2. Rabbi Abba bar Kahana (further) began with Yirmiyahu 9:11, מִי-הָאִישׁ הֶחָכָם וְיָבֵן אֶת-זֹאת, "Who is the wise man, that he may understand this? ..."And who is he to whom the mouth of the LORD hath spoken, that he may declare it? Wherefore is the land perished and laid waste like a wilderness, so that none passeth through?"
{That is, Yirmiyahu is asking who is wise who can declare why this destruction of Israel and of the Bet Hamikdash happened. This is a important question to deal with on Tisha BeAv, to try to make sense out of the disaster.
A fuller context (Yirmiyahu 9:11-13):
מִי-הָאִישׁ הֶחָכָם וְיָבֵן אֶת-זֹאת, וַאֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר פִּי-ה אֵלָיו וְיַגִּדָהּ; עַל-מָה אָבְדָה הָאָרֶץ, נִצְּתָה כַמִּדְבָּר מִבְּלִי עֹבֵר
וַיֹּאמֶר ה--עַל-עָזְבָם אֶת-תּוֹרָתִי, אֲשֶׁר נָתַתִּי לִפְנֵיהֶם; וְלֹא-שָׁמְעוּ בְקוֹלִי, וְלֹא-הָלְכוּ בָהּ.
וַיֵּלְכוּ, אַחֲרֵי שְׁרִרוּת לִבָּם--וְאַחֲרֵי, הַבְּעָלִים, אֲשֶׁר לִמְּדוּם, אֲבוֹתָם.
"Who is the wise man, that he may understand this? And who is he to whom the mouth of the LORD hath spoken, that he may declare it? Wherefore is the land perished and laid waste like a wilderness, so that none passeth through?
And the LORD saith: Because they have forsaken My law which I set before them, and have not hearkened to My voice, neither walked therein;
But have walked after the stubbornness of their own heart, and after the Baalim, which their fathers taught them."
Thus the psukim seem to attribute it to abandoning the mitzvot and doing whatever they wanted, and worshipping idols. The midrash is going to take a closer reading and deconstruct the verse.
}
Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai (a Tanna) taught: If you see cities cut off from their place in the Land of Israel, know that it is because they did not strengthen in the wages of scribes and the wages of teachers, as it states (Yirmiyahu 9:11) "Wherefore is the land perished?" and it states (Yirmiyahu 9:12), "Because they have forsaken My law {Torah}."
Rabbi sent R Asi and R Ami to visit and fix up the cities in the Land of Israel, and they would come to a city and say to them, bring to us the protectors of the city. {Netorai Karta, not Neturay Karta. = protectors/watchers of the city.} And thy brought to them the head of the guards and the sentries. And they would say to them, 'these are not the protectors of the city. These are the destroyers of the city!'
'And who then, are the protectors of the city?'
They said to them, 'these are the scribes and teachers who consider and teach and keep {=watch over} the Torah day and night,' based on what is said (Yehoshua 1:8) וְהָגִיתָ בּוֹ יוֹמָם וָלַיְלָה - "but thou shalt meditate therein day and night..."
{This is in the context of military success, as the angel of Hashem is telling him to be strong and courageous, as Hashem is going to help him conquer the land of Israel, and in the midst of it all, in pasuk 7 and 8, the angel tells him:
רַק חֲזַק וֶאֱמַץ מְאֹד, לִשְׁמֹר לַעֲשׂוֹת כְּכָל-הַתּוֹרָה--אֲשֶׁר צִוְּךָ מֹשֶׁה עַבְדִּי, אַל-תָּסוּר מִמֶּנּוּ יָמִין וּשְׂמֹאול: לְמַעַן תַּשְׂכִּיל, בְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר תֵּלֵךְ.
לֹא-יָמוּשׁ סֵפֶר הַתּוֹרָה הַזֶּה מִפִּיךָ, וְהָגִיתָ בּוֹ יוֹמָם וָלַיְלָה, לְמַעַן תִּשְׁמֹר לַעֲשׂוֹת, כְּכָל-הַכָּתוּב בּוֹ: כִּי-אָז תַּצְלִיחַ אֶת-דְּרָכֶךָ, וְאָז תַּשְׂכִּיל.
"Only be strong and very courageous, to observe to do according to all the law, which Moses My servant commanded thee; turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou mayest have good success whithersoever thou goest.
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein; for then thou shalt make thy ways prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success."}
And further it states in Tehillim 127:1,
שִׁיר הַמַּעֲלוֹת, לִשְׁלֹמֹה:
אִם-ה, לֹא-יִבְנֶה בַיִת-- שָׁוְא עָמְלוּ בוֹנָיו בּוֹ;
אִם-ה לֹא-יִשְׁמָר-עִיר, שָׁוְא שָׁקַד שׁוֹמֵר.
"A Song of Ascents; of Solomon. {N}
Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it; {N}
except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain."
{This verse in Tehillim shows that the watchmen - such as sentries presented by the people as the protectors of the city - are not effective unless Hashem watches over the city, and we see that Hashem does so when people are learning the Torah.}
R Huna and R Yirmiya in the name of R Shmuel son of Rabbi Yitzchak said, 'We have seen that Hashem lets slide idolatry and sexual misconduct and shedding of blood, but does not let pass the disgracing of Torah, as it states, עַל-מָה אָבְדָה הָאָרֶץ and עַל-עָזְבָם אֶת-תּוֹרָתִי - "Wherefore is the land perished...?" and continues "Because they have forsaken My Torah {law}."
{Even though the next verse actually mentions idolatry - worshipping the Baalim, and we might interpret the verse as abandoning the fulfilling of the commandments in the Torah, Chazal are taking it to mean the abandonment of the study of the Torah.}
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