Introduction
In Chapter 2 of Megillat Eicha, the lamenter transitions from describing the collective destruction to his own personal anguish. After describing the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash and the mourning of the elders and maidens, he turns to describe what this grief has done to his very body. In the passage before us (verses 11-12), we learn of the intensity of mourning, the power of a tear, and the historical roots of the decrees enacted against us.
"My Eyes Failed with Tears" - An Enumeration of Fatal Blemishes
כָּלוּ בַדְּמָעוֹת עֵינַי, חֳמַרְמְרוּ מֵעַי, נִשְׁפַּךְ לָאָרֶץ כְּבֵדִי, עַל שֶׁבֶר בַּת עַמִּי, בֵּעָטֵף עוֹלֵל וְיוֹנֵק בִּרְחֹבוֹת קִרְיָה. - My eyes failed with tears, my innards churn, my liver is poured out upon the earth, over the ruin of the daughter of my people, as infant and suckling swoon in the city streets.
The Lechem Dimah explains: Here the lamenter begins to enumerate all the severe afflictions caused to him by sorrow and weeping. Notice something remarkable: all of these afflictions are signs of a treifah (a mortal defect). In other words, come and see how devastating were the physical wounds caused to him.
The most severe defect is blindness - "My eyes failed with tears," and a blind person is considered as dead. This is what happened to Iyov: "My eye grew dim from grief" - out of great anger and grief over what befell me, my eye became dim; from so many tears and such grief, I can no longer see. Yet with Iyov it speaks of a single eye, "my eye," whereas here, "My eyes failed with tears" - both eyes were completely depleted.
"My innards churn [chamarmaru]" - the intestines reddened from so much weeping and anguish. "Chamarmaru" is a term denoting redness, like "chamra" (wine) which is red, and when intestines redden, it is a sign of a treifah. "My liver is poured out upon the earth" - if the liver is destroyed and not even a kzayit of it remains, this too is a sign of a treifah; from an excess of grief, my liver was poured out onto the earth.
"As Infant and Suckling Swoon" - The Meaning of Atef
The Rid explains: "Atef" shares the root of wrapping or enfolding. When a person is in distress and hunger, he curls up and contracts, as if wrapping himself up inside his own body. In contrast, consider someone in joy and satiety - observe a person who has finished a satisfying meal; he sits back and stretches out, arms and legs relaxed in all directions. When a person feels good, he opens up, but when he suffers, he curls up and shrinks inward. So too here: "As infant and suckling swoon [be'atef]" - from severe hunger, they were wrapped up in themselves, curling inward, covering body with body, as in the verse, "The valleys wrap themselves in grain."
The Three Tears of Nevuchadnezzar
The Lechem Dimah explains homiletically: It is well known that in the merit of three tears shed by Nevuchadnezzar, the Holy One, Blessed is He, granted him dominion over the entire world. This is what the verse alludes to: "My eyes failed with tears, my innards churn" - on account of those tears, my innards churn. "They failed with tears" - through the power of what did they fail? Through the power of those tears. For how did Nevuchadnezzar attain kingship? By virtue of the three tears he shed. Over those tears we weep, and they are what caused my innards to churn and my liver to pour out upon the earth over the ruin of the daughter of my people.
When There Is No Strength to Weep - Grief Consumes from Within
The Lechem Dim'ah adds another insight: It is well known that when a person sheds tears and cries, he releases grief from the inside out, and as a result, at least his internal organs are spared harm. Conversely, someone who cannot cry - that is the worst of all, for nothing is more terrible than eating oneself up inside. If a person can still externalize his emotions, there is a cleansing process; when one cries, he finds relief. But when a person cannot cry, it eats him away from within, which is far worse. As wise people often say: It is not what you eat that kills you, but what eats you. It is very harmful when a person churns everything inside and cannot let it out.
That is why it is often very advisable to go to someone - even a stranger, even paying for it, even a psychologist - to talk and share with them. The very act of speaking brings release. "If there is anxiety in a man's heart, let him quell it (yashchenah)" - and Chazal expound: yasiachenah le'acherim, let him speak of it to others. The mere act of talking about things helps a person find release. Much of a therapist's work is simply the ability to listen: they guide with questions, but primarily there is someone listening to you, and you release what was weighing on your heart. This is not merely a metaphor, but literal - releasing means you have actually cast it out. And once you have released it, it is far easier emotionally to heal. But one who cannot let it out - it consumes him from within and burns his innards.
And this, in essence, is the lament of Knesset Yisrael: "My eyes are spent with tears" - I no longer have the ability to let it out, the fountain of tears has run dry, and I can weep no more. And what is the consequence? The grief and anguish remain bottled up, consuming me from within - "my innards are in turmoil," "my liver is poured out upon the earth." Just as blood drains from a liver roasting over the fire, so too, from the fire of internal anguish, my liver is poured out upon the earth.
The Roots of the Decree: From Yaakov and Esav to the Generation of the Wilderness
The sefer Elon Bachut explains that hinted here is Israel's punishment for what Yaakov did to Esav. The struggle between Yaakov and Esav did not end then; it is an ongoing battle until the coming of the Redeemer: "And saviors shall ascend Mount Zion to judge the mountain of Esav, and the kingdom shall be the Lord's." The Name is not complete and the Throne is not complete until Amalek is wiped out, and Amalek is Esav's grandson. The war against Esav is the ultimate struggle that will endure until the Redeemer arrives, with deep, historic roots. Now we will see how a price was paid for that very conflict that began back then between Yaakov and Esav.
"My eyes are spent with tears" - Chazal say that when Yaakov took the blessings from Esav, Esav shed three tears. Why were we spent? Because of those tears, the very tears that Yaakov caused Esav to shed. "My innards are in turmoil" - corresponding to what Esav said to his father, "Let my father arise," and Yitzchak replied, "Who then is he who hunted game and brought it to me, and I ate of all of it?" - meaning, the innards had already eaten from what Yaakov brought. In retribution for this, it was decreed: "My innards are in turmoil."
