Elegy (Kina) 41, “O Torah, by fire consumed” which is recited on Tisha B’Av morning was written by the legendary Halachic authority, the Maharam of Rothenberg, Rabbi Meir ben Baruch who lived from1215-1293. He was born in Germany and then went to study in France where he remained until 1242. This kina commemorates the burning of the Talmud in Paris which the Maharam witnessed before leaving France and returning to Germany.
In this kina, The Maharam describes the 24 cartloads of about 1200 manuscripts of the Talmud and its commentaries- all handwritten- as this was 200 years before the invention of the printing press- that were burned publicly in Paris in 1242. Some of the manuscripts were unique commentaries of the Tosafot and Tshuvot that were lost to us forever.
The following line from the kina connects with Parshat Dvarim:
Eicha-How did it come to pass (O Holy Torah) that you were given (by God) the All Consuming Fire (esh ochla) should be consumed by man-made fires- and yet these alien intruders (who burned you) escaped unscathed from your flaming coals?
Rav Soloveitchik explains that the words “esh ochla” are an allusion to Dvarim 4:24:
For the Lord your God is a devouring fire…
How is it possible that the Torah which was given through the fire of God can be consumed by the fire ignited by a human being?
Rav Hillel of Verona, Italy, looked at the burning of the Talmud as a sign of retribution for the destruction of the works of the Rambam as there were great Jewish scholars who opposed the Rambam’s works who went as far as submitting copies of his philosophical writings to the Dominican Order who considered the Rambam’s works blasphemous. The Catholic Church publicly burned all copies of Moreh Nevuchim and Sefer HaMada in Montpelier, France in 1234. In 1242, they burned the Rambam’s works in the streets of Paris along with the Talmud.
Rav Soloveitchik explains that the Maharam was afraid that as a result of the burning of the books, the Oral Torah would be forgotten. However, this did not happen. Rather, the burning of the Talmud motivated the Jews to renew their commitment to Judaism and they devoted themselves to recopying the lost manuscripts.
May we take the opportunity to step back and appreciate the vast amount of Jewish books that are readily available to us today. We must learn the lesson from Rav Hillel of Verona that infighting isn’t helpful and can only add more fuel to the fire of our enemies who want to destroy us. If we are united we will be able to overcome the challenges that we are facing and we will emerge much stronger from these difficult times.
