Confronting Our Own Shortcomings
讗讬讻讛 专讘讛 讗:讗
讗讬讻讛 讬砖讘讛 砖诇砖讛 谞转谞讘讗讜 讘诇砖讜谉 讗讬讻讛 诪砖讛 讬砖注讬讛 讜讬专诪讬讛 诪砖讛 讗诪专 (讚讘专讬诐 讗壮) 讗讬讻讛 讗砖讗 诇讘讚讬 讜讙讜壮 讬砖注讬讛 讗诪专 (讬砖注讬讛 讗壮) 讗讬讻讛 讛讬转讛 诇讝讜谞讛 讬专诪讬讛 讗诪专 讗讬讻讛 讬砖讘讛 讘讚讚
讗状专 诇讜讬 诪砖诇 诇诪讟专讜谞讛 砖讛讬讜 诇讛 砖诇砖讛 砖讜砖讘讬谞讬谉 讗讞讚 专讗讛 讗讜转讛 讘砖诇讜转讛 讜讗讞讚 专讗讛 讗讜转讛 讘驻讞讝讜转讛 讜讗讞讚 专讗讛 讗讜转讛 讘谞讬讜讜诇讛 讻讱 诪砖讛 专讗讛 讗转 讬砖专讗诇 讘讻讘讜讚诐 讜砖诇讜转诐 讜讗诪专 讗讬讻讛 讗砖讗 诇讘讚讬 讟专讞讻诐 讬砖注讬讛 专讗讛 讗讜转诐 讘驻讞讝讜转诐 讜讗诪专 讗讬讻讛 讛讬转讛 诇讝讜谞讛 讬专诪讬讛 专讗讛 讗讜转诐 讘谞讬讜讜诇诐 讜讗诪专 讗讬讻讛 讬砖讘讛
Lamentations Rabbah 1:1
鈥淗ow (eikhah) lonely sits the city, [once great with people]!鈥� (Lam. 1:1). Three uttered prophecies using the word eikhah: Moses, Isaiah, and Jeremiah. Moses said, 鈥淗ow can I bear unaided [the trouble of you, and the burden, and the bickering]!鈥� (Deut. 1:12). Isaiah said, 鈥淗ow she has become a harlot, [the faithful city that was filled with justice, where righteousness dwelt鈥攂ut now murderers]!鈥� (Isa. 1:21). Jeremiah said, 鈥淗ow lonely sits the city . . .!鈥�
R. Levi taught: This may be likened to a matron who had three suitors: one beheld her in her complacency, a second beheld her in her infidelity, and the third beheld her in her disgrace. Thus, Moses beheld Israel in their glory but also their complacency and exclaimed, 鈥淗ow can I bear unaided [the trouble of you . . .]!鈥� Isaiah beheld them in their infidelity and exclaimed, 鈥淗ow she has become a harlot, [the faithful city that was filled with justice . . .]!鈥� Jeremiah beheld them in their disgrace and exclaimed, 鈥淗ow lonely sits the city . . .!鈥�
It may sound strange that I look forward every summer to observing Tish鈥檃h Be鈥橝v. The saddest day on the Hebrew calendar is also the one I have found most consistently meaningful since my teenage years. The psychological mix of introspection, catharsis, and yearning for redemption combine with the physical effects of fasting for 25 hours to produce an experience that challenges my personal comfort zone about Judaism and Jewish history. That experience of emotional and bodily discomfort deeply resonates with the message of the midrash above.
In the first part of this rabbinic text, we find a comparison of three verses in which the term eikhah (how/alas) appears. Used to frame a question and as an exclamation, this term provides a lens for comparing three prophets鈥� heartfelt speeches: Moses鈥檚 warning to the Israelites not to test God (in this week鈥檚 Torah portion), Isaiah鈥檚 rebuke of social injustices and threats of impending doom, and Jeremiah鈥檚 lamentations for a destroyed Jerusalem and its murdered or exiled inhabitants. Reading the quoted verses together allows us to collapse biblical history into a short progression from moral deafness and blindness to disaster.
While I reject how this text blames its female victim, it behooves us to examine the way that this midrash identifies complacency as a culprit of social decline. Rabbi Levi鈥檚 parable compares ancient Israel to a woman whose arrogance brought her to disloyalty and dishonor. That allegorical reading makes our ancestors鈥� collective catastrophe into a personal tragedy that each of us can internalize more easily. The challenge remains, however, for us individually to confront our own shortcomings before it is too late to make amends.
Of course, this is exactly the kind of spiritual homework we need to be doing in advance of the High Holy Days. For the 50 days between Tish鈥檃h Be鈥橝v and Rosh Hashanah, we owe it to God, our communities, our families, and ourselves to engage in serious cheshbon ha-nefesh, a thorough personal accounting of our deeds, both our successes and our failures. Not doing so amounts to self-satisfaction and a betrayal of our integrity. Let us choose life and self-improvement instead.
