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• The Maimed Sacrifice

  Mar 9, 2026 Admin 0 Comments

  I believe there's something left uncovered in the story of Bar Kamtza. With your permission, let's look into it again.
  
  Just as it goes with anything I write, this is my opinion, or how I understand passages in the Torah.
  
  This story is almost in every speech on Tisha B'Av. But for some reason, everyone portrays Bar Kamtza as a guilty party. In no way do I downplay what he has done and the evil it has brought onto the nation. But I believe there's another guilty party in this story that has walked away as innocent to date. 
  
  In Tractate Gittin 55B-56A, a story is told of a slave who is asked to invite a guy named Kamtza to a party, but the worker mistakenly calls Bar Kamtza, his owner's enemy, instead.
  
  While going around the tables, the host notices his enemy sitting with other guests and enjoying himself. Infuriated, he comes over and asks him, what is he doing here? Bar Kamtza told him that his slave invited him, so that is why he is here. The host said, "It must be a mistake, since he asked him to call Kamtza, and not his enemy, Bar Kamtza." 
  
  The host asked him to leave. To avoid being humiliated in front of everyone, Bar Kamtza offered to pay for his meal, half the party, and even the entire banquet. The host refuses, grabs him by his hand, stands him up, and pushes him out of the party.
  
  While there, Bar Kamtza notices many rabbis at the table. And none of them have interfered on his behalf. A thought crept into his mind that the host's behavior was acceptable to them, as if they supported the host. 
  
  He decides to get back at the rabbis by going to Caesar and inciting him against Jerusalem. Per his suggestion, Caesar sends them a fine calf as a sacrifice, but on the way to the Bet Hamikdash, Bar Kamtza causes a blemish to it by making a small cut on its lip, which disqualifies the animal as a kosher sacrifice in the Temple. 
  
  Now the rabbis are faced with a dilemma. They can't bring the animal as a sacrifice since it is not kosher, and they can not send the animal back, since it is something that Caesar sent as an offer. 
  
  So, they decided to bring it anyway. But Rabbi Zecharia ben Avkulas said, "But people will say that a blemished animal may be offered on the Altar." 
  
  So they decided to kill Bar Kamtza, but Rabbi Zecharia ben Avkulas said, "But people will say, those who blemish consecrated animal will be put to death."
  
  At the end, they did nothing.
  
  Says Rabbi Yochanan: "The tolerance displayed by Rabbi Zecharia ben Avkulas towards Bar Kamtza has destroyed our Temple, burned down our Sanctuary, and exiled us from the land."
  
  And this is where I would like to draw your attention to.
  
  Why would Hashem destroy the Temple, kill millions, and drive away millions into slavery, and cause over 2,000 years of exile till today, because of the decision of one rabbi? 
  
  Because the rabbis at the party were not new to this issue of Bar Kamtza. Every argument has a pre-story, plenty of hearsay, slander, and defamation, to the point where people take sides and work tirelessly, blindly following their "leader".
  
  The host of the party knew this game, and he took advantage of it to its fullest. He had "slaves" working for him in every layer of society, from top to bottom. People were talking about Bar Kamtza to the point that he felt like an outsider in the community, and he did not feel guilty for punishing the whole city for what was done to him. And the worst thing about this was that all the rabbis knew all the fresh and latest dirt about Bar Kamtza.
  
  And this is what Hashem did not like about this whole thing: that Rabbi Zecharia ben Avkulas was concerned about what people might say about the blemished animal, or about the people who bring the blemished animal, it is as if Rabbi Zecharia ben Avkulas suddenly became too religious or makhmir, way to strict about this one law of bringing a maimed korban, while ignoring all other laws. 
  
  As if Hashem was saying to Rabbi Zechariah ben Avkulas: for years, the issue with Bar Kamtza was a known fact, and everyone was talking about it; the laws of evil speech, defamation, and plenty of other laws that support this type of behavior were broken daily by many people. All the rabbis were okay with this behavior of the community for years, and suddenly, this One Halacha - this law of the maimed korban, a sacrifice which may lead to peace between the king and the nation, suddenly, you are too makhmir or strict about it?? Two-faced behavior, most likely of the many, led Hashem to destroy the Temple. 
  
  And no rabbi of that time was able to overrule Rabbi Zecharia ben Avkulas’ decision, since he was most likely the highest-ranking rabbi above all the others. This decision of the former Chief Rabbi affected the nation back then, and we are still in exile today because of it.
  
