What Have The Romans Ever Done For Us? On Coming Out Of Caves

You know the scene from Life of Brian, where Reg, the leader of the People’s Front of Judea, asks this question to spur his group to act against their oppressors.

“What have the Romans ever done for us?” The answers are of course aqueducts, roads, medicine, sanitation, roads, wine etc. What is not so well known is that this scene is inspired by a discussion in the Talmud,  between three rabbis: Rabbi Yehuda, Rabbi Yosei and Rabbi Shimon; 

“Rabbi Yehuda opened and said: How pleasant are the actions of this nation, the Romans, as they established marketplaces, established bridges, and established bathhouses...”.
Rabbi Yosei stays silent, but Rabbi Shimon refutes the praise, and instead criticises the Roman government. The end result is that Rabbi Shimon has to go underground to save his life, after the authorities hear about his reaction. He ends up hiding in a cave with his son for 12 years, with only the clothes on their backs, surviving on a miraculous well and carob tree that grew to sustain them. During those 12 years they study Torah, and are completely isolated from the world. Their ordeal ends when the emperor dies and the decree has been nullified.

As they step out of the cave and leave their social isolation their reaction to people going about their normal business is one of anger; “These people abandon eternal life of Torah study and engage in temporal life for their own sustenance... every place that Rabbi Shimon and his son Rabbi Elazar directed their eyes was immediately burned”. Their reaction is one of anger, and as a consequence God sends them back into the cave for another 12 months. The second time they emerge, the son is still full of anger, and lashes out, but wherever he strikes the father heals. Rabbi Shimon says; “My son, you and I suffice…” .

And this is where it gets really interesting, as Rabbi Tali Adler, from the Hadar Institute shared in a lecture called “The Torah of Reopening”. Though we have all been in different caves or boats for more than a year, we are slowly emerging or re-emerging from our isolation, and though we have had some moments of exhilaration when hugging another person, eating together, being inside with someone outside of our four walls, there is also unease, and sometimes anger. Anger over what we have lost, what we will lose, grief for those who have died. But Rabbi Adler suggests that we can learn three things from the story of Rabbi Shimon and the cave. Firstly, it is important to find someone who knows what you went through. Rabbi Shimon recognised that though he had been isolated, his son understood the experience. Secondly, it is important to find moments of beauty (the story continues with a man carrying bundles of myrtle to elevate the experience of Shabbat),  and lastly the story dares us to take off our metaphorical masks and show our wounds, our worries and the cracks in our skin (the story finishes with the agony of going to the bathhouse).

The story has a lot to offer us in the slow emergence from our caves, as we gradually begin to reopen and rejoin larger groups. There is fear, and sometimes anger, some are impatient to get back to what was, others are wistful for what was gained during lockdown, and do not want to lose the preciousness of time together. We feel different things at different times, and are shocked to discover that sometimes we are Rabbi Shimon, other times Elazar, and yet other times the people outside going about their business.

As we begin having not just outdoor services, but even indoors (though smaller and socially distanced) in July, we have to take into account how our stay in the caves has affected us. And though it might feel frustrating having to adhere to social distancing rules both inside and outside, or changes to the dates or how we meet or teach, we are doing it to look after each other.

The story ends in the bath house, one of the Roman inventions that Rabbi Shimon originally condemned for being only about pampering, but now becomes the place where he can show the cracks in his skin, and share his experience.

As Shabbat approaches I hope that you are able to find and appreciate moments of beauty, and  like Rabbi Shimon and the bathhouse, feel able to share your worries and your experiences, as we venture further away from our caves.