Introduction: How Megillat Eicha Came into Being
We begin the study of the Book of Eicha, authored by the prophet Jeremiah. Before approaching the chapters themselves, it is important to know that we have a detailed account of how this book came into being: how it was written, how it was received by the people and the king, and how additional chapters were added that originally were not there at all, but were added specifically following the reading of the scroll delivered by Jeremiah. These events are described explicitly in the Book of Jeremiah, Chapter 36, which is where we will begin. The Megillat Eicha we hold today is the finished product; the original did not look this way, and in this chapter we will trace the stages through which the scroll evolved until reaching the form we have before us.
The Command: "Take a Scroll"
וַיְהִי בַּשָּׁנָה הָרְבִיעִת לִיהוֹיָקִים בֶּן יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָה, הָיָה הַדָּבָר הַזֶּה אֶל יִרְמְיָהוּ מֵאֵת ה' לֵאמֹר. - And it came to pass in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, that this word came to Jeremiah from Hashem, saying.
This is a chapter profoundly relevant to the days we find ourselves in, on the eve of Tisha B'Av. These words were spoken in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, an exceedingly wicked king - the same Jehoiakim whose skull rolled on until it was burned during the talmudic era, as we will see later.
קַח לְךָ מְגִלַּת סֵפֶר, וְכָתַבְתָּ אֵלֶיהָ אֵת כָּל הַדְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁר דִּבַּרְתִּי אֵלֶיךָ עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל וְעַל יְהוּדָה וְעַל כָּל הַגּוֹיִם, מִיּוֹם דִּבַּרְתִּי אֵלֶיךָ מִימֵי יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ וְעַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה. - Take for yourself a scroll, and write upon it all the words that I have spoken to you concerning Israel, concerning Judah, and concerning all the nations, from the day I spoke to you, from the days of Josiah, until this day.
"A scroll" (megillat sefer) refers to the parchment sheet. Upon it Jeremiah was to write all the calamitous events that Hashem destined for Israel and Judah, both what had already occurred and what was yet to come. Not everything had been fulfilled at that point; some matters were destined to materialize only in the future.
אוּלַי יִשְׁמְעוּ בֵּית יְהוּדָה אֵת כָּל הָרָעָה אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי חֹשֵׁב לַעֲשׂוֹת לָהֶם, לְמַעַן יָשׁוּבוּ אִישׁ מִדַּרְכּוֹ הָרָעָה, וְסָלַחְתִּי לַעֲוֺנָם וּלְחַטָּאתָם. - Perhaps the house of Judah will hear all the evil that I intend to do to them, so that every man may turn from his evil way, and I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.
This is the entire purpose: when Jeremiah reads the scroll and reminds them of things he foretold that have already come to pass, perhaps they will realize that the future prophecies will likewise come true, and they will thereby be aroused to repent. The Holy One, Blessed be He, says: I do not desire the death of the one who dies, but rather that he turn from his ways and live. The calamity is not an end in itself, but a means to bring about good - that they should repent in teshuvah and not be forced into exile.
In the phrase "the death of the one who dies" (bemot hamet), there is both derash and peshat. The derash: the wicked are called "dead" even during their lifetimes, and the Holy One, Blessed be He, says that He does not desire the total death of that "dead" person. The peshat: just as Scripture states, "if any man falls from there" (ki yippol hanofel mimmenu), where the verse refers to him according to his eventual end - calling him "the one who falls" even before he has fallen - so too here: concerning the one you see who died, Hashem says, "I did not desire to put him to death; rather, it would have been better had he never reached this state at all, but turned from his ways and lived."
Baruch ben Neriah: Prophecy or Ruach HaKodesh
וַיִּקְרָא יִרְמְיָהוּ אֶת בָּרוּךְ בֶּן נֵרִיָּה, וַיִּכְתֹּב בָּרוּךְ מִפִּי יִרְמְיָהוּ אֵת כָּל דִּבְרֵי ה' אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר אֵלָיו עַל מְגִלַּת סֵפֶר. - Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah; and Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of Hashem, which He had spoken to him, upon a scroll.
Yirmiyahu would utter the words with his mouth and Baruch would write. Baruch ben Neriah was a sage of Yirmiyahu's generation, a sort of assistant and helper to him, and we see him accompanying Yirmiyahu along a significant portion of the way.
