Introduction: A Single Verse Full of Insight
The second chapter of Megillat Eicha opens with a lament over the troubles that befell the Jewish people, over the cup of poison they drained to the dregs. This time, we will focus primarily on a few words in the first verse - "He cast down from heaven to earth the beauty of Israel" - and see how, from these few words, several gateways of interpretation and ethical guidance open before us.
אֵיכָה יָעִיב בְּאַפּוֹ אֲדֹנָי אֶת־בַּת־צִיּוֹן, הִשְׁלִיךְ מִשָּׁמַיִם אֶרֶץ תִּפְאֶרֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְלֹא־זָכַר הֲדֹם־רַגְלָיו בְּיוֹם אַפּוֹ׃ - How has the Lord in His anger clouded the daughter of Zion; He has cast down from heaven to earth the beauty of Israel, and did not remember His footstool on the day of His anger.
"Return, O Israel" - Restoring the Radiant Image
The verse states, "Return, O Israel, to Hashem your God" (Hoshea 14:2), and we must clarify what this means. It is written that at the time of the Destruction, the Holy One, blessed be He, burned with anger against the people of Israel because of their sins, and removed, as it were, the radiant image (ikonin) of Yaakov Avinu from the Throne of Glory. "Ikonin" means a face, a likeness, an image (and this, by the way, is the origin of the word "icon" used today). The image of Yaakov Avinu, which was engraved upon the Throne of Glory, was removed from there.
And when we return in profound repentance - teshuvah that reaches all the way to the Throne of Glory - after all, teshuvah comes from the root of "hashavah," returning or restoring: we restore the radiant image of Yaakov to its place. This is what the verse means by "Shuvah Yisrael" - restore Israel. And who is Israel? Yaakov, Yisrael Saba. When we do teshuvah, we return the radiant image of Yisrael Saba back to the Throne of Glory through the power of repentance. This is how Rabbi Baruch Frenkel-Teomim, author of the *Baruch Ta'am*, explained it.
According to this, he explains, our verse is illuminated: "He cast down from heaven to earth the beauty of Israel." Why is it incumbent upon us to "Return, O Israel, to Hashem your God"? Because through our deeds, we caused the beauty of Israel - the radiant image of Yisrael Saba - to be cast down from heaven to earth, thrown down from the Throne of Glory to the ground. Our duty now is to restore it, and when we return, this ascent reaches "to Hashem your God," all the way to the Throne of Glory.
Two Types of Punishment: The Disciplined Son in the Palace and the Banished Son
The Malbim explains a major principle here by way of a parable. A king had two sons who sinned: with one, he did not despair, keeping him in the palace in order to educate and discipline him, whereas the second son he banished from his presence, distancing and exiling him. The banished son departs rejoicing: "How foolish is my brother who stayed in the palace - what beatings he receives, his cries still ring in my ears, what suffering, they restrict his food and give him nothing! While I, thank God, am free and happy."
But it is a mistake and foolishness to think this way. On the contrary: your brother - the king has not given up on him, he has hope for him, which is why he remains in the palace: "I will educate and discipline him, and he will return to the proper path." But with you - there is no longer any hope: "Go away from here, no one wants to see you." In the immediate term, it seemingly appears better for the banished son than for the son who remains in the palace, but in broader perspective, everyone knows it is far better to be a disciplined son in the palace than a banished son who has been stripped of all royal standing.
Thus, says the Malbim, there are two types of punishment: There is a punishment that occurs within divine providence - it can be very severe, but it is accompanied by divine providence. And there is a punishment that is not providential at all, but rather "I am removing My providence from you." Why, in perspective, is the second punishment worse? Imagine that both sons fell gravely ill and were in mortal danger. Whom will the king save? The one in the palace. But to the other he will say: "You are out there somewhere, who knows you and who cares, I am not keeping track of you; you left - manage on your own."
When Cast into Nature - Speak to Nature
To be severed from Hashem's providence is a terrible thing, because then you are delivered into the hands of chance harms: a lion might encounter you, the hazards of nature might strike you - you have been cast into nature, left to fend for yourself. In contrast, when we are under the umbrella of the Master of the World, even if the strict judgment is severe, at least we know that we are under constant watch.
Therefore, when the people of Israel begin to rebel against Hashem's word, in the first stage the Holy One, blessed be He, administers punishments through direct providence. He is still with us, watching over us and meting out punishment. An example of this: the forty years in the wilderness. Were those easy years? Certainly not. "And the fire of Hashem burned among them," plagues, Aharon standing between the dead and the living, deaths and casualties by the tens of thousands. Ultimately, everyone died in the wilderness, and only the children entered the Land. To be watched over by Hashem is not simple at all - a slight deviation and immediately there is a blow to the head - but one is still under Hashem's hand; one remains with the Master of the World, and everything is directed by providence.
