Introduction: Chapter 1 - Lament for the Desolate City
Chapter 1 of Megillat Eicha opens with a depiction of Keneset Yisrael as a noblewoman whose fortunes have reversed. In this lesson, we will examine verse 2 - the verse of weeping - and see how deep layers are revealed within it: the sensitivity of Keneset Yisrael's soul, the root of the weeping in the sin of the Spies, and above all, the question of who her true "lovers" and "friends" really are, and who the true protectors of the Jewish people are.
בָּכוֹ תִבְכֶּה בַּלַּיְלָה וְדִמְעָתָהּ עַל לֶחֱיָהּ אֵין־לָהּ מְנַחֵם מִכָּל־אֹהֲבֶיהָ כָּל־רֵעֶיהָ בָּגְדוּ בָהּ הָיוּ לָהּ לְאֹיְבִים׃ - She weeps bitterly in the night, and her tear is on her cheek; she has no comforter among all her lovers; all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they have become her enemies.
Akedat Yitzchak: The Weeping of a Noblewoman
The author of the Akedat Yitzchak explains that Scripture comes to describe the delicate sensitivity of Keneset Yisrael, comparing her to a noble and dignified woman whose wheel of fortune has turned. Due to the sheer misery of her plight, she cannot restrain herself; she must weep. Yet out of her immense dignity, stature, and nobility, she cannot bring herself to weep in public view. Where, then, does she weep? At night, in the privacy of her innermost chambers, where her weeping is unseen. However, this offers little relief: "and her tear is on her cheek" - when she steps out of her home, it is evident on her face, her tear is noticeable, and all can see that she has been crying. And even if people were to come comfort her, there is no solace in it, for "all her friends have dealt treacherously with her" - everyone from whom she might have expected comfort has betrayed her.
The Alshich: Incessant Weeping
It is the nature of those who weep to take a pause between spells of crying. But here, "she weeps bitterly [bako tivkeh]" denotes weeping without pause. Furthermore, the tear never leaves her cheek: "and her tear is on her cheek" continuously and constantly, showing the magnitude of the tragedy and the depth of the grief.
The Root of the Weeping: The Sin of the Spies
Our Sages expound: "She weeps bitterly in the night" - because of the sin of the Spies, which involved weeping for no reason. The people of Israel sat and cried: Why did you take us out of Egypt? Why did you bring us here to be killed in the Land of Israel? There is a nation of giants there, the sons of the giant; we are going to die here. And which night was that? The night of Tisha B'Av. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to them: You wept a weeping for no reason; you are destined to weep a weeping for generations. That night was established as a night of weeping, and many tragic events occurred specifically on this night. This is the meaning of "bako tivkeh": because they wept then, she weeps now. From what? "In the night" - from what transpired on that night. The weeping that took place that night is the cause of the weeping throughout all generations, corresponding to that very weeping.
And so the Targum renders: When Moshe the prophet sent messengers to spy out the land, and the Spies returned and brought forth an evil report about the Land of Israel - that night was the night of Tisha B'Av. When the House of Israel heard the bad tidings they were told concerning the Land of Israel, they raised their voice and wept on that night. Immediately, the wrath of Hashem flared against them, and He decreed that on that night they would weep a weeping for generations over the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash.
"Allon Bachut": What Is the Connection Between the Spies and the Destruction?
It emerges, then, that there is a direct connection between the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash and the sin of the Spies - the very same night, and this weeping is on account of that weeping. But what is the inner connection between them? How is the crying over not entering the Land the very same weeping as that over the destruction of the Temple?
The author of Alon Bachut explains: Our Sages say that had Moshe and Aharon entered the Land of Israel and Moshe had built the Beit HaMikdash, it would never have been destroyed; the Beit HaMikdash would have stood forever. Now, the death of Moshe and Aharon came about because of the sin of the spies. In Moshe's case, there is one reason due to Mei Merivah (the Waters of Strife), another reason because he refused to go during the seven days when the Holy One, blessed be He, sent him to redeem Israel, and the third reason Moshe did not enter the Land is the sin of the spies - for Moshe Rabbeinu was the one who sent the spies, as the Holy One, blessed be He, told him: I do not command you; if you wish, send. Thus, the matter began with Moshe, as it says, "And the Lord was angry with me on your account."
It follows, then, that the weeping over the spies caused the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash: because they wept, it was decreed that Moshe would not enter; and had Moshe entered, the Temple would not have been destroyed. Consequently, they brought about the destruction. Your weeping caused Moshe not to enter and the Temple to be destroyed - this is the link between the episode of the spies and the Churban.
