Gittin 57a presents the episode of the fall of Tur Malka, which includes several shocking twists and turns: (William Davidson translation of the Talmud):
It was previously mentioned (ibid. 55b) that the place known as the King’s Mountain [Tur Malka] was destroyed on account of a rooster and a hen. The details of what happened are as follows: It was customary in that place that when they would lead a bride and groom to their wedding, they would take out a rooster and a hen before them as if to say in the manner of a good omen: Be fruitful and multiply like chickens.
One day, a troop [Gunda] of Roman soldiers passed by there while a wedding was taking place and took the rooster and hen from them. The residents of the city fell upon them and beat them. The soldiers came and said to the emperor: The Jews have rebelled against you. The emperor then came against them in war. Among the residents of the King’s Mountain was a man named bar Deroma, who could jump the distance of a Mil, and he killed many of the Romans, who were powerless to stand up against him. The emperor then took his crown and set it on the ground as a sign of mourning. He said: Master of the Universe, if it pleases You, do not give over that man, a euphemism for himself, and his kingdom into the hands of only one man.
In the end, it was the words issuing from his own mouth that caused bar Deroma to stumble, as he uttered this verse in complaint against God: “Have You not rejected us, O God, so that You go not forth, O God, with our hosts?” (Psalms 60:12). The Gemara asks: But did not David also say this? The Gemara answers: David uttered these words as a question, wondering whether they were true, whereas bar Deroma pronounced them as a statement of fact.
The Gemara recounts what happened to bar Deroma: He entered an outhouse, a snake came and eviscerated him, and he died[2]. The emperor said: Since a miracle was performed for me, as I had no part in bar Deroma’s death, I will let the rest of the people be this time and take no further action against them. He let them be and went on his way. They leaped about, ate, drank, and lit so many candles in celebration that the image [Bilyona] imprinted on a seal [Gushpanka] was visible from a distance of a mil. The emperor then said: The Jews are rejoicing over me. So he went back and came against them.
Rav Asi says: Three hundred thousand men with drawn swords entered the King’s Mountain and massacred its inhabitants for three days and three nights. And at the same time, on the other side of the mountain, weddings and other festivities continued to be celebrated, and they did not know about each other, owing to the enormous size of the place.
Dangerous Pride
The most obvious lesson emerging from the fall of Tur Malka is the danger of pride. Indeed, Mishlei (16:18) teaches, “Lifnei Shever Ga’on,” “pride precedes a great fall.” Tur Malka’s excessive pride caused it to recklessly attack the Romans over a minor matter. They shockingly repeated the mistake after narrowly averting destruction with their outsized public display of joy in the wake of the Roman withdrawal from their town. Bar Deroma’s downfall was his pride as well, thinking he did not need Hashem’s help to defeat the mighty Roman legions. Response to Accusations of Claims of Jewish Superiority
Critics argue that Jews view themselves as a superior race. Nothing could be further than the truth, and our story proves this point. In our story, Hashem takes the side of our enemies in the course of their routing us in battle. In our episode, the Roman emperor humbles himself – he removed his crown and placed it on the ground, respectfully addressed Hashem, did not make demands on Hashem, and even withdrew from attacking us in his attribution of victory to Hashem. We, in turn, thought we could manage without Hashem’s help, and therefore we fell. The Roman emperor took Hashem as a partner, and we did not. Therefore, Hashem partnered with the non-Jewish leader in his battle against His special people.
How can one accuse us of assuming superiority if we say in our Selichot, Ashamnu Mikol Am, we are more guilty than any other nation? The notion of our being a Mamlechet Kohanim (kingdom of priests) and Am Segula (special nation), articulated in Shemot Perek 19, is a matter of added responsibility (not superiority!) compared to the rest of the world. The Seforno (Shemot 19:6) explains Mamlechet Kohanim and Am Segula as our duty to set a spiritual example for all humanity.
Indeed, Amos 3:2 teaches that since Hashem has developed a unique relationship with us, we are punished more severely than any other nation if we betray Hashem and our responsibilities to Him. Very sadly, these teachings are not a matter of theoretical discussion. Our people have lived this reality for millennia.
The Danger of Excluding Hashem
When I began teaching Yeshiva High School, I was upset at students who studied when they were supposed to pray Shacharit on the pressured days of finals. I thought they were giving themselves an unfair advantage over those who acted properly and prayed Shacharit as we Jews are required to do.
