In Chapter 3 of Megillat Eicha, the lamenter reaches the pinnacle of depicting the affliction, and from within it, he turns toward Heaven. In the passage before us, we deal with the verses in which the weeping over the ruin of the daughter of my people bursts forth, with the longing for the Holy One, Blessed be He, to look down and see, with the description of the self-sacrifice of the daughters of Israel, and with the painful imagery of being hunted: "My enemies hunted me like a bird without cause." We will follow the order of the verses, citing the words of the commentators and masters of Mussar as they were taught.
עַד יַשְׁקִיף וְיֵרֶא יְהֹוָה מִשָּׁמָיִם׃ (נ) - Until Hashem looks down and sees from heaven.
We saw earlier that there is a cloud separating Israel from their Father in Heaven - "You have covered Yourself with a cloud so that prayer cannot pass through." The tzaddikim, through their prayers, as it were, bore windows through this cloud, making fissures in it through which prayers can ascend. And toward this we yearn: Until when? Until Hashem looks down and sees through those windows. Of course, there is no circumstance in which the Holy One, Blessed be He, does not see; rather, in human terms, the cloud creates a concealment of the Divine Countenance (hester panim), a reality in which it is as if the Holy One, Blessed be He, does not see what is happening to us, and the tzaddikim breach openings in it so that He will see our plight and the prayers will rise.
And there is a precise nuance here: at first, when the fissure is still narrow, it says yashkif ("He will look down") - which requires intense gazing to see through it. Afterward, as the fissure gradually widens, it says ve-yere ("and He will see") - a complete and straightforward seeing, from which His great mercy will be stirred to have compassion on us from the troubles our enemies inflict upon us.
The sefer Elon Bachut explains the verse based on a well-known principle: two things bring the Redemption closer. The first is the wickedness of the nations, as it is said, "for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full" - when their measure of guilt overflows, their time has run out, and this brings good to Israel. Yet this is somewhat of a mixed blessing: it does not come because of our righteousness, but because of their wickedness. And the second is when the Jewish people are worthy - when we accumulate merits, and by virtue of our spiritual standing and merits, we become deserving of redemption.
With this, he resolves a major difficulty. Chazal taught us that every instance of hashkafah (looking down) in Scripture is for ill, except for "Look down from Your holy abode, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel." "And they looked down over the face of Sodom" - and in the wake of that, Sodom was overturned. If so, here the looking down is seemingly for good: the lamenter says, "Streams of water flow from my eyes over the ruin of the daughter of my people; my eye pours forth and does not cease, without respite" - until when do I cry? "Until Hashem looks down and sees from heaven" - until He has mercy! How does this align with the rule that every hashkafah is for ill? Rather, it is marvelous: "Looks down" (yashkif) - that He will look upon the deeds of the wicked nations and punish them, which is the looking down for ill, corresponding to the first path of redemption; "and Hashem sees from heaven" (ve-yere) - the merits of Israel, which is seeing for good, corresponding to the second path.
There is also another explanation of the verse. "Until Hashem looks down and sees from heaven" - meaning that after the Holy One, Blessed be He, removed His Shechinah from our midst, He does nothing more than look down at us from heaven. For if the Holy One, Blessed be He, is dwelling among us, He has no need to peer from afar: "And I will walk among you." But from the moment He distanced Himself from us because we rebelled against His word, a reality was created in which, to oversee us, He must peer down, and it must be from heaven. And is such gazing down a good thing? Certainly not. We are not seeking that He merely look down; we seek for Him to be here, to be with us. This is what the verse is saying: our situation is so dire that the Holy One, Blessed be He, only looks down from heaven, because He has withdrawn His intimate providence and Shechinah from among us.
עֵינִי עוֹלְלָה לְנַפְשִׁי מִכֹּל בְּנוֹת עִירִי׃ (נא) - My eye brought grief to my soul because of all the daughters of my city.