Why would the Temple not have been destroyed in Moshe's merit?
First, Moshe's merits were immensely great. Second, "Moshe His chosen stood in the breach" - who always stood, prayed, and defended the Jewish people, saying "and if not, blot me out of Your book" even in the direst situations? Moshe Rabbeinu. Therefore, when Moshe died, the Holy One, blessed be He, says: Who will rise up for Me against evildoers? Who else will stand at the forefront against the accusers of the Jewish people?
And this is what the lamenter says: "They wept" - ever since the spies; and what did this cause? That "she weeps sorely in the night." And the reason - "she has no comforter among all her lovers." And who are her lovers? Moshe and Aharon. She has no comforter because they have already died, and that very "weeping" caused their death. That crying on that night causes her to weep now at night, for it is what caused her to have no comforter - Moshe is no longer here to comfort and save us from trouble.
Lechem Dim'ah: Lovers and Companions
The author of Lechem Dim'ah notes a precise nuance: both "her lovers" (ohaveha) and "her companions" (re'eha) appear in the verse. Lovers are greater and closer than companions - a rea is a friend, while an ohev is a higher level than a friend. The lovers did not come to comfort her, which in itself is already a betrayal; but the companions did not suffice with passive inaction - they actively betrayed her: "all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they have become her enemies."
It is worth noting that Lechem Dim'ah was composed by Rabbi Shmuel de Uceda, author of the famous work Midrash Shmuel on Pirkei Avot. He offers wonderful explanations, both in Midrash Shmuel and in Lechem Dim'ah on Megillat Eicha.
Refusing Consolation: "I, Even I, Am He Who Comforts You"
Another explanation of "she has no comforter among all her lovers": there were many would-be comforters, both prophets and lovers, but she was unwilling to accept comfort. And why did she refuse to be consoled? Our Sages say: "All her friends have dealt treacherously with her" - this refers to Michael and Gabriel, who descended to burn the Sanctuary. Since these exalted spiritual beings were the ones who burned it, she refused to be comforted by prophets, who are not angels. From whom, then, could she be comforted? Only from the Holy One, blessed be He. Thus, "O afflicted, storm-tossed one, who is not consoled" - something burned by an angel, shall I be consoled by a prophet? And regarding this, the Holy One, blessed be He, says: "I, even I, am He Who comforts you." Since the Holy One, blessed be He, is above the angels, consolation and promises of good can only be received from Him.
"They Have Become Her Enemies" - Since Time Immemorial
The Lechem Dim'ah infers: seemingly, it should have said, "all her friends have dealt treacherously with her, they turned into enemies." What is the meaning of "they have become her enemies"? Rather, know this: often you see a gentile smiling at you and being pleasant - do not be deceived, the smile can be misleading. Deep down inside, he does not love you, and "it is a known Halachah that Eisav hates Yaakov." Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai says: Halachah. Does Halachah ever change? There is no debate and no dispute about this, like a Halachah given to Moshe at Sinai, and so it will remain forever.
And if you say: But they helped us! They assisted us! - the answer is interests. If the United States helps, it has interests in the Middle East, nothing more. The moment those interests no longer appeal to it, they throw you to the dogs and nobody cares about you. The gentile acts out of self-interest, not out of true loving-kindness, and he truly does not care about the Jew.
We all remember that France was among the nations that voted in the UN for the establishment of the State of Israel, as did Russia. France sent weapons here after the founding of the state - the Mirage fighter jets were French. French culture, French cinema, and European style developed here - and suddenly they turned their backs and anti-Semitism rose to the forefront. And likewise Russia: during the entire Cold War we were allies of the United States and a target for espionage, and we immediately became enemies. The gentile draws you close when he has an interest; when he no longer needs you, he discards you. Therefore, do not think that this happened just now: "They have become her enemies" - you have only now discovered it, but in truth they were always enemies. You thought they were friends, you saw them draw you near when it benefited them, and you were certain they desired your welfare - it was an illusion.
"Bacho" for the First Temple, "Tivkeh" for the Second Temple
The Lechem Dimah further explains the repetition of "weeping she shall weep" (bacho tivkeh): "Bacho" refers to the First Temple, and "tivkeh" refers to the Second Temple. Yirmiyahu laments after the destruction of the First Temple (for during the Second Temple there were no longer prophets), and therefore he says: Weep for what was destroyed, and know that you will yet weep again. And everything will take place at night - on that very same night that the First Temple was destroyed, the Second Temple was destroyed as well. Therefore Scripture says "ba-lailah" with the definite article (indicated by the patach), rather than "be-lailah": an ordinary "be-lailah" means any night, whereas "ba-lailah" refers to that specific, well-known night - the night destined for calamity.
