In chapter 1 of Megillat Eicha, the lamenter depicts the condition of Jerusalem after the Destruction, bringing us to verse 5 - a verse that is actually the source for the well-known principle: "Whoever distresses Israel becomes a leader." We will examine the verse according to its plain meaning (peshat), according to the Targum, and according to a series of commentaries, and through this understand why specifically the one who persecutes Israel is elevated and becomes the head.
הָיוּ צָרֶיהָ לְרֹאשׁ אֹיְבֶיהָ שָׁלוּ כִּי יְהֹוָה הוֹגָהּ עַל רֹב פְּשָׁעֶיהָ עוֹלָלֶיהָ הָלְכוּ שְׁבִי לִפְנֵי צָר׃ - Her adversaries have become the head, her enemies are at ease; for the Lord has afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions; her young children have gone into captivity before the adversary.
The Targum explains: "Her adversaries have become the head" - those who distressed her are the ones appointed as rulers. "Her enemies are at ease (shalu)" - her enemies dwell in tranquility, as in the verse, "all treacherous dealers live at ease." And why? "For the Lord has afflicted her (hogah) for the multitude of her transgressions" - the Holy One, blessed be He, broke her, for hogah denotes breaking; He broke her on account of the multitude of her transgressions. Consequently, the foes sit in peace, while the people of Israel are the ones who suffer, are exiled, and are beaten; and specifically those who oppress us have become heads. There is also another explanation of hogah - from the root of sorrow (yagon) and grief (tugah), that the Holy One, blessed be He, as it were, grieved her for the multitude of her transgressions. We will return to this later.
The Rashash explains that shalu is an expression of an unintentional error (shegagah), as stated regarding the breach of Uzzah: "And He struck him there for the error (al ha-shal)" - for the error of reaching out to touch the Ark when he thought it was about to fall after the oxen stumbled. According to this, "her enemies shalu" means that the enemies erred. What was their error? They thought: we triumphed because we are great, we are giants, we are mighty warriors. But this is a mistake. "Her enemies erred" - do you know why you won? "For the Lord has afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions." You triumphed because the Holy One, blessed be He, is punishing us for our own transgressions, not because you are so formidable. Yet the enemies mistakenly believed that their victory stemmed from their own greatness and might.
The author of Yayin HaRoke'ach explains that shalu comes from the concept of hauling or catching (sheliah), like one who hauls fish from the sea. "Her enemies shalu" - they hunted us down just as fishermen haul in fish.
The Torat Chesed clarifies the insight of the verse: our enemies were always embroiled in internal conflicts among themselves, yet here they appointed a single leader over themselves and made peace with one another. As is well known, a common enemy draws rivals together, since they now share an adversary to oppose jointly. Thus the Midrash recounts that several kings formed a coalition to march and wage war against Jerusalem. This is the meaning of "her adversaries have become the head" - and why? "Her enemies are at ease": the enemies enjoyed tranquility and had no other distractions, so they came to torment Israel.
And this is something we witness with our own eyes: as long as Iraq was preoccupied with Iran and Iran with Iraq, we had quiet. Millions killed one another, clashing and fighting amongst themselves, leaving us alone. Once the war ended, one moved to build a nuclear reactor against us; and after America finished him off, Iran awoke. Why? Shalu - they have peace, they have leisure, and they turn their attention to dealing with the Jewish people.
This is also what we recite in the Kinnot: "I remember, O God, and I moan, when I see every city built upon its mound, while the city of God is degraded to the lowest depths." What is the connection? Because every city is securely built upon its mound, free of troubles, free of turmoil, and with no one else to fight, it naturally meddles with us and attempts to resolve the problems of the Middle East. It is far better for us when they have their own domestic troubles and leave us alone. But the moment "her enemies are at ease," when they enjoy tranquility, they turn their energies to distressing us, uniting with one another to come and fight against the Jewish people - and then "the city of God is degraded to the lowest depths."
