Megillah, Daf Kaf Het, Part 4
Introduction
In the mishnah which opens today’s section, Rabbi Judah teaches that the holiness of a synagogue remains even if it has fallen into ruins. Rabbi Judah applies the holiness of the Temple in Jerusalem to the synagogue of the post-destruction period. Just as the holiness of the Temple and the Temple Mount remained even when Jerusalem was destroyed, so too the holiness of a synagogue remains when it physically lies in ruins. There is a deep message in this mishnah. The holiness of the synagogue is not dependent upon the existence of its physical structure. Once people have treated the place as holy, it will retain that sanctity forever.
משנה.
1) ועוד אמר רבי יהודה: בית הכנסת שחרב אין מספידין בתוכו, ואין מפשילין בתוכו חבלים, ואין פורשין לתוכו מצודות, ואין שוטחין על גגו פירות, ואין עושין אותו קפנדריא, שנאמר +ויקרא כ"ו+ והשמותי את מקדשיכם – קדושתן אף כשהן שוממין.
2) עלו בו עשבים – לא יתלוש, מפני עגמת נפש.
Mishnah
1) Rabbi Judah said further: a synagogue that has fallen into ruins, they may not eulogize in it, nor twist ropes, nor spread nets [to trap animals], nor lay out produce on its roof [to dry], nor use it as a short cut, as it says, And I will desolate your holy places (Leviticus 26:31) their holiness remains even when they are desolate.
2) If grass comes up in it, it should not be plucked, [in order to elicit] melancholy.
Section one: One may not use a synagogue that lays in ruins for a profane, every day purpose. One cannot deliver eulogies in it because eulogies are not delivered in synagogues, even when they have been destroyed. [As an aside, the custom to deliver eulogies and conduct funerals inside synagogues is a modern custom, probably borrowed from the Christians. Jews used to deliver eulogies either at the cemetery on the path on the way there.] One can t use it as a place of work. The mishnah uses the example of twisting rope because twisting rope requires space, but it means that no work should be done there. It should not be used to trap animals nor should its roof be used to dry out fruit. One shouldn t use it as a short cut. In summary, it should only be entered for its intended purpose as a place of worship and Torah study.
The mishnah uses a midrash, exegesis of a biblical verse, to prove this point. In a section in which God rebukes Israel, He threatens that He will desolate your holy places. The fact that the verse calls these places holy implies that they retain their holiness even when they have been destroyed.
Section two: The mishnah now changes direction and seems to acknowledge that there is some significance to the synagogue s having been destroyed. According to the theology reflected in this mishnah, a destroyed synagogue is sign of God s wrath, which comes as a result of Israel s sin. When one sees grasses growing in a synagogue, a person will surely experience deep sadness. It will remind him that the synagogue was destroyed and that he should repent. It will also remind him that he should dedicate himself to rebuilding the synagogue as quickly as possible.
גמרא. תנו רבנן: בתי כנסיות אין נוהגין בהן קלות ראש: אין אוכלין בהן, ואין שותין בהן, ואין ניאותין בהם, ואין מטיילין בהם, ואין נכנסין בהן בחמה מפני החמה ובגשמים מפני הגשמים, ואין מספידין בהן הספד של יחיד. אבל קורין בהן, ושונין בהן, ומספידין בהם הספד של רבים.
GEMARA. Our Rabbis taught: We do not act frivolously in a synagogue. We do not eat in them, nor drink in them, we do not adorn ourselves in them, nor stroll about in them, nor go into them in summer to escape the heat or in the rainy season to escape the rain, nor to deliver a private eulogy in them.
But we read [the Scriptures] in them and repeat the Mishnah in them and deliver public funeral addresses in them.
There are certain activities that should not be done in the synagogue. It should not be turned into a cafeteria. One shouldn’t use it as a place for dressing, putting on makeup, jewelry or other such acts considered "adornment." Synagogues shouldn’t be used as a place to escape from the heat or the cold. In talmudic times eulogies were not delivered in the synagogue unless it was for a public figure such as a sage.
In general we should note that the structure of synagogues today is very different from back then. Today, at least in North America, a synagogue is a community building, with a social hall, a school, offices, etc. In talmudic times it was only a sanctuary. This is an important point to keep in mind.
אמר רבי יהודה: אימתי – בישובן, אבל בחורבנן – מניחין אותן ועולין בהן עשבים, ולא יתלוש מפני עגמת נפש. – עשבים – מאן דכר שמייהו? – חסורי מיחסרא והכי קתני: ומכבדין אותן, ומרביצין אותן כדי שלא יעלו בהן עשבים. אמר רבי יהודה: אימתי – בישובן, אבל בחורבנן – מניחין אותן לעלות. עלו בהן עשבים – לא יתלוש, מפני עגמת נפש.
R. Judah said: When is this so? When they are still in use; but when they are destroyed, we let grass grow in them, and it should not be plucked, so as not to cause excessive sorrow.
Grass, who said anything about grass!? The baraita is lacking, and the statement should read thus: They should be swept and the floor beaten down so that grass should not grow in them.
R. Judah said: When is this so? When they are still in use; but when they are destroyed, we let grass grow in them, and it should not be plucked, so as not to cause excessive sorrow.
When the synagogue is still in use, it should be kept up so that grass does not grow on its dirt floors. R. Judah adds that when it is destroyed (or at least no longer in use) they may let grass grow. When it does grow, they should not pluck it up for this would cause them even greater sorrow. There is little sadder than a destroyed synagogue.
אמר רבי אסי: בתי כנסיות שבבבל על תנאי הן עשויין, ואף על פי כן אין נוהגין בהן קלות ראש. ומאי ניהו – חשבונות. אמר רב אסי: בית הכנסת שמחשבין בו חשבונות – מלינין בו את המת. – מלינין סלקא דעתך? לא סגי דלאו הכי? אלא: לסוף שילינו בו מת מצוה.
R. Assi said: The synagogues of Babylon have been built with a stipulation, and even so we do not act frivolously in them.
What [for instance] is this? Doing calculations [for business purposes] in them.
R. Assi said: A synagogue in which people make calculations, they leave a dead body overnight in there.
You really think they leave a dead body overnight in it? Is this really necessary?
Rather say in the end a met mitzvah will be kept there overnight.
R. Assi says that in Babylonia they build the synagogues with the stipulation that they can be used for other purposes. It is not clear what these purposes are, but they may include meetings or other such events, including eating and funerals for individuals. However, one still should not use them for business, by doing calculations in them.
R. Assi even goes so far as to say that as a punishment for doing business calculations in a synagogue, they leave a dead body in there overnight. This is too gruesome for the Talmud to simply accept. It is also not particularly respectful to use a deady body as a sort of punishment for the synagogue. Therefore, the Talmud emends his statement to read, that in the end a "met mitzvah" a dead body with no one to bury it will be left in there. This is not an actual punishment but a prediction of one. A community that allows its synagogue to be used as a place for calculating debts and other such matters, will in the end spur on violence in the community.