Chapter 2 of Megillat Eicha is a lamentation over the destruction itself: over the walls that were breached, the Temple that was burned, and the people delivered into the hands of the enemy. In this lesson, we will focus on a single verse that contains profound depth - verse 8, in which the prophet reveals to us that the destruction was not a momentary outburst of wrath, but the result of prior forethought and an accompanying plan. We will examine the verse in detail, bringing the words of the Midrashim and commentators on the phrase "He stretched out a line."
חָשַׁב ה' לְהַשְׁחִית חוֹמַת בַּת־צִיּוֹן, נָטָה קָו, לֹא־הֵשִׁיב יָדוֹ מִבַּלֵּעַ, וַיַּאֲבֶל־חֵל וְחוֹמָה יַחְדָּו אֻמְלָלוּ׃ - Hashem purposed to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion; He stretched out a line, He did not withdraw His hand from destroying; He caused rampart and wall to mourn, together they languished.
The prophet laments: "Hashem purposed to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion." From times of old, long in advance, the Holy One, blessed be He, as it were, harbored this thought and devised this plan - to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion. And as Scripture states: "For this city has been to Me a provocation of My anger and My wrath... that I should remove it from before My face" (Yirmeyahu 32:31). And who knows what it means that "this city has been to Me a provocation of My anger and My wrath" - from when? What the Midrash states is truly terrifying: from the very hour they built it! "From the day that they built it even unto this day, to remove it from before My face." And of whose building are we speaking? Of the building of Shlomo.
And this is the meaning of "Hashem purposed to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion" - from when? From the time it was built. And from that time He already "stretched out a line" - the plumb line of justice, tilting the scales against it, as it were, to destroy it. "He did not withdraw His hand from destroying" - not only did He demolish the wall, but He did not draw back His hand from continuing to swallow up, but proceeded further: "He caused rampart and wall to mourn, together they languished." "Rampart and wall" (cheil ve'chomah) - some explain this as referring to the army and the multitude, meaning the people; while Rashi cites the Targum: "the wall and the outer wall" (shura u'var shura) - that is, there was a high wall and a lower wall opposite it. The chomah was the high wall, and the cheil was the smaller outer wall facing it.
This is truly astonishing. The construction of the Beit HaMikdash was an occasion of tremendous joy: King Shlomo finally builds a House for the Name of Hashem, the gates swing open, the sin of David is forgiven, and there was great celebration, to the extent that they even ate and drank on Yom Kippur. An immense rejoicing over the building of the House! How, then, can the Holy One, blessed be He, say that this city aroused His anger and His wrath "from the day that they built it"?
Our Sages explain: this thought arose before the Holy One, blessed be He, on the very day Shlomo married the daughter of Pharaoh, when the sound of celebration for Pharaoh's daughter mingled with the sound of the singers in the Beit HaMikdash. The wedding of Pharaoh's daughter made an uproar matching the rejoicing of the Beit HaMikdash - and even then, this provoked the wrath of Hashem, such that "Hashem purposed to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion" from the day it was built. Yet the Holy One, blessed be He, suspended punishment and granted them many long years, until the Temple was ultimately destroyed after four hundred and ten years. But from the start, the Holy One, blessed be He, says: already from that time, it was in My mind to destroy the House.
The author of Lechem Dimah explains the verse based on the words of Chazal: When the Holy One, blessed be He, told Nevuchadnezzar to come and destroy the Beit HaMikdash, what did he do? He came and encamped at Daphne of Antioch, sending Nevuzaradan, the captain of the guard, to destroy Jerusalem. Nevuzaradan laid siege to the city for three and a half years - three and a half years without succeeding in conquering Jerusalem. He was about to retreat, but the Holy One, blessed be He, placed it in his heart to begin measuring the wall. Some say - though I have not seen an explicit source for this detail - that one of the soldiers drove a peg into the wall to hang his coat, and suddenly noticed that the coat was hanging lower and lower. What did this mean? The wall was slowly sinking into the ground. Perhaps this is what prompted Nevuzaradan to measure. He took a measuring line and began measuring, discovering that each day the wall sank two and a half handbreadths, until it sank completely into the earth - and in this way, the enemies entered Jerusalem.