The sefer Torat Chessed explains: the eye itself sheds tears, without needing "the daughters of my city." And who are the daughters of my city? These are the wailing women, as it is said, "Call for the mourning women, that they may come." The role of the mourning women was to arouse weeping, to bring people to emotional intensity and warmth until they burst into tears. When a person passed away, they would bring an ensemble of mourning women, even accompanied by musical instruments, flutes, and thus they would stir tears. Regarding this, the prophet laments: I have no need for wailing women; I do not need external catalysts to arouse me to cry. "My eye brought grief to my soul" - the eye itself causes and produces this weeping, more than all the daughters of my city whose very profession and role this is. The destruction is so dreadful that the eye weeps on its own.
It can also be explained further that hearing is not comparable to seeing. Knesset Yisrael says: When I walk in the street and see the dreadful state of the Jewish people, how young children faint from hunger at the head of every street - a person who sees something that causes him pain naturally begins to cry on his own. "My eye" - through my own sight - "brought grief to my soul" more than all the daughters of my city, for seeing this wretched and horrific condition itself arouses me to weep more than anything else.
The sefer Elon Bachut explains "because of all the daughters of my city" based on the well-known episode: At the time of the Destruction, four hundred boys and girls were taken captive for shameful degradation. They were placed onto a ship to transport them to a place where they would be sold for sin. The girls asked the oldest among them: "If we sacrifice our lives now and jump into the sea, will we enter the life of the World to Come, or will we perhaps be held accountable and judged as having taken our own lives?" The oldest of them expounded to them: "'The Lord said: I will bring back from Bashan; I will bring back from the depths of the sea' - even from the depths of the sea the Holy One, blessed be He, brings back and redeems." Once the girls heard this, they all leaped and fell into the sea.
First, observe the sanctity and high stature of the girls, that they were the first. Women possess exceedingly strong faith; they are at ease and confident in Hashem, and their faith is simpler and purer than that of men. Afterward, the boys deduced an a fortiori (kal vachomer) argument for themselves. Notice that there are really two distinct processes here: a woman's way is faith - she believes, and immediately jumps into the sea; whereas a man's way is intellect and logic - he requires a kal vachomer. And so the boys made a kal vachomer: "If these girls, for whom such an act is natural, gave their lives, then we - who are to be subjected to homosexuality, which is entirely unnatural for us and an unbearable disgrace - how much more so!" Based on that deduction, they too cast themselves into the sea. This is "my eye has afflicted my soul because of all the daughters of my city" - when I remember those daughters of my city who gave their lives to death rather than succumb to sin, my tears are stirred.
Something similar occurred during the terrible Holocaust. Ninety-three Bais Yaakov girls in the Krakow Ghetto were informed that soldiers would arrive the next day, and they were being prepared for sin. The girls prepared poison for themselves, and the rebbetzin who was with them spoke to them about the greatness and virtue of self-sacrifice, preparing them to surrender their lives for the sanctification of God's Name. They all recited the blessing over sanctifying God's Name through martyrdom and swallowed the poison - ninety-three girls. Today, there are streets and parks named "The 93" in several places, and this story stands behind that name. The Nazis, may their names and memory be blotted out, arrived and found ninety-three who had given their lives for the sanctification of God's Name. This is "because of all the daughters of my city": pure, simple faith to give one's life to sanctify God's Name, without overthinking or clever rationalizations.
The Ridvaz explains: "My eye has afflicted my soul" - I cast an evil eye upon myself. Over the immense goodness that the Holy One, blessed be He, bestowed upon me, I looked at myself and said: "How good things are for me, what abundance, what blessing, what success!" Sometimes a person harms himself precisely by gazing upon himself with excessive admiration, thereby casting an evil eye upon himself.
