Chapter 1 of Megillat Eicha is a lamentation over the city sitting solitary, over the Shechinah that went into exile, and over the people who departed from their land. In this lesson, we will delve into one central verse in the chapter - verse 3 - which contains several profound foundations: What is the meaning of the expression "bein hametzarim" (between the straits)? Why were the enemies able to overcome us specifically at this time and in this place? What is the root of the nations' hatred toward Israel, and what was the true cause of the spiritual decline of the Jewish people?
גָּלְתָה יְהוּדָה מֵעֹנִי וּמֵרֹב עֲבֹדָה, הִיא יָשְׁבָה בַגּוֹיִם לֹא מָצְאָה מָנוֹחַ, כׇּל רֹדְפֶיהָ הִשִּׂיגוּהָ בֵּין הַמְּצָרִים. - Judah has gone into exile because of affliction and harsh servitude; she dwelt among the nations and found no rest; all her pursuers overtook her between the straits.
The phrase "bein hametzarim" is familiar to all of us as the name of the period between the Seventeenth of Tammuz and Tisha B'Av, but one must know that this is a borrowed term. Its ultimate origin is in our verse. Only because the Seventeenth of Tammuz was a day of distress for Israel, and Tisha B'Av was a day of distress for Israel, do we define the days between them as "the days of Bein HaMetzarim" (between the straits).
What does Scripture come to teach us with "all her pursuers overtook her between the straits"? Come and see: even when the Jewish people sinned, and even when they needed to be chastised, the Holy One, Blessed be He, does not immediately bring suffering. When were the enemies able to harm us? Only during a time ripe for calamity. Had it not been a time susceptible to misfortune, even then the enemies would not have been able to prevail against us. This is how the Lechem Dimah explains: the enemies succeeded in trapping us at an unfavorable time, during the period of bein hametzarim, which from time immemorial has been an inauspicious time for the Jewish people - and this was our snare. Had it been at any other time, they would not have been capable of harming us at all.
The Holy Ari states something similar regarding the disciples of Rabbi Akiva. It is recorded that the disciples of Rabbi Akiva died between Pesach and Shavuot, and there are opinions that this did not occur in a single year, but over the course of several years - yet always specifically between Pesach and Shavuot. What is the reason for this? The Ari explains: Do not be mistaken. Although our mourning is indeed over the disciples of Rabbi Akiva, the days themselves are days of strict judgment inherently. This is why the kabbalists do not take haircuts until Shavuot, regardless of the disciples of Rabbi Akiva, since these are inherently days of judgment. And that is why the attribute of judgment struck the disciples: the time was ripe for it, the attribute of judgment was taut, and when judgment is drawn taut, even a slight deviation has room to take effect.
So too here: "all her pursuers overtook her" - why? Because the time was a period of judgment. It is written that between the Seventeenth of Tammuz and Tisha B'Av, a person should not walk alone; it is a time when the demon Ketev Meriri holds sway, a period of harsh judgments. The enemies exploited the momentum and managed to trap us at a time most vulnerable for harm to befall the Jewish people.
The Allon Bachut offers another explanation: "between the straits" (bein hametzarim) means between the borders. All other lands are placed under the dominion of the constellations, whereas the Land of Israel is the only land of which it is said, "A land upon which the eyes of the Lord your God are always, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year," and "a land that the Lord your God cares for." When the enemy tried to capture us inside the Land of Israel, it was difficult for him. He began to pursue, and when we reached the borders of the land, he laid a hand upon us. Why? Because we were departing the Holy Land. It is the very same principle: how was the enemy able to overcome us? Because he caught us at an unfavorable time, and because he caught us in an unfavorable place. In foreign lands, as it were, the Holy One, Blessed be He, turns His eyes away from us, and there - between the borders, at the boundary regions - the enemy was able to overcome us.