The Malbim cites an important principle in the name of the Abarbanel: all of Yirmiyahu's prophecies were written by Yirmiyahu himself, in his own phrasing and handwriting, in clear and eloquent language. Megillat Eicha, however, was not written through prophecy, but through Ruach HaKodesh (Divine inspiration), which is one level below prophecy. Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, eased the burden upon him and commanded that Yirmiyahu dictate and Baruch write. This explains the precision of the verse later on: "And Baruch read the words of Yirmiyahu," rather than "the words of Hashem." Had these been words of prophecy, it should have said "the words of Hashem." Nevertheless, one should not be mistaken: both prophecy and Ruach HaKodesh are entirely from Hashem; yet because this was a lower level, it was more appropriate to refer to it as "the words of Yirmiyahu."
"I am restrained": Yirmiyahu in Prison
וַיְצַוֶּה יִרְמְיָהוּ אֶת בָּרוּךְ לֵאמֹר: אֲנִי עָצוּר, לֹא אוּכַל לָבוֹא בֵּית ה' - And Yirmiyahu commanded Baruch, saying: "I am restrained; I cannot enter the House of Hashem."
"I am restrained" means in prison. Yehoyakim had imprisoned Yirmiyahu. Although we saw that Tzidkiyahu later imprisoned him in the court of the guard, we learn from here that Yehoyakim also imprisoned him. Apparently this was almost a habit of the kings, as Yirmiyahu was not a popular prophet in their eyes; he consistently delivered harsh messages. They wanted him to comfort the people and tell them that all would be well, but he repeatedly warned that Nevuchadnezzar was coming and disaster was at hand. Therefore, they imprisoned him.
וּבָאתָ אַתָּה וְקָרָאתָ בַמְּגִלָּה אֲשֶׁר כָּתַבְתָּ מִפִּי אֶת דִּבְרֵי ה' בְּאָזְנֵי הָעָם בֵּית ה' בְּיוֹם צוֹם, וְגַם בְּאָזְנֵי כָל יְהוּדָה הַבָּאִים מֵעָרֵיהֶם תִּקְרָאֵם - "Therefore you shall go, and read from the scroll that you wrote from my mouth the words of Hashem, in the ears of the people in the House of Hashem on the fast day; and also in the ears of all Judah who come from their cities shall you read them."
Yirmiyahu tells him: Since I am restrained, I do not have the ability to go out and publicize the matter among the people, and what good is writing it down if no one will hear it? In our times, a person can print a newspaper in hundreds of thousands of copies or send a brief message to hundreds of people and the message arrives instantly. In those days it was an arduous task: a person had to take the scroll, unroll it, read it to the people on one street, move to the next street, and read it again. Yirmiyahu therefore charges Baruch with going out and reading the scroll in the hearing of everyone.
"On a fast day": A Day of Gathering
What is "a fast day" (yom tzom)? The simple interpretation, as Radak writes, is a day of fasting. However, Radak cites an alternative explanation in the name of his father: tzom is related to tzomet, a junction or convergence. A junction of sinews (tzomet hagiddim) is a gathering of many sinews, and an intersection of roads is a convergence of routes from various directions. Likewise, "his flesh contracted" (nitzmat besaro) means shriveled and drawn together. According to this, tzom expresses a gathering of people, for such was the practice: "Proclaim a fast, assemble a gathering" - when a fast was proclaimed, the people would assemble for prayer. Thus, "on a fast day" means on a day when all the people gather together in the synagogues or in the Beit HaMikdash. Yirmiyahu commanded him to read specifically on that day because everyone would be assembled, eliminating the need for extensive effort to publicize it. If he read it before a thousand or two thousand people, each would tell his fellow ("each friend has a friend"), and within two or three days the message would reach all the inhabitants of the cities of Judah.
אוּלַי תִּפֹּל תְּחִנָּתָם לִפְנֵי ה', וְיָשֻׁבוּ אִישׁ מִדַּרְכּוֹ הָרָעָה, כִּי גָדוֹל הָאַף וְהַחֵמָה אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר ה' אֶל הָעָם הַזֶּה - "Perhaps their supplication will fall before Hashem, and each person will turn back from his evil way, for great is the anger and wrath that Hashem has spoken against this people."
Perhaps when they hear these words, their uncircumcised heart will be humbled, and they will return to the Holy One, blessed be He, and plead for mercy over this very matter.
