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Monday, December 17, 2007

Three Days of Darkness

Today, the 8th of Tevet, is mentioned in the Shulchan Aruch (OC 580: 2) as a fast day for tzadikim. It is the anniversary of the translation of the Torah into Greek in the time of Ptolemy.

The Shulchan Aruch says that three days of darkness descended to the world as a result of this translation.

On the eighth of Teven the Torah was written in Greek in the days of King Ptolemy, and there were three days of darkness.

In Masechet Sofrim (1: 7) it says that this day was as difficult for the Jews as the day that the Golden Calf was built:

It happened once that five Elders translated the Torah into Greek for King Ptolemy. That day was as difficult for Israel as the day that they made the Golden Calf, because the Torah was not able to be translated properly.

We also have a contemporary Greek/Egyptian account of the translation, which is not identical with the version(s) in the Talmud (Megilla 9a) and Midrashim (Avos d’Rebbe Nasan 37 ). It does, however, give historical background and basis for the Rabbinic accounts.

Letter of Aristeas

Demetrius of Phalerum, the president of the king’s library, received vast sums of money, for the purpose of collecting together, as far as he possibly could, all the books in the world. By means of purchase and transcription, he carried out, to the best of his ability, the purpose of the king. On one occasion when I was present he was asked, How many thousand books are there in the library? and he replied, ‘More than two hundred thousand, O king, and I shall make endeavour in the immediate future to gather together the remainder also, so that the total of five hundred thousand may be reached. I am told that the laws of the Jews are worth transcribing and deserve a place in your library.’ ‘What is to prevent you from doing this?’ replied the king. ‘Everything that is necessary has been placed at your disposal.’ ‘They need to be translated,’ answered Demetrius, ‘for in the country of the Jews they use a peculiar alphabet (just as the Egyptians, too, have a special form of letters) and speak a peculiar dialect. They are supposed to use the Syriac tongue, but this is not the case; their language is quite different.’ And the king when he understood all the facts of the case ordered a letter to be written to the Jewish High Priest that his purpose (which has already been described) might be accomplished.
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The king ordered a letter to be written to Eleazar on the matter…

The letter of the king ran as follows:

‘King Ptolemy sends greeting and salutation to the High Priest Eleazar. Since there are many Jews settled in our realm who were carried off from Jerusalem by the Persians at the time of their power and many more who came with my father into Egypt as captives

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Now since I am anxious to show my gratitude to these men and to the Jews throughout the world and to the generations yet to come, I have determined that your law shall be translated from the Hebrew tongue which is in use amongst you into the Greek language, that these books may be added to the other royal books in my library. It will be a kindness on your part and a regard for my zeal if you will select six elders from each of your tribes, men of noble life and skilled in your law and able to interpret it, that in questions of dispute we may be able to discover the verdict in which the majority agree, for the investigation is of the highest possible importance. I hope to win great renown by the accomplishment of this 40 work.

Most people don’t fast today, since it would be too hard to have two fasts in a week (with the Tenth of Tevet coming up on Wednesday). But this is a day of tragedy for the Jewish people.

May we all merit soon to see the coming of Mashiach, and may the days of mourning and tragedy become days of happiness and celebration.