May 8: Bar Kokhba’s Letters

Fourteen letters written by Bar Kokhba, the messianic leader of Israel’s final uprising against Rome (defeated in 135 CE), were found in a Dead Sea cave by archaeologist Yigael Yadin on this date in 1960. One was written on wood, others on parchment. The defeat of Bar Kohba’s (“son of a star”) rebellion led to the razing of Jerusalem, the crucifixion of tens of thousands, and the dispersion of the Jews for the next nineteen centuries. Rabbi Akiva ben Joseph, one of the greatest of the tanaaim, the first-generation of rabbis whose words are recorded in the Mishnah, had declared Bar Kokhba to be the redeeming king, or messiah, of Jewish lore. “Grass will grow in your cheeks,” replied Rabbi Yochanan ben Tursa, “and still the son of David will not have come.” Akiva and his comrades were tortured to death by the Romans, becoming the martyrs whom Jews recall during the fast of Tisha B’Av.

“The fact that Bar Kokhba himself had to send the donkeys from his camp to carry the ‘four species’ [for Sukkot] indicates the inadequate transport at the disposal of his subordinates. It also reflects the measure of his uncertainty as to whether his orders would be carried out unless he sent the necessary transport.” —Yigael Yadin