  But let's jump to Tractate Chagigah 14B, which I have been talking about incessantly. The above just proves my point in another essay I have written about four people who went to Pardes. People learn it as just another story, but it is not - just another story. The story of Pardes or the issues I have raised here, just proves that Ben Zoma and Rabbi Elisha ben Avuya, who was later called Acher, have dealt with the same set of rabbis as Bar Kamtza.
  
  The Gemara has recorded the stories of Acher and Ben Zoma, and later of Bar Kamtza, as MAJOR FAILURES of that past generation, mostly of the rabbis who were ruling the nation at that time. 
  
  The failure of that past generation was never fixed, and every generation since then has failed to make things right. How about this one? Are we on our way to fail, too?!
  
  According to the Talmud (Yoma 54b), when the Babylonians entered the Holy of Holies to destroy the Temple, they found the Keruvim or Cherubs on the Ark in a close embrace. There's an explanation that this scene represented G-d's enduring and intimate love for the Jewish people, even during the exile and destruction. But in my opinion, it can also represent G-d's frustration at seeing the injustice and incompetence of the few on top in executing justice, enforcing laws, reinstating the rejected ones into society, and ensuring that this won't happen again - therefore the destruction…with the hope to start all over again at some future date.
  
  Shmuel Katanov

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• The Failed Mission

  Feb 19, 2026 Admin 0 Comments

  In every essay I have written so far, I have presented a question and answered it, but in this one, I would like to have a different approach. Here I would like to present a bunch of questions on a topic that has been bothering me for a few years now. On the outside, it looks simple, but once you start delving in, you notice a whole different picture. So, with your permission, let's begin.
  
  Just to mention, the following is my opinion, or just some thoughts and questions out loud.
  
  In Masechet Chagigah 14b of the Talmud Bavli, there's a story about four people who went to Pardes: Ben Azzai and Ben Zoma, Acher, and Rabbi Akiva. Four great scholars embarked on a mystical journey. Ben Azzai died, Ben Zoma lost his mind, and Acher lost his faith or went off the derech. Only one, Rabbi Akiva, returned unscathed. 
  
  As a sidenote, Rabbi Elisha ben Avuya or Acher was a wealthy Jerusalemite, one of the great sages of the Mishnah, as they were called Tannayim. Tannayim were the caliber that could raise the dead. He is quoted by name in a Mishnah in Tractate Avot, and his ruling regarding mourning rites is cited in Tractate Megillah. He was a colleague of Rabbi Akiva and the teacher of Rabbi Meir, one of the greatest and most prolific contributors to the Mishnah. Above is his biography, so we know who we are dealing with. 
  
  My personal rule is: No Tannah EVER Goes OFF The Derech. So, in that case, what happened? Why is it documented in the Gemara that he did go off the derech?
  
  I think the correct question that should be asked about what happened in the Pardes? 
  
  So he chopped the trees and saw Angel Methatron sitting. And this is what made him go off the derech? But why?
  
  I do believe there's much more to this. 
  
  The Nation at that time was divided into two camps: those who had visited the Pardes and those who hadn't. 
  
  And I believe that the current problems we have in the nation are because those who were not in Pardes won, since they crushed those who had been there. And I am not talking about one or two people, but the Rabbanut and the community as a whole went against Rabbi Elisha ben Avuya and Ben Zoma. (Looks like the community loves to crush people and go as a group against the few, but more on this later.)
  
  The ascent to Pardes was a failed mission; they had a reason to go there, and thus far, what we know about it is only hinted at and not discussed openly in the Gemara. But there's a reason why they went there.
  
  And the reason IS...
  
  First, what is Pardes? You can read about it here. The fruits they ate from the tree made them know Torah. So, all three knew Torah, not only Rabbi Akiva. Rabbi Akiva was a seasoned rabbi, and he was the only one teaching Torah. What happened to the other two? 
  
  Well, Ben Zoma was called crazy. Why? I believe he was a young fellow with no credentials as a Rabbi, and since he knew Torah because he came from Pardes, the rabbis of the old told him, "You think you're going to teach us Torah? We are double and triple your age, and we been at it longer than you, and you want us to listen to you? You must be crazy! Oh yes, you are!" And that's what they labeled him.
  