However, over time I realized that the students who skipped Shacharit were at a disadvantage. By choosing not to pray, they adopted a Bar Deroma-type attitude that they did not need Hashem’s help. Instead of partnering with Hashem, these students entered the test independently. The students who pray have enlisted Hashem as a partner in their exams and are at an advantage over those going alone, just like the Roman Emperor enjoyed a major advantage over Bar Deroma.
The people of Tur Malka made a similar mistake. The Maharsha notes that they should have thanked Hashem with Hallel for the miraculous withdrawal of the Roman forces. Instead, the Jews of Tur Malka cluelessly and foolishly began to throw a wild party, ignoring the great miracle. They tragically attributed the Roman withdrawal to their military prowess, for which they soon paid a very steep price[2].
Partying on the Brink of Destruction
The most striking image from this story is the intense celebration of one side of Tur Malka while the forces of the Roman emperor slaughter the Jews on the other side. Those partying failed to see and perceive what was beyond what lay squarely before them. They only saw reason to party and were oblivious to the broader reality of the divine intervention on their behalf. The people of Tur Malka temporarily enjoyed themselves, but theirs was the dance of fools celebrating wildly while setting the stage for their soon-to-follow destruction.
This sobering scene is a metaphor for those who exclude Hashem from their lives. They think they will enjoy life more by leaving Hashem out of life’s picture. Don’t help me and don’t hurt me, they believe and might even say to Hashem - this is my life, leave me alone[3]. But, in the long run, this path leads to self-destruction.
Conclusion – Learning from Tur Malka’s Terrible Example
The Gemara concludes with a heart-wrenching depiction of the vast population of Tur Malka. One winces when learning about the staggering losses caused by this community’s poor spiritual attitude. This sobering lesson should fortify our resolve to make every effort not to travel down the deceptively enticing but ultimately destructive attitudes and actions of Tur Malka.
Tur Malka’s fall was unnecessary and never should have happened. With better spiritual attitudes and comportment, they would have thrived. In the sobering words of Kohelet (7:2), “Ve’aChai Yitein El Libo,” “the living should take the lessons to heart.”
Postscript – The Stretching of Eretz Yisrael
After the Gemara describes the massive population of Tur Malka, it presents a fascinating discussion:
Ulla said: I saw that place, and it could not hold even six hundred thousand reeds, all the more so that number of people. A heretic said to Rabbi Ḥanina: You lie with your absurd exaggerations. Rabbi Ḥanina said to him: About Eretz Yisrael, it is written: Land of the deer (Eretz Tzvi; see Jeremiah 3:19). Just as the skin of a deer cannot hold its flesh, for after the animal is skinned, its hide shrinks, so too, concerning Eretz Yisrael, when it is settled, it expands, but when it is not settled, it contracts. This explains how a place that is so small today could have been so highly populated before the Temple’s destruction.
An Israeli economics professor most vividly depicted the idea of Eretz Yisrael stretching in December 1990 at the Young Israel of West Hempstead. He was addressing a group of young Orthodox American Jewish couples contemplating Aliyah. They voiced concern about making Aliyah at that time since there was a massive Aliyah from the former Soviet Union, creating economic stress in Israel.
The Orthodox Israeli economics professor responded that studying statistics reveals that every Aliyah leads to a major economic boom. He predicted the same would occur due to the influx of Russian Jews to Israel.
Looking back, the Israeli professor was right on target. The Russian Aliyah brought massive economic advances to Israel in the following years after 1990, with Israel emerging as a significant international financial powerhouse well on its way to becoming the vaunted “Start-Up Nation.” What a potent illustration of the accuracy of the Gemara describing Eretz Yisrael as an Eretz Tzvi. The more Jews move to Eretz Yisrael, the more it expands to accommodate the greater Jewish population.
The Gemara thus concludes the Tur Malka with yet another powerful lesson that is exceptionally relevant to our era.
[1] Battlefield conditions are so primitive that it renders even the most powerful soldiers at risk to the elements of the field. Thus, without Siyata DiShmaya, Bar Deroma was powerless. Too often, we forget our vulnerabilities and forget how dependent we are on Hashem’s guidance and protection.
[2] Israel's military similarly paid a very steep price in the Yom Kippur War for its military leaders attributing the great victory in the Six-Day War to itself instead of recognizing the many miracles involved. For details, see Howard Blum’s “The Eve of Destruction: The Untold Story of the Yom Kippur War.” This terrible failure demonstrates the vital importance of thanking Hashem on Yom HaAtzmaut and Yom Yerushalayim.
[3] Tellingly, these are lyrics from a wildly popular song in the 1970’s.