According to this, the verse is explained beautifully: "Hashem planned to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion" - in what way? In this manner, that the wall gradually sank into the earth. "He stretched out a line, He did not turn back His hand from swallowing up" - what happened to the wall in the ground? It was swallowed up. "He made rampart and wall mourn; together they languished" - the rampart and the wall both descended inside into the earth. And this is also what was said in the previous verse: "He handed over the walls of her palaces into the hand of the enemy" - the walls were swallowed up; they did not literally fall into enemy hands, but were delivered into the earth away from the enemy.
Here there is an allusion to the attribute of mercy, the stretching of a line for good, as written in Zechariah, "and a line shall be stretched over Jerusalem." What does this mean? Although the Holy One, blessed be He, seemingly destroyed the Beit HaMikdash, we are taught: know that at that very moment, He had already stretched out a measuring line to rebuild it anew.
What is "stretching out a line"? When someone wants to construct a building - what is the first professional brought to the site? A surveyor. A surveyor is brought in to measure the plot, to determine which direction is which, what goes where, and how. An incident once occurred at a construction site in Rishon LeTzion where a bare concrete skeleton had stood abandoned for a long time. When a relative living nearby was asked why construction had halted, he explained: plans had been drawn up, everything was meticulously designed, and construction began - but once the initial framing was completed, before they had even risen above ground level, it turned out that the contractor had been holding the blueprints upside down! The facade of the building, which was supposed to face the street, ended up facing the rear according to how the plans were held. From this one learns: when embarking on a construction project, the first step is the surveyor, who determines where the front is, where the back is, and where the side is. That is "stretching out a line."
It emerges that even as Hashem planned to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion, He had already stretched out a line and measured in order to rebuild. And what does this signify? That embedded within the destruction is the rebuilding. For if destruction is meant purely to demolish, one leaves behind scorched earth and departs; but if it is destruction for the purpose of building - the goal is not to eliminate the Beit HaMikdash, but rather to create a temporary distance that will heal the Jewish people, as explained earlier, culminating in complete repentance, the ultimate redemption, and the permanent Sanctuary. It was also noted previously that the very word churban (destruction) bears witness to this: divide it in two - char, the beginning of charon af (wrath), and ban, the beginning of binyan (building). Wrath indeed, but wrath for the sake of building; not wrath for destruction and not wrath for annihilation, but wrath whose purpose is to rebuild anew.
Another explanation: when someone wants to cut timber or renovate, he must know where to cut, and for that purpose a line is drawn. One tells a worker, "Break half a wall here," and the worker replies, "Wait, let me take chalk and mark where to stop." That is "stretching out a line" - marking where to cut. Thus, stretching a line implies that not everything is destroyed, but only up to that line and no further. The lamenter comes and says: come and see, even though He stretched out a line - "He did not turn back His hand from swallowing up; rampart and wall languished together." So great, as it were, was the wrath that once the destroyer arrived and began to consume, He did not pull back His hand, but destroyed entirely.
Notice that this was not done instantaneously. One who reads carefully will observe: "Hashem planned to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion" - and there is a p'sik (a cantillation pause). What does this pause signify? That between "planned" and "to destroy," the Holy One, blessed be He, made a pause: perhaps you will repent, perhaps you will mend your ways, perhaps something will change. Between the thought and the execution there was a pause - but it was not utilized, and the Jewish people persisted in their ways.
In another commentary, it is explained that "He made rampart and wall mourn; together they languished" also alludes to the destruction of the Second Temple. Josephus mentions that during the Second Temple period, an additional wall was built beyond the existing one. They believed the First Temple fell because the wall was not strong enough and the rampart was too low, so they added another wall to prevent enemies from entering. Yet, "Unless Hashem builds a house, its builders labor in vain" - and unless Hashem guards a wall, its builders labor in vain. If Hashem decrees destruction, nothing can avail: "He made rampart and wall mourn; together they languished" - neither the rampart nor the wall could help, for once the decree was issued, both would be breached the moment His will determined it.
Let us return to "He stretched out a line," which is the perplexing phrase in the verse. Stretching out a line is typically an expression associated with building: one stretches a line and delineates that from this line to that line will be the foundation, from here to here a certain wall will stand, and from here to there will be the courtyard. A person sits and draws lines determining precisely where the house will be built. Here, however, it seems puzzling: "Hashem planned to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion; He stretched out a line"? One does not stretch out a line to destroy! One brings in a demolition contractor and levels everything. Blueprints are not drawn up for demolition. While nowadays plans are indeed drafted when demolishing an entire building - determining the method, placing explosive charges, and executing a controlled, dynamic implosion - in the ordinary course of things, an old house is simply torn down. What, then, is the meaning of "He stretched out a line" for the purpose of destruction?