Why Baruch Waited a Year and a Half
וַיַּעַשׂ בָּרוּךְ בֶּן נֵרִיָּה כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר צִוָּהוּ יִרְמְיָהוּ הַנָּבִיא, לִקְרֹא בַסֵּפֶר דִּבְרֵי ה' בֵּית ה'. - And Baruch son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading from the scroll the words of Hashem in the House of Hashem.
The Malbim notes that in practice, he did not do this immediately: the command was given in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, but the reading took place in the ninth month of the fifth year, which is the month of Kislev (since Tishrei is the seventh month). Why did he delay so long? Because he had to do "according to all that Jeremiah commanded him", fulfilling every condition specified: reading the words of Hashem in the House of Hashem and on a fast day. There had been no such day when the people were gathered in the House of Hashem until that time, when people also gathered from the outlying cities, allowing the reading to take place with widespread publicity. This is the precise meaning of "according to all that he commanded him": he postponed the matter in order to fulfill the command in its entirety.
And do not ask: Why not read it bit by bit, before a small gathering, and then before another gathering, and what was the point of waiting a year and a half? The answer is simple: Had he read it before fifteen people, they would have arrested him on the spot, confiscated the scroll, and no one would have ever known about it. But if he capitalized on the momentum of thousands of people being present and read before them, then even if he were arrested afterwards, the matter would already be publicized and everyone would know.
Reading in the Hearing of the People
וַיְהִי בַשָּׁנָה הַחֲמִשִׁית לִיהוֹיָקִים בֶּן יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָה בַּחֹדֶשׁ הַתְּשִׁעִי, קָרְאוּ צוֹם לִפְנֵי ה' כָּל הָעָם בִּירוּשָׁלִָם וְכָל הָעָם הַבָּאִים מֵעָרֵי יְהוּדָה בִּירוּשָׁלִָם. - And it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, that all the people in Jerusalem and all the people coming from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem proclaimed a fast before Hashem.
Here all the conditions were met: a fast was proclaimed, it was observed before Hashem, all the people in Jerusalem were present, and people arrived from the cities of Judah as well. This was the most optimal way for the greatest number of people to hear and know of the matter. Furthermore, there is an additional dimension: on a fast day, a person is more open to receiving rebuke. It is a day of repentance, a day of closeness to Hashem, a day of desire for rectification, and at such a time a person is more willing to change.
וַיִּקְרָא בָרוּךְ בַּסֵּפֶר אֶת דִּבְרֵי יִרְמְיָהוּ בֵּית ה', בְּלִשְׁכַּת גְּמַרְיָהוּ בֶן שָׁפָן הַסֹּפֵר, בֶּחָצֵר הָעֶלְיוֹן, פֶּתַח שַׁעַר בֵּית ה' הֶחָדָשׁ, בְּאָזְנֵי כָּל הָעָם. - And Baruch read from the scroll the words of Jeremiah in the House of Hashem, in the chamber of Gemariah son of Shaphan the scribe, in the upper court, at the entrance of the New Gate of the House of Hashem, in the ears of all the people.
Once again, Scripture says "the words of Jeremiah" rather than "the word of Hashem", as explained earlier, because they were formulated through Ruach HaKodesh. Then Michaiah son of Gemariah son of Shaphan heard all the words of Hashem from the scroll, and he went down to the king's palace, to the scribe's chamber, where all the officers were sitting: Elishama the scribe, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Achbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the officers. And Michaiah related to them all the words he had heard when Baruch read from the scroll in the hearing of the people.
וַיִּשְׁלְחוּ כָל הַשָּׂרִים אֶל בָּרוּךְ אֶת יְהוּדִי בֶּן נְתַנְיָהוּ בֶּן שֶׁלֶמְיָהוּ בֶן כּוּשִׁי לֵאמֹר: הַמְּגִלָּה אֲשֶׁר קָרָאתָ בָּהּ בְּאָזְנֵי הָעָם, קָחֶנָּה בְיָדְךָ וָלֵךְ. - And all the princes sent Yehudi son of Nethaniah, son of Shelemiah, son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying: "The scroll from which you read in the ears of the people, take it in your hand and come."
"And go" means: come here. So Baruch son of Neriah took the scroll in his hand and came to them. They wanted to hear the words firsthand, for they understood that there was a critical message here.
"They Turned in Fear to One Another"
וַיְהִי כְּשָׁמְעָם אֶת כָּל הַדְּבָרִים, פָּחֲדוּ אִישׁ אֶל רֵעֵהוּ, וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֶל בָּרוּךְ: הַגֵּיד נַגִּיד לַמֶּלֶךְ אֵת כָּל הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה. - And it came to pass, when they heard all the words, they turned in fear to one another, and said to Baruch: "We must surely report all these words to the king."