The author of Chelev U'Devash finds in this verse an allusion to the bleak reality of the Jewish people in exile. As discussed previously: nothing will help; whatever a Jew does, the gentile will always have complaints against him. It is futile to invest energy in trying to curry favor with the nations, because no matter what we do, we will always come out bad, we will always be blamed, and we will always serve as the punching bag for the entire world. And so it has always been: if the Jew is wealthy, they say he is trying to take over the country's economy; if he is poor, they say he is a parasite living off the state. If he is a pacifist, he is unpatriotic and unwilling to fight; and if he advocates fighting, he is a warmonger stirring up battles. If he integrates, he is trying to dominate; and if he isolates himself, he is aloof and arrogant. In every case, the Jew is at fault.
Regarding this, the author of Chelev U'Devash explains: "Judah was exiled from poverty" - at times, Jews are exiled because of poverty: they are poor, they are parasites, they do not support themselves, and society cannot sustain them over time. The gentile lives with the feeling that he is supporting us - even though in truth, if a few kollels were to close, the country would collapse. And the verse immediately continues: "And from much labor" - which is the exact opposite: someone who has wealth and never stops working. At other times, Jews are exiled because of excessive work: Jews occupy all the senior positions, taking over key posts, straight out of the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion." They have seized all the jobs. This teaches you that no matter what you do, under any circumstance, the gentile will search for some pretext to hate the Jewish people.
Accordingly, the author of Matteh Yehudah explains: in every generation, there were Jews who argued that the barrier and separation between us and the nations stem from our being different from them - in mitzvah observance, dress, language, and customs. Herzl - "may his merit protect us" - claimed that if we become like the Christians, the Jewish problem would be solved. He planned a mass conversion in church to the ringing of bells, with a detailed blueprint for how to eliminate the Jewish people pleasantly. So envisioned the visionary of the state, but by Hashem's kindness, "He who sits in Heaven laughs, the Lord mocks them," and ultimately the Jewish people live and endure despite them all. There were always those among us who sought to "help" the Jews by saying, "Let us be like the gentiles," believing that the gentile only hates us because we are separated, different, and distant, and that salvation would blossom from this.
And what does the Holy One, blessed is He, do? The Brisker Rav once said: when a Jew does not make Kiddush on Friday night because he wants to assimilate with the gentile, the gentile will make Havdalah for him. He will remind him three and four generations back that he had a Jewish grandmother, and that his grandmother's mother was Jewish. If you did not know how to maintain the boundary, the gentile will make the separation (havdalah), and he will ultimately distinguish between us and the nations.
And so we find: "And they encamped in Rephidim" - Chazal explain, the moment their hands slackened (rafu yedeihem) from the Torah, immediately "Amalek came." When the gentile strikes, when the gentile persecutes, it is always directly tied to spiritual slackness among the Jewish people. It is not that through slackness we will become like the gentile and he will leave us alone; rather, it is the exact opposite: through slackness the gentile will pursue you, for when the voice is not the voice of Jacob, the hands are the hands of Esau. Esau arrives and strikes, reminding us that we have a mission to fulfill, and our role is never to assimilate with the gentiles.
This is alluded to in the continuation of the verse. Jerusalem symbolizes the Jewish people: "She dwelt among the nations" - she thought that if she lived among the nations and became like them, she would find tranquility and they would not pursue her: "I am just like him; I dress like you, eat like you, spend my leisure time like you, I am just like the gentiles." And what did this bring about? "She found no rest," and on the contrary - "All her pursuers overtook her between the straits [bein hametzarim]." The Holy One, blessed is He, created a partition, a boundary [meitzar], and established borders: up to here is the Jewish people, and beyond here are the nations. He created a reality in which a Jew is forbidden to become close to the gentile, and if he draws near, the gentile kicks him, strikes him, and drives him away. Where did the pursuers overtake her? "Between the boundaries" - at the very point where you crossed the boundary.
