Pt1 From Nero to Titus: The Siege of Jerusalem and the Destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans in 70 CE in Talmudic Retelling (Gittin 56a-b)

This is the first part of a three-part series, on the occasion of the commemoration of Tisha B’Av.¹ The outline of the series is below.

This sugya is a sweeping aggadic narrative that combines apocalyptic symbolism, moral critique, and black humor in recounting the destruction of Jerusalem and its aftermath. It begins with Nero divining by shooting arrows in all directions, all of which land in Jerusalem—an ominous sign. After a child quotes Ezekiel 25:14, Nero concludes that God intends to destroy the Temple and scapegoat him for it. He flees, converts to Judaism, and is remembered as an ancestor of the 2nd century tanna R’ Meir.

Vespasian is then dispatched to besiege Jerusalem for three years. Inside the city, three immensely wealthy men—Nakdimon ben Guryon, Ben-Kalba-Savua (כלבא שבוע), and Ben-Tzitzit-HaKesat (בן ציצית הכסת)—offer vast stores of food, oil, and wood, enough for 21 years. But Jerusalem’s Zealot faction (biryonei) burns the supplies to force war. A famine follows. Marta bat Baitos, once fabulously wealthy, dies after being unable to buy flour; Yohanan ben Zakkai links her fate to the curses in Deuteronomy. R’ Tzadok, who had fasted for 40 years to prevent the city’s destruction, is described in a grotesque detail involving liquefied figs.

Yohanan ben Zakkai fakes his death to escape the city. He greets Vespasian as king—before Vespasian has been crowned as Roman emperor—and proves Vespasian’s monarchy using Isaiah and Deuteronomy. Asked what he wants, Yohanan makes modest requests: spare Yavne and its sages, the dynasty of Rabban Gamliel,² and provide medical care for R’ Tzadok. Rav Yosef and R’ Akiva later criticize him for not asking for more.

The narrative then turns to Titus, who desecrates the Temple, slashes the Temple curtain (פרוכת; miraculously causing blood to spurt), and hauls off the Temple’s sacred vessels to Rome.³ God is portrayed as silently enduring the blasphemy. At sea, Titus mocks God's seeming limitation to water-based power. A bat kol replies: God will defeat him with a gnat. The gnat enters Titus’ skull, gnaws at his brain for 7 years, and is found on autopsy to be bird-sized, with iron claws. Titus, fearing divine justice, orders his body cremated and ashes scattered—though tradition says God daily reassembles him for judgment.

Outline

Intro

The Passage - From Nero to Titus: The Siege of Jerusalem and the Destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans in 70 CE in Talmudic Retelling (Gittin 56a-b)

Nero’s Divining

1. Nero’s Arrow Test - Nero fires arrows in every direction; each lands in Jerusalem, suggesting the city’s fate is sealed

2. Child’s Verse & Conversion - A boy recites Ezekiel 25:14; Nero infers God will punish Rome through Israel, flees, converts, and becomes ancestor of R’ Meir

The Siege of Jerusalem

1. Vespasian’s Siege - Rome dispatches Vespasian, who besieges Jerusalem for three years

2. Three Jerusalem Tycoons - Nakdimon ben Guryon, ben Kalba Savua, and ben Tzitzit HaKesat are introduced with etymological notes on their names

3. Vast Donations - The trio volunteer grain, wine-oil-salt, and large wood stocks—enough for 21 years

4. Zealots Burn Stores - Zealots reject peace, torch the granaries, and trigger a city-wide famine

The Story of Marta

1. Marta’s Futile Shopping - Marta bat Baitos repeatedly sends for cheaper flours; each sells out

2. Marta steps in dung, is disgusted, and dies; R’ Yohanan ben Zakkai cites Deut 28:56

3. R’ Tzadok’s 40-year fasts and fig-based sustenance

4. Gold Cast Away - As Marta dies she scatters her gold in the street, fulfilling Ezek 7:19

Appendix - Prohibited Activities on Tisha B'Av, Including Restrictions on Torah Study (Taanit 30a)