According to the simple meaning, each of them feared the words themselves, and they said that they were obligated to report them to the king. But the Malbim explains differently: in truth, they would have preferred that the king not hear about it at all. Rather, each of them feared his peer, lest his fellow go and tell the king, and then the king would bring a claim against him: "Why did you not come to tell me that such was the prophecy and that Baruch ben Neriyah spoke thus?" This is the meaning of "they turned in fear one to another" - each feared that his fellow might inform on him, leaving him at a loss. Had they all agreed among themselves to remain silent and claim, "We did not know and we did not hear," they would have preferred to do so; but since they could not trust one another, they said they had no choice but to tell him.
"How Did You Write All These Words from His Mouth?"
וְאֶת בָּרוּךְ שָׁאֲלוּ לֵאמֹר: הַגֶּד נָא לָנוּ, אֵיךְ כָּתַבְתָּ אֶת כָּל הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה מִפִּיו? - And they asked Baruch, saying: "Tell us now, how did you write all these words from his mouth?"
The ministers wanted to know: Did you write down the words word for word as Yirmiyahu uttered them from his mouth, in which case every single detail written here must be taken with the utmost gravity, or did Yirmiyahu speak only in general terms and you, with your vivid style, added flourishes, gave examples, detailed, and elaborated? If the latter were true, there would be no need to fear the details so much, for one could always say that you were slightly carried away or that you offered an exaggerated interpretation.
The Malbim explains that the ministers in the days of Yehoyakim had already determined that Yirmiyahu was not liable to the death penalty for the prophecy itself, since he spoke his words in the Name of Hashem. But regarding the words of Baruch ben Neriyah, they were uncertain whether he might be liable to death: perhaps he had copied the words from what Yirmiyahu wrote without Hashem having sent him to copy and publicize them, meaning that he was prophesying in the Name of Hashem what Hashem had not commanded him to speak - and a prophet who presumes to speak in the Name of Hashem that which He did not command is liable to death. They also wanted to know whether he had added anything of his own.
"Upon the Scroll with Ink"
וַיֹּאמֶר לָהֶם בָּרוּךְ: מִפִּיו יִקְרָא אֵלַי אֵת כָּל הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה, וַאֲנִי כֹּתֵב עַל הַסֵּפֶר בַּדְּיוֹ. - And Baruch said to them: "He dictated all these words to me with his mouth, and I wrote them upon the scroll with ink."
Baruch replied so that they would not be mistaken: Yirmiyahu dictated all the words to him from his mouth, and he wrote them word for word. And why did he emphasize "upon the scroll with ink"? Do we care what materials he wrote with? Rather, we have a halachic rule regarding how sifrei Torah and scrolls must be written: "upon the scroll," meaning on parchment, and "with ink," which must be ink made with gallnut water. If it was not written this way, it does not possess the status of sacred scripture (Kitvei HaKodesh), its level of sanctity is far lower, and one cannot fulfill an obligation with such a scroll. Even if it were written entirely in ink, but on paper, or on diftra (untanned hide), or on papyrus, and similar writing materials used at the time, it would be invalid. Baruch therefore told them: Know that what I am reading before you was produced in the exact same manner that the Sefer Torah itself was written. How was the Sefer Torah written? The Holy One, blessed be He, dictated and Moshe wrote, upon a scroll and with ink. So too here, Yirmiyahu dictated and I wrote from his mouth upon the scroll with ink. Here we have precise transcription and faithful transmission without any omission and without any addition, exactly as it was delivered, and it carries the halachic status of sacred scripture.
The Scroll Reaches the King
וַיָּבֹאוּ אֶל הַמֶּלֶךְ חָצֵרָה, וְאֶת הַמְּגִלָּה הִפְקִדוּ בְּלִשְׁכַּת אֱלִישָׁמָע הַסֹּפֵר, וַיַּגִּידוּ בְּאָזְנֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ אֵת כָּל הַדְּבָרִים. - And they came to the king into the court, but they deposited the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and they told all the words in the ears of the king.
