Chapter 2 of Megillat Eicha depicts the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash and the city directly at the hand of Hashem, and within this description there is one verse that encapsulates the entire tragedy: from the majesty of the gates to the depths of the exile of the king and princes. This time we will explore verse 9, examining the great depth, Midrash, and mussar concealed within each of its words.
טָבְעוּ בָאָרֶץ שְׁעָרֶיהָ, אִבַּד וְשִׁבַּר בְּרִיחֶיהָ, מַלְכָּהּ וְשָׂרֶיהָ בַגּוֹיִם אֵין תּוֹרָה, גַּם נְבִיאֶיהָ לֹא מָצְאוּ חָזוֹן מֵיְהֹוָה׃ - Her gates have sunk into the ground; He destroyed and shattered her bars; her king and her princes are among the nations, there is no Torah; her prophets, too, found no vision from Hashem.
The author of Even Shem Tov explains that this verse first describes the greatness of the Beit HaMikdash when it stood in all its splendor. When the gates were opened, Chazal recount that the sound of the Nicanor Gate could be heard as far as Jericho. These magnificent gates were also places where Torah and halachah were disseminated, which is the meaning of the verse, "Hashem loves the gates of Zion" - as our Sages teach: gates distinguished in halachah. Yet set against this majesty, see the terrible degradation: "her king and her princes are among the nations" - both the king and the ministers are exiled among the nations, and "there is no Torah" - all Torah study has been lost.
Notice that the letter tet in the word "tave'u" (sunk) is written small (a tet ze'ira). Whenever a letter is written small in the Torah, it hints at a diminishing or limitation. We find this in "Vayikra" to Moshe, where Moshe, out of humility, wrote a small alef. Similarly, in "lispod le-Sarah velivkotah" (to eulogize Sarah and to weep for her), the chaf is small because Avraham wept only a little; had he wept excessively, it might have appeared as though he regretted the Akeidah, as if saying: "If only I had not gone, for Sarah died as a result." Therefore, he wept only a little. Another reason for the limited weeping is that Sarah was a great tzadeket, of whom it is said, "she laughs at the final day." In any case, a miniature letter signifies limitation. Here too, "tave'u va'aretz she'areha" is written with a small tet to teach that they did not sink profoundly deep, but sank only slightly. Nonetheless, they remained hidden from the eyes of the excavators who sought to uncover them.
The book Alon Bachut cites the teaching of Chazal on "He destroyed and shattered her bars": Nebuzaradan came and brought with him three hundred mules laden with iron hammers capable of piercing iron. What is "iron that governs iron"? It is tempered, hardened steel - like a drill bit that does not wear down against the iron it penetrates. He brought this iron to breach the walls of Jerusalem, yet every hammer shattered against a single gate of the walls of Jerusalem. Every breaching tool that could possibly be mustered broke against the wall. Nebuzaradan sought to turn back, but a Heavenly voice (bat kol) went forth and proclaimed to him: "Leap forward and conquer Jerusalem, for its time to be destroyed has arrived!" He struck a single blow, and the gate swung open. An instant earlier, nothing had availed, but when the appointed time arrived, a single blow opened the gate. This is what is meant by "He destroyed and shattered her bars" - the Holy One, Blessed be He, Himself destroyed and shattered the bars at the appointed moment, and only then were the enemies able to enter.
"Her gates have sunk into the ground" - those very gates that were meant to be distinguished in halachah, places of Torah study, sank into the earth; that is, the people ceased engaging in Torah. And what follows as a result? Exile. "Her king and her princes are among the nations" - why? Because "there is no Torah." If there is no Torah, how could they remain in the Land? Our entire right to the Land of Israel exists solely in the merit of Torah study. As the Gemara relates, when one sage asked to be shown the guardians of the city, he was shown the armed watchmen. He responded: "Are these the guardians of the city? These are the destroyers of the city! Show me the scholars who sit and engage in Torah, for a city is not considered a true community unless it has people who set aside worldly labor to study Torah - they are the true guardians of the city." Once "her gates sank into the ground" and the voice of Torah grew faint, it inevitably followed that "her king and her princes are among the nations," for "there is no Torah." Likewise, "her prophets, too, found no vision from Hashem," for "from Zion shall go forth Torah, and the word of Hashem from Jerusalem"; once there is neither Torah nor Zion, prophecy ceases as well, for prophecy requires both Torah and Jerusalem.
