The Eicha We Hear Before the Eicha We Cry

The Jewish calendar is much more than a way of marking time. The holidays, fast days, and Torah readings are deliberately arranged to convey a lesson. One example is that Parshas Devarim is always read on the Shabbos immediately preceding Tisha B'Av. This Shabbos is known as Shabbos Chazon, named for the opening words of the Haftarah, “Chazon Yeshayahu.”

This connection is fitting, as Parshas Devarim contains Moshe Rabbeinu's words of rebuke, and the Haftarah foretells the destruction of Yerushalayim. These ideas prepare us for the introspection and mourning that define Tisha B'Av. But Chazal understood that the juxtaposition of Parshas Devarim and Tisha B'Av conveys a deeper message. Before we mourn the destruction of the Beis HaMikdash, the Torah teaches us the spiritual failures that led to the Churban, and the work required to repair them. That lesson is encapsulated in a word that both Parshas Devarim and Megillas Eicha share: eicha. In Parshas Devarim, Moshe asks, "Eicha esa levadi” (How can I carry the burdens alone?). On Tisha B'Av, we read Yirmiyahu's opening words: "Eicha yashvah vadad” (How does the city sit solitary?). These are not merely two similar expressions. They describe a cause and its effect. Moshe's eicha is a concern over a nation plagued by conflict, complaints, and disunity. Yirmiyahu's eichah mourns where that path ultimately led.

I would like to suggest that the parallels extend even further. Not only do both pesukim begin with the word eicha, but both speak of being alone. Moshe's eicha expresses the difficulty of bearing Bnei Yisrael's burdens alone. His solution was to create a system of shared responsibility, appointing leaders who would help shoulder the nation's challenges. Yirmiyahu's eicha describes the tragic consequence of what happens when that sense of shared responsibility is lost. The phrase "Eicha yashvah vadad" describes far more than a city left physically deserted. It depicts a nation overwhelmed by isolation, distanced from Hashem and fractured from one another. The Churban was not only the loss of the Beis HaMikdash; it was the unraveling of the bons that connected us both to Hashem and to each other.

While Yirmiyahu's eicha portrays the condition of a lonely nation, Moshe's eicha captures the experience of an isolated individual. The remedy to both of those conditions is the mitzvah of nosei b'ol chaveiro, easing another person's burdens. Every time we share another person's pain, offer practical help, listen without judgment, or simply ensure that someone knows they are not facing their struggles alone, we reverse the dynamic that led to the Churban. The antidote to the loneliness of "Eichah yashva vadad" begins by making certain that no Jew ever feels “Eicha esa levadi.”

Rav Soloveitchik often distinguished between remembering history and reliving it. On Tisha B'Av, we don’t merely commemorate an ancient catastrophe; we experience it as something that continues to demand a response from us. If the Churban was born of division, then our reaction must be one of unity.Perhaps the presence of a Shabbos within the Nine Days teaches us this lesson. Before we sit on the floor, we gather around the Shabbos table. Before we recite Kinnos, we sing zemiros together. Shabbos gives us a foretaste of redemption, where we experience unity, belonging, and shared holiness.

Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev famously taught that the “chazon” for which the Shabbos before Tisha B’Av is named refers not only to Yeshayahu's vision of destruction, but also to a vision of the future Beis HaMikdash shown to every Jew. Even before we mourn what was lost, Hashem gives us a glimpse of what can be rebuilt.

The placement of Parshas Devarim immediately before Tisha B'Av teaches us that the same word eicha can either become a call to improve or a cry of despair. Every year, the Torah ensures that we hear Moshe's eicha before we hear Yirmiyahu’s. If we heed Moshe's eicha, allowing it to inspire both personal growth and greater responsibility for one another, we will take meaningful steps toward transforming the mourning of the Churban into the joy of redemption.