They arrived at the king's courtyard, having stored the scroll in the meantime in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and reported to the king the substance of the words delivered by Baruch in the name of Yirmiyahu. The king then sent Yehudi to fetch the scroll, and he took it from the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and Yehudi read it in the hearing of the king and in the hearing of all the ministers standing before the king: the king, too, wished to hear the entire scroll in its every detail.
וְהַמֶּלֶךְ יוֹשֵׁב בֵּית הַחֹרֶף בַּחֹדֶשׁ הַתְּשִׁיעִי, וְאֶת הָאָח לְפָנָיו מְבֹעָרֶת. - Now the king was sitting in the winter house in the ninth month, and the hearth was burning before him.
Kings had a summer house and a winter house. The summer house had high ceilings and many windows, while the winter house had low ceilings and few windows so it would be less cold, and a hearth burned inside it. And why was the hearth called an ach? Chazal say it is called ach because these are logs that catch fire in brotherhood (achvana), as it were - one log igniting from another, related to achim (brothers). The Malbim explains that it comes from the word achu, as in "and they grazed in the reed-grass" (Bereishit 41:2), for achu refers to grass and thorns; they dry them and kindle the fire on the wood with them, which was how they would light it: placing the dry brush upon the logs to ignite the flame. Therefore it is called an ach, from the word achu, dry brush.
The Burning of the Scroll
וַיְהִי כִּקְרוֹא יְהוּדִי שָׁלֹשׁ דְּלָתוֹת וְאַרְבָּעָה, יִקְרָעֶהָ בְּתַעַר הַסֹּפֵר, וְהַשְׁלֵךְ אֶל הָאֵשׁ אֲשֶׁר אֶל הָאָח, עַד תֹּם כָּל הַמְּגִלָּה עַל הָאֵשׁ אֲשֶׁר עַל הָאָח. - And it came to pass, as Yehudi read three or four columns, he cut it with the scribe's knife and cast it into the fire that was in the hearth, until the entire scroll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth.
"Three or four columns" refers to three or four verses. As they were reading before him, not only was he not moved by the words, but he took the scroll, slashed it with a scribe's knife, and cast it into the blazing fire. Look at such foolishness: as if burning the scroll containing the prophecy would prevent the prophecy from being fulfilled! What wickedness and what lack of understanding.
Chazal relate: They began reading before him, "How does the city sit solitary," then "She weeps bitterly in the night," then the letter Gimel, "Judah has gone into exile because of affliction," and then "The roads of Zion mourn." Throughout all these, he was unconcerned. They read harsh things to him and he was unfazed, because he thought: I am king, I still rule over the remnant here, and nothing has yet been written about me. But when they reached the letter Heh, "Her adversaries have become the head," which is the fifth verse - and this is "three or four columns" - here he flared up: Am I not king? Shall they become the heads? This he could no longer tolerate, and immediately "he cut it with the scribe's knife." He tore and slashed the scroll, to show that by doing so he was, as it were, nullifying the words and refusing to accept them.
"Yet they were not afraid, nor did they tear their garments"
וְלֹא פָחֲדוּ וְלֹא קָרְעוּ אֶת בִּגְדֵיהֶם, הַמֶּלֶךְ וְכָל עֲבָדָיו הַשֹּׁמְעִים אֵת כָּל הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה. - Yet they were not afraid, nor did they tear their garments, neither the king nor any of his servants who heard all these words.
They ought to have been anxious, afraid, and torn their garments, for they heard of dreadful trouble and calamity, and anyone reading Megillat Eicha hears terrible, fearful things. The ministers had indeed been afraid, as mentioned earlier, "they turned in fear to one another," and they even tried to prevent him from burning the scroll; but the king and the courtiers with him feared nothing. From here the Sages derived that one who sees a Sefer Torah torn must tear his garments, for the prophet rebukes them: "Yet they were not afraid, nor did they tear their garments," which implies that they were obligated to tear their garments in such a situation.
וְגַם אֶלְנָתָן וּדְלָיָהוּ וּגְמַרְיָהוּ הִפְגִּעוּ בַמֶּלֶךְ לְבִלְתִּי שְׂרֹף אֶת הַמְּגִלָּה, וְלֹא שָׁמַע אֲלֵיהֶם. - Moreover, Elnatan, Delayah, and Gemaryahu had pleaded with the king not to burn the scroll, but he would not listen to them.