The Ksav Sofer explains: "Her adversaries have become the head" - anyone coming to fight against the Jewish people wanted to be the head: "I will be the general, I will stand at the front." This was the exact opposite of what was customary in ancient times. Back then, no one wanted to be the head, because they knew: if you are the leader and you go out to battle, you are dealt with first, retribution is exacted from you first. See what Yehoshua did to the kings of Canaan, torturing them, and likewise to the five kings who hid in the cave at Makkedah. No one wanted to be the head, because they took into account that if we fall here, I will take the first blow.
Here, however, the situation of the Jewish people was so dire that the enemies saw they had nothing to fear, and therefore everyone wanted to be the head. When the opponent possesses even a bit of strength, you are afraid to lead lest you take a beating; but when he is so weak that he cannot do a thing to you, you are completely at ease and eager to take the lead, for it brings only honor and success without any chance of paying a price. This reflects our terrible state - "for Hashem has afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions": because of the multitude of our sins we sank to such a low point that everyone wanted to be the head in fighting against us.
This verse is the foundation for the well-known principle: whoever oppresses Israel becomes the head. And interestingly, this applies not only to enemies of Israel from without, but also toward the most core, faithful part of the Jewish people, and it is the exact same dynamic. In the past, at a party convention, one public figure raised the banner of drafting yeshivah students and was chosen as number one at the convention. The same thing happened with the "civil revolution": most of the public is not left-wing, so why did they vote for a left-wing party? Because a "civil revolution" was promised - we will break free of the religious, we will break free of the Charedim, "bypassing the Charedim." And thus he became the head. It did not last long, but he became the head. And once again, that same banner of animosity: there are Charedim here, we must draft them, we must force them into the workforce - and nineteen Knesset seats followed. Whoever oppresses Israel becomes the head.
The same is true among the nations of the world. Which nation suddenly becomes influential and renowned among the Arabs? Whichever one declares jihad against the Jews. Ahmadinejad suddenly became an object of admiration because he was the only one speaking about the destruction of the Zionist entity. Whoever oppresses Israel becomes the head; everyone admires him, and he becomes the leader over all of them.
And what is the real reason that whoever oppresses Israel becomes the head? Many explanations have been offered for this, all of them true and correct. One reason: when the Holy One, Blessed is He, delivers us into the hand of a lowly nation, it is a tremendous disgrace. But if He delivers us into the hand of an important nation, then if one must lose, at least let it be to an important power. Losing to an insignificant and base entity is the greatest possible humiliation.
We find a parallel to this with Avimelech the brother of Yosam, who killed his seventy brothers upon a single stone and went to fight against the men of Shechem - the context of the Parable of the Bramble. When an upper millstone was thrown upon him from atop the wall, he told his armor-bearer to kill him, so that people would not say a woman killed him. We see that they cared deeply not to fall in disgrace: if you are killed, at least let it be at the hands of someone formidable. It is like saying that some ephemeral militia in Lebanon managed to strike us - a great humiliation; but if they say a major country, a world superpower, managed to strike us - well, at least it was a superpower.
Therefore, when the Holy One, Blessed is He, wants to deliver the Jewish people, He preserves their dignity: if you fall, let it at least be into the hand of a "head" - someone who is a leader and not someone who is merely a tail - so that people do not say that the Holy One, Blessed is He, handed His children over to a base nation. We thus find that He brought Nevuchadnetzar against us, who first conquered the entire world and only then came against us. Falling into the hand of Nevuchadnetzar carries no disgrace; but falling into the hand of a nation whose very name no one recognizes is truly a profound humiliation.
An additional reason: "He makes nations great, and destroys them" (Iyov 12:23). When the Holy One, Blessed is He, wants to bring down an oppressor, from where does He cast him down? If you drop him from the second floor, the crash does not make much of an impact. Instead, He raises him to the top of the Azrieli Towers and hurls him from the heights, and then the crash resonates far and wide. Therefore, "He makes nations great" - He raises him higher and higher, so that the downfall is shattering. "After these things, King Achashverosh promoted Haman the son of Hammedatha the Agagite" - to bring him down properly, he first had to be great. So whenever someone oppresses Israel and Hashem wishes to exact retribution from him, what does He do? He makes him the head, and then exacts retribution from him. And when he is great and is punished, everyone knows and recognizes why he was punished.