The Elon Bachut asks: Why were the gates not destroyed, but only sank into the ground intact? He explains that these gates were the handiwork of David, and "David, king of Israel, lives and endures" - and because of this, the gates also endure. For the Holy One, blessed be He, does not nullify the handiwork of the righteous, just as Shmuel prayed that the anointing of Shaul would not be undone during his lifetime. And some say that the Western Wall was built by David, which is why it endures forever. This is also the reason the Holy One, blessed be He, did not want David to build the Beit HaMikdash: had it been built by David, it would never have been destroyed; and had it not been destroyed, how could Hashem have poured out His wrath upon wood and stones? Heaven forbid, He would have had to consume the Jewish people. Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, said to David, "You shall not build My house." From this we can also understand why the gates of the Beit HaMikdash did not open until Shlomo said, "Remember the loving deeds of David Your servant," for the gates were the handiwork of King David.
Another reason: the gates accorded honor to the Aron, as it is stated, "Lift up your heads, O gates, and be lifted up, everlasting doors, that the King of glory may enter." They opened in honor of the Aron, and therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, rewarded them and the hand of the enemy had no power over them; instead, "her gates sank into the ground."
Yet another reason, related to Parashat Korach: the gates sank into the ground so that when the Holy One, blessed be He, brings the gates out of the earth, those who were swallowed into the ground will rise along with them. The Midrash offers a parable of a maidservant whose clay pitcher fell into the water, and she began to weep. Later, the king's daughter came to drink and her pitcher, a golden pitcher, also fell into the water - and the maidservant began to rejoice. They asked her: Why the rejoicing? She answered them: Now that the king's daughter's pitcher has fallen in, they will send people to retrieve the precious golden pitcher from the well, and while they are down there, they will bring up my pitcher as well. But who would send messengers to bring up an inexpensive clay pitcher from a well? So too, "A song of the sons of Korach" - why a song? Because "her gates sank into the ground," and when the Holy One, blessed be He, brings out the gates, He will bring out those who were swallowed along with them. This is how the Tosafot connect these matters.
The Baal HaTurim often examines the Masorah to see how many times an expression appears in Tanach, for when an expression recurs in several places, there is a thematic connection. Here: "Her gates sank (tav'u) into the ground" versus "The nations have sunk (tav'u) in the pit they made." The nations came and destroyed the Beit HaMikdash and sank its gates into the ground. The Holy One, blessed be He, says measure for measure: "The nations have sunk in the pit they made" - by that very corrupt act they performed, I will bring out the gates and sink you there instead. And shachat (pit) also connotes a grave and Gehinnom, as in the phrase "he shall not see the pit (shachat)." In that very place where the gates were buried, there the Holy One, blessed be He, will bury the nations for what they did to the Jewish people.
In the book Torat Chaim (Chodesh Shel Chesed), it is cited that this verse contains an allusion against accepting a rabbinic appointment from the government. In Europe, it was very common for the government to appoint rabbis, and they had requirements that most authentic rabbis did not meet, such as total fluency in the state language. Jews did not speak the state language; they spoke Yiddish. Those who knew local languages were primarily the Maskilim who attended universities. Talmidei chachamim certainly did not sit and occupy themselves with language study, especially a secular language, aside from a select few who knew languages out of necessity for dealing with the authorities. Consequently, those who were actually appointed were "government rabbis," individuals who were not genuine Torah scholars, but rather figureheads skilled at putting on a show. They were treated accordingly and held in great contempt, with all sorts of jokes circulating about their ignorance and lack of knowledge of basic Halachah. From this, they learned not to accept a rabbinic appointment from the government, for the government appoints whoever will carry out matters according to its own understanding.
Thus, in her day, Golda Meir struck a "deal" with Rabbi Goren: that he permit the mamzerim - a difficult issue at the time in the IDF regarding the Shalit family - and in return he would be appointed Chief Rabbi. And so it was, and as a result, the Gedolei Yisrael came out against him with utmost severity, to the point of declaring that his halachic rulings were not valid rulings. Today, everything runs on deals, and no rabbi is appointed without a deal: tell me what your deal is, and I will tell you who you are. A state-appointed rabbi is extremely problematic, because he takes orders from someone. And this is the meaning of "Her king and her princes are among the nations" - if the king and princes, meaning the Sages, receive their appointment from the gentiles, then consequently, "there is no Torah," for he will ensure to do whatever the boss wants and whatever is demanded of him.