1. Prohibited Activities on Tisha B'Av: eating, drinking, wearing shoes, sex

2. Restrictions on Torah Study on Tisha B'Av: Both Bible and Oral Torah

3. Permitted Torah Study on Tisha B'Av

   1. Material Outside His Usual Torah Study

   2. The Books of Lamentations, Job, and “the evil matters” in Jeremiah

4. On Tisha B'Av, children don’t go to school to study Torah

The Story of Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai and Vespasian

1. Secret Nephew Parley - Abba Sikkara, leader of the zealots and nephew of R’ Yohanan, secretly meets him to plan an escape

2. Fake Funeral Escape - R’ Yohanan feigns death; students carry him past zealot guards and out of Jerusalem

3. “Hail, King” Greeting - Outside the walls Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai greets Vespasian as king and is threatened with execution for treason

4. Scriptural Proof - Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai proves Vespasian’s destined royalty via Isa 10:34 (“Lebanon shall fall by a mighty one”) equating Temple with Lebanon and king with “mighty”

5. Jug-and-Snake Parable - Vespasian compares Jerusalem to a honey jug wrapped by a snake (Zealots); Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai remains silent, later criticized

6. Emperor’s Death & Shoe - News arrives that Vespasian is emperor

7. Sudden foot swelling is cured by bringing a disliked man, illustrating Prov 15:30 & 17:22

8. Modest Requests - R’ Yohanan asks only for Yavne and its scholars, the Rabban Gamliel line, and doctors for R’ Tzadok

9. Healing Regimen - Physicians restore R’ Tzadok with progressively thicker drinks: bran-water, then flour-water

Titus

1. Titus Takes Command - Vespasian departs for Rome; Titus assumes the Judean campaign

2. Holy of Holies Desecrated - Titus brings a prostitute into the Holy of Holies and has sex on a Torah scroll

3. Titus slashes the Temple curtain, seeing blood

4. God’s Forbearance - Midrashic voices marvel that God remains silent: “Who is like You among the mute” (Exodus 15:11)

5. Loot in the Curtain - Titus bundles Temple vessels in the Temple curtain (פרוכת)

6. Titus ships the Temple vessels to Rome (Ecclesiastes 8:10)

7. Wave & Bat Kol - At sea a massive wave rises; Titus mocks God’s seeming limitation to “water power”

8. A bat kol promises defeat by a mere gnat

9. Seven-Year Gnat - A gnat enters Titus’ nostril, drills his brain for seven years

10. Hammer blows briefly quiet the gnat in Titus’ skull, then fail

11. Autopsy reveals bird-sized gnat in Titus’ skull

12. Ashes Scattered - Dying, Titus orders cremation and ash dispersal; in the next world his ashes are daily reconstituted, judged, and re-scattered

Appendix - Onkelos Consults Judaism’s Historical Enemies: Seeking Advice from the Dead Titus, Balaam, and Jesus on Judaism and Conversion (Gittin 56b-57a)

1. Onkelos Consults Titus

   1. Necromancer Onkelos summons His Uncle Titus

   2. Titus advises harming Jews (Lamentations 1:5)

   3. Titus describes his endless punishment

2. Onkelos Consults Balaam - Balaam says Israel is supreme, counsels eternal enmity, and reveals his punishment: boiling semen (Deuteronomy 23:7)

3. Onkelos Consults Jesus

   1. Jesus affirms Israel’s primacy, urges seeking their welfare

   2. Jesus discloses his punishment: boiling excrement for mocking sages

The Passage

Gittin.56a.6-57a.13

Nero’s Divining

Nero’s Arrow Test - Nero fires arrows in every direction; each lands in Jerusalem, suggesting the city’s fate is sealed

(See footnote.)⁴

שדר עלוייהו לנירון קיסר.

כי קאתי;

1. שדא גירא למזרח –

   1. אתא נפל בירושלים.

2. למערב –

   1. אתא נפל בירושלים.

3. לארבע רוחות השמים –

   1. אתא נפל בירושלים.

The Roman authorities then sent Nero Caesar against the Jews.