In contrast, when one leaves Hashem, it is possible that in the immediate term no harm will befall him, because he is under the laws of nature. But if a situation arises where things go badly - do not expect anyone to look out for you. What does this mean in practical terms? The Malbim explains: it may very well be raining right now. Why is it raining? Because according to the synoptic weather map, rain is expected. You are under nature; there is nature, so there is rain. But what happens if, according to the weather map and the cloud gazers, there is no rain for three or five years? Drought. And one could offer a thousand and one learned explanations about the ozone layer, melting glaciers, and ice shelves detaching from Antarctica - but what of it? Naturally speaking, there is no rain, nothing can help, and everyone could perish.
This is what Eliyahu was telling them: You have deteriorated so severely that Hashem has cast you under the rule of nature. And you say, "Look, it is raining!" But you do not realize that the rain is falling only because nature dictates rain right now; and if nature dictates a disaster and calamity for you, we will hear you scream, yet nothing will help, because you have been cast under nature, and you must fend for yourself against nature. Hashem's close guidance, though exceptionally demanding, is always preferable, because there is Someone watching over me in times of disaster and distress.
"A Psalm of David, when he fled from Avshalom his son"
In this way, the Malbim explains King David's psalm as well. David was in distress, and one might ask: If the affliction were natural - woe to us, for it would mean I have been abandoned to nature, as though banished from the royal palace, stripped of providence. That is terrifying. But when an unnatural event occurs, what does it indicate? That Someone brought it about. Do you not sense that Someone dug a pit here specifically for you? Do you not see how the pit was carved out, marked, and meticulously planned? When Someone digs a pit for me, it is a sign that Someone is ensuring I fall into it. Falling is unpleasant, yet I remain under providence; I have not been cast aside.
It is over this that David sings praise: Where have you ever heard of a son rising up to kill his father? Where have you ever heard of a son violating his father's concubines? The entire situation defies the natural order and makes no sense at all, which shows that Someone planned it and dug this pit for me. Baruch Hashem - "A Psalm of David" - I am under divine providence; the Holy One, blessed be He, is still directing my affairs, and the proof is that the punishment is unnatural. Had it been a natural punishment, I would have begun to worry: I have been cast off, I am under the umbrella of nature - go talk to nature; you believe in nature, talk to it. But as long as I see that I am under providence, precisely because it is "Avshalom his son," there is cause to sing.
Likened to the Stars and Likened to the Dust
The people of Israel are likened to the stars and likened to the dust. Chazal teach: This nation is compared to dust and compared to stars - when they decline, they sink to the dust, and when they ascend, they rise to the stars. This is an extreme contrast that defies all conventional logic. Other nations are usually somewhere in the middle, rising a bit and falling a bit. With the people of Israel, there is no middle ground: either like the stars or like dust. Does this not point to providence? Does this not prove that Someone orchestrated and initiated these events?
This is what the prophet means by "He cast down from heaven to earth the beauty of Israel": the very fact that we were at the highest peak (igra rama) and plummeted to a deep pit (bira amikta) - this is the "beauty of Israel." It is our glory, for it bears testimony like a thousand witnesses that we are in Hashem's hand and that the Holy One, blessed be He, is still guiding us. Had our rises and falls been minor, there would be no glory in it, since naturally every person and every nation experiences ups and downs - at times conquering, at other times conquered. But the Jewish people, who experience such an ascent and such a fall - this is their glory, for it proves Hashem's direct providence over us, being wholly unnatural and defying logic.
"Fortunate are you, Israel" - The Daughter of Nakdimon ben Gurion
The Gemara relates a well-known story that we have mentioned several times and will not dwell upon at length: Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai was riding on a donkey, leaving Jerusalem at the time of the Churban, with his disciples walking behind him. They saw a young woman gathering barley from beneath the dung of the animals of the Arabs. She wrapped herself in her hair and stood before him. She said to him, "Rabbi, sustain me." He asked her, "My daughter, who are you?" She replied, "I am the daughter of Nakdimon ben Gurion." He said to her, "Where is your father's wealth?" She answered, "The salt of wealth is lack [of charity]." He said to his disciples, "I remember signing her ketubah for a thousand thousand gold dinars - a million - aside from what her father-in-law gave, and now she is gathering barley from the dung of the animals of Arabs." Rabban Yochanan wept and said, "Fortunate are you, Israel! When you fulfill the will of the Omnipresent, no nation or kingdom can rule over you; but when you do not fulfill the will of the Omnipresent, He delivers you into the hands of a lowly nation - and not merely into the hands of a lowly nation, but into the hands of the beasts of a lowly nation."
