The Decree of a Carpenter's Apprentice
וְעָֽשְׁקוּ גֶּבֶר וּבֵיתוֹ וְאִישׁ וְנַחֲלָתֽוֹ;They defraud men of their homes and people of their land (מיכה ב:ב)
For those of us who are accustomed to learning the story of Kamtza and Bar Kamtza from the original text in the Gemara in Gittin every year on Tisha B’av, the story of the carpenter’s apprentice may still be fresh in our mind. For those who aren’t, let us read and learn, and try to understand this diabolical saga which was the cause of the Churban Bais HaMikdash.
The Gemara (Gitten 58a) relays the story:
There was once a carpenter’s apprentice who was jealous of the wife of his master, the carpenter, and wanted to marry her.
One day, the carpenter needed to borrow money from his apprentice. The apprentice told his master to send his wife to his home and he will give her the funds.
The master complied.
She spent three days there.
The next day, the master went to the apprentice and asked him where his wife was.
The apprentice displayed a reaction of confusion, claiming that he had sent her back the very day that she had come. However, he indicated that he heard that she had acted improperly with some of the young men in the community on the way.
The master, who was then very concerned, asked the apprentice what to do.
“Divorce her,” said the apprentice.
“But her keshubah is too expensive,” replied the carpenter.
The apprentice offered to lend him money to pay for the kesubah.
So he went and divorced her. Then the apprentice married the woman.
When the time came to pay up the loan, the carpenter did not have the funds.
The former apprentice then offered the carpenter that he should work for him as a servant as a means of paying off the debt, which the carpenter agreed to do.
The Gemara concludes, “While they (the apprentice and his wife) were sitting, eating, and drinking, the master would stand and serve them. Tears would fall from his eyes and drop into their cups. And at that moment, the decree of the destruction of Yerushalayim was sealed.”
The story speaks for itself, and the shocking horror and abject cruelty engendered by this man need no elucidation. However, we need to take a deeper look at the broader context.
Chazal tell us that this story was the cause of the Churban. Perhaps this is because this incident was not singular. Perhaps it was a pattern of a recurring theme of the time. Perhaps it was indicative of a broader social construct that lent itself to this story having occurred in the first place. Or perhaps, like the Maharsha explained, it was because it was a well-publicized event, yet no one protested the apprentice’s outrageous behavior.
We know, as Chazal tell us, that if the Bais HaMikdash is not rebuilt in a particular generation, it is though it had been destroyed in that generation. Meaning, that we can assume that the underlying causes the led to the initial Churban are still present.
Are there sentiments within our society today that lend itself to destroying marriages? To deceiving a man into surrendering or otherwise depriving him of his wife and children? Of his assets? Of his sanity and dignity? If so, is there a pervasive pattern which allows these atrocities to fester? Are there Rabbonim or other community members who are keenly aware of it yet won’t speak up?
If the answer to any of the above questions is “yes”, then we are morally compelled to understand the nature of these crimes, who may be perpetuating it, and try our best to weed it out.
Please join us on that journey…