Introduction to Megillas Eicha, Part 2: The Miracle Hidden Within the Destruction
It is worthwhile taking a moment to better appreciate the nature of the destruction of Jerusalem. For by doing so, we can more fully appreciate what came next.
A number of years ago, I found myself in the baggage claim at Ben Gurion airport having just returned from the States. Standing next to me was a man with a cell phone. This in itself was not so remarkable. No, it was what he said that I vividly remember til this day.
What? Five planes?
What? The World Trade Center?
What? The Pentagon?
It was September 11th and our flight had landed not long after the attacks had taken place.
Now, I had already been living in Israel for a number of years by that time. I was all too aware of the phenomenon of suicide bombings and even (to my great sorrow) knew people who had been murdered in such attacks. But nothing prepared me for that day. I was, to put it mildly, shocked.
That day was a horrible day. It was a frightening day. And there are certain images of that day that I still carry with me - such as the picture of an entire family that was murdered or of a young man who had barely missed his flight.
But I now juxtapose that image with the New York of today. New York today is a bustling city. It is alive. The streets are full of cars and the subways of people. There are parks and museums and plays and more. New York post-9/11 is pretty much the same as New York pre-9/11.
Let us now fast-forward to today. Oct. 7th is still very much raw for all of us. We lived and are still living the shock and fear of that day.
But, we must note, that life in Israel still goes on. Yes, there are still major problems in the North and the South. And yes, we still worry about the hostages, soldiers, Hezzbollah and Iran - but the country as a whole functions.
That was not the case when Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) was destroyed. When we talk about the Churban (destruction), we mean churban in the full sense of the word. When that war was over, life did not go on. When the destruction was over, nothing was left.
The Beis HaMikdash was gone.
The population was gone.
The leaders and institutions were gone.
That is what 'eicha' means. How can this be happening? How can it all be over? How can everything be destroyed?
If we want to get a real sense of the Churban, we should pick a city that we are familiar with. New York, London, Paris, whatever works best for you. Now imagine it totally destroyed. Imagine no one living there. Imagine it laying in ruins. Imagine nothing happening.
That was Yerushalayim. That's "Eicha Yashva Badad." And that was the reality that the Jewish people had to deal with on the day after the Churban.
And yet, within this total destruction is revealed the flip side of Tisha B'Av. It is not just the destruction that is unfathomable. It's the fact that the Jewish people found a way to keep going that is unfathomable.
How in the world do they do that!
Within the depths of the Churban is the miracle of the rebirth. No one would have been surprised if the Jewish people had just disappeared. In fact, how could they not disappear?
Their land, destroyed.
Their population, exiled.
Their kings, gone.
And yet, that was not the ultimate end. Yes, it was the end of a particular period within Jewish history, but it was not the end of Jewish history. The Jewish people lived on and forged forward - and as we know, we came back to Israel and Yerushalayim (more than once).
That is the full story of 'Eicha' - the miracle hidden within the destruction. And it is the total and absolute nature of the destruction that reveals the total and absolute wonder of Jewish history; that the Jews could be totally and utterly beaten and not only survive, but even thrive.
And so, as we mourn the loss of this year and years past, let us also recognize that there is a hidden joy within the tears and a hidden miracle within the loss. It doesn’t remove the pain, but it does give it context and direction.