We have already noted the tremendous difficulty: "Fortunate are you, Israel" - fortunate over this?! It is understandable when they ascend to the heights. But when they descend and are handed over to the beasts of a lowly nation, what praise is there in that? We once presented a full explanation of this based on the Brisker Rav, showing how Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai proved from here that the Jewish people are considered a distinct nation and a category unto themselves, but we will not delve into that now. According to our approach here, however, "Fortunate are you, Israel" means: if I see that when they ascend, they ascend to the heavens, and when they fall, they plunge into an unimaginable, indescribable descent - fortunate are you, Israel, for you are still under Divine providence! This is not a natural occurrence, and if it is not natural, it indicates Divine providence, meaning you are in good hands, still within the palace. And one who is still in the palace has hope, and will yet return to be royalty. If the fall had been small and natural, one might say, woe to us, perhaps we have already been cast out and are no longer in the palace. But "He cast down from heaven to earth" - the immense fall itself is the splendor of Israel, proving that we remain under Divine providence.
The Maharsha: Israel Has Neither Celestial Prince Nor Mazal
The Maharsha emphasizes that "Fortunate are you" applies to both states together: both when they do His will and ascend to the heights, and when they do not do His will and descend to the earth. He explains that both extremes actually reflect the greatness of Israel: every other nation has a celestial prince and a mazal (astrological constellation) in heaven, but the Jewish people - "For Hashem's portion is His people, Yaakov is the lot of His inheritance." Therefore, when they do His will, they are elevated above all nations and above all celestial princes; and when they do not do His will, they sink lower than all nations. After all, the nations at least have a celestial prince and a mazal, so even if Hashem casts them down, there is something to catch them and keep them floating above the water. We, however, have no celestial prince or mazal, only the Holy One, Blessed be He, Himself. Therefore, when we ascend, we ascend to the heavens, and when we fall, we plunge into a deep pit, with nothing to cushion or halt the fall.
Three Expressions of "Yisa" - Yalkut HaGershuni
In this context, the sefer Yalkut HaGershuni shares an intriguing insight. In the Tochachah (the Admonition), the verse states: "Hashem will bring (yisa) upon you a nation from afar." We find the expression "yisa" in two other places: "He shall receive (yisa) a blessing from Hashem," and "May Hashem lift up (yisa) His countenance toward you" - and all three are attributed directly to the Holy One, Blessed be He. The Yalkut HaGershuni explains: if you see that at one time, "Hashem will bring upon you a nation from afar," and at another time you ascend to heaven with "He shall receive a blessing from Hashem" - what is the sign behind this? "May Hashem lift up His countenance toward you," showing that you are still under Divine providence. For in a natural order, how could such polarity exist? Perforce, you are under the direct dominion of the One Who spoke and the world came into being. It follows that "He cast down from heaven to earth" is itself splendor, praise, and greatness for Israel, for it demonstrates a punishment that comes through direct Divine providence.
"I Am Black But Comely"
This is what is written in Shir HaShirim: "I am black but comely, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Shlomo." What is the meaning of "comely" (venavah)? I find favor and am lovely in the eyes of the Beloved. And how do we know she is beloved? From the very polarity itself: either "like the tents of Kedar," the blackened tents of the nomads, or "like the curtains of Shlomo," glistening in radiant whiteness. This extreme fluctuation proves that even when "I am black," I remain comely in the eyes of the Holy One, Blessed be He, and the punishment comes directly from Him. In truth, all of our blemishes, as the commentators explain there, are only on the level of "for the sun has tanned me" - superficial dirt that can easily be removed. The very fact that the Holy One, Blessed be He, chastises us is proof and testimony that Hashem's hand guides us directly. And this is "He cast down from heaven to earth" - this itself is the splendor of Israel.
What Do We Boast Of? A Sermon in Germany
A story is told of a Chassid close to the Rebbe, the Chiddushei HaRim of Ger, who needed to travel to Germany on business. He came to receive a blessing for the journey, as was customary in those days. As they parted, the Rebbe told him: "I have heard that in Germany there are still God-fearing rabbis." Why "still"? Because many had succumbed to the Haskalah (Enlightenment), Reform, and all kinds of distortions and alterations; there were government-appointed rabbis there, who cared far more about what suited them and what the public demanded than about what Halachah required. And so it is even in our day: not long ago, word came of a chief rabbi in the Caucasus who abandoned his wife, married a gentile woman, and had children with her without even bothering to convert her - and after that entire episode, he was still appointed chief rabbi. In any case, the Rebbe asked him: "Look and listen while you are there to see if this rumor is true, and let me know."