  In his conversation on Chagigah 15A says: "There was once an incident with regard to Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya, who was standing on a step on the Temple Mount, and ben Zoma saw him and did not stand before him to honor him, as he was deep in thought. Rabbi Yehoshua said to him: From where do you come and where are you going, ben Zoma, i.e., what is on your mind? He said to him: In my thoughts I was looking upon the act of Creation, at the gap between the upper waters and the lower waters, as there is only the breadth of a mere three fingers between them, as it is stated: "And the spirit of G-d hovered over the face of the waters" (Genesis 1:2), like a dove hovering over its young without touching them. Rabbi Yehoshua said to his students who had overheard this exchange: Ben Zoma is still outside; he has not yet achieved full understanding of these matters."
  
  But if you dwell on his answer a bit more, you will see a depth in his answer. What are the lower and upper waters? The breadth of a mere three fingers between the waters; what does he mean by that? He has given a very deep answer. I believe Rabbi Yehoshua ben Ḥananya did not understand him, since they did not learn Torah from a young, crazy, and no-credentials fellow.
  
  Again, just so you know who Ben Zoma is: a Tannah, who is cited in multiple places in the Talmud and the Midrash for Midrashic interpretation, for laws relating to blessings, for discussions about lineage and marriage laws, and in the Passover Haggadah. Although not formally ordained (hence called "Ben" rather than "Rabbi"), he was regarded as extraordinarily brilliant. The Talmud preserves statements showing that leading sages considered him exceptionally sharp in argumentation.
  
  Rabbi Akiva came intact - came back alive and seemed as if nothing happened.
  
  I heard in one of the lectures that there's an opinion that 24,000 students' deaths happened because of his support for Bar Kochba, since they joined his army. And second, he publicly supported Bar Kochba and proclaimed him Mashiach, which turned out to be false, and there were plenty of consequences that followed. 
  
  How come no one holds him liable for that? Oh wait, someone does - Hashem. Rabbi Akiva is counted as one of the martyrs and dies a horrible death. Can it be because of the above??
  
  - Why did Rabbi Akiva support Bar Kochba?
  - Why was Rabbi Akiva smiling when he saw a fox on the Temple Mount, emerging from the place of the Holy of Holies? (Read the whole story)
  - How come Acher and Ben Zoma were not part of the 10 martyrs, since they all lived in that generation, but only Rabbi Akiva was one of the ten?
  
  Let's talk a little about Rabbi Elisha ben Avuya or Acher, as he is currently called. 
  
  - My first question would be, what made Rabbanut turn away from him? 
  - Why did he turn away from them?
  - Why did he leave the community?
  - Why did he stop going to synagogue or Bet Midrash?
  - Why were the kids reciting to him the passages that sounded bad - or insisted that he was a rasha?
  - Why did he ride a horse on Shabbat (a public violation)?
  - Why did he carry items beyond the permitted boundary (techum Shabbat)?
  - Why did he hire a zona? That's a big one.
  - But another BIG question is, what made him a rasha? 
  - What was it about him that, after his arrival from Pardes, made him different?
  - Why did everyone think that the Torah of Acher was maimed and bad? He ate the fruit in Pardes; his Torah was awesome and ahead of its time.
  
  He was a rejected sage, and I really would like to add him to the following list of The Rejected Trio. 
  
  So many questions, and more could be added to this list, but so much of this story can be explained only if it is learned through the passage from Tanach and Torah together, since the keys are hidden there. Once they are applied, then a whole new picture is painted.
  
  Are there consequences for the community for mistreating Rabbi Elisha Ben Avuyah? I believe there, and we are paying for it to this day. Rabbi Elisha Ben Avuyah is a Mighty of Israel, and for mistreating the Tannah HaKadosh, Hashem has taken the insults personally and has punished the nation to this day, to this year of 2026. From just reading the Gemara, it seems all cut and dry, with no questions, but once we start delving in a new way, all the questions above will be answered, and many places in the Torah become clear and understandable.
  
  - Who atoned for Rabbi Elisha Ben Avuyah? There's someone who has made atonement for him.
  - Did he succeed?
  - How far did he go in the atonement process?
  - What is his name, and when did he live?
  - What steps has he taken to accomplish that?
  
  Since Ben Zoma didn't make a sin, how did Hashem atone the nation for mislabeling and mistreating Ben Zoma? Ben Zoma died young, and believe me, he was another rejected one from society. 
  
  Society should get its act together. Nothing in this world goes away unpunished. Eventually, we answer for everything. 
  
  And finally, is there a connection between Rabbi Elisha Ben Avuyah and Adam HaRishon, Chavah, Moshe Rabbenu, and our times? Yes, I think there's one.
  
  And the reason why they went to Pardes IS...
  