When he came to Jerusalem, he wished to test his fate.

1. He shot an arrow to the east

   1. and the arrow came and fell in Jerusalem.

2. He then shot another arrow to the west

   1. and it also fell in Jerusalem.

3. He shot an arrow in all four directions of the heavens,

   1. and each time the arrow fell in Jerusalem

Child’s Verse & Conversion - A boy recites Ezekiel 25:14; Nero infers God will punish Rome through Israel, flees, converts, and becomes ancestor of R’ Meir

אמר ליה לינוקא: פסוק לי פסוקיך.

אמר ליה: ״ונתתי את נקמתי באדום ביד עמי ישראל וגו׳״.

אמר:

קודשא בריך הוא בעי לחרובי ביתיה,

ובעי לכפורי ידיה בההוא גברא.

ערק ואזל ואיגייר,

ונפק מיניה רבי מאיר

Nero then conducted another test: He said to a child: Tell me a verse that you learned today.⁵

He said to him as follows: “And I will lay My vengeance upon Edom by the hand of My people Israel” (Ezekiel 25:14).

Nero said:

God wishes to destroy His Temple,

and He wishes to wipe his hands with that man, i.e., with me.

The Romans are associated with Edom, the descendants of Esau.⁶ If I continue on this mission, I will eventually be punished for having served as God’s agent to bring about the destruction.

So he fled and became a convert,⁷

and ultimately R' Meir descended from him⁸

The Siege of Jerusalem

Vespasian’s Siege - Rome dispatches Vespasian, who besieges Jerusalem for three years

שדריה עילוייהו לאספסיינוס קיסר.

אתא, צר עלה תלת שני

The Roman authorities then sent Vespasian Caesar against the Jews.

He came and laid siege to Jerusalem for 3 years.

Three Tycoons - Nakdimon ben Guryon, ben Kalba Savua, and ben Tzitzit HaKesat are introduced with etymological notes on their names

הוו בה הנהו תלתא עתירי:

1. נקדימון בן גוריון,

2. ובן כלבא שבוע,

3. ובן ציצית הכסת.

1. נקדימון בן גוריון –

   1. שנקדה לו חמה בעבורו.

2. בן כלבא שבוע,

   1. שכל הנכנס לביתו כשהוא רעב ככלב, יוצא כשהוא שבע.

3. בן ציצית הכסת –

   1. שהיתה ציצתו נגררת על גבי כסתות.

   2. איכא דאמרי: שהיתה כסתו מוטלת בין גדולי רומי.

There were at that time in Jerusalem these three wealthy people:

1. Nakdimon ben Guryon,

2. ben Kalba Savua,

3. and ben Tzitzit HaKesat.

The Talmud explains their names:

1. Nakdimon ben Guryon

   1. was called by that name because the sun shined [nakad] on his behalf, as it is related elsewhere (see Ta’anit 19b) that the sun once continued to shine in order to prevent him from suffering a substantial loss.⁹

2. Ben Kalba Savua

   1. was called this because anyone who entered his house when he was hungry as a dog [kelev] would leave satiated [save’a].

3. Ben Tzitzit HaKesat

   1. was referred to by that name because his ritual fringes [tzitzit] dragged along on blankets [keset], meaning that he would not walk in the street with his feet on the ground, but rather they would place blankets beneath him.

   2. There are those who say that his seat [kiseh] was found among the nobles of Rome, meaning that he would sit among them.

Vast Donations - The trio volunteer grain, wine-oil-salt, and large wood stocks—enough for 21 years

1. חד אמר להו:

   1. אנא זיינא להו בחיטי ושערי,

2. וחד אמר להו:

   1. בדחמרא

   2. ובדמלחא

   3. ומשחא,

3. וחד אמר להו:

   1. בדציבי

[…]

הוה להו למיזן עשרים וחד שתא.

These three wealthy people offered their assistance.

1. One of them said to the leaders of the city:

   1. I will feed the residents with wheat and barley.

2. And one of them said to leaders of the city:

   1. I will provide the residents with

      1. wine,

      2. salt,

      3. and oil.