The man set out on his journey, conducted his business, and toward evening went to the synagogue for Minchah and Maariv. There, a local scholar was accustomed to giving a sermon between Minchah and Maariv. It was the eve of Rosh Chodesh Av, and the rabbi spoke on the themes of the season, regarding the destruction of the Temple. He said: What is the meaning of "He cast down from heaven to earth the splendor of Israel"? The glory of the Jewish people was cast down from heaven to earth. For before the destruction, what was our splendor? In what did we take pride, and toward what did we aspire? In spirituality, in Torah, in mitzvot, and in good deeds, as it says, "For this is your wisdom and your understanding in the eyes of the nations." Nowadays, however, in what does a person take pride? In owning a new car. That has become his glory.
There is a story of a man who came to Rav Shteinman and said that his wife wanted him to buy a luxury vehicle, a fancy SUV. He said: "I have the money, but I am afraid of flaunting it and stirring up jealousy; I do not want people to envy me." The Rav asked him: "Tell me, have you finished Shas?" He replied: "To be honest, no." The Rav asked: "Is there a tractate that you have mastered?" He said: "To be honest, no." The Rav asked: "Is there even a single page of Gemara that you know well?" He said: "To be honest, no." The Rav said to him: "If so, why do you think anyone will envy you? For what? Because your sheet metal is shinier and more polished? Would we envy you just because your metal gleams? After all, this man's entire distinction is merely that his wagon is slightly shinier, with alloy rims."
On another occasion, a man came to see Rav Shteinman, and the attendant, wishing to impress the Rav by introducing who and what the visitor was, announced: "Rebbe, he is a pilot!" The Rav remarked: "Nu, nu, a pilot. What is a pilot? A wagon driver in the sky." What a definition! A wagon driver is a wagon driver; one drives his wagon down here and the other drives his wagon in the air - one is a wagon driver with wings, and the other is a wagon driver without wings. What is there to be so impressed by?
What do we see from all this? That today, instead of taking pride in Torah, in the service of Hashem, and in righteousness, a person considers true glory to be the car he drives, the job he holds, how he dresses, what his salary is, how his villa looks, how many levels it has, and what kind of swimming pool is in the yard. In simple terms: all matters of pride and glory have shifted from spiritual pursuits, in which man once saw honor, to physical and earthly matters, in which he now sees what is essential.
So too with the concept of pride. What did a person take pride in once? "His heart was lifted up in the ways of Hashem" - taking pride in serving G-d and doing Hashem's will, walking with the self-worth of a G-d-fearing person. Not arrogance, Heaven forbid, but "his heart was lifted up in the ways of Hashem." Later, pride became "my power and the might of my hand": "the IDF will find the... at the time and place of its choosing," military parades with weaponry (as remembered from after the Lebanon War), demonstrating how much we achieved, how much we accomplished, and what an army we have. Pride descended into materialism, physicality, and military might. And today? The "Pride Parade." This is what people take pride in - in having finally come out of the closet - and they hold a parade for it.
That Rav said: Come and see what the glory of Israel once was, what they took pride in, and come and see what people take pride in today. See how we have fallen from heaven to earth. Tell me what you boast about, and I will tell you who you are. When the man returned and told this to the Rebbe, the Chiddushei HaRim took great pleasure in it and said: Indeed, there are still Rabbis who follow the path of the Torah even in Germany. And this is the tragedy: concepts have become distorted, aspirations have become distorted, and what is considered important has become distorted. What was once deemed a virtue has lost all its stature today, while trivialities are treated as greatness.
That Honor Should Be for True Virtue
This is one of the things the Torah and yeshiva world always strives to reinforce: that pride and the reason for honor should stem from true virtue. Consider an example: in Ponevezh, Rav Kahaneman instituted that they would not sing Shabbat zemirot. In the Hebron Yeshiva, the students would sing Shabbat songs at the Shabbat table, but in Ponevezh the Rav instituted that they should not sing. This is by no means forbidden, and there is certainly value in Shabbat songs; however, he said: I do not want a young man in the yeshiva to acquire status for any reason other than Torah, mitzvot, fear of Heaven, scholarship, diligence, and good deeds. I do not want a student to hold status in the yeshiva simply because he has an exceptional singing voice. Whoever wishes to attain stature should do so through true virtue - through toil, Torah, study, diligence, mitzvah observance, and prayer - and through that he should earn his standing.