And so we find in Egypt. When did the Egyptians begin to persecute the Jews? "And the land was filled with them" - Chazal explain that the theaters and circuses were filled with them. The gentile goes to the theater or circus and suddenly sees that everything is filled with Jews - with their sidelocks, their beards, and their hats. For Chazal say that they did not change their clothing; even in a streimel he went to the theater and to the stadium. And they became like thorns in his eyes: "What are these people doing here? Go to the Beit Midrash, go study!" Immediately they began to persecute them. When a Jew does not know how to maintain the partition, when he crosses the boundaries without realizing this is a border that must never be crossed - right there, "all her pursuers overtook her"; that is where the gentile begins to pursue. Why? "For she dwelt among the nations" - because she wanted to dwell among them and be like them. Assimilating with the nations will never bring us peace from them; rather, it will only cause the gentile to persecute us even more.
In Matteh Yehudah, it is explained that the author of Eichah is describing here the causes of the decline and spiritual descent of the Jewish people. The burdens of livelihood are what ultimately leave a person with no time to engage in Torah study, no time to pray properly, no time to learn with his child, and no time to invest in spirituality. A person constantly chases comfort and financial advancement - "from much labor." He always has too much work: "Are you coming to the shiur?" "No, I have work." "Are you coming here?" "No, they are calling me from work." "What is this service to you?" - he is continually immersed in work, all to set himself up better in the material life of this world.
"Judah went into exile" - this brings a person to exile. "Because of poverty" - from what kind of poverty? A poverty of Torah. The people of Judah were impoverished in Torah because they did not recite the blessing over the Torah first, meaning it was not precious in their eyes. And what caused this condition? Regarding this, the verse says: "Because of great labor" - they were constantly preoccupied with work and making a living.
And should you ask: what were they lacking so terribly that they had to be busy with work all the time? After all, a person works four, five, six, seven, or eight hours, and afterward can go to the Beit Midrash and learn - what kind of "great labor" is this? To this, the prophet answers: "She dwelt among the nations." He considered himself a permanent resident in this world - just like the nations, who view this world as a permanent dwelling, and consequently all his investment is here. "She dwelt among the nations" and therefore "found no rest": a person who invests in spirituality works a bit for his livelihood, and then rests from his work and sits down to learn. But because she dwelt among the nations and became part of them, she adopted the ways of the nations; he always has more work, toiling from dawn until his soul departs, leaving no time whatsoever for spirituality.
And if he finally does arrive at a shiur at eight in the evening, he connects almost immediately to the higher spiritual sources and learns Torah - a dream-like shiur, right from the start he is in seventh heaven. There was once someone who would come to the shiur and sleep through it from beginning to end. The rabbi asked him: What is the point of your coming to the shiur if you sleep the entire time? He replied: I have a morning shiur where I am wide awake, but at five in the morning my son does not see me. In the afternoon, when I return from work, he does not see me learning, and he thinks that Dad has nothing in life but work. Therefore, when he sees me heading out to a shiur in the evening, it is to teach him that Dad goes to learn Torah, Dad goes to a shiur. I apologize for sleeping through the entire shiur, but know that this shiur is meant more for educating my son than for the actual study itself. Fortunate is the person who attends a shiur with such self-sacrifice merely for the education of his children! In any case, we must realize that man's primary purpose is to invest his time in the labor of Torah. Work is certainly necessary, a person certainly must earn a living - but he should not immerse himself in it like the nations, without a single moment of rest, for then "Judah went into exile because of poverty," Judah goes into exile from a poverty of Torah; there is no Torah within him, because all his time is invested entirely in physical pursuits.
We have previously cited a wonderful explanation in the name of the Maggid of Mezritch: "All her pursuers overtook her between the straits" [kol rodefeha hisiguha bein ha-meitzarim] - every pursuer of God [kol rodef Y-H] attains Him [hisigu-H] during the Three Weeks [bein ha-meitzarim]. The meaning is that during the Three Weeks, one merits attaining closeness to the Divine. For then the Shechinah is in exile, like a king walking among the people at a certain time of year, when there is an opportunity to speak with him and reach him. When the Shechinah is in exile, that is precisely the time when one can attain closeness to the Holy One, blessed be He - specifically during Bein HaMeitzarim.
