Comentários de Citação sobre Lamentações 2:2

וירא אהרן, “Aaron saw.” The reason the Torah does not specify what he saw is that he saw many things. One of the things he saw was that Chur, the son of Miriam had already been murdered (for trying to stop the people from worshipping the calf).
ויבן מזבח לפניו, “he built an altar in front of it.” He realised that someone had already been slaughtered before this calf (Chur). Perhaps Aaron was afraid that if he too were to allow himself to become a martyr, all of the Israelites would become guilty of death. We have a verse in Lamentations 2,2 אם יהרוג במקדש ה’ כהן ונביא, “if a priest and (or) prophet were to be killed in the Sanctuary,” which suggests that this is the ultimate crime. He preferred to personally shoulder the guilt than have all the people become guilty.
Another consideration which might have accounted for Aaron’s conduct is that during the time it would take to build the altar, each Israelite bringing a stone, this would be accomplished very quickly. By undertaking to do the building himself he was stalling for time hoping that Moses would show up before too much spiritual damage had been done (compare Rashi). Still another reason prompting Aaron to act as he did was the fact that legally speaking the building of the altar was not something forbidden on pain of death requiring one to become a martyr rather than to respond to pressure. The prohibition to build such an altar per se is only in the order of the average negative commandment, possibly carrying a penalty of 39 lashes if performed with negative intent. The operative verse in the Torah is only “do not make for yourself a hewn image;” Aaron certainly did not make it for himself nor with intent to sacrifice to an idol.

THOU STRETCHEDST OUT THY RIGHT HAND — THE EARTH ‘TIVLA’EIMO’ (SWALLOWED THEM). The meaning is that “after you blew with Your wind and the sea covered them, You stretched out Your right hand and Your arm,²⁰³Verse 16: By the greatness of Thine arm… and the earth swallowed them.” The purport thereof is that after they drowned, the sea cast them out as is the custom of the seas, and so Scripture says, And Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea-shore.²⁰⁴Above, 14:30. There, [on the sea-shore], their bodies decomposed and they returned to the dust upon the earth as they were,²⁰⁵See Ecclesiastes 12:7. and thus they were swallowed up and destroyed [by the earth]. The usage of the word tivla’eimo is similar to the expressions: Together round about, ‘vativla’eini’ (Thou dost destroy me);²⁰⁶Job 10:8. The Eternal ‘bila’ (hath swallowed up) unsparingly;²⁰⁷Lamentations 2:2. And the way of thy paths ‘bileiu,’²⁰⁸Isaiah 3:12. which means “they destroyed.” Our Rabbis have said²⁰⁹Mechilta on the verse here. that the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them, for they were privileged to be buried by virtue of having said, The Eternal is righteous.²¹⁰Above, 9:27. [Thus, according to this Midrash of the Rabbis, the bodies of the Egyptians were not totally destroyed, for they even merited a place for burial.] But the expression of G-d’s “outstretched right hand or arm,” [as stated here, Thou stretchedst out Thy right hand], is used in Scripture only as indicating vengeance and destruction! Perhaps the Rabbis [of the above-mentioned interpretation] will explain the verse as follows: “Thou stretchedst out Thy right hand to slay them in the sea, and the earth swallowed them up after that,” this being the burial which they merited.

Tur Malka was destroyed because of a rooster and a hen. It was the custom that when a bride and groom were led under the wedding canopy, a rooster and hen were carried before them. This meant that the bride and groom should be as fruitful as the hen and rooster were with each other. Once it happened that people from Rome rode by and took the chickens. Then Jews overcame them and beat them. They went to the emperor and said to him that the Jews had rebelled against him. He then came against them. There was a man among the Jews whose name was Bar Droma. He could jump in one leap a whole mile and destroyed everything that was in that mile. In this way, he destroyed many of the emperor’s people. The emperor took the crown from his head and put it on the ground and said: Lord of the whole world. Do you desire that I should be killed? Answer my kingdom and me and do not put them in the hands of one man. Bar Droma began to boast and stumbled with his mouth and said: Truly God. You have abandoned us and do not help us in our war. He went to the toilet and a snake came and slithered into his intestines and he died. When the emperor heard that he had died, he said. Since God, may He be blessed, has performed such a miracle for me, I will not do anything to the city this time and traveled home. When they saw that the emperor departed, they began to be merry, with dancing, eating and drinking and lit many lights. There was so much light that one could see the seal on a ring from a whole mile away. The emperor said: they are mocking me and are so happy. He turned back. Our sages said: three hundred thousand swords attacked the city at one time and destroyed one side of the city in three days and three nights. In the other sides they did not know about the other side and they danced and jumped. Scripture says: “The Lord has laid waste without pity all the habitations of Jacob” [Lamentations, 2:2]. This means, God has devastated all the dwellings of Jacob. This means the six hundred thousand cities that King Yannai had. In each city there were as many Jews as had left Egypt. They were all destroyed.