Kamtza & Bar Kamtza (Part 2)

A Victory Banquet

A certain member of the ruling Judean family hosted a celebratory banquet in honor of his political and military victory over rival factions. Among the political appointees and allies of the Prince, was a newly-appointed tax collector named Kamtza who, along with other friends and supporters of the Prince, was to be invited to this gala event. The Prince’s servant, ordered to invite this new tax collector of the district, made the mistake of inviting the old tax collector who, having served under and supported the previous regime, desperately wanted his old job back, having lost it in the change of power. The new Prince was allied with the Perushim and invited many Rabbis to participate in the victory celebration. To those Rabbis, this victory was more than just a political coup; it meant that they would assume control of the Bais HaMikdosh and the religious direction of the country, wrenching it from the hands of the aristocratic Tzedukim.

The deposed tax collector, having been invited to the gala event, thought that perhaps the Prince recognized his experience and his abilities and, in spite of his political antagonism, sought to reinstate him to his former position. With this in mind, Bar Kamtza dressed himself in fine robes and entered the banquet in high spirits. He was however, to be very disappointed by coming events.

When the Prince saw Bar Kamtza, the employee of his political rivals, seated at the banquet, he was furious that anyone who had opposed his government would have the chutzpah to partake of his good will. The Prince immediately insisted that Bar Kamtza leave the party. Bar Kamtza, being politically astute and knowing what such a disgrace would do to his future career opportunities, sought to appease the Prince by offering to pay for his own food, then half of everyone’s food, and then, as a last resort, to pay for the entire banquet. (Apparently, Bar Kamtza was doing pretty good himself moneywise.) The Prince would hear none of it, and forcibly removed Bar Kamtza from the hall. The Perushim, afraid to offend their new benefactor and Prince, sit silently by while Bar Kamtza was shown the door, for fear of endangering their recent political gains.

(In truth, Bar Kamtza is not a political person, but a sly opportunist who, as is obvious from his delight at being invited to the banquet, would work for and ally himself with anyone who offered him a civil service job.)

The Plan Unfolds

Bar Kamtza, now demoralized and wounded from his public humiliation and permanent lay-off, begins to think on how he will ever regain his former status, and that can only occur it seems, if the government would revert back to Tzeduki rule. To accomplish this, Bar Kamtza needs a pretext to accuse the Perushim, being the Prince’s foremost allies, of rebellion or treason against Rome. He must convince Caesar, in some way, that this new Perushi-sponsored regime is unfavorable to Roman interests.

Bar Kamtza is no shoyteh. He knows that the Judean malchus needs the approval of Rome and the support of at least one of the religious parties to survive. Rome has the power to intervene whenever it wishes, as is evident from the assassination of Aristobulus. He also knows that the Kohain Gadol wields tremendous influence and his position, also dependent upon political intrigue, plays a crucial role in the nation. If Bar Kamtza can find a means to discredit the Perushim, it would weaken the Prince’s hold on the government and ultimately bring it down. To accuse the Perushim of open revolt would be immediately refuted by any of the local Roman garrisons, so Bar Kamtza needed a subtle means of piquing Caesar’s interest. This would happen through the Avodah. Bar Kamtza decided to strike at the heart of both religion and government.

Meforshim indicate that the Caesar here was none other than the infamous Nero (Fiddler on the Burning Roof), the adopted son of the Emperor Claudius, who was, as history tells us, a close childhood friend of King Herod the Great, the remodeler the Bayis Sheni. Nero did not assume power until around 50 AD, which puts our little story somewhere between that time and the Churban. We also have to remember that the Jews went into open revolt in 67 AD, so it is likely that Bar Kamtza made his trip to Rome in the interim. Nero died in 68 AD.

More Than A Matter of Opinion

The Tzedukim and Perushim had very different views of Torah and Avodah. These not so subtle differences would be obvious to the Jews, but to Caesar, separated by distance, language, and indifference, these distinctions would be pretty much meaningless. Caesars before Nero, and even Nero himself, during the reign of the previous Tzeduki regime, offered korbonos at the Bais Hamikdosh; if for no other reason than for currying political good will with the Judean people. Bar Kamtza chose his battle plan wisely and embarked on a journey to Rome, where his scheme would hopefully catch the ear of Caesar himself. As a former tax collector and one-time agent of both the Judean and Roman governments, it would not be unthinkable that Bar Kamtza would manage in some way to gain access to Caesar.

Bar Kamtza’s report to Caesar that the new regime was rebellious was an obvious lie, even to Caesar. Yet, on the off chance that this now-unemployed tax collector form Yerushalayim might be right, Caesar agreed to send a young calf with Bar Kamtza, with papers and the necessary documentation to let everyone know that Bar Kamtza and the calf are traveling at the behest of Caesar.

(Bar Kamtza’s intent was never to have the entire nation of Israel destroyed, rather to induce a regime change, win the favor of Rome, and get his old job back. Like many opportunists, before and after Bar Kamtza, the execution of this scheme was riddled with unintended consequences he did not bother to consider. The person seeking the opportunity for himself becomes, without consent, the means of opportunity for others.)

The Obscure Blemish

Caesar charged Bar Kamtza with bringing a young calf as a korban on the Emperor’s behalf to the Bais HaMikdosh in Yerushalayim. The animal was perfect by any standard. Well, at least it started out that way. Between the Roman, the Tzeduki, and the Perushi standards of what constitutes ‘bli moom’ is a wide disparity of rules and qualities. For the Romans, as long as an animal was not mechusar ayver, it was considered acceptible. The Romans knew the Jews had a higher standard, but as to the differences between Tzeduki and Perushi, they cared little.

The Torah in Vayikra (22:22-25) lists the types of moomin and says that these apply even to goyim who wish to offer korbonos. The various moomin include, blindness, broken limbs, and some other very obvious defects, both natural and human inflicted that disqualify animals from sacrficial purposes. According to the Tedukim, who relied on the literal and pashut reading of Vayikra 22, the twelve or thirteen moomin listed are the only ones that pasul a korban. The Perushim on the other hand, set a much higher standard. They darshened that to mention both ‘tamim’ (22:19) and ‘bli moom’ (22:20) is redundant and the double mention is there to imply extra factors that would pasul a korban above and beyond what the Torah enumerates. (The RamBam, in Hilchos Isurei Mizbeyach (2:1) lists 37 moomin, well above the 13 or 14 listed in Vayikra 22, and says that it comes Mipi Hashemuah.)

Bar Kamtza was also aware of this and decided that a slight moom, though not obvious or of much concern to either Roman or Tzeduki, would pose a real problem for the pedantic Perushim now running the Avodas HaBayis. He decided to place a pin-sized needle hole on one of the lips of the calf or, as other meforshim have suggested, he damaged the eye of the calf just enough to cause a mild cataract. In truth, this sounds more like a moom oyver, a blemish that once healed would not pasul the korban any longer (2:4). In this case, the Romans didn't know about it, the Tzedukim wouldn't have cared about it, and the Perushim end up arguing about it.

(We cannot be absolutely sure what the Tzedukim would have held to be a blemish, since they left nothing behind in the way of writing or commentary. We know (through the Chazal) that they rejected anything outside of the Kesav, much like the Karaites do today. What is certain, however, is that these differences would not matter much to a plotting Caesar.)

(Part 3 coming very soon!)