There is a dispute concerning which family brought the wood offering on the twentieth of Av. It may be said that this is not a disagreement about the historical facts. The family descended from both David and Yoav, and the dispute concerns whether they received the spiritual strength to bring this offering from David or from Yoav.
The only place in the Talmud where the twentieth of Av is mentioned is in connection with the wood offering.
There is a dispute as to which family brought the wood offering on that date. Rabbi Meir says:
“They are the descendants of David ben Yehudah.”
Rabbi Yosi says:
“They are the descendants of Yoav ben Yehudah.”
It may be said that this is not a factual disagreement. This family descended from both David and Yoav. Their dispute concerns the source from which the family received the spiritual strength to bring this offering: whether it came primarily from David or from Yoav.
The special quality of a wood offering brought after the fifteenth of Av is that, by that time, wood could no longer be cut for the altar because the strength of the sun had diminished. They therefore had to prepare the wood a considerable time in advance.
All this effort was undertaken in order to assist others, since the wood offering was used even for the sacrifices of individuals.
David and Yoav were both characterized by bittul and self-sacrifice. Their forms of Divine service, however, differed.
David’s service was primarily through Torah study. Rabbi Meir, whose name and approach are associated with light that transcends the concealment of the world, therefore maintains that the spiritual strength for this offering came from David.
Rabbi Yosi, whose name has the same numerical value as the Divine Name Elokim, which in turn has the same numerical value as hateva, “nature,” maintains that its primary quality was derived from Yoav. Yoav represents warfare and the labor of refining the physical world.
An additional explanation may be offered.
Rabbi Meir, who represents light and revelation, follows the approach of the Jerusalem Talmud that a person should accept a present burden for the sake of a future benefit.
Accordingly, Yoav was obligated to go out to war so that David would later be able to study Torah with a free and undisturbed heart, even though David’s benefit would be realized only in the future.
Rabbi Meir therefore maintains that the primary quality of self-sacrifice belonged to David.
Rabbi Yosi, who represents concealment and is associated with the approach of the Babylonian Talmud, maintains that a person is not required to accept a present burden merely for the sake of a future benefit.
According to this view, Yoav was not obligated to go out to war so that David would later be able to study Torah with peace of mind. Rabbi Yosi therefore maintains that the primary self-sacrifice belonged to Yoav, since he went to war even though he was not obligated to do so for this future purpose.
The Lesson
When a person possesses something that others do not have, he must be prepared to give it in order to help another Jew.
As noted, this was also the manner of service of my revered father, whose yahrzeit is being commemorated.
Moreover, one must do this joyfully—to such an extent that the act becomes an occasion worthy of establishing as a Yom Tov.