As Rav Dessler explains, an evil eye means deep awe and admiration over something, and this admiration stirs up heavenly scrutiny: "Is he worthy of this? Does he really deserve it?" That is why a person is forbidden to stand over his neighbor's standing grain when it is fully grown, standing in rows in all its beauty, and gaze at it, lest he cause it harm through an evil eye. Looking and thinking, "What beauty, what abundance, how wonderful!" can cause Heaven to begin examining the owner: "Does he deserve this? Is he worthy of it?" And from there harm ensues. Take the Twin Towers: anyone passing by would marvel in awe at two colossal, towering monoliths, and what was their end? They were erased. From this we can fathom the power of an evil eye and what exaggerated fascination can cause. This is "my eye has afflicted my soul" - sometimes a person gazes with excessive admiration at everything he possesses, casts an evil eye upon himself, and is harmed as a result.
The Masters of Mussar offer another explanation. If a person wishes to know where holiness resides, it is in the eyes, in guarding the eyes. And if he wishes to know what can corrupt him most severely, that too is the eyes. This is "my eye has afflicted my soul": the blemish of the eyes is what wrought ruin upon my soul, more than all the "daughters of my city." For the body is called "a small city with few men in it," as taught in Mishlei, and "the daughters of my city" are the limbs of the body. What causes more harm to a person than any other organ? The eye - it works the greatest damage, more than all other limbs.
צוֹד צָדוּנִי כַּצִּפּוֹר אֹיְבַי חִנָּם׃ (נב) - My enemies have hunted me like a bird, without cause. (52)
The Akeidat Yitzchak explains: Hunters typically scatter seeds, grain, and breadcrumbs to trap birds, but here they were "my enemies without cause" - without food and without anything. A bird comes, pecks at the seeds, steps into the net unaware, and is trapped. Granted, it is a one-way ticket for the bird; it is certainly caught, but at least it had a final meal; it ate well just before the net closed over it. But as for me, they hunted me down and I did not even have a final meal. The enemy did not even spend the pennies to cast a few seeds before me. In simple terms: the enemy invested nothing to hunt me; he trapped me without offering even a morsel of sustenance. (Incidentally, today too there are those trapped in the net - the web - and there are rehabilitation centers that teach people how to disconnect from the internet; they are hunted like birds and trapped in the net, may Hashem protect them.)
The sefer Chut Shel Chessed explains differently. A hunter who traps a bird intends his own pleasure, and here it refers to a songbird. In those days, people would trap songbirds, since they did not have music players and stereo systems. What would a person who wanted a little music do two thousand years ago? He would buy a songbird, and it would sing and delight him. In order for the bird to sing well, its spirits had to be kept high, so he fed it well, knowing which delicacies and seeds it preferred, and it responded accordingly. Regarding this, the author of the kinah laments: our hunting was like that of a bird, but the good food that usually follows - that we never received.
Another explanation concerns the enemies who marched against us. As a rule, mercenaries exist - what is your connection to this war? I have no connection, but there is money, so I come. But when one nation hates another nation, it comes for free. What did the Ukrainians do to us? What did the Romanians and the Hungarians do to us? They aided the Nazis for free, whole volunteer units coming to assist. "Gain of money they took not," as Devorah phrased it in her song. As soon as one smelled Jewish blood - there he was. This is "They have hunted me down like a bird, my enemies without cause": they asked him, how much do you charge? He said, no, it is volunteer work, for the sake of Heaven! He came to hunt me down like a bird and did not even take payment in money, demonstrating how immense their hatred toward us was.
We find something similar with Haman: when he offered, "and I will weigh out ten thousand talents of silver," Achashverosh immediately told him, "The money is given to you" - for free, I am selling the Jews for free. And this is what is written: "For nothing you were sold, and not with money shall you be redeemed." The most terrible affliction is when you are sold for nothing, meaning you are worth nothing at all. This explains why the brothers sold Yosef for shoes; even though they were held accountable for it - "for their selling a righteous man for silver, and a destitute man for a pair of shoes," for which they were prosecuted in the story of the Ten Martyrs - why did they do so nevertheless? Because they said: selling him for nothing is a far greater indignity; better that we receive some payment for him, so that he possesses at least some value.
