Where Are You?

Devarim

Parshat Devarim always precedes Tisha B'Av. The Shlah HaKadosh says that if there is a Jewish event during the week (a festival, a fast day, etc.), it is hinted to in the parsha preceding it. In some parshiyot this hint is not so obvious, but in parshat Devarim it is glaring – "Eicha esa levadi" (Devarim 1:12), Moshe laments "How will I bear alone your quarrelsomeness, hypocrisy and disputes". It is customary to read this pasuk to the tune of Megillat Eicha.

The word Eicha in this context means "how." "Eicha yashva badad?" how could [Jerusalem] be so alone and desolate? How can this be?

In this shiur I would like to explore the inner meaning of the word Eicha. R' Tzaddok HaKohen of Lublin has a principle that if you want to understand a word, you look at the context in which it appears the first time in the Torah. The first time we have the word Eicha, "aleph yud caf heh" (albeit with different vowels) is in parshat Bereishit.

Adam HaRishon and his wife Chava have just sinned by eating from the Tree of Knowledge. Their eyes are suddenly opened and they realize that they are not clothed. They cover themselves in fig leaves and hide from G-d's wrath in Gan Eden. G-d then calls out to Adam "Ayeka" (Bereishit 3:9) "Where are you?" The same letters "aleph yud caf heh.

G-d, who is all-seeing, all-knowing, doesn't know where Adam is hiding? Rashi (ibid.) says obviously G-d knew where Adam was, but He did not want to startle and frighten him. The Or HaChaim HaKadosh (ibid.) also says that G-d obviously knew where Adam was (you cannot hide from G-d), but what G-d was actually saying is "Why are you hiding from Me and not showing yourself?"

Adam, the first human to commit a sin in history, erected a barrier between himself and G-d. Until then there were no secrets, G-d, Adam and Chava had a completely transparent relationship. By sinning, this transparency was obscured, Adam no longer saw G-d with complete clarity as he had before the sin.

Fast forward to the Beit HaMikdash.

Perhaps the most significant reality of having a Beit HaMikdash is that we had a completely transparent relationship with G-d. Today, after the Beit HaMikdash has been destroyed, G-d is no longer transparent, He is obscured. When someone asks "Where is/was G-d?" like in the Holocaust, on October 7, 2023, for example, it is because G-d is not obviously transparent, there is some obscuring barrier that prevents us from seeing Him directly. Only if we dig deep down do we get a "glimpse" of Him. In Hebrew this is called "Hester Panim," hiding of the face.

In the Beit HaMikdash everyone saw G-d clearly, transparently, with no barriers. There were many miracles that took place in the Beit HaMikdash. For example, fire descended on the altar from Heaven, in a form resembling a crouching lion. The smoke from the sacrifices on the altar ascended in a perfectly straight column, despite any wind that was blowing that day. The western lamp of the Menorah never went out. The Lechem HaPanim on the golden table remained fresh and warm the entire week, etc. etc.

The experience of being in the Beit HaMikdash was like walking through Gan Eden, G-d's Presence was palpable at every turn.

When we lament on Tisha B'Av and recite Megillat Eicha, we begin with this question "How can this be? Why is G-d hiding from us?," but in fact it is not us asking the question, it is G-d asking the question "Ayeka" why are you (Am Yisrael) hiding from Me?

By committing sins, we erect those same barriers that Adam HaRishon erected in Gan Eden, resulting in his exile, resulting in our exile. We think we can cover ourselves in camouflage and hide from G-d. Someone who hides is afraid of taking responsibility. The Midrash (Yalkut Shimoni, Bereishit 3:12) says that if Adam