In the beginning of Sefer Devarim we find the rebuke that Moshe offers the Jewish people shortly before his death. Though the words have much to do with the desert experience of the last 40 years, we know that all words recorded in the Torah are eternal and hold meaning for all generations to come. With this in mind we must try to understand how the words of Moshe Rabbeinu can and should impact us just as it did the Jewish people at the end of their journey together.
In recounting the events of the last decades of travails in the desert, Moshe says:
Eicha eseh levadi tarchachem masaechem ve’ribchem
How can I alone carry your contentiousness, burdens, and quarrels? (1:12)
The familiar word Eicha, is also the opening word of this week's Haftorah: Eicha hayta lezona - how has she become a harlot (Yeshayahu 1:21). It is also the first word of the Megilat we read on Tisha Be’Av: Eicha yashva badad - alas she sits in solitude (Eicha 1:1).
The use of this very particular word used three times in the texts surrounding Tisha B’Av undoubtedly clue us in to a deeper connection between the three events described in these texts. Indeed the Midrash explains that the sinful behavior of the Jews in the desert (as described by Moshe in Devarim) set the Jews on a path for the Jews in Eretz Yisrael to become harlots, unfaithful to Hashem (as described in the Haftorah), and ultimately to the divorce, so to speak, between Hashem and the people with the destruction of the temple (as described in Megilat Eicha).
The Talmud tells us that on the day of Tisha B’Av, when the spies returned with negative reports about the land, Hashem declared that because the Jews cried for no reason, Hashem would give them a reason to cry on that day (Taanit 29a). Years later this was the day both Temples were destroyed.
In reading these two rabbinic sources, we are confronted with a fundamental question: It seems that the notion that the Jews were destined for destruction because of their sin in years past seems very antithetical to Jewish tradition. In a religion that stresses the idea of teshuva so strongly, it does not seem fitting that Hashem would decree a punishment that seems to be inescapable and inevitable. A deeper understanding, however, will reveal that these rabbinic sources do, in fact, highlight the possibility and opportunity for teshuva.
In linking the sin of the spies with the ultimate destruction of the Temples generations later, the rabbis are telling us that the same underlying root of the first sin in the desert caused the Jewish people to sin again once they were in the land if Israel. It is the same lack of faith and trust in Hashem that led the Jews to question Hashem in the desert at the sin of the spies, that caused the Jewish people to sin against Hashem during the First and Second Temple periods. Hashem knew that if the Jewish people did not fully repent and uproot the source of the sin – their lack of full faith in Hashem – then in generations to come they would have to face the consequences of their actions, again.
When understood on this level, we learn an important lesson about the nature of sin and teshuva. If one does not address the source of the problem, the root of the sin, then one sin can be the start of a downward spiral, making it harder and harder to get back to where we first began. This is the intention of the rabbis in telling us that the sins in the desert ultimately brought about the exile generations later. This is, of course, why the teshuva process places such emphasis on introspection—it requires that we understand what caused us to sin—only then can we truly get back to where we were before we sinned.
So often when we make a mistake, we lose faith in ourselves, we convince ourselves that we are unable to raise ourselves up, and then fall down even farther. This is the true lesson of the word eicha in the 3 texts cited above.
Rav Winston points out that if rearranged, the letters of the word eicha becomes ayecha, meaning where are you? This is the word Hashem asks Adam HaRishon after his sin in Gan Eden. Of course Hashem knew where Adam was – the question he was asking was for Adam to ponder – where did you go, Adam?
The word eicha reminds us, like the word ayecha reminded Adam, that man is inherently good. When man sins, it is because he has lost touch with his true self, his inherent goodness. Often times, when we become out of touch with our inner voice that guides us in the right direction, we need an outside perspective to come along and remind us. Sometimes, without the voice of a teacher, parent, or a friend reminding us in which direction we really want to be heading, we may continue to take one wrong turn after the other until it is that much harder to get back to the path we really want to be on.
It is no wonder then that in this parsha we find the rebuke of Moshe Rabbeinu speaking of the past mistakes of the Jewish people. Moshe is the outside voice of rebuke, but also of reassurance - reminding us that Hashem gives us the tools to return to Him after our sins.
We know that Moshe is not merely recounting the past mistakes of the Jewish people in the desert as a way to bring them down. In fact, Rashi points out that only the locations of their sins mentioned as a reminder of what they had done—in order to avoid retelling the sin directly and embarrassing the Jewish people. Moshe rebukes the people in order to lift them up—in order that they can mend their ways and learn from their pasts and strengthen themselves in their relationships with each other and with Hashem.
On Tisha B’Av we will read Megilat Eicha and several other kinnot (lamentations) that recount the sins of our past and the consequences we had to face. As we hear these words, we must also be reminded of our inner goodness—our inherent ability to do good and to be good. We must recognize that the retelling of our past serves not simply to call attention to the bad, but as a call for us to find our inner good.
Chazal tell us that on Tisha B’Av the Mashiach is born, the redemption begins, and this most sorrowful day will be the most celebrated holiday of the year. It is perhaps only through this national mourning and teshuva process of reconsidering our past mistakes that we will be moved to uproot any doubts we have that have lead to sin in generations past and merit the redemption we pray for on all days - but especially on Tisha B'Av.
During this pivotal time in the year, may we all try to tune in to our own inner voices leading us back to or further on in our paths. And, at the same time understand the importance of looking out for one another and in the proper and respectful way that Moshe has modeled for us, and may we serve as each other’s teachers and friends leading one another on the path of personal repentance and growth. Shabbat Shalom, Taly