They tell a story about one of the rabbis of the Krayot, an elderly man and a great talmid chacham, who served as the local rabbi. They approached him and offered him a salary from the Rabbinate. He said to them: No, I do not want a salary from the government. They asked him: Why, what do you care? Are you afraid we will interfere with your teachings and halachic rulings? Rule however you want; we will not dictate anything to you. He said to them: Do you think that when you pay me, you will dictate to me what to do? When you pay me - I will already come to ask you what to do. When a person receives money from someone, that person becomes his boss and calls the shots, and he feels the need to please him and do what suits him. And if it suits the government to conduct conversions wholesale, they will appoint someone who will not get in the way. Once, people thought a rabbi had to have a beard; when they saw that a rabbi with a beard causes problems, they decided to appoint a rabbi without a beard. And the beard is only a symptom of the ailment; listen to him speak on halachic matters: women's singing is permitted, everything is permitted, "you are permitted, you are forgiven, you are pardoned," a new Torah shall go forth from me. Just tell me which direction the paycheck comes from - and I will rule whatever you like. When an appointment comes from an external power providing for you, you are in very serious trouble.
Incidentally, this is also the reason why the top kashrut organizations are unwilling to let a kashrut supervisor receive his salary directly from the restaurant owner or factory owner, but rather through the Badatz. If a supervisor is an employee of the restaurant owner or the hotel owner, he knows very well who signs his paycheck, and he tends to smooth things over. But if he works for the Badatz, he is not subordinate to the owner of the establishment; if the owner fires him, the Badatz will transfer him to another factory - he does not depend on him. Yet when a person is subordinate, the odds are that whether he wants to or not, on some level he will do things to appease his employer in order to avoid friction. And that is the meaning of "Her king and her princes are among the nations, there is no Torah" - in such a situation, the Torah is undermined, when gentiles are the ones appointing the Sages.
Our Sages said: If a person tells you, "There is wisdom among the nations" - believe it, as it is written: "Will I not destroy the wise from Edom and understanding from Mount Esau?" But if he tells you, "There is Torah among the nations" - do not believe it, as it is said: "Her king and her princes are among the nations; there is no Torah." And what does "Torah among the nations, do not believe" mean? Torah means hora'ah (instruction). The Torah is not merely a book of laws; it is an instruction manual for how a person must conduct himself between man and fellow man and between man and the Omnipresent - how to refine his character traits, his conduct, his fear of Heaven, and his deeds. It is entirely possible for a gentile to know Tanach, and one could even test him with the "pin test" and find him to be extraordinarily proficient; there were priests who were thoroughly versed in Shas and came to debate the Sages of Israel. But as for something that transforms a person and makes him a better human being - that does not exist. Wisdom exists, and he studies it purely as intellectual knowledge. One who studies algebra at university does not come to resemble the number eight, and one who studies geometry does not come to resemble a triangle; by that same logic, a Torah student should not be expected to change either - but we know this is not so. A person who learned Torah and was not transformed by it is merely a donkey carrying books. Torah is meant to transform you, in your relationship with your fellow man and your relationship with your Creator, and turn you into a different person.
It is related that someone once challenged the Rambam: You Jews say, "Torah among the nations, do not believe," maintaining that it is impossible for a gentile to truly rectify his character traits. Come, and I will show you a Bedouin in the desert who is humble and lowly beyond compare! The Rambam went to see him, stayed as his guest for about a week, and closely observed his conduct. And behold, wonder of wonders: the pinnacle of humility and self-effacement, beyond imagination and description. When taking his leave, the Rambam said to him: To tell you the truth, I have a difficult question. The Torah writes that no man was as humble as Moshe, of all the people upon the face of the earth - yet you pose a formidable contradiction to this verse, for here I see a man more humble than Moshe! The Bedouin replied: To tell you the truth, I too have been troubled by that question for a very long time... The Rambam said to him: Thank you very much, that is all I needed to hear. Consider what kind of "humble man" this was: he walked around bothered by how Moshe could possibly be considered humbler than him, since he believed no one in the world was humbler than himself! Character refinement among the nations - do not believe it. But if they tell you there is wisdom among them, that a gentile is educated, develops inventions, and conducts scientific research - believe it. We are under no obligation to think a gentile is ignorant or foolish; he may well possess vast knowledge. But Torah in the sense of wisdom that transforms the human being - that, do not believe.