They tried to appeal to his heart: Do not burn the scroll, this is a prophecy that must be taken seriously! But he would not listen to them. "And the king commanded Yerachme'el the king's son, Serayahu son of Azri'el, and Shelemyahu son of Avde'el, to seize Baruch the scribe and Yirmiyahu the prophet; but Hashem hid them." The king commanded that they be seized because he disliked what they were saying and disseminating, and he feared that they would go on publicizing more and more, undermining his kingship and disheartening the people. This was the very reason kings hated the prophets: the prophets, as it were, frightened the people, telling them that the enemy was near, that they had to make peace with him and must not rebel against him, that Hashem had made him sovereign, and the like; therefore, the kings sought to fight the prophets and suppress their words.
And what is the meaning of "but Hashem hid them"? The Metzudat David explains that this happened miraculously. The Radak suggests it is very possible that He placed darkness all around them, casting darkness and gloom about them so that the pursuers were struck with a kind of blindness, searching for them without being able to find them, or their vision was suspended. Miraculously, Hashem made it impossible to capture them.
The Prophecy Concerning Yehoyakim
וַיְהִי דְבַר ה' אֶל יִרְמְיָהוּ אַחֲרֵי שְׂרֹף הַמֶּלֶךְ אֶת הַמְּגִלָּה וְאֶת הַדְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁר כָּתַב בָּרוּךְ מִפִּי יִרְמְיָהוּ לֵאמֹר. - And the word of Hashem came to Jeremiah after the king had burned the scroll and the words that Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah, saying:
Radak explains that one should not say he burned only the margins of the scroll - that is, the blank parchment around the text - but both the scroll itself and the words. From here Chazal learned that a person who sees a Sefer Torah burned must tear two keri'ot (rents in their garment): one for the parchment itself, the holy hide, and one for the writing, as it says, "the scroll and the words." This phrasing is a double expression, indicating that the king burned both.
שׁוּב קַח לְךָ מְגִלָּה אַחֶרֶת, וּכְתֹב עָלֶיהָ אֵת כָּל הַדְּבָרִים הָרִאשֹׁנִים אֲשֶׁר הָיוּ עַל הַמְּגִלָּה הָרִאשֹׁנָה אֲשֶׁר שָׂרַף יְהוֹיָקִים מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָה. - Take for yourself another scroll, and write on it all the former words that were on the first scroll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah burned.
He had written the first scroll without a backup copy, and now he was commanded to return and rewrite everything anew.
וְעַל יְהוֹיָקִים מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָה תֹאמַר: כֹּה אָמַר ה', אַתָּה שָׂרַפְתָּ אֶת הַמְּגִלָּה הַזֹּאת לֵאמֹר, מַדּוּעַ כָּתַבְתָּ עָלֶיהָ לֵאמֹר בֹּא יָבוֹא מֶלֶךְ בָּבֶל וְהִשְׁחִית אֶת הָאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת וְהִשְׁבִּית מִמֶּנָּה אָדָם וּבְהֵמָה. - And concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah you shall say: Thus says Hashem: You have burned this scroll, saying, 'Why did you write in it, saying, The king of Babylon will surely come and destroy this land, and eliminate from it man and beast?'
You, Jehoiakim, burned the scroll because it was hard for you and displeasing in your eyes that it was written in it that the king of Babylon would come and destroy the land and eliminate from it man and beast.
לָכֵן כֹּה אָמַר ה' עַל יְהוֹיָקִים מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָה: לֹא יִהְיֶה לּוֹ יוֹשֵׁב עַל כִּסֵּא דָוִד, וְנִבְלָתוֹ תִּהְיֶה מֻשְׁלֶכֶת לַחֹרֶב בַּיּוֹם וְלַקֶּרַח בַּלָּיְלָה. - Therefore thus says Hashem concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: He shall have no one sitting upon the throne of David, and his corpse shall be cast out to the heat by day and to the frost by night.
"He shall have no one sitting upon the throne of David": His son Jehoiachin reigned for only three months, which is not considered an established sitting upon David's throne. "And his corpse shall be cast out": As we have seen, he was not buried after his death, and his skull lay discarded like dung upon the face of the field until the era of the Sages. It is related that one of the Sages found this skull one day, upon which was written "this and yet another." He brought it to his home and wrapped it in silk, saying that it is unfitting for the skull of a king to be degraded. Note that this took place a thousand years or more after the time of Jehoiakim, yet his skull was still cast out like dung upon the field. The Gemara recounts that this Sage's wife discovered the skull in a cabinet at home and panicked. She went to ask her neighbors, and one neighbor told her: "Look, he wrapped it in precious fabric and preserved it; it is surely his first wife whom he found so difficult to part with." She said: "I will help him let go." She took the skull, cast it into the hearth - into the oven - and burned it. This is what was meant by "this and yet another": in him was fulfilled "he shall be buried with the burial of a donkey, dragged and cast out," lying discarded like dung upon the field, and another matter was fulfilled in him as well - that he was burned. One can see this as measure for measure: you burned the scroll of the word of Hashem, and therefore your own skull was burned.