"As infant and suckling languish" - Yaakov bowed down to Esav "until he came close to his brother," and we find that there was a divine claim against Yaakov for bowing down before Esav. Corresponding to this, it was decreed: "As infant and suckling languish in the city squares," for as we explained, ba'ataf denotes one curling inward upon oneself, which is a form of bowing and stooping low.
Furthermore, the verse also corresponds to the sins of the Generation of the Wilderness. What was their sin? Weeping for no cause - "You wept tears for no cause, so I will establish for you a weeping for generations." Corresponding to that weeping, it is said, "My eyes are spent with tears": What am I suffering from? From that very weeping, which has brought weeping upon us now. Corresponding to their revulsion toward the manna, when they said of "this miserable bread" that it swells in the bowels and will rot and stink, asking: is there any man who eats and does not excrete? - corresponding to this, it says, "My innards are in turmoil," for their bowels truly burned within them. And corresponding to what they said regarding ascending to the Land - that You are delivering us into the hands of mighty, fierce nations, giants the sons of Anak, "and our wives and little ones will become plunder" - corresponding to this, it was decreed: "As infant and suckling languish in the city squares," for the infant and the suckling indeed became plunder.
A Limit to Tears
Chazal say: A fixed limit was given to the eye for shedding tears; if it sheds too many, it immediately dissolves - that is, it melts away and suffers damage. As Scripture states: "And the clouds return after the rain" - this refers to the light of a person's eyes, which dims and is spent because of tears. Too much rain harms the eye, and what is this "rain"? Tears. This is the meaning of "My eyes are spent with tears" - through the abundance of tears my eyes are consumed, their vision impaired and melted away by excessive weeping.
They Say to Their Mothers: Where Is Grain and Wine?
לְאִמֹּתָם יֹאמְרוּ אַיֵּה דָּגָן וָיָיִן, בְּהִתְעַטְּפָם כֶּחָלָל בִּרְחֹבוֹת עִיר, בְּהִשְׁתַּפֵּךְ נַפְשָׁם אֶל חֵיק אִמֹּתָם. - They say to their mothers, "Where is grain and wine?" as they languish like the wounded in the city squares, as their souls pour out into their mothers' bosom.
A beautiful explanation is cited in the name of the Maharsham of Brezan (author of Techelet Mordechai, grandfather of Rav Shalom Schwadron), who explains the verse homiletically and connects "My eyes fail with tears... as infant and suckling languish in the town squares" to the following verse: "To their mothers they say, 'Where is grain and wine?'"
We know that one of the hardest things that causes people to leave the batei midrash is the issue of livelihood: the desire to advance financially and stand on one's own two feet. And for this, people leave, even at a young age. What financial problems do you have? You are not yet required to support a wife and children; sit and learn! You are in the holy yeshivah - why go looking for nonsense? But people put ideas into his head that he needs a livelihood and must study commerce or other trades, so that he will have what to eat and how to support himself in the future.
Regarding this, the verse says: "My eyes fail with tears" - over these youths my eyes fail with tears; "as infant and suckling languish in the town squares" - you see them wandering the city streets instead of being in the beit midrash. And if you ask why, "To their mothers they say, 'Where is grain and wine?'" - they will tell you that this is the reason: he needs a livelihood, he has to find a way to earn a living. And that is why they are in the town squares, for otherwise, where will our grain and wine come from? But a person must know how to trust in Hashem, that Hashem will take care of him and provide his sustenance, "nor have I seen a righteous person forsaken."
Emunah - In Everything Except This
It is told of Rav Eliyahu Lopian that a yeshivah student once came to him and said that he wished to leave the yeshivah to train as a sofer STaM (scribe). The Rav asked him: "Why are you thinking of leaving the yeshivah?" He replied: "With Hashem's help, God willing, I will get married, and..." The Rav said: "Wait, get married? Who says you will get married?" He answered: "Chas ve-shalom, what is the Rav saying? With Hashem's help I will get married; everyone gets married, and I will get married too. And with Hashem's help, I will also have children..." The Rav asked: "Wait, who says you will have children?" He replied: "Chas ve-shalom, how can the Rav speak like that? With Hashem's help, everyone has children, and I will have children too. And afterwards, I will also need to support them." The Rav said to him: "Look, I am simply amazed by you - you are a person of great faith. You believe that you will get married, you believe that you will have children, and you believe that you will find a livelihood in the profession you study. In all of this you believe! The only thing you do not believe is that the Holy One, blessed be He, will not forsake you and will sustain you if you delve in His Torah. In everything else you believe, but in this, you do not believe."
This is "To their mothers they say, 'Where is grain and wine?'" Believe in Hashem and trust in Him, for there is nothing to prevent the Holy One, blessed be He, from saving, whether by many or by few.
In summary: In these verses, the elegist recounts the afflictions of sorrow that struck him - eyes that failed, intestines that churned, and a liver poured out, all of them signs of a fatal wound (tereifah), signifying the depth of the rupture. We learned that tears provide release, and that the worst situation is when one has no strength left to cry and grief eats away at a person from within; therefore, it is good for a person to share his anxiety with others. We also saw how the verses correspond to the tears of Esav and the prostrations of Yaakov, as well as to the weeping of the wilderness generation, their complaint against the manna, and their declaration, "our wives and children will become plunder." Finally, homiletically: "as infant and suckling languish in the town squares... to their mothers they say, 'Where is grain and wine?'" - a warning not to abandon the beit midrash out of worry for livelihood, but to trust in Hashem, for there is no restraint for Him to deliver.