What is the difference between the first reason - that we should not be delivered into the hand of a lowly nation, and the second reason - in order to exact retribution from the nation when it is great? The difference lies in the question of the root cause of the calamity: did the calamity come as a decree because of our sins, or did it stem from the enemy's own choice to torment us?
And how do we know? By the outcome. Look at the end of the matter. If you see the nation suffering agony afterward, this is a sign of "He makes nations great, and destroys them" (Iyov 12:23) - after all, Haman was hanged. We did not suffer because of our sins, but because he sought to distress us, and the Holy One, blessed be He, elevated him so that his downfall would be great. But if it is because of our sins, there is no purpose in bringing him down afterward, since the entire intent was for us to pay a price. In that case, the Holy One, blessed be He, grants us an alleviation - that we pay the price without utter humiliation, receiving the blow from a king rather than from someone lowly.
"Her adversaries have become the head" - and I ask myself why. That the enemy became the head could stem from two reasons: either because Hashem wants to destroy him, in which case it is not connected to our sins; or because we sinned, and the Holy One, blessed be He, sweetens the pill for us so that at least we receive the punishment through a king and not through a lowly person. And I do not know which it is. To this the author of the lament continues: "her enemies are at ease" - for the test is what happens to the enemy afterward. If the enemy ultimately suffers his downfall, it is a sign that his elevation occurred because he sought to distress us, and Hashem wanted his fall to be great. But if you see that "her enemies are at ease", that they sit in peace, it is a sign that all the suffering we endure is due to our sins. Why, then, were we punished? "For Hashem has afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions" - this is clear proof that grief came upon us because of our many sins. Because of the multitude of our transgressions, Hashem made the enemy great, so that at least we would not receive the pill in all its bitterness, but rather at the hands of a king; and there is no retribution to exact from him, for this king was ultimately executing Hashem's decree. Therefore, "her enemies are at ease."
The sefer Alon Bachut explains why anyone who oppresses Israel becomes a leader: because the Holy One, blessed be He, is destined to exact punishment from him, and it is not fitting for the Creator's honor to deal with petty figures. It is far more honorable for the Creator to contend with Nevuchadnetzar, with Pharaoh, with a mighty king; but to deal with someone holed up in a cave in the Tora Bora mountains, among vermin and crawling creatures - that is beneath His dignity. Therefore, He first elevates him. This is comparable to a wrestler in the ring who sees a tiny opponent tickling his leg and announcing that he has come to wrestle him. What does he do? He says to him: "Come, let me stand you on a ladder. Now you are face to face with me - and now take the hit." He elevates him so that it will not be an embarrassment regarding whom he fought. This is another explanation for "Her adversaries have become the head."
And there is another explanation. In Eretz Yisrael, we are sustained directly by Hashem, may He be blessed, as it is stated: "A land that the eyes of Hashem your God are always upon, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year" (Devarim 11:12). But among the nations, we are sustained through the heavenly minister of that nation, for the nations do not receive directly from Hashem. It turns out that in the Diaspora, the Holy One, blessed be He, channels bounty to us through the minister of that country. Because of this, he becomes the head: since Hashem wants to bestow abundant blessing upon us, He elevates that ruler, so that when he has abundant bounty, we can be sustained from the overflow - from the remnants. And this is the meaning of "Her adversaries have become the head": he becomes the conduit through which bounty descends, and he is therefore made great so that through this conduit, sustenance can flow to the people of Israel.
The Narboni cites another reason: the gentile executes Hashem's decree, as it is stated: "I was only a little angry, but they helped for evil" (Zechariah 1:15). And in order for him to be able to execute the decree to the fullest - since once the destroyer is given permission to destroy, he does not distinguish between righteous and wicked - therefore "Her adversaries have become the head." When he becomes the head, he possesses the power to execute the decree. An enemy who is not a ruler has no power to carry it out. And since Hashem willed that the decree be carried out, "for Hashem has afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions," He placed power into his hands.
