” Why? First, “I’m not the king.” He was the general. If you call me king, you are rebelling against the rule of

04:33 Speaker 2 Rome. And second, if I am king, where have you been until now? Why didn’t you come before now?” Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai answered him: “As for your saying that you aren’t king, you will soon be informed that you have been made king.” And that is what happened. While they were speaking, a special messenger arrived and informed him that he had been made king. As for the second question, he said that it had not been in his power to come, because the zealots had prevented him from leaving the city. In any case, he found favor in the general’s eyes, and Vespasian told him, “Ask me for what you want, and I will grant your request.” So he asked for three things. What were the three things? Yavneh and its sages—that is, the Sanhedrin. Second, the line of Rabban Gamliel, the line of the Nasi. Third, that Rabbi Tzadok, who had fasted for forty years so that the Beis Hamikdash would not be destroyed, should be healed. Vespasian told him, “I grant you these requests.” The Gemara says of Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai that the sages applied to him the verse, “He turns wise men backward and makes their knowledge foolish.” Why didn’t you ask for Jerusalem and the Beis Hamikdash? He should have asked him not to destroy the Beis Hamikdash. The Gemara asks, “What was he thinking?” Did it really not occur to him to ask that Jerusalem and the Beis Hamikdash not be destroyed? Rather, he thought that if he asked for too much, he would get nothing. Explained—

06:04 Speaker 3 Rabbi Sonnenfeld.

06:05 Speaker 2 My grandfather explained that this is what Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai meant when he said, “I do not know which path they will lead me down.” His whole life he lived with that doubt and that question: perhaps he should have asked for Jerusalem after all. Perhaps Vespasian would have granted that request, and then the Beis Hamikdash would not have been destroyed. It weighed on him his entire life, and that is why he said, “I do not know which path they will lead me down.” Yes. With Hashem’s help, we will read Parshas Matos-Masei. Chazak, chazak, venischazek. Amen. May Hakadosh Boruch Hu build the Beis Hamikdash for us very soon. Amen, indeed.