We are going to bring out a lesson from one of the stories in the Agada, which we learn on Tisha Bav. The famous story, that everyone knows is about Kamsa and Bar Kamsa. A man was thrown out of the party, etc, and that was a cause of destruction of Jerusalem. But the Gemara actually tells over three stories of why the Bet Hamikdash was destroyed. One of the lesser known stories says that over a chicken and a rooster, the town of Tur Malka, which had hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people, was destroyed.. The custom was that when a couple got married, they would designate a chicken and a rooster, and they would serve it at the wedding to the bride and the groom as a symbol that they should multiply and be fruitful like a chicken and a rooster. Chickens lay an egg a day.
One day, as they were preparing for a wedding, they had the chicken and the rooster outside. But some Roman soldiers were hungry and took the chicken and the rooster. The Jews reacted by getting into a fight with the Roman soldiers and killing them.
Word got back to the Caesar, who said the Jews rebelled, and he was ready to go to war.
*Let's just pause for a moment to discuss the significance of the chicken and the rooster, and why they went to war. The Maharal says the chicken and the rooster symbolize numbers, great numbers. The chicken and the rooster were segulot.
But they made two mistakes:
-Mistake number one was that God doesn't need a lot of people in order to be successful. You don't need a lot of people to take on the Romans.
-Mistake number two was that they thought the segula is what makes things happen. You think if you don't have your chickens and your roosters, you can't have a lot of people?
These were two lackings in bitachon. Hashem wanted to teach them that lesson. It says that just at that point, a super-strong man came from the south. This super-strong man was so powerful that he could jump a Mil (which is almost a mile) and kill out many Romans.
At one time, the Caesar was upset that he'd lose his army to this one, lone Jew. So he took his crown off and said, “God, please don't embarrass me that my kingdom should be given over to this one lone Jew.” The Iyun Yaakov, a a commentary on the En Yaakov says that God was trying to tell them, “You don't need large numbers. This one strong man can win the war, if you understand that I am behind you.”
But because they didn't take the lesson, it says, the strong man had a slip of the tongue and he made prayer before he went out to war and said, “God leave us alone, and don't go with us in war.” That was a strange comment for this strong man to say. Interestingly, the midrash says that Bar Kochba, who was a great man, had a similar prayer. He said, “God, don't help me but don't embarrass me.”
What exactly does that mean? What is the bitachon lesson?
(This reminds me of a beautiful story that I've said in the past, from Rav Matityahu Salomon:There was a man that used to pray a very, very long amida, but he was a cutthroat in business. Rav Salomon asked him, “What's going on? If you believe in God, that you pray so long, why are you such a cutthroat in business? And if you're such a cutthroat in business and seemingly think you know what you're doing, why are you praying so long?” And the man answered, I know what I'm doing. I'm a good businessman. But of course, I know God runs the world. And if he wants, he could make my ship sink. He could bring a fire in the factory. He could cause interest rates to go up. He could do anything. So of course, God can interfere. But I ask God, ‘God, I know what I'm doing. Please don't interfere.’)
This strong man man felt that he could do it alone. Of course, God can interfere, but I basically know what I'm doing. That’s not the right attitude. The attitude has to be that we really don't know what we're doing, like we say,
“God gives us the power to amass wealth,” which the Targum says means God gives us the ideas.
That means even my ideas are not mine. So it’s not like, “I have good ideas and God could foil my plans.” No, I don't even have the ideas. Everything comes from Hashem.
So this strong soldier got bitten by a snake and died. The Ben Ish Chai says, it's a hint to us of the mistake of the original snake, that told Adam to eat from the tree to also become a creator. We want to have a part. We want to have some control. It's hard for human beings to admit and realize that we really have no control.
So the Caesar saw a miracle happen. The strong man died. So the Caesar decided to go back to Rome and not wipe out the Jews. But the Jews made a big party celebrating. The Maharsha says they thought the Caesar was afraid of their numbers and that’s why he went back.
So they partied.
But the Caesar said, “Oh, the Jews are taunting me?!” And he went back and he ended up wiping out the town.
They should have praised Hashem, says the Maharsha, but instead they celebrated their numbers.
And this is a continuation from yesterday's class of Rabim HaGoyim/ thr goyim are many. We have many numbers, we have power and force. But no, God could send one man from the south. We have to understand that. And that one man from the South has to understand that it's not his strength. It's not, God don't interfere. God is constantly giving us the strength and the energy for any success.
These are lessons we have to constantly reiterate, especially, post Tisha B’Av when the Bet Hamikdash has not been rebuilt, which means we still need to work out these lessons.
Have a wonderful day.