3. And one of them said to the leaders of the city:

   1. I will supply the residents with wood¹⁰

[…]

These three wealthy men had between them enough commodities to sustain the besieged for 21 years.

Zealots Burn Stores - Zealots reject peace, torch the granaries, and trigger a city-wide famine

הוו בהו הנהו בריוני,

אמרו להו רבנן: ניפוק ונעביד שלמא בהדייהו.

לא שבקינהו.

אמרו להו: ניפוק ונעביד קרבא בהדייהו,

אמרו להו רבנן: לא מסתייעא מילתא.

קמו קלנהו להנהו אמברי דחיטי ושערי,

והוה כפנא

There were certain zealots¹¹ among the people of Jerusalem.

The rabbis said to them: Let us go out and make peace with the Romans.

But the zealots did not allow them to do this.

The zealots said to the rabbis: Let us go out and engage in battle against the Romans.

But the rabbis said to them: You will not be successful. It would be better for you to wait until the siege is broken.

In order to force the residents of the city to engage in battle, the zealots arose and burned down these storehouses [ambarei] of wheat and barley,

and there was a general famine.

The Story of Marta

Marta’s Futile Shopping - Marta bat Baitos repeatedly sends for cheaper flours; each sells out

(See footnote.)¹²

מרתא בת בייתוס עתירתא דירושלים הויא.

1. 1. שדרתה לשלוחה, ואמרה ליה: זיל אייתי לי סמידא.

   2. אדאזל איזדבן.

   3. אתא אמר לה: סמידא ליכא, חיורתא איכא.

2. 1. אמרה ליה: זיל אייתי לי.

   2. אדאזל איזדבן.

   3. אתא ואמר לה: חיורתא ליכא, גושקרא איכא.

3. 1. אמרה ליה: זיל אייתי לי.

   2. אדאזל אזדבן.

   3. אתא ואמר לה: גושקרא ליכא, קימחא דשערי איכא.

4. 1. אמרה ליה: זיל אייתי לי.

   2. אדאזל איזדבן.

With regard to this famine it is related that Marta bat Baitos was one of the wealthy women of Jerusalem.

1. 1. She sent out her agent and said to him: Go bring me fine flour [סמידא - semida].

   2. By the time he went, the fine flour was already sold.

   3. He came and said to her: There is no fine flour, but there is ordinary flour

2. 1. She said to him: Go then and bring me ordinary flour.

   2. By the time he went, the ordinary flour was also sold.

   3. He came and said to her: There is no ordinary flour, but there is coarse flour [gushkera].

3. 1. She said to him: Go then and bring me coarse flour.

   2. By the time he went, the coarse flour was already sold.

   3. He came and said to her: There is no coarse flour, but there is barley flour.

4. 1. She said to him: Go then and bring me barley flour.

   2. But once again, by the time he went, the barley flour was also sold.

She steps in dung, is disgusted, and dies; R’ Yohanan ben Zakkai cites Deut 28:56

הוה שליפא מסאנא,

אמרה: איפוק ואחזי אי משכחנא מידי למיכל.

איתיב לה פרתא בכרעא, ומתה.

קרי עלה רבן יוחנן בן זכאי:

״הרכה בך והענוגה אשר לא נסתה כף רגלה״

She had just removed her shoes (מסאנא)

but she said: I will go out myself and see if I can find something to eat.

She stepped on some dung, which stuck to her foot, and, overcome by disgust, she died.

Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai read concerning her a verse found in the section of the Torah listing the curses that will befall Israel:

“The tender and delicate woman among you who would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground” (Deuteronomy 28:56).

R’ Tzadok’s 40-year fasts and fig-based sustenance

איכא דאמרי:

גרוגרת דרבי צדוק אכלה,

ואיתניסא ומתה.

דרבי צדוק יתיב ארבעין שנין בתעניתא דלא ליחרב ירושלים,

כי הוה אכיל מידי —

הוה מיתחזי מאבראי.