To what may this be compared? The holy Alshich explains: To an earthly king who had a precious, beloved son. Out of his deep love, he built him a magnificent house, a true masterpiece. In time, the son strayed from the proper path and angered his father to such an extent that he deserved a death sentence - his wrongdoing was vast and there was no other recourse. Out of his anger, yet moved by compassion for his son, the king sought to exhaust his wrath upon the splendid house, thereby turning his anger away from the son.
Yet the king hesitated to carry out his intention, even though the son deserved it. First, the house served the king himself: when he wished to visit his son, where would he meet him? In his house. Thus, it was no simple matter to destroy his son's house of delight, which was also the king's own house of delight - the place where he met with his son. Second, the father knew that when the son's enemies heard of this, they would rejoice openly and unreservedly, taking sheer delight in tearing the house down - and he had no desire to grant them such satisfaction. How was he to escape this dilemma?
The king devised a plan: before demolishing the house, he would take a single step that would resolve every difficulty. He summoned architects, engineers, planners, and craftsmen - master builders - and instructed them to draw up plans for an edifice ten times more elaborate than the existing one. They prepared exquisite blueprints that made the current house pale in comparison. The king then announced: Gentlemen, in order to construct such a magnificent house, what must first be done to the previous one? It must be demolished. Therefore, now that the blueprints are in hand, let us tear down the old house so that we may erect a new and extraordinary palace in its place.
With that, everything was resolved. Would the king lack a place to delight with his son? He would soon possess a far superior setting. Would the enemies gloat over the son's downfall? On the contrary, once they learned that the king was planning an even grander palace, they realized that the demolition was not meant to ruin the son's home, but to replace it with a true palace. They had imagined he was losing his modest dwelling, only to discover that it was being razed to make way for something vast and glorious - leaving them no reason to gloat.
So it was, says the holy Alshich, at the time of the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash. In truth, had we been judged worthy of utter destruction, we should have faced the harshest possible retribution. What did the Holy One, Blessed is He, do? He declared: I will not strike the son; I will destroy his home instead - exhausting His wrath upon the timber and stones. This corresponds to the king who turns his anger away from the son by demolishing the house. Yet to prevent His Name from being desecrated among Israel's enemies - who would rejoice at their downfall and say, "Look, Israel has been forsaken by Hashem; we overpowered them and ruined their sanctuary," which would also constitute a desecration of Hashem's Name, as though implying that He too could not deliver them, since His house was destroyed and He did nothing - what did He do? He brought forth the blueprints. He declared: There is a Third Temple; I desire a Third Temple, and it shall replace this one. Where do we find this? In the Book of Yechezkel, which contains entire prophecies detailing the Third Temple: its architecture, measurements, dimensions, and walls.
Thus, the Holy One, Blessed is He, truly "stretched out a line" - and as we have noted, stretching out a measuring line signifies planning construction, not demolition. This is the Alshich's insight: before He destroyed the house, He stretched out the line and drew up the blueprints for its rebuilding. This is what the poet laments: "Hashem resolved to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion" - and why was He unconcerned about the desecration of His Name or the gloating of the enemies? Because He had "stretched out a line." From the very outset, the precise dimensions of the Third Beit HaMikdash had already been prepared, may it be built speedily in our days, Amen. Consequently, this destruction entailed no lasting disgrace for Israel, for all would come to understand that it was torn down solely for the purpose of being rebuilt anew.
The Imrei Emet of Gur also addresses this phrase, "He stretched out a line," emphasizing that stretching out a line denotes construction rather than demolition. This aligns with the verse in Yeshayahu 44: "The carpenter stretches out a line, marks it out with a stylus, shapes it with chisels, and marks it out with a compass, making it in the form of a man, like human beauty, to dwell in a house" - stretching out a line is measuring for the purpose of building. If so, what does "He stretched out a line" mean in our context?