And today, what is considered important? Ask children what they want to be when they grow up, and you will hear: one wants to be a soccer player, another this, another that. Incidentally, one can see a clear difference on this point between the Charedi community and more modern circles, serving as a very telling touchstone. Take children in a modern kindergarten and ask them what they want to be, and take children of the same age in a Talmud Torah and ask them: Rav Ovadia, the Ben Ish Chai... each one will name a different figure, saying, "I want to be a Rosh Yeshiva." Look at the aspirations - this is what they are raised on. In contrast, the other child says: "I want to be the actor from that show." Look at where his aspirations are directed from an early age; this shows what he was raised on, what values he was taught, and who the heroes are upon whom his education was founded. In this we see "He cast down from heaven to earth the glory of Israel": what do people take pride in? Today people take pride in vanity and nonsense, while that which is truly worthy of glory is the service of Hashem and the fulfillment of His will.
Rebbi and the Dropping of the Book of Lamentations
The Gemara in Masechet Chagigah (5b) recounts an astonishing incident: Rebbi was holding a book of Kinot and reading, and when he reached the verse, "He cast down from heaven to earth," the book fell from his hand. He immediately exclaimed: "From a high roof to a deep pit!" The meaning is not merely referring to the physical scroll falling from a height to the ground, but to the fact that this occurred specifically at the verse, "He cast down from heaven to earth the glory of Israel."
Rav Elyashiv explains: Rebbi, on his spiritual level, sensed that the destruction described in the verse does not fully capture or define the depth of the true destruction. For Rebbi himself stated that in our generation we cannot truly feel the Churban, and he felt that the verse is not vivid and tangible enough for us to express the destruction. Rebbi even said that the difference between his generation and the generation of Rabbi Yose - which was just one generation earlier - is like the difference between the Holy of Holies and ordinary, non-sacred matters: not like the difference between the most holy sacrifices and minor offerings, nor like terumah, but absolute non-sacred chullin. Out of immense sorrow over this realization - the magnitude of the fall and the descent we are in - the book fell from his hand.
Yet we must still understand: why did this specific verse evoke this thought in him? After all, this thought applies to any verse, and even without any verse at all. It is true that we have fallen a thousandfold and it is right to grieve and lament, but why did he say specifically here, "From a high roof to a deep pit"?
Rav Elyashiv explains: The verse speaks of "the glory of Israel," which refers to the stature and greatness of the Jewish people. The Jewish people were brought low, and their crown was cast to the earth: the level of purity, modesty, and holiness, everything the Jewish people once possessed - that is the glory of Israel, and it was cast down. But where does it lie according to the wording of the verse? "He cast down from heaven to earth" - it is lying on the ground! And if it is on the ground, all one needs to do is bend down, pick it up, and place it back upon the head. It is right here, within reach.
However, when Rebbi recalled the vast distance between his generation and those that preceded it, he realized that "He cast down from heaven to earth" was said regarding earlier generations, who were holy of holies. In our generation, the glory is no longer merely lying on the ground; rather, it has tumbled deep, deep into a pit in the earth. In earlier generations, one could still bend down, pick it up, place it upon the head, and return; but in our generation, it can only be described as being cast "from a high roof to a deep pit." This thought weighed so heavily upon Rebbi's heart that the book dropped from his hand, leading him to grasp how far we have drifted, and how much effort we must expend in this generation to restore ourselves to the lofty, immense stature that earlier generations possessed.
In summary:
The verse "He cast down from heaven to earth the glory of Israel" holds within it three perspectives: According to the author of the Baruch Ta'am - the image of Yaakov's countenance was cast down from the Throne of Glory, and our task is to restore it through "Return, O Israel" (Shuvah Yisrael). According to the Malbim - the very extremity of the fall proves that this is not the natural course of events, but direct Divine Providence, and this itself is our glory: we are still sons being chastised within the palace, not banished sons. This is how Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai explained "Happy are you, O Israel," and likewise the Maharsha, Yalkut HaGershuni, and "I am black yet comely." And by way of homiletic interpretation (derush) - Israel's pride itself descended from heaven to earth, from Torah and mitzvot to vanity and materialism, and in our times, as Rebbe said, even lower than this: from a high roof to a deep pit. From here comes a demand upon each and every one of us: to bend down, pick up, and return the crown to our head, restoring our glory to its true place - the service of Hashem and the fulfillment of His will.