Ari Lesser - Tisha B'Av - Bar Kamtza

Bar Kamtza Lyrics by Ari Lesser Let’s stop with the hate, before it’s too late The damage we’ve done is already so great Let’s stop with the hate, for hatred led straight To our own destruction on this very date In Yerushalayim, two thousand years ago A man decided to throw a party, it was quite the show He financed a fantastic feast with food beyond compare Inviting all the VIPs, the top Rabbis were there He had a friend named Kamtza, whom he wanted to attend And so he chose to send a servant to go pick up his friend But the servant brought a different person by mistake A guy by the name of Bar Kamtza, whom the host happened to hate And when the host arrived at his party he was surprised To see the face of Bar Kamtza, this man whom he despised So he said,” Who invited you? What’s this all about? You’re certainly not welcome here, now get up and get out!” Bar Kamtza said, “Since I’m already here, how about I pay For anything I eat or drink and you just let me stay” The host said, “No, you’ve got to go!” Bar Kamtza said, “At least Would you let me stay if I would pay for half of this whole feast” Again the host said, “No!” but Bar Kamtza wouldn’t quit Saying, “Please, just let me stay, I’ll pay for your whole banquet” But still the host refused, and this time he’d hear no more He grabbed Bar Kamtza, picked him up, and forced him out the door Let’s stop with the hate, before it’s too late The damage we’ve done is already so great Let’s stop with the hate, when we humiliate Other people just look at the harm we create Now Bar Kamtza had never been exposed to so much shame And beside the host, he also felt the Rabbis shared the blame For how could those supposedly righteous people sit by Watching him get humiliated by another guy? And so with slander on his tongue Bar Kamtza left from home And traveled to the Palace of the Emperor of Rome There, he told the Caeser, “Lord, the Jews have turned on You” But the king was not convinced asking, “How can you prove that’s true” So Bar Kamtza responded, “Let’s just run a simple test Take one young calf from your herd, select the very best I’ll go back to our Temple with that animal you choose Let’s see if your offering is accepted by the Jews.” The Caesar chose to listen to Bar Kamtza’s bad advice And sent him with the finest calf to be a sacrifice But this was all part of Bar Kamtza’s plan, for just as soon As he was out of Rome, he gave that calf the slightest wound Knowing that, although the blemish, was a tiny thing It was enough to make it unfit for an offering As a gift from Ceaser, to the Temple it was brought Putting all the rabbis in a very awkward spot Let’s stop with the hate, before it’s too late The damage we’ve done is already so great Let’s stop with the hate, there’s no time to wait Love is a much better way to relate Some said it should be offered up just to avoid a fight And despite the slight blemish this still might be alright Though obviously not ideal, they argued that at least This would diffuse the situation and preserve the peace But among the Rabbis was Zecharaiah the son Of Avkulas, a humble and highly respected one Who said, “We can’t accept this calf, or else people will say That a blemished animal may still be offered anyway” So as an alternative some of the Rabbi’s said, “Let’s just execute Bar Kamtza, cause if he were dead The Ceaser would never suspect his calf has been rejected And then from the wrath of Rome, Israel will be protected.” But once again it was Rabbi Zecharaiah the son Of Avkulas, who spoke and said, “This should not be done Or else people may be led to think that any guy Who blemishes a Temple offering deserves to die.” So with no other options and their backs against the wall The Rabbi’s just decided they would do nothing at all They rejected the offering the king had tried to give And though they knew his evil plan, they let Bar Kamtza live And so the meekness of those Rabbis led to Ceaser’s wrath Lord knows how many lost their lives in the aftermath Our holy Temple was destroyed by the king of Rome And the few Jews who survived were exiled from their home From this story we see the great danger of shame From one person’s humiliation all this evil came And so today I pray we may be spared from baseless hate And find it in our hearts to love, before its to late Let’s stop with the hate, before it’s too late The damage we’ve done is already so great Let’s stop with the hate, for hatred led straight To our own destruction on this very date Let’s stop with the hate, when we humiliate Other people just look at the harm we create Let’s stop with the hate, there’s no time to wait Love is a much better way to relate