The Midrash Aggadah states: "'Her gates sank into the ground' - because they showed honor to the Ark, as it is said: 'Lift up your heads, O gates,' no creature was given dominion over them." Now, what does the sinking of the gates have to do with the conclusion of the verse, "Her king and her princes are among the nations; there is no Torah"? The holy Alshich offers a wondrous explanation. If we understand that the author of the lamentation intended to mourn that during exile they had no opportunity to engage in Torah, he ought to have lamented far more that during their time of tranquility they also did not engage in Torah. For when they are among the nations, one might say, "How could anyone engage in Torah? We are pursued upon our necks, we are given no rest." But when they sat here in peace, each man under his vine and under his fig tree, why did they not engage in Torah then? After all, the Sages in the Jerusalem Talmud (Chagigah) state that the cause of the Destruction was the sin of neglecting Torah study (bittul Torah), and if so, the primary grievance ought to be directed at the days of tranquility.
Rather, explains the Alshich, this verse is the lament of the Jewish people, who come and argue: Why are we worse off than the gates of Jerusalem? Behold, "her gates sank into the ground" and the hand of the enemy did not overcome them, while "her king and her princes" were taken among the nations - why was the fate of one different from the other? The Holy Spirit's answer is stated explicitly in the verse itself: The gates sank into the ground and were not exiled because they showed honor to the Torah and opened before the Ark of the Covenant of Hashem. Whereas "her king and her princes are among the nations" - why? "There is no Torah" - because they did not engage in Torah. This is the difference, and that is why one suffered this fate while the other was spared.
The author of Netivot HaMishpat, in his work Palgei Mayim, explains that here too the prophet adds and describes that the primary indictment was that they failed to engage in Torah when they had the opportunity - during times of ease and prosperity, before the nations had begun to oppress them. This is the meaning of the verse's conclusion: "There is no Torah; her prophets also found no vision from Hashem." That is to say: Of which period am I speaking when I say there is no Torah? Of the period before the harsh prophecies opening with "vision" arrived, when the prophets had not yet received visions of calamity. In that time of quiet and peace - even then, "there is no Torah." And with this, the indictment against them multiplies tenfold.
The Bnei Yisaschar (the Rebbe of Dinov) writes a wondrous insight in his discourses for the month of Av: When a person studies some Torah subject and does not understand it - reading it again and again without penetrating the depth of the matter in the words of the Rishonim or Acharonim - let him reflect in repentance, grieve over the exile, and pray for the Redemption. Through this, his mind will be aroused to contemplate and grasp what he could not understand. He adds: Through this you will understand what our Sages said in the Jerusalem Talmud (Yoma): "Anyone in whose days the Beit HaMikdash is not rebuilt is considered as if it were destroyed in his days." On the surface, this is difficult: so many righteous and wholesome people, pillars of the world, passed away to their eternal rest without the Beit HaMikdash being rebuilt in their days - could it really be said of them that it was as if it were destroyed in their days? Rather, in truth, the tzaddikim in every era build their portion of the Beit HaMikdash during their lifetime, each according to the part corresponding to his soul. And "anyone in whose days the Beit HaMikdash is not built" - meaning that the portion of his soul within the Beit HaMikdash was not built in his days - it is as if it were destroyed in his days.
The explanation of this matter is that although the future Beit HaMikdash is destined to descend fully built of fire, everything established in this world is accomplished through our strength, through the mechanism of an itaruta d'letata (an awakening from below), for things must begin from below. The Holy One, blessed be He, does not fulfill mitzvot in our place, nor does He build the Beit HaMikdash in our place. How, then, is the Beit HaMikdash built by the Holy One, blessed be He, as it were? The answer is that it is built through us. Someone might say: Generations have already mourned the Destruction for thousands of years, weeping and shedding tears, and two thousand years have passed - "The harvest has passed, the summer has ended, and we are not saved" - and all the calculated redemption dates recorded in the holy books have already elapsed (as explored in the series on the end of Sefer Daniel regarding a whole series of calculations handed down from earlier generations); if so, what purpose does another cry or another tear serve? This is a complete mistake. With every cry and every tear, another layer is built in the Beit HaMikdash on High, and every single tear brings the Redemption closer. Therefore, "anyone in whose days the Beit HaMikdash is not built is considered as if it were destroyed in his days" does not apply to one who mourns the Destruction, for through his personal divine service he builds the Beit HaMikdash on High, and as far as he is concerned, the Beit HaMikdash is being built. This statement refers specifically to one who takes no action toward rebuilding the Beit HaMikdash: he feels no pain over the Destruction, feels no sorrow, does not fast, and does not lament. For such a person, the Beit HaMikdash is not built in his days, and concerning him it is said: You are a cause of the Destruction.