וּפָקַדְתִּי עָלָיו וְעַל זַרְעוֹ וְעַל עֲבָדָיו אֶת עֲוֺנָם, וְהֵבֵאתִי עֲלֵיהֶם וְעַל יֹשְׁבֵי יְרוּשָׁלִַם וְאֶל אִישׁ יְהוּדָה אֵת כָּל הָרָעָה אֲשֶׁר דִּבַּרְתִּי אֲלֵיהֶם וְלֹא שָׁמֵעוּ. - And I will visit upon him, his offspring, and his servants their iniquity; and I will bring upon them, upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and upon the men of Judah all the calamity that I spoke to them, but they did not listen.
I will visit upon them all the evil that they refused to heed, so that they will not imagine that burning the scroll could avert the calamity; rather, all of it will come upon them.
The Second Scroll: "And there were added besides to them many like words"
וְיִרְמְיָהוּ לָקַח מְגִלָּה אַחֶרֶת, וַיִּתְּנָהּ אֶל בָּרוּךְ בֶּן נֵרִיָּהוּ הַסֹּפֵר, וַיִּכְתֹּב עָלֶיהָ מִפִּי יִרְמְיָהוּ אֵת כָּל דִּבְרֵי הַסֵּפֶר אֲשֶׁר שָׂרַף יְהוֹיָקִים מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָה בָּאֵשׁ, וְעוֹד נוֹסַף עֲלֵיהֶם דְּבָרִים רַבִּים כָּהֵמָּה. - Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch the son of Neriah the scribe, and he wrote upon it from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire; and there were added besides to them many like words.
What is the meaning of "and there were added besides unto them"? The Gemara relates that Rabbi Chama bar Rabbi Chanina and Rav disagree on this matter. One said: "and there were added besides unto them" refers to the chapter of Eicha ya'iv be'apo (chapter 2); "words" refers to Eicha yu'am zahav (chapter 4); "many" refers to Zechor Hashem meh hayah lanu (chapter 5); "like them" refers to Ani hagever ra'ah oni (chapter 3). There is another opinion that maintains that "and there were added besides unto them" refers solely to the chapter of Ani hagever. According to this view, the original scroll already contained Eicha yashvah (chapter 1), Eicha ya'iv (chapter 2), and Eicha yu'am zahav (chapter 4), and what was added was only Ani hagever; "words like them" refers to Ani hagever, which has three verses for every single letter of the alef-bet, and "many" refers to the mentions of Hashem's Name.
Either way, it is clear from here that the scroll was originally more limited in scope. Megillat Eicha in our hands today, with its five chapters, includes chapters that were added as a consequence of the scroll being burned by Yehoyakim. Had it not been burned, we would have had only one chapter - or four according to the other opinion - but not five chapters. The Megillah was meant to be shorter, and it was solely through Yehoyakim's deed that "many like words" were added to it.
In summary: Chapter 36 of Sefer Yirmiyahu serves as the essential backdrop to Megillat Eicha. Hashem commands Yirmiyahu to write a scroll containing all the afflictions He planned to bring, so that the people of Israel might hear and repent. Yirmiyahu, confined in prison, dictates to Baruch ben Neriah, who writes down his words with ink upon the scroll, through Ruach HaKodesh rather than prophecy. Baruch waits a year and a half for a fast day - a day when the people gather - so that the message would become widely known and not overlooked. The ministers are struck with fear and report the matter to the king, and the wicked Yehoyakim slashes the scroll with a scribe's razor and burns it, without fearing and without rending his garments; when he reached "Her adversaries have become the head," he could bear it no longer. For this, it was decreed upon him that he would have no successor sitting upon the throne of David and that his corpse would be cast out, and even his skull was ultimately burned, measure for measure. Yet from this burning came something enduring: the scroll was rewritten, "and there were added besides unto them many like words," which are the chapters we possess today. From here, with Hashem's help, we will begin the study of the Megillah itself.