Chapter 2 of Megillat Eicha describes the destruction of the Temple and the city at the hand of the Holy One Himself, and it concludes with a verse that is an outright cry: a description of the dreadful day on which no one remained untouched. We will examine the final verse in the chapter, its various interpretations, and the profound question that arises from it.
תִּקְרָא כְיוֹם מוֹעֵד מְגוּרַי מִסָּבִיב, וְלֹא הָיָה בְּיוֹם אַף יְהֹוָה פָּלִיט וְשָׂרִיד, אֲשֶׁר טִפַּחְתִּי וְרִבִּיתִי אֹיְבִי כִלָּם׃ - "You summoned as on a festival day my neighbors from all around, and on the day of Hashem's wrath there was neither refugee nor survivor; those whom I tenderly cared for and raised, my enemy consumed."
The author of the lament says here: Just as on festivals and appointed times the pilgrims would come to Jerusalem from all corners of the world, so You summoned and assembled today "my neighbors from all around" - the neighbors living around me, the wicked enemies surrounding my borders. And just as the crowds gathered to the city on the festivals, so the enemies now converged upon it. "And on the day of Hashem's wrath there was neither refugee nor survivor" - on the day of His anger and fierce wrath, no one escaped or survived that fury.
The Targum explains the verse as a prayer: "Proclaim freedom for the children of Your people, the House of Israel, through the Mashiach." As it were, the author of the lament says: Please, Hashem, summon Your people Israel and bring them out to freedom through the Mashiach, just as You did through Moshe and Aharon on the day of Pesach. This is "as on a festival day": just as You did on the appointed day, since Pesach is the season of redemption, and just as You called us then to redemption and brought us out of exile, so proclaim freedom now for the children of Your people.
According to this, "my dwellers all around" means: all those who dwell all around, in the far-flung places to which they were banished - summon them to come and gather, meaning that the exile should come to an end. "And there was neither survivor nor refugee" - those who were swaddled in fine linens and raised in royal pampering, my enemy consumed them. Therefore, Master of the Universe, as for what remains - please, call and gather them all, all of the Jewish people who went into their exile; call them as on a festival day, like the holiday of Pesach, which is the holiday of redemption.
Some explain that "those who dwell around me" refers to the people of Israel who lived in the environs of Jerusalem, and fleeing the enemy, they all streamed into the city, since Jerusalem was fortified with walls. But did this save them? On the contrary - the situation became far worse. For Jerusalem was under siege, and because of this influx of people, a terrible famine broke out, and all those who thought they would escape from distant places and find safety behind the walls - precisely because they were trapped inside, perished in the famine. And this is what the verse means: even though all "my dwellers from all around" came here and were gathered here, nevertheless "on the day of Hashem's wrath there was neither refugee nor survivor," for all whom I tenderly cared for and raised - the enemy consumed them all.
Another explanation: megurai is related to "do not fear any man" (lo taguru mipnei ish), an expression of dread and fear. Those who previously feared me, as it says, "and Moav was in dread of the children of Israel" (vayagar Moav mipnei Bnei Yisrael) - may retribution come upon them just as it came upon me. "You summoned as on a festival day my dread from all around" - please, Hashem, exact retribution from them just as they did to me.
Another explanation: The beginning of the destruction was like a festival day for the nations. Master of the Universe, when You brought defeat upon us, this downfall rejoiced the nations, and You made it a holiday for them. "You called as on a festival day" - just like a day when a person celebrates his victory, so too You made a festival for them at the hour You brought about my downfall. Master of the Universe, to whom have You done this? "Those whom I have dangled and raised, my enemy has consumed them" - those whom I brought up, the enemy consumes them all.
To what may this be compared? To a city that had no physician, and many illnesses befell it. They dispatched an emissary to a doctor living far away, recounting all the afflictions, and he sent back medications for all the sick, each according to his needs. For one particular patient, the doctor prepared a bag filled with many medicines. The messenger said to him: "It is true, you are correct; according to the illness, he needs all these medications - but I know this patient. If he takes all of this, you will finish him off. He cannot withstand these medicines, for medications are often harsh and potent."
And this is what the lamenter is crying out: Master of the Universe, these afflictions that You brought upon the Jewish people - to whom have You done this? Upon whom have You decreed this? For this nation is weak and cannot absorb all this suffering! Even though strict justice may warrant it, they do not have the strength to endure it. "Those whom I have dangled and raised" - the precious children whom I nurtured and raised for so long, and what terrible anguish it is to see the enemy consume them! Please, Hashem, look upon our distress, have pity and mercy upon us, and may Hashem redeem us with an everlasting redemption.
This seems astonishing, as the Steipler asks in Ta'am HaMikra: We see that on the day of Hashem's wrath, there indeed was an escapee and a remnant - "Hashem's kindnesses are not exhausted" (Chasdei Hashem ki lo samnu). There is no situation in which the Jewish people could ever be entirely consumed, for the Holy One, blessed be He, promised that only if the heavens and earth cease to exist could Israel ever cease being a nation before Him all the days - and just as heaven and earth never cease, so too the Jewish people will never cease. And so it is said: "And yet, even with this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, nor will I abhor them, to destroy them" (Vayikra 26:44). Thus, there is a covenant that Am Yisrael will endure forever, and they cannot possibly be wiped out. How, then, does the verse say: "And on the day of Hashem's wrath there was no escapee or survivor"?
The Steipler resolves this: "There was no escapee or survivor" does not mean that no one remained alive; rather, it means there was no escapee or survivor from the wrath of Hashem. What was the wrath of Hashem? Some were destined for the sword, some for exile, some for beatings, and some for afflictions. On the day of Hashem's wrath, no one escaped, and no survivor remained who could claim, "Hashem's wrath did not touch me." Everyone suffered, everyone was afflicted on the day of Hashem's wrath, and there was no one untouched by the hand of Hashem. Indeed, many remained alive, yet not a single person could say that Hashem's anger did not strike him. Some were struck more severely, and some less severely - but an escapee and survivor from Hashem's wrath did not exist.
Rav Chaim Kanievsky resolves his father's question differently: The verse refers to Eretz Yisrael. For the Land of Israel was emptied of all its inhabitants, and it is written that for fifty-two years, not a single bird flew across the Land of Israel nor nested in it - to such an extent was the land desolate of its inhabitants! And that is what is stated here: "And on the day of Hashem's wrath there was no escapee or survivor" - no escapee or survivor remained in the Holy Land. It does not mean no one survived alive, but rather that in the Holy Land not a single person remained; and if even a bird did not pass through, certainly no human being was there. Everyone departed and went into exile, and no escapee or remnant remained in Eretz Yisrael.
The concluding verse of Chapter 2 is expounded in several ways: a summons to the enemies from all around as on a festival day; a prayer that the Holy One, blessed be He, proclaim freedom for His people through Mashiach as on the day of Pesach; the gathering of the inhabitants of the surrounding areas into Jerusalem, which only worsened their fate; a plea that calamity like mine befall those who fear me; and the destruction, which was like a festival day for the nations. And regarding 'those whom I have dandled and reared, my enemy has consumed,' the parable of the physician teaches that just as the patient cannot endure all the remedies - so the people of Israel cannot endure all the afflictions. And regarding the difficulty of 'and on the day of Hashem's wrath there was no refugee or survivor,' we learned two resolutions: that no one escaped Hashem's wrath even though many remained alive, and that no refugee or survivor remained in the Holy Land, which was emptied of its inhabitants. And from all of this, the prayer arises: Please, Hashem, look upon our affliction, and redeem us with an eternal redemption.