וכי הוה בריא —

מייתי ליה גרוגרות,

מייץ מייהו

ושדי להו

There are those who say that

she did not step on dung, but rather she ate a fig of R' Tzadok,

and became disgusted and died. What are these figs?

R' Tzadok observed fasts for 40 years, praying that Jerusalem would not be destroyed.

He became so emaciated from fasting that when he would eat something —

it was visible from the outside of his body.

And when he would eat after a fast —

they would bring him figs

and he would suck out their liquid

and cast the rest away.

It was one such fig that Marta bat Baitos found and that caused her death.

Gold Cast Away - As Marta dies she scatters her gold in the street, fulfilling Ezek 7:19

כי הוה קא ניחא נפשה,

אפיקתה לכל דהבה וכספה שדיתיה בשוקא,

אמרה: האי למאי מיבעי לי?!

והיינו דכתיב: ״כספם בחוצות ישליכו״.

It is further related that as she was dying,

she took out all of her gold and silver and threw it in the marketplace.

She said: Why do I need this?!

And this is as it is written: “They shall cast their silver in the streets and their gold shall be as an impure thing; their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of YHWH; they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels” (Ezekiel 7:19).

Appendix - Prohibited Activities on Tisha B'Av, Including Restrictions on Torah Study (Taanit 30a)

Taanit.30a.10-11

Prohibited Activities on Tisha B'Av: eating, drinking, wearing shoes, sex

(See footnote.)¹³

תנו רבנן:

כל מצות הנוהגות באבל נוהגות בתשעה באב:

אסור

1. באכילה

2. ובשתיה,

3. ובסיכה,

4. ובנעילת הסנדל,

5. ובתשמיש המטה

A baraita states:

All mitzvot practiced by a mourner are likewise practiced on the Ninth of Av:

It is prohibited to engage

1. in eating,

2. and in drinking,

3. and in smearing oil on one’s body (סיכה)

4. and in wearing (נעילת) shoes¹⁴

5. and in sex (תשמיש המטה)

Restrictions on Torah Study on Tisha B'Av: Both Bible and Oral Torah

(See footnote.)¹⁵

ואסור לקרות

1. בתורה

2. בנביאים

3. ובכתובים,

ולשנות

1. במשנה

2. בתלמוד

3. ובמדרש

4. ובהלכות

5. ובאגדות

It is prohibited to read from [the Bible]:

1. the Torah [=Pentateuch],

2. from the Prophets,

3. and from the Writings,

or to study (לשנות) [from the Oral Torah]:

1. from the Mishnah,

2. from the Talmud,

3. and from midrash,

4. and from collections of halakhot,

5. and from collections of aggadot

Permitted Torah Study on Tisha B'Av

(See footnote.)¹⁶

Material Outside His Usual Torah Study

אבל קורא הוא במקום שאינו רגיל לקרות,

ושונה במקום שאינו רגיל לשנות,

However, one may read (קורא) from a place in the Bible that he is unaccustomed to reading, as it will be difficult for him and he will not derive pleasure from it,

and he may likewise study (שונה) from a place of the Oral Law that he is unaccustomed to studying.

The Books of Lamentations, Job, and “the evil matters” in Jeremiah

וקורא

1. בקינות

2. באיוב,

3. ובדברים הרעים שבירמיה.

And one may read from [the following biblical literature]:

1. the book of Lamentations (קינות);

2. from the book of Job;

3. and from the evil matters in Jeremiah, i.e., his prophecies of doom.

On Tisha B'Av, children don’t go to school to study Torah

ותינוקות של בית רבן בטלין,

משום שנאמר:

״פקודי ה׳ ישרים

משמחי לב״.

And schoolchildren interrupt their studies for the day

because it is stated:

“The precepts of YHWH are right,

rejoicing the heart” (Psalms 19:9).

1. For the previous part of this sugya, see my “Talmudic Stories Relating to the Destruction of the Second Temple (Gittin 55b-56a)”.

For the next part of this sugya, see my “Three Talmudic Stories about the Righteous Community of Kefar Sekhanya of Egypt (Gittin 57a)”.