  I will reveal the answers to the Honored Rabbis at my humble shulchan aruch - at a set table of insights, where I would like to serve those answers to the above posed questions and some more... 
  
  Shmuel Katanov aka Acher

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• The Power of The Constant Drip

  May 22, 2025 Admin 0 Comments

  I am sure you have all heard the story of Rabbi Akiva. I want to touch on just a small part of it.
  
  After Akiva gained basic knowledge of the Torah, he and his wife agreed that he would go to the academy of the great scholars of the day, headed by Rabbi Eliezer, to devote 12 years to intensive study. Thus, the two parted, and for 12 long years, Rachel worked hard to support herself, while her husband grew to become one of the most learned men that ever lived. At the end of 12 years, Rabbi Akiva returned to his wife, as he had promised. When he came to his house, and before he opened the door, he heard a conversation between his wife and a neighbor taunting Rachel for being foolish enough to wait and slave for her husband, who had left her to study Torah. 
  
  "As for me, he could stay away another 12 years at the Yeshivah to acquire more knowledge," was Rachel's reply.
  
  When Rabbi Akiva heard this from his wife, he turned around and did as Rachel wanted - he went back to Yeshivah.
  
  At the end of 24 years, Rabbi Akiva became the most famous living scholar. Youth came from all over Israel to study under his guidance. Rabbi Akiva was the rabbi of 24,000 scholars.
  
  Accompanied by them, Rabbi Akiva returned home in a triumphant journey from city to city, welcomed everywhere by the highest nobility.
  
  My question would be, how come Rabbi Akiva didn't even come to the house or say hello to his wife?
  
  Below, as always, is just my opinion.
  
  I believe that just like the young Yosef was atoning for Kayin, Rabbi Akiva has taken it upon himself to atone for Yaakov Avinu. 
  
  Why would Yaakov Avinu need an atonement for, you may ask? 
  
  Parashat Vayetzeh 29:18-30 says Yaakov came to Lavan and agreed to work for Rachel for seven years. Seven years had passed, and on the night of the wedding, Lavan switched the sisters, and Yaakov married Leah. Indignant but determined to marry Rachel, Yaakov agrees to work for another seven years. So at the end of 20 years, Yaakov leaves Lavan's house with four wives, 12 children, and lots of livestock. Yaakov Avinu has become rich.
  
  But during this time, he concentrated on his work; "he worked hard," as it says in Vayetzeh 31:6. One thing lacking in this effort was the study of Torah. I am sure he learned in his free time, but most of this free time was dedicated to diligently delivering work to Lavan, his employer. 
  
  So, centuries later, Rabbi Akiva gathers many students. He fills the gaps that Yaakov Avinu left, where no Torah was learned. Rabbi Akiva has filled them with his years of learning, no matter the time and effort it took; thus, he has become the greatest sage, renowned and wealthy.
  
  When Rabbi Akiva was a 40-year-old shepherd, he saw drops of water falling on a huge stone – drip, drop – and, directly where the drops fell, a deep hole appeared in the stone.
  
  "What mighty power there is in a drop of water," thought the shepherd. "Could my stony heart ever be softened up that way? Look what the little drops of water did to the rock. Suppose I began to study the Torah, little by little, drop by drop, perhaps my mind would soften up?"
  
  This motivated him to study Torah and become the greatest Torah sage.
  
  How about you? Are you still looking for your rock with a hole made by water drips to motivate or convince you to study Torah?
  
  Many have "used" Rabbi Akiva's rock and reached the heights in Torah and holiness.
  
  Drip, drop.. drip, drop.. Let’s..reach those heights!!

  
  Shmuel Katanov

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• For Out of Zion Shall Go Forth The Torah

  May 5, 2025 Admin 0 Comments

  There's a story in Masechet Chagiga 14b, "The Rabbis taught: Four Sages entered the Pardes or the orchard - the highest spiritual elevation, as explained by Rashi. They were Ben Azzai, Ben Zoma, Elisha ben Avuya, and Rabbi Akiva.”
  
  The consequences of this journey were as follows:
  
  - Ben Azzai: He gazed upon the Divine Presence and died.
  - Ben Zoma: He glimpsed the Divine Presence and was harmed by losing his mind.
  - Elisha ben Avuyah: He became a heretic and was thus called Acher.
  - Rabbi Akiva: He entered and exited the Pardes safely.
  
  With your permission, I would like to examine why Rabbi Akiva exited safely. Was he safe after he came back? 
  
  Below are some ideas, and are only my opinion.
  