He explains this based on the Gemara in Bava Batra 3b: Rav Chisda said that a person should not demolish a synagogue until he has built another synagogue. If a synagogue exists and the community wishes to construct a new one, they may not tear down the old one until the new one is built. Therefore, the common practice, wherever feasible, when expanding a synagogue, is to first construct the additions around the old structure - erecting surrounding pillars and everything required - and only once the new framework stands do they demolish the interior structure below. This is the proper halachic procedure. The Gemara offers two rationales: some say it is due to negligence, while others say it is for the sake of prayer. Negligence means: today you demolish the building, but what will happen tomorrow? The fundraising drive might stall, sufficient funds may not be raised, and the town will be left without a synagogue; the existing one was destroyed and the new one was never built. For the sake of prayer means: so that you will have a place to pray in the interim; if you tear down the old one and construction takes six months or a year, where will people pray in the meantime? Rashi explains accordingly: lest they be negligent and let the matter lapse, or lest there be nowhere to pray.
According to this principle, a profound difficulty arises. It is well established that the Holy One, Blessed is He, fulfills what is written in the Torah and, as it were, observes its laws - even though the Torah was addressed not to Him, but to mortal human beings to observe. Nevertheless, the Holy One, Blessed is He, does nothing that runs contrary to the Torah. If so, if it is forbidden to demolish a synagogue before another is built in its stead, how could the Holy One, Blessed is He, destroy the Beit HaMikdash before building another to replace it?
We must therefore say that in truth, the Holy One, Blessed is He, did not destroy the Sanctuary until He had already stretched out the measuring line for the Sanctuary that would follow it. He did not destroy the First Temple until He had stretched out the line for the Second Temple; even before the First Temple fell, the Second Temple was already prepared in Heaven. And before the Second Temple fell, the Third Temple was already prepared in Heaven, exactly as Yechezkel beheld in his prophetic vision. This is what the prophet means by: "Hashem resolved to destroy" - at the very moment of thought, before He had actually destroyed anything, while the matter existed only in thought and potential, He had already "stretched out a line." He had already stretched out the line of the Second Temple, and in the days of the Second Temple He stretched out the line of the Third Temple. He had already erected the Second Temple above, and today the Third Temple already stands complete in the heavenly realms. It was never a state of having no sanctuary; the sanctuary already existed. Only then "did He not withdraw His hand from destroying" - only after that preparation was complete did He not hold back His hand from consuming the existing structure, for the next Temple was already standing above.
Maharam Shapira of Lublin adds: Strictly speaking, the Holy One, Blessed is He, did not need to begin building the next Temple before the destruction. For the Gemara states that this entire halachah applies to private individuals or a community, but 'a government is different' (malchusa sha'ani) - a government has no restriction preventing it from demolishing a synagogue before building a new one. And why? Because with a government, there is no concern that they might become negligent and fail to build. With a private person or a community, one might suspect that they will get stuck financially, or forget, or become negligent; but with a government this does not apply, for the ruling power is decisive and possesses the means, and it can build even within a short time.
If so, the Holy One, Blessed is He, all the more so: He is omnipotent, and there is no concern whatsoever that when the time comes He will be unable to build a new House, and the aforementioned rationale simply does not apply to Him. Even so, the prophet teaches us that the Holy One, Blessed is He, wished to act in this matter according to our comprehension and according to our level: we are forbidden to demolish before we build, and therefore He too, when guiding us, does not demolish before He builds. Thus He first built and stretched out a line for the heavenly Temple, and only afterward destroyed the earthly Temple.
'Hashem has plotted to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion, He stretched out a line' - the destruction was neither an accident nor a momentary outburst of anger. It was calculated in advance, from the very day the city was built, ever since the celebration with Pharaoh's daughter that rose like the sound of singers; and between the 'plotted' and 'to destroy,' an interval of waiting was granted for repentance, which we failed to utilize. The wall itself was swallowed into the earth and did not fall into enemy hands, and 'rampart and wall languish together' - for no wall can stand once the decree has been issued. Yet within the lamentation itself lies hidden comfort: 'He stretched out a line' is an expression of building - already at the moment of the thought to destroy, the blueprints and measurements for the next House were prepared, like the Alshich's parable of a king who took out the plans for a palace before demolishing the house, and as taught by the author of the Imrei Emes and Maharam Shapira, that the Holy One, Blessed is He, does not demolish until He builds. This is the secret of the word churban (destruction): char of charon (wrath) and ban of binyan (building) - wrath whose entire ultimate purpose is to rebuild anew, speedily in our days, Amen.