And see also my recent two-part series “The Origins of Tisha B’Av and the Chronology of Numbers 10-14: the Date of the Destructions of the Both Temples and the Biblical Spies Episode (Taanit 29a)“, final part here.

And see the appendix at the end of this piece: “Appendix - Prohibited Activities on Tisha B'Av, Including Restrictions on Torah Study (Taanit 30a)”.

Unrelated, my ChavrutAI web app launched, check it out!:

https://chavrutai.com/

I plan to discuss it more soon, and it’s still in development.

2. I.e. the Patriarchate/Nesi’im.

3. See Wikipedia, “Temple menorah”, section “Rome”.

4. Compare Wikipedia, “Belomancy“:

Belomancy […] is the ancient art of divination by use of arrows.

5. פסוק לי פסוקיך.

This is a common Talmudic idiom for introducing “bibliomancy” ("divination by books, or by verses of the Bible"), see search results here. In all cases, an adult asks a child to “state his verse”.

See, for example, this usage in my “Pt1 Aḥer’s Apostasy and Its Aftermath (Chagigah 15a-b)“, section “Aḥer’s Doomed Fate: A Series of Unfavorable Omens (Isaiah 48:22; Jeremiah 2:22, 4:30)“, where Aḥer does this three times in a row.

6. On this, see Hebrew Wikipedia, “אדום בפולמוס היהודי-נוצרי“, section “בשיח היהודי“, my translation:

From the Jewish perspective, Edom came to symbolize the oppression of the Roman Empire […] (possibly due to the Herodian dynasty’s Edomite roots and ties with Roman authorities) […]

Some claim that the use of the name 'Edom' for Christians stemmed from the belief that most early Christians were descendants of the Edomites who had been forcibly converted by John Hyrcanus in the 2nd century BCE, and were not ethnically Jewish.

In parallel, another Talmudic symbol/archetype for Rome is the biblical Esau, brother of Jacob, the (purported) ancestor of Edom. See Wikipedia, “Esau“:

Esau is the elder son of Isaac in the Hebrew Bible […]

The story of Jacob and Esau reflects the historical relationship between Israel and Edom, aiming to explain why Israel, despite being a younger kingdom, dominated Edom.

See also the relevant discussion of Esau as typology for Rome in Hebrew Wikipedia, “גנבת הברכות“, section “פרשנות בדרך הדרש“.

7. On this Talmudic section, see entry “Nero” in Jewish Encyclopedia:

This Talmudical story seems to be an echo of the legend that Nero was still alive and would return to reign.

Indeed, some pretenders availed themselves of this legend and claimed to be Nero.

Oracles prophesying Nero's return from beyond the Euphrates were current among the Jews; and an apocryphal book of the second century, Ascension of Isaiah, declares that in the last days "Belial shall appear in the form of a man, of the king of unrighteousness, of the matricide."

In Christian legends Nero was personified as Antichrist.

8. Compare the baraita cited in my “From Foes to Faithful: The Conversions of Israel's Historical Biblical Enemies and their Descendants (Sanhedrin 96b)“, section “Five Notable Non-Jewish Biblical Enemies of Israel and Their Descendants Who Embraced Judaism: Naaman, Nebuzaradan, and the Descendants of Sisera, Sennacherib, and Haman“.

9. On this story, see my “Nakdimon ben Guryon, the Roman Hegemon, and the Water Loan Miracle in the Late Second Temple Period (Taanit 19b-20a)“.

10. ציבי - literally: “rakings, chips, twigs“.

The Talmud here notes as an aside:

ושבחו רבנן לדציבי,

דרב חסדא כל אקלידי הוה מסר לשמעיה,

בר מדציבי

דאמר רב חסדא: אכלבא דחיטי בעי שיתין אכלבי דציבי.

And the rabbis gave special praise to he who gave the wood, since this was an especially expensive gift.

As Rav Ḥisda would give all of the keys [aklidei] to his servant,

except for the key to his shed for storing wood, which he deemed the most important of them all.

As Rav Ḥisda said: One storehouse [akhleva] of wheat requires 60 storehouses of wood for cooking and baking fuel.

