To fully appreciate why Israel fasts over the assassination of G’dalia ben-Aḥikam, it’s important to view events from the perspectives of both G’dalia and his assassin Yishmael ben-Netania – both of whom likely saw themselves acting justly on behalf of their people.
While some might claim that because Yishmael forged an alliance with another regional king, Baalis of Ammon, he had forfeited his right to attack G’dalia’s connection to the Babylonian Emperor Nevudkhadnetzar. But a deeper look reveals that Yishmael’s alliance with King Baalis was in order to coordinate the Judean and Ammonite struggles against the Babylonian Empire – the motivation for which would have been liberating Judea from foreign rule.
An alliance with Ammon based on a shared need for freedom from imperial rule cannot be compared to G’dalia representing Babylonian interests in Judea.
As a descendent of King David fighting for Hebrew independence, Yishmael likely felt a patriotic duty to cut down the emperor’s Jewish client governor. But pure motivations and a just cause still carry an obligation to see a larger picture and the potential consequences of adventurist actions.
From the other side, G’dalia was simply trying to do the best he could under the conditions that existed. Being close to the prophet Yirmiyahu (who David’s descendants and their supporters mistook for a traitor), G’dalia was being pragmatic under the circumstances. Because he really wasn’t a traitor but was actually trying to prevent Judean society from falling apart in the wake of a major national catastrophe, it was probably difficult for him to understand that others viewed him as such. This would explain why his guard was down – he and Yishmael likely saw their disagreement in a very different light.
The Rambam teaches in Hilkhot Taanit 5:2 that what we are really fasting over on Tzom G’dalia is the complete loss of Hebrew independence in Eretz Yisrael. Despite being a puppet governor appointed by the foreign emperor who had just destroyed Jerusalem’s Temple and exiled her people, G’dalia was – according to the Rambam – the last ember of Judean independence.
We mourn G’dalia’s death on the third of Tishrei each year because – despite him being a vassal appointed by a hated foreign ruler – he represented the last tiny thread of Hebrew sovereignty in our land. But just as it was clearly a mistake for Yishmael and his supporters to vilify G’dalia then, it might also be a mistake for us to demonize Yishmael now.
The primary message we should take away from this national fast is the need to appreciate the spiritual value of the Jewish state we currently have, despite its obvious shortcomings and the sometimes disappointing behavior of Israeli political leaders. According to the Rambam’s position on Tzom G’dalia, even a small thread of Hebrew independence has spiritual value worth cherishing.