Who Are "Her Lovers"? The Sages and the Righteous
Another explanation in Lechem Dimah: "Her lovers" refers to those holy, lofty, pious souls who were within her. The enemies killed the pious and holy ones of Israel, slaughtering and massacring without mercy, and regarding them it is said, "she has no comforter among all her lovers." Where are the true lovers? Where is Rabbi Elazar HaModa'i, through whose daily prayers for Jerusalem the city was spared from falling? Who killed him? Ben Koziva, who kicked him and killed him when he suspected him of treason - and as a result of this, the city fell. Bar Kochba was called Ben Koziva because he disappointed (hikziv).
From here you learn a fundamental principle: those who save the Jewish people are the Sages, the Torah scholars. As long as Rabbi Elazar HaModa'i was praying, there was existence, and Jerusalem did not fall; on the day he was killed, the story ended. Ben Koziva thought: I am the protector, I am the hero. And he was indeed a mighty hero - it is written that he would catch catapult stones hurled at him with his knee and fling them back. And what came of him? Nothing. If the army succeeds in anything, it is in the merit of Rabbi Elazar HaModa'i sitting and praying day after day that Jerusalem not be destroyed; in the merit of the Torah leaders and the Torah scholars.
Sharing the Burden - Who Bears the Burden of Existence?
To all those who speak so loftily about sharing the burden, we say: Indeed, there must be equality in bearing the burden! Why should we alone bear the burden of the Jewish people's existence? Are you exempt from reciting the Shema, exempt from Torah study, exempt from prayer? Why do you not come to the Beit Midrash? Why do you not come to study Torah? What about sharing the burden? Is it just three years and then finished? For the Jewish people, there is a lifelong burden of seventy years for every single Jew.
And for anyone who has a doubt: Bnei Brak is a city where a missile has never fallen, and where there has never been an explosive device, injury, or terrorist attack. The Steipler promised this, and the Chazon Ish promised this. During the Gulf War, missiles were aimed all around Bnei Brak from every direction - yet not a single missile hit it. In the Six-Day War there was shelling on Tel Aviv - yet in Bnei Brak a missile never struck. Why? Torah and chesed. The Chazon Ish said: As long as Bnei Brak remains a city of Torah and chesed, no one will be able to harm it; the missile simply does not see Bnei Brak. This is wondrous, and while one believes the words of the Chazon Ish with complete, one-hundred-percent faith, one might wonder: How did Saddam Hussein know this when he launched his missiles? We see from this that it is a decree from Hashem. What protects the Jewish people is Torah; what protects the Jewish people is mitzvot - that is the spiritual Iron Dome. Put a kippah on your head; that is the spiritual Iron Dome, and that is what the Jewish people truly need.
"The Righteous Is Taken Away Before the Evil"
And this is the meaning of "she has no comforter among all her lovers": when the enemy came to conquer Jerusalem, who departed first? Her lovers. As it is said, "The righteous is taken away before the evil" - when the Holy One, Blessed be He, wishes to bring evil, He first gathers the righteous, for as long as the righteous person is here, he stands in the way; he prays, he holds it back, and the evil cannot be brought.
It is told that before the passing of the Baba Sali, he was asked: Did the Rav not tell us that he was promised from Heaven that he would live to see the coming of the Redemption? How, then, is the Rav now about to depart from this world? He replied to them: And what do you want - that a third of the world be destroyed? They told me that it is possible to bring the Redemption right now, but a third of the Jewish people would perish: "Are you willing? Then Moshiach will come now." I said: I am going, as an atonement for the Jewish people. One tzaddik - an atonement for all of Klal Yisrael.
There is a wonderful verse on this matter: "He will judge among the nations, full of corpses; He crushed the head over a wide land" (Tehillim 110:6). When the Holy One, blessed be He, exacts punishment from the nations - "full of corpses," a small tsunami and three hundred thousand dead. Among Jews - "He crushed the head," the Holy One, blessed be He, takes one individual, and this is "over a wide land" - one righteous person shields the entirety of His people Israel. And had there been ten righteous men in Sodom in the generation of Avraham Avinu, Sodom would not have been destroyed. And who were those righteous men? The kind of people that every Sodomite passing by their Beit Midrash would shout at: "Parasites, go to work, join the army!" - completely unaware that he himself existed only in the merit of those ten "parasites" in quotation marks.