There is a magnificent explanation offered by the holy Ohr HaChaim. First, an introduction: The Ohr HaChaim's view is that an agent of free will has the power to harm even someone against whom such harm was not decreed from Above. This was discussed at length in the lessons on the Book of Iyov - there is a major dispute among the Rishonim and Acharonim over whether an agent of free choice has the power to harm someone when it was not decreed upon him. Animals certainly cannot harm a person unless it was decreed upon him, but regarding a human being possessing free will, the question is whether, through his free choice, he can decide to murder someone even if it was not decreed upon that person. The Ohr HaChaim's position is famous: an agent of free will can indeed cause harm even to someone against whom harm was not decreed, and this is an integral part of free will. Just as you have the free choice whether to desecrate Shabbat or not, so too it is in your hands whether a certain person will live or die.
According to this, he explains Reuven's words: "Do not shed blood," "cast him into this pit." What did this achieve - is there any difference between killing him directly by hand or through the snakes and scorpions in the pit? Some say he did not know there were snakes and scorpions there because they were hidden, while others say he did know. What was his intention? He reasoned: If we kill him ourselves, there is a concern that we might harm an innocent person, for an agent of free will can kill even someone who does not deserve death. But if I cast him to the snakes and scorpions, I have entrusted his judgment into the hands of Hashem, and snakes and scorpions do not harm anyone who does not deserve it. Therefore, he wanted to remove him from the hands of an agent of free will.
Furthermore, we have another established rule: A person who is a king or an important minister does not possess free will, as it is written, "The heart of kings and ministers is in the hand of Hashem." Free will is withheld from him, for if he possessed free will, he could destroy the entire world. Let no one mistakenly think that these leaders have free will - they are entirely in the hand of Hashem, as is every king and minister.
From this, says the Ohr HaChaim: If there is someone who oppresses the Jewish people, it is exceptionally dangerous, for he could even wipe us out, since he possesses free will, and someone who possesses free will can do things that are, as it were, contrary to Hashem's decree. What does the Holy One, Blessed is He, do? He makes him a leader, a minister, or a king, and then - in his golden words - "the dog's chain is in the hands of its master." When someone seeks to oppress us, the way to put a leash on him and restrain him is to elevate him to leadership, for the hearts of kings and ministers are in the hand of Hashem, and he no longer has free will. Thus, on the contrary, the fact that "her adversaries have become the head" is for our benefit: by becoming the head, their free choice is taken away from them, and they cannot harm us by a single gram more than what has been decreed, because their heart is in the hand of Hashem according to the decree of the Creator of the world.
The Lechem Dim'ah distinguishes between "adversaries" (tzarim) and "enemies" (oyevim), and the Malbim explains similarly: A tzar is an active oppressor who inflicts actual distress, whereas an oyev is one who merely harbors enmity in his heart. The verse comes to teach that the measure of greatness they attained corresponded directly to the measure of distress they inflicted upon us. Those who did not inflict distress but merely kept their hatred concealed in their hearts did not reach a high status, while those who inflicted actual suffering rose to great prominence. This is the meaning of "Her adversaries have become the head" - those who actively oppressed us became leaders, whereas "her enemies are at ease" - those who merely hated us in their hearts enjoyed tranquility, but did not attain the rank of leadership.
A single verse, "Her adversaries have become the head, her enemies are at ease," became the source for the principle: "Whoever oppresses Israel becomes the head." From the Targum, we learned the plain meaning: those who oppress us were appointed to leadership and the enemies sit in tranquility, while we were broken because of the multitude of our transgressions. The commentators added: The enemy mistakenly thinks that his own strength brought him victory; the tranquility of the enemies frees them to unite and wage war against us; and our downtrodden state is what motivates everyone to want to become the head. Many reasons were given for this phenomenon: that we should not be delivered into the hands of a degraded nation; "He misleads nations and destroys them" - so that their eventual downfall will be all the greater; that it is not fitting for the Creator's honor to deal with petty rulers; that the head becomes the conduit through which divine bounty flows to Israel in exile; that only someone in high authority has the power to carry out the decree; and the wonderful insight of the Ohr HaChaim - that once a person becomes a ruler, his free will is taken away, "the dog's chain is in the hands of its master," and he cannot cause an iota more harm than what was decreed. The diagnostic test remains in our hands: if the enemy sits in tranquility, it is a sign that everything that has befallen us occurred "for Hashem has afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions," and rectifying the situation depends entirely upon us.