11. בריוני.

See Wikipedia, “Zealots“, section “Talmudic descriptions“, based on our sugya here:

In the Talmud, the Zealots are characterized as non-religious, that is not following the contemporary religious leadership.

They are called the Biryonim (בריונים) meaning "boorish", "wild", or "ruffians", and are condemned for their aggression, their unwillingness to compromise to save the survivors of besieged Jerusalem, and their blind militarism in opposition to the rabbis' desire to seek a peace treaty with Rome.

However, according to one body of tradition, the rabbis initially supported the revolt until the Zealots instigated a civil war, at which point all hope of resisting the Romans was deemed impossible.

And see also Wikipedia, “Zealot coup in Jerusalem“, for a description based on Josephus.

12. The passage follows a descending repetitive structure with a fourfold parallel :

1. Repetition with variation: Each cycle repeats the same dialogue structure — Marta sends (שדרתה) her agent (שלוחה) to buy flour, he returns reporting that type is unavailable, offering the next lower-quality alternative.

2. Progressive descent: The narrative moves from finest to coarsest flour (fine → ordinary → coarse → barley), reflecting both physical decline (quality) and thematic decline (Jerusalem’s desperation).

3. Pacing device: The phrase 'by the time he went, it was already sold' ( אדאזל איזדבן) punctuates each round, building a rhythm of futile effort and intensifying urgency.

The structure mirrors the collapse of societal stability through a microcosm of failed luxury and delayed action.

The flours mentioned in this section, in order of descending quality:

1. Semida (סמידא) - fine wheat flour

2. Chivarta (חיורתא - literally: “white”) - ordinary wheat flour

3. Gushkera (גושקרא) - coarse flour

4. Barley flour (קימחא דשערי)

Each is progressively less refined or desirable.

13. This exact list is paralleled in the Mishnah in the context of prohibitions on Yom Kippur, in Mishnah tractate Yoma, beginning of Chapter 8, see Mishnah_Yoma.8.1 = Yoma.73b.13

And see Wikipedia, “Tisha B'Av”, section “Main prohibitions”, and ibid., “Yom Kippur”, section “Fasting and asceticism”.

14. סנדל - literally: “sandal”, from Latin (and thus cognate with modern English sandal).

15. The taxonomy used here of two major categories is a common one in Talmudic literature:

1. “reading” (קורא) Bible

2. “studying” (שונה) Oral Torah

On this, see for example my discussions in:

• My appendix here, “Appendix 2 - The “Biblicist” (Kara): Bible Experts in the Talmud“, section “Betrothal on condition of Bible or Mishnah literacy and study (Kiddushin 49a)“

• Extended footnote here, in Appendix “Appendix - The Prohibition of Using Torah and Torah Scholars for Personal Benefit (Megillah 28b)“, on section “Reish Lakish - interprets Hillel’s prohibition in Avot 1:13 as “using one who studies halakhot”“

On the five-item list here of items in the Oral Torah, compare the first five listed items in my “Appendix - Hillel’s 80 students, and Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai’s Encyclopedic Knowledge: A List of 11 Domains of Knowledge (Sukkah 28a)”, section “Yoḥanan ben Zakkai’s Encyclopedic Knowledge: A List of 11 Domains of Knowledge“:

אמרו עליו על רבן יוחנן בן זכאי

שלא הניח

1. מקרא

2. ומשנה,

3. גמרא

4. הלכות

5. ואגדות

[…]

They said about Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakkai

that he did not neglect (הניח - literally: “set aside”, i.e. ignore)

1. Bible;

2. Mishna;

3. Gemara;

4. halakhot

5. and aggadot

[…]

16. On this, see Wikipedia, “Tisha B'Av”, section “Additional customs” (with stylistic adjustments):

Torah study is forbidden on Tisha B'Av (as it is considered an enjoyable activity), except for the study of distressing texts such as:

1. the Book of Lamentations

2. the Book of Job

3. portions of Jeremiah and chapters of the Talmud that discuss the laws of mourning and those that discuss the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem