Shabbat Chazon
Prior to this Shabbos, we have completed a fast day, Shiva Asar B'Tamuz, and experienced three weeks of mourning. Now we observe the Shabbos that precedes the saddest day of the year, Tisha B'Av.
The commentators point out that three prophets used the word eichah. First, Moshe Rabbeinu employs it in this week's Torah portion: "Eichah-How can I alone carry your difficulties, your burdens and your quarrels." The prophet Yirmiyahu begins the book of Lamentations, which we chant on Tisha B'Av evening: "Eichah-Behold, how the city sits desolate, a city once filled with people." Finally, the prophet Yeshayah, in this week's haftorah portion, laments over the city of Jerusalem: "Eichah-How she has become a harlot."
We may well ponder the meaning of this unique expression, used by three of our greatest prophets. What did they envision in this word, which they used to describe the terrible situation that had befallen the Jewish people, the land of Israel and the holy city of Jerusalem? What does eichah signify that it became the hallmark of devastation, destruction and despair? The word, its meaning, as well as the tune we use to chant Eichah have become so ingrained in the soul of our people that we tremble when we hear the word.
The Maharal of Prague, in his work, Netzach Yisrael, provides an insightful interpretation.
The word eichah, he explains, actually dates back to Adam. After Adam sinned by eating from the Tree of Knowledge he heard the sound of Hashem approaching him in the Garden of Eden. And Hashem called out to Adam and said, 'Ayekah-Where are you ?"
Obviously Hashem knew where Adam was, the Maharal explains. He was saying something else through the word ayekah, which, spelled in Hebrew, can also be pronounced eichah. Eichah-How could you, Adam, my creation, have fallen so fast and sinned? What happened that you could not withstand temptation and thus lost the great opportunity devised for you? How could you make such a mistake for which future generations will have to grieve and suffer? This was the question G-d posed to Adam by asking, "Ayeka?"
Thus, when the three prophets looked at the terrible condition of the Jewish people, they remembered the first eichah.
Our teacher, Moshe, after leading the Jewish people out of Egypt and guiding them for forty years through the wilderness, questions the behavior of the people. How can they be so lighthearted and so quarrelsome? Am Yisrael, who saw miracles in Egypt , at the Red Sea, and in battles with vicious enemies, who were saved each time, still had not mastered the lesson of eichah. Said our teacher Moshe: I mourn for them!
The prophet Yirmiyahu, in a similar vein, questions the people about the city of Jerusalem, the city that Hashem had chosen for Himself, where His holy Temple stood. How could they not have taken pride in this city?
"Eichah," says the prophet, I mourn for you and for your actions, which have caused this glorious city to become desolate and abandoned.
The prophet Yeshayah joins in these lamentations, using the same word. Woe unto you for disregarding and neglecting the Torah and her teachings.
However, amid all the doom and gloom of the Nine Days, Shabbos Chazon and Tisah B'Av, we do find words of hope, faith and promise, which recognize the bright future that is in store for us.
The Moshiach is born on Tisha B'Av. With his arrival, eichah will be changed back to ayekah-Where are you?-a call to the Jewish people, wherever they are, to return to our ancient homeland.
Tisha B'Av is not all black. Just as a rose is the most beautiful flower and can come in many shades, from pure white to very dark, still there is no black rose. Each rose has a drop of water within its flower-a tear signifying not only our eternal mourning over our long exile but also symbolizing our unwavering belief in their final redemption and restoration of our people, our land and our city of Jerusalem to their former glory.
In the words of Yeshayah: "Zion shall be redeemed with justice and her returnees with righteousness."
Rabbi I. Nathan Bamberger
Rabbi Bamberger is Rabbi of the Kingsbridge Heights Jewish Center, Bronx, N.Y.
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