Similarly, we explained in the past: "All who pursue Y-H attain V-H." This reflects the dimension of the Shechinah in exile, and this is the time when one can bring about the redemption. For "The hand is upon the throne of Y-H: the Lord has war with Amalek" - the letters Vav and Hei are missing from the Divine Name, and the Throne is incomplete, as long as Amalek exists. Now is the time to pray for the redemption, and then "all who pursue Y-H attain V-H" - "they overtook her between the straits" [hisiguha bein ha-meitzarim], this is the time when one can attain the Divine.
Rav Naftali of Ropshitz would interpret the verse in another way. When a person's life runs smoothly, he has nachas, he is not afflicted by suffering, and he has no financial struggles - it is easy for him to be a person of faith. Like that individual described by the Chazon Ish, whose mouth and throat overflow with exalted talk of trust and faith, because everything is good and flowing: there is no need to work too hard, just work a little and the Holy One, blessed be He, sends a livelihood. When everything goes well, talk is easy. But when a small test begins, when a competitor suddenly opens a shop across from him, conspires with his associates, and tries to bring him down, break him, and fight him - then everything becomes clear. Speaking of faith and trust when the paycheck arrives on time is very simple; but when there are hardships and challenges, to believe and trust that Hashem will turn the situation around for the good, to know that everything comes from Him, blessed be He, and to trust in Him during suffering and trouble - that is far more difficult. Then it is easy for the evil inclination to cause the person to stumble, even into monetary sins, for "Men do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy his soul when he is hungry"; through this, he allows himself to cut corners and take from here and there unjustly and dishonestly. Then it becomes evident that his previous trust was merely a virtual trust with no real foundation, and that in a time of trial, God is far from his heart and he is very far from the trait of trust. When can we truly know that a person trusts in Hashem and is a man of faith? When there is a trial and he confronts it - only then can his true stature be recognized.
According to this, he explains: "All her pursuers overtook her" - our pursuers do not know whom they are dealing with; they do not know who the Jewish people truly are. And when do they comprehend who they are? "Between the straits" - when Am Yisrael is in distress, when Am Yisrael is in dire straits. "Hisiguha" [they overtook / grasped her] - they grasp the greatness and the high spiritual level of the Congregation of Israel precisely when she is in the straits.
And we see this with our own eyes - may Hashem bring no more troubles upon the Jewish people - that precisely when Am Yisrael is in the straits, precisely when there are wars and hardships, that is when the care, loyalty, mutual responsibility, help, and support are revealed. A lone soldier was killed during Operation Protective Edge, and people were asked to attend his funeral in Haifa - and thirty thousand people showed up. Thirty thousand people for whom? For someone whom nobody knew, had ever seen, heard of, or met. "All her pursuers overtook her" - they grasp the greatness of the Jewish people precisely between the straits. When we are in the straits and in distress, precisely then the Jewish people are revealed in all their splendor and beauty.
And this is the great difference between Israel and the nations. A gentile, when he experiences hardship and struggle - he kicks. In the language of the Gemara: he leaves the sukkah and kicks it, declaring, "I want neither Him nor His God." That is the gentile. But the Jewish people, specifically in times of hardship and struggle, reveal inner strength and spiritual fortitude inherited from the holy Avot, which influence us and elevate us to great heights.
In a single pasuk - "Judah has gone into exile from poverty and from great servitude; she dwelled among the nations, she found no rest; all her pursuers overtook her between the straits" - many fundamental principles are contained. The enemy can prevail against us only at a time of Din and in a place outside the borders of the Holy Land. The hatred of the nations does not depend on circumstance: in poverty or in wealth, in integration or in separation - the Jew will always be found guilty, and assimilating to the nations not only fails to bring peace, but actively invites persecution. The root of the decline is immersion in "great servitude" stemming from dwelling "among the nations," living with a sense of permanence in this world, which leads to a poverty of Torah. And on the other hand: "All who pursue Hashem will attain Him between the straits" - specifically when the Shechinah is in exile, it is possible to attain closeness to Godliness and pray for redemption, and specifically in distress, the true greatness of the Jewish people is revealed - faith that withstands trial, and the unity and mutual responsibility that emerge in times of trouble.