  If you look at his students' names, they are not the same people who went with him to Pardes. His students are: Rabbi Meir, Rabbi Yehuda bar Ilai, Rabbi Yossei ben Halafta, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, and Rabbi Elazar ben Shamua.
  
  He took with him a different group of people. His students were not on the level to travel with him into those realms, but the ones who went with him were on the same level as him to travel that far.
  
  After the journey, the other three rabbis met their fate, but Rabbi Akiva seems to be fine, as the Gemara above says, but why?
  
  Because after Rabbi Akiva buried 24,000 students, no Torah teacher was left in this world capable of transmitting the Torah to the next generation. So, Hashem has given a Master Teacher time to teach the next generation of Rabbis, who taught the five luminaries that have revived the Torah. After he had accomplished this goal and left the teachers behind, Rabbi Akiva was executed by the Romans.
  
  But what is this place, Pardes?
  

  It is a Paradise or an orchard, "a place of fruit trees".
  
  In Parashat Bereshit, we read that after G-d created man and woman, he placed them in the Garden of Eden. Adam was instructed that he could eat anything in the Garden except the fruit of one tree—the Tree of Knowledge.
  
  But Adam and Eve ate from that tree, and G-d punished them. Since then, we have been banished from the Garden for thousands of years. This act alone prevented us from understanding Torah and appreciating its depth.
  
  If you break down the word PARDES by letters it stands for four levels of understanding Torah: P'shat (straight, direct, literal), Remez (hinted-at), D'rash (inquire, seek) and Sod (secret, mysterious). 
  
  So, maybe one day when the time is right, we will be able to travel to Pardes and partake in all the fruits in the Garden of Eden, and even from the Tree of Knowledge—and this time, be ready and fit to understand Torah on all four levels - deep and wide, feel its sweet flavor ourselves, love it, appreciate it, and be able to share it with others.
  
  As the prophet Yeshayhu 2:3 says: "Ki MiTzion Tetze Torah uD’var Hashem Me’Yerushalayim - For out of Zion shall go forth the Torah, and the word of Hashem from Jerusalem."
  
  Imagine what a wonderful world it would be!!
  
  Click here to go to Part 2 of this essay.
  
  Shmuel Katanov

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• The Few versus The Many

  May 2, 2025 Admin 0 Comments

  What sin led to the destruction of Rabbi Akiva's students? The Talmud (Yevamot 62b) states that the students died because they did not treat each other with respect.
  
  A quick look in the dictionary shows the following:
  
  What is respect? When one admires (someone or something) deeply, as a result of their abilities, qualities, or achievements.
  
  What is disrespect? To disrespect someone is to act in an insulting way toward them. When you disrespect people, you think very little of them. Disrespect is all about not showing respect. It's about showing the opposite of respect, by acting rude, impolite, and offensive.
  
  The Talmud says that 24,000 died in an epidemic called by the Aramaic word "askara." What is askara? Some translators translate it as croup, and others call it diphtheria.
  
  But what led to this catastrophe? What sin did they commit that triggered this epidemic?
  
  Below is only my opinion. 
  
  Rabbi Akiva's students were great at Torah, but as is usually the case, some knew less and some knew more. 
  
  When you disrespect people, you think very little of them. But why would someone disrespect another human being, especially another student in the class? Only if the other one knows more than he does, which opens the door for one of the heaviest sins - lashon hara, driven by some internal and unconfronted character traits. 
  
  They have talked. All 24,000 of them have spoken. And I bet no matter what Rabbi Akiva has said, he could not get through to any of them, and the heavy consequences of the lashon hara eventually caught up to all of them.
  
  After burying 24,000 students, Rabbi Akiva understood one simple rule. It is better to have quality rather than quantity. It is better to have the few that truly follow Torah, its laws, and truly fear G-d, instead of thousands that you have no control over, who may know Torah and its rules, but do not keep them, or allow themselves to break the laws as they see fit. 
  
  These are the names of his five students: Rabbi Meir, Rabbi Yehuda bar Ilai, Rabbi Yossei ben Halafta, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, and Rabbi Elazar ben Shamua—the luminaries of yesteryears. The Torah we have today is from these five students. But the Torah of the 24,000 is forgotten and not recorded at all. 
  
  The simple questions arise: 
  
  Where do we stand? Do we follow in the footsteps of the five or 24,000 students? Which camp do we belong to? Each of us does what he does, and Hashem keeps the score, and eventually the consequences of us breaking the Torah laws will catch up to us as well. 
  
  Shmuel Katanov

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