Beitar

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Beitar was an ancient city that was the final stronghold of the Jews during the Bar Kokhba revolt of the second century CE in which Jews tried — unsuccessfully — to end Roman rule. The Romans captured and destroyed the fortress and massacred all of its inhabitants.

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Bar Kokhba Revolt

TALMUD

The fall of Beitar during the Bar Kokhba Revolt was a catastrophic event in Jewish history, marked by immense suffering and divine retribution. The Jerusalem Talmud provides a detailed and tragic narrative of this event, including the roles of Bar Kokhba and Rebbi Eleazar from Modiin.

Rebbi Simeon ben Yohai stated: Aqiba my teacher used to preach, there appeared a star out of Jacob there appeared Koziba out of Jacob. When Rebbi Aqiba saw Bar Koziba he said, this is King Messias. Rebbi Joḥanan ben Torta said to him, Aqiba! Grass will grow from your jaws and still David’s son (still has to) [will not have] come. Rebbi Joḥanan said, the voice of Emperor Hadrian killing eighty thousand myriads at Bettar. Rebbi Joḥanan said, eighty [thousand] couples of horn-blowers were encircling Bettar, each of which was commanding several army units…

Jerusalem Talmud Taanit 4:5:13

The Tragedy of Beitar

MIDRASH

The detailed and tragic narrative of the destruction of Beitar highlights the immense loss of life and the profound impact on the Jewish community. Eikhah Rabbah, a midrashic commentary on the Book of Lamentations, reflects on the destruction of the First and Second Temples and the suffering of the Jewish people.

“The Lord demolished and had no compassion for all the abodes of Jacob; He destroyed, in His ire, the strongholds of the daughter of Judah. He brought them to the ground; He profaned a kingdom and its princes” (Lamentations 2:2).
“The Lord demolished and had no compassion for all the abodes of Jacob.” Rabbi Pinḥas said in the name of Rabbi Hoshaya: There were four hundred and eighty synagogues in Jerusalem. From where [is that derived]? “Filled with [mele’ati] justice” (Isaiah 1:21), meleti is written…

Eikhah Rabbah 2:4

The Fourth Blessing of Grace after Meals

TALMUD

The fourth blessing of Grace after Meals was instituted to express gratitude for the miraculous preservation and eventual burial of the slain Jews of Beitar. The Talmudic tractate Berakhot explains the origins of the four blessings of Grace after Meals, each established in response to significant historical events.

With regard to the origins of the four blessings of Grace after Meals, Rav Naḥman said:
Moses instituted for Israel the first blessing of: Who feeds all, when the manna descended for them and they needed to thank God.
Joshua instituted the blessing of the land when they entered Eretz Yisrael.
David and Solomon instituted the third blessing: Who builds Jerusalem, in the following manner:
David instituted “…on Israel Your people and on Jerusalem Your city…” as he conquered the city…

Berakhot 48b:2

The Reasons We Fast on Tisha B'av

TALMUD

The capture of Beitar is one of the many tragic events that befell the Jewish people on the Ninth of Av. The Talmudic tractate Taanit recounts the series of national calamities that occurred on this day, including the destruction of the First and Second Temples and the capture of Beitar.

On the Ninth of Av it was decreed upon our ancestors that they would all die in the wilderness and not enter Eretz Yisrael; and the Temple was destroyed the first time, in the days of Nebuchadnezzar, and the second time, by the Romans; and Beitar was captured; and the city of Jerusalem was plowed, as a sign that it would never be rebuilt.

Taanit 26b:2

The Miracle of Beitar

KABBALAH

The sages instituted the blessing "HaTov VeHameitiv" to commemorate the miracle that the corpses of the fallen at Beitar did not become putrid and were able to be buried. In the kabbalistic text Sha'arei Orah, Rabbi Joseph Gikatilla explains the significance of this blessing, which is recited in gratitude for multiple forms of goodness.

However, contemplate the matter of our teacher Moshe, peace be upon him, about whom it states, “And she saw that he was good,” since he was bound to this quality. The house therefore became full of light. Also, contemplate the blessing “the Good Who does good-HaTov v’HaMeitiv-הטוב והמטיב” which the sages instituted in Yavneh for the fallen of the city of Beitar who were killed by the Romans. We say “the Good,” in that their corpses did not become putrid and we say “Who does good” in that they were able to bury them.

Sha'arei Orah, Second Gate, Ninth Sefirah 46

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Destruction of Jerusalem

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