What is Really Bothering Them?
Yet the truth is that this is not what they are looking for. What bothers an alienated person is neither the army nor work - what bothers him is why you observe the mitzvot. So he will talk about the army, he will talk about sharing the burden, he will talk about the workforce - all of these are mere excuses. What truly bothers him is the very fact that you exist.
There was a Chabad avrech putting tefillin on people on a city street. A thoroughly secular woman walked by and said to him: "Go join the army!" He pulled out his military ID card from his pocket and told her: "Madam, I served three years, I was in the paratroopers, I took part in combat operations." She said to him: "Then go to work!" He said: "Madam, I just finished work, and after work comes a little spirituality - at five o'clock I go out to help people put on tefillin." She retorted: "Then go to hell!" That is it; that is what she really wanted. They wrap it in "Go join the army," "Go to work," all kinds of "go"s - but the real desire is "Go to hell."
Therefore, for all those who think: Let us go work, let us join the army - why do you imagine you will find favor in their eyes? Do you know which public is hated perhaps even more than the Charedi community? The settler community. Now people may not feel it, but the moment there is a disengagement or the like, you suddenly see what intense hatred floats to the surface. Yet they go to work and serve in the army more than anyone, dedicating their lives in the most elite combat units - they ought to love them dearly and embrace them. But no: during the Disengagement, the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals cared about the dogs in Judea and Samaria - and what about the people? Stick them in trailers, who cares. This is a sign that it is not about your actions; what bothers them is that you observe the mitzvot, and nothing will help you - whatever you do will make no difference.
This is the very same dynamic that exists between Israel and the enemies of the Torah, as described in the holy Zohar and by the Vilna Gaon regarding the Erev Rav (Mixed Multitude) in our midst, who will head the leadership prior to the coming of the Redeemer. Tikkunei HaZohar states that before the arrival of the Redemption, the leaders of the Erev Rav will rule over us. And the mindset of these people is just like that of the gentile: he does not want to see you, and he will constantly dress it up in different pretexts - that you harm the economy, that you spread disease; he will always find an excuse.
And Jews have always been hated. Once they hated them for being poor and a burden on the economy; fine, so let us become wealthy - immediately: "They are making money off our backs, sucking our blood, and plotting to take over the world." Poor is no good, rich is no good. When Jews were against wars - "They lack loyalty to the state"; fine, so we are in favor of the war and patriotic - "Jews are warmongers." Whatever you do is no good to them. And why? Because in truth, he is not looking to resolve problems; he needs there to be a problem so he can say: "We do not want you, go away." This lies at the core of all the grievances with which the gentile - or, unfortunately, the alienated Jew - treats the observant person.
When There Are No Tzaddikim, the Companions Are Examined
And this is what the verse means: "She has no comforter among all her lovers" - those lovers, those sages and giants of Torah, were killed, and the righteous are gathered in before evil strikes, and for them there is no comforter and no consolation. And once there are no longer sages to shield them, the status of the rest of the Jewish people is examined, and it is seen that "all her companions have dealt treacherously with her": those who are not in the category of great sages, but rather the common folk, who do not observe mitzvot and do not do the will of Hashem - through their sins, they betrayed her. And when there are no righteous men to provide protection and the companions falter, calamity inevitably arrives and all troubles ensue.
In Summary:
This verse reveals to us the many facets of weeping: the silent weeping of a noble woman whose tear betrays her, weeping without respite, and weeping whose roots reach back to the night of Tisha B'Av in the sin of the Spies - a baseless weeping that became a weeping for generations, for because of it Moshe did not enter the Land, whereas had he entered, the Beit HaMikdash would never have been destroyed. "She has no comforter among all her lovers" - for there are no longer Moshe and Aharon standing in the breach, and there are no longer the Talmidei Chachamim and tzaddikim in whose merit of prayer the world stands; "all her companions have dealt treacherously with her, they have become her enemies" - those who seemed to be friends were enemies all along, and the smile and shared interests were nothing more than an illusion. From here emerges the lesson: the true shield of the Jewish people is Torah, mitzvot, and the tzaddikim - our spiritual Iron Dome - and comfort will come only from the Holy One, blessed be He, Himself: "I, even I, am He Who comforts you."