From here, the Bnei Yissaschar explains that when a person fails to understand a matter in his Torah study, the reason is that his personal portion in the Beit HaMikdash has not yet been built, on account of his sins. If his portion is built there on High, he will merit understanding the Torah. Therefore, let him repent before Hashem for his iniquities and pray for the Geulah; then his mind will be fortified, and he will perceive wonders that he had not known until now. For all spiritual abundance and the entire source of wisdom stem from this House. This is illustrated by the story recounted about Yirmiyahu and Plato, where Plato asked him: Is it fitting to weep so profusely over a structure of stones? Yirmiyahu said to him: Ask me any question you have. He asked, and Yirmiyahu answered everything with profound depth and clarity. Plato said to him: From where do you possess such immense wisdom? Yirmiyahu replied: It all comes from these very stones. The Beit HaMikdash was the fountainhead of wisdom, and one who has completed his share in the building of the heavenly Beit HaMikdash will merit receiving his portion in Torah with full and complete comprehension; but if not, so long as the Temple lies in ruins, understanding and perception remain difficult for us.
This aligns closely with what the holy Ari explains: when there is difficulty understanding a sugya and we cannot penetrate to the depth of the matter, the reason is that the klipot (husks) are hovering over the fruit. The fruit is the inner essence of the Torah, while the klipot prevent the person from reaching the fruit itself - like a hard nutshell that one cannot crack, barring access to what is inside. Thus, a person sits in darkness, trying to understand, confronted by a formidable difficulty. According to the Kabbalists, kushyot (questions and difficulties) are in truth klipot that cover the concept and block access to it.
Based on this, a fascinating dynamic in the Gemara becomes clear. Often, when the Gemara raises a contradiction, it initially resolves it with the formula: "Tevra - the one who taught this is not the one who taught that." That is to say: break it in two; one sage taught this and a different sage taught that, and one does not question one sage from the words of another. Usually, the Gemara then proceeds to find a much smoother resolution: that in fact one authority authored both, but this ruling addresses one scenario while that ruling addresses another, so there is no contradiction at all. This seems puzzling: the Gemara consistently seeks to minimize disputes and reconcile the mishnayot with one another, only concluding "the one who taught this did not teach that" when there is no other choice. Why, then, did it initially resort to such a forced resolution when it already had a far better answer at hand? Rather, when the Sages sensed a formidable difficulty, they recognized that a very tough klipah was encasing the issue, and therefore they first had to weaken it by any means possible. And how did they do this? They declared "Tevra" - breaking the power of the klipah by asserting that fundamentally there is no contradiction here at all. Once they shattered the klipah obscuring the question, the Gemara suddenly arrives at logical, satisfying resolutions without having to resort to the drastic divide of two opposing opinions. Thus we see that the path to reaching the true resolution is precisely through weakening the power of the klipah. And when a Torah scholar encounters a difficulty, it is a sign that many klipot are resting upon the subject. The way to break them is as the Bnei Yissaschar taught: let him contemplate teshuvah, mourn the bitter exile, and pray for the Geulah. Then his portion on High will be built, and through the power of the Beit HaMikdash the klipot will be shattered, resolving all that was difficult.
A single verse, "Her gates have sunk into the ground," unfolds before us the entire progression of the Churban: gates that were distinguished in Halachah sank into the earth, and once the voice of Torah was weakened - "her king and her princes are among the nations," "there is no Torah," and no prophetic vision. The small letter tet teaches that it was only a slight sinking; the gates themselves were spared because they accorded honor to the Aron and in the merit of David who made them, and they are destined to rise and bring up with them all that was swallowed. In contrast, the king and princes, who did not engage in Torah study, were exiled. From this emerge two major lessons: that Torah must not be entrusted to someone dependent on the tables of others, for "if someone tells you there is Torah among the nations, do not believe it," and Torah is an instruction that fundamentally transforms a person; and that the primary indictment is directed specifically at the days of tranquility when they failed to study Torah. And on the side of rectification: every tear and every prayer for the Geulah builds a layer in the heavenly Beit HaMikdash, shatters the klipot that hover over the Torah, and leads a person to behold wonders in what was previously concealed from him.