1. Gedaliah Was the Leader of Judea

After Nebuchadnezzar and his army destroyed Jerusalem (including the Holy Temple), the Jewish leaders were killed or taken into captivity. The remaining Jews were left under the leadership of Gedaliah, son of Ahikam, grandson of Shaphan.1

2. His Story Is Told Twice in Scripture

The brief story of Gedaliah is told twice in the Prophets: once in II Kings 25, where it takes up a total of six verses, and again in more detail in Jeremiah 40 and 41. In Kings, he is only referred to as Gedaliahu. In Jeremiah, there are a few instances where his name is recorded as Gedaliah,2 the form which has since been popularized.

3. He Protected Jeremiah

When Jeremiah was released by the Babylonians, he was given into the care of Gedaliah.3 Later, the prophet himself was told by G‑d to join Gedaliah,4 as he was to be the one through whom Israel would be cared for.

4. He Lived in Mitzpah

For centuries, Mitzpah, in the land of Benjamin, was central in the lives of our ancestors. The people had gathered there in the terrible clashes between Benjamin and the rest of the tribes,5 and it was also among the places where Samuel led the people. Many years later, Judah the Maccabee led the people in prayer there, and it is described as a place historically associated with prayer.6

5. He Advocated for Peace

Recognizing that fighting against the mighty Baylonians (also referred to as Chaladeans) was pointless, he instead urged the people: “Do not fear the servants of the Chaladeans. Dwell in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it will be good for you.”7

Gedaliah encouraged the Jewish refugees to gather food and return home, secure in the knowledge that he would plead on their behalf before the Babylonian rulers and maintain peace in the land.8

6. He Naively Rejected Reports of a Conspiracy

Among those who gathered around Gedaliah was Ishmael ben Netanya, a man of royal ancestry who believed the rulership was his inheritance.9 Yochanan ben Kore’ach warned Gedaliah that Ishmael had been sent by Baalis, king of Amon, to kill him. Recognizing that Gedaliah’s death would spell the end of Jewish life in the Holy Land, Yochanan offered to kill Ishmael, but Gedaliah rebuffed the report, replying, “Do not do this because you speak lies about Ishmael.”10

7. He Was Killed by Ishmael

Ultimately Gedaliah gravely miscalculated. On the “seventh month” (Tishrei), Ishmael and 10 henchmen joined Gedaliah for a Rosh Hashanah meal.11 They then arose and killed Gedaliah and his men, including the Babyolian representatives.12 Their remains, as well as those of Jews who unwittingly happened upon the carnage, were thrown into a giant pit.13

8. He Was Partly to Blame

Scripture describes the dead as having been “struck by the hand of Gedaliah.”14 The sages of the Talmud ask: “Did Gedaliah kill them? Rather, because he failed to pay attention to the advice of Yochanan, he is considered responsible for the death that was visited upon his camp. Rabbah concludes from here: Although one may not accept evil reports, one must suspect that they may be true.”15

9. His Death Marked the End of Jewish Life in the Holy Land

Ishmael’s killing of innocent Jews and Babylonians brought an end to any hope for Jewish life in the Holy Land, until the return of the Babylonin exiles several generations later.

Those remaining fled to Egypt against the admonishment of Jeremiah, who warned them that G‑d would not save them there.16

10. Tzom Gedaliah Commemorates His Assassination

Gedaliah’s death, compared in its tragedy to the burning of the Temple,17 is so acutely felt that it is still marked every year on the day after Rosh Hashanah (or one day later, when the day after Rosh Hashanah is Shabbat), which is observed as a fast day.18

Since it occurs on the seventh month of the year, it is described by Zecharia as the “fast of the seventh.”19

Let us conclude with a prayerful wish that the words of Zecharia soon come to pass, and all fast days (including this one) be converted into days of celebration and rejoicing!