Likewise in the Tochachah, when the Torah wishes to describe the horrific plight that would befall the Jewish people, it says that we will be brought by ships to Egypt to be sold as slaves - "and there will be no buyer." The holy sefarim write that "and there will be no buyer" is the peak of the curse: people are selling, and nobody wants them. A Jew? Take five for ten - I do not want him. For free - I do not want him. Terribly horrifying. It shows that a person has no value, that he is considered sheer liability. It turns out that "chinam" (for nothing / without cause) is often the most painful element: the hatred toward us is so intense that people volunteer for free to harass and torment us, with no purpose and no gain.
According to what we explained earlier, the verse can also be interpreted based on the Midrash regarding Hadrian, may his bones be crushed, who stationed guard post after guard post, so that whoever escaped the first post was caught by the second. Afterward, he promised anyone who emerged from the holes and caves where they hid that he would do them no harm, and on the contrary, would even give them gifts. On this we quoted: "Ephraim has become like a silly dove, without understanding" - like a dove enticed by seeds, unaware of the trap lying in wait. This is "They have hunted me down like a bird": both elements were present here - hunting, in that whoever fled from one direction was caught by guards from another, and seduction, like the enticement to leave the hiding place, where the king made lavish promises just as one lures a bird with grains, until it turned out to be a honeypot trap.
צָמְתוּ בַבּוֹר חַיָּי וַיַּדּוּ אֶבֶן בִּי׃ (נג) - They cut off my life in the pit, and cast a stone upon me. (53)
צָפוּ מַיִם עַל רֹאשִׁי אָמַרְתִּי נִגְזָרְתִּי׃ (נד) - Waters flowed over my head; I said, "I am cut off." (54)
To understand the severity of these words, let us turn to the episode of Daniel. When the kingdom passed to Darius, the ministers saw how the king elevated Daniel above all the officials, and they were infuriated. They consulted among themselves to see what charges they could fabricate against him and what they could invent, but they saw that the man was pure and entirely unblemished - "no error or corruption was found in him," no mistake and no wrongdoing whatsoever could be discovered about him.
And when nothing can be found - a law is legislated to turn the person into a criminal. It has happened throughout history: whenever they wished to delegitimize someone, they passed a law by which he automatically became an offender. In such a way, a law is enacted that anyone who does not enlist is a criminal - regarding the least criminal community in existence, a population that does not occupy prisons and where crime is virtually zero, yet nevertheless you find yourself with a criminal record, left wondering why you are not accepted for jobs. And when they investigate anyone else - the trouble is that they find so much, so fast; wherever you touch, you uncover corruption, every arrow hits a target, and when it is revealed how capital is tied to government and "you scratch my back and I will scratch yours," one realizes that not everything here is conducted upon foundations of holiness, unfortunately. May Hashem save us.
And this is what Darius's men did: they passed a law that anyone who makes a petition to any god for thirty days shall be cast into the lions' den - one may petition only the king, for who is better than him? The king had no choice, and he signed the decree. Daniel went up to the attic room of his house, where he had twelve windows, and prayed. They placed him under surveillance, saw Daniel clearly standing and praying, and came and reported it to the king. Although the king loved him dearly, he was forced to cast him into the lions' den.
The lions' den was a pit in the ground with an opening, containing lions, into which their food was thrown. They lowered Daniel into it, and the king brought a heavy stone and placed it over the mouth of the pit, and they sealed it with their signet rings so that no one could remove it - "And a stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the pit, and the king sealed it with his signet ring." And what was the purpose of the stone? To ensure that none of the ministers, distrusting the lions to do their job, would shoot arrows or throw stones at Daniel into the pit; for Daniel inside the pit could not defend himself - two cinder blocks and the matter would be finished. Therefore, he placed a heavy stone to ensure that no one could harm him. (Incidentally, this is the source for the concept of even mesamei [a covering stone] in the laws of ritual purity, from "and placed over the mouth of the pit," primarily concerning the tumah of a zav.)
And over this the prophet laments: Even if You hunted me like a bird and placed me in a cage, at least let me live; put a stone over me that will protect me. But that was not what happened - "They have silenced my life in the pit, and cast stones upon me": You placed me in a pit, and on top of that they cast stones at me! With the lions I could have managed, just as Daniel managed with them, but for them to cast stones at me - why do You permit this? And this is what caused "Waters flowed over my head; I said, I am cut off." For had You left me in the pit alone, a miracle would have been performed for me.
The foundation of this matter is something we have discussed in the past: There is an opinion among the Rishonim that an agent endowed with free will has the power to harm even someone against whom it was not decreed from Above. Our tradition follows the view of the Vilna Gaon (Gra), that one possessing free choice has no power to harm anyone unless it was decreed upon him; only toward one upon whom it was decreed, whereas toward one upon whom it was not decreed, free choice is curbed. However, many dispute this, among them the holy Ohr HaChaim and the Radak, holding that a being with free choice does possess the power to harm even without a prior Heavenly decree, for it is his free choice to do harm. Seemingly, there are many proofs from the verses supporting this approach, and we have delivered an entire lesson on this topic. Rav Friedlander, in his book *Emunah U'Vechirah*, harmonizes the two approaches, showing that they complement rather than contradict one another.
And so as not to leave you in suspense, let us conclude the narrative of Daniel: "Then the king arose at daybreak, at the dawn" - the king awoke early in the morning out of his great love for Daniel, "and went in haste to the lions' den" - he ran hurriedly to the den of lions. "And when he came near the den, he cried out with a pained voice to Daniel" - as he approached, he called to Daniel in a mournful voice: "Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to save you from the lions?" "Then Daniel spoke with the king: May the king live forever!" - Daniel answered: My lord the king, live forever! "My God sent His angel and shut the lions' mouths, and they have not harmed me" - my God sent His angel and closed the lions' mouths, and they did not harm me; "because merit was found in me before Him, and also before you, O king, I have done no harm" - for I possess merit before Him, and toward you as well, my lord the king, I have done no wrong. We explained at that time that had he been deficient in any way toward the king, his merits in Heaven would have been diminished, since there would have been the king's grievance against him, and a person is commanded to seek the welfare of the government, and the law of the land is the law; but he said to him: My record is clean both before the Master of the World and before you, my lord the king, and therefore the Holy One, blessed is He, saved me.
"Then the king was exceedingly glad for him, and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no injury whatever was found on him, because he believed in his God" - the king's heart was glad for him, and he commanded that Daniel be lifted up from the pit; and he was brought up and no injury was found on him, for the lions had not made even a scratch on him, because he trusted in his God. And then: "And the king commanded, and they brought those men who had maliciously accused Daniel, and they cast them into the lions' den - them, their children, and their wives" - they brought the men who had slandered Daniel and threw them into the lions' den, along with their children and their wives. "And they had not reached the bottom of the den before the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones" - they did not even reach the bottom of the pit before the lions seized them in midair and crushed all their bones to dust. For Chazal relate that they said to the king: My lord king, perhaps the lions were not hungry; perhaps someone brought them food! He said to them: You are right, let us check. He took them and threw them into the den, and it became clear that they were ravenously hungry. Hashem's kindness was with Daniel and he was saved. We have mentioned this here only briefly; whoever wishes may hear the matter in greater detail with the Malbim in our lessons on the Book of Daniel.
In these verses, the author of the lament reaches rock bottom: he waits "Until Hashem looks down and sees from Heaven" - that the righteous break windows through the separating cloud, and that first there will be a limited gaze, followed by complete sight and compassion; and two paths to redemption - retribution for the wickedness of the nations, and the merit of Israel. "My eyes bring grief to my soul" - weeping that requires no mourning women to arouse it, weeping over the self-sacrifice of the daughters of Israel throughout all generations, and a lesson regarding the power of the eye - for an evil eye, and for holiness or corruption. "My enemies hunted me like a bird, without cause" - hatred that offers neither profit nor reason, to the point where a Jew's worth is as nothing. And "They have silenced my life in the pit, and cast stones upon me" - for the pit alone was not enough, but they even denied him that minimal protection. And from all this arises our prayer that Hashem look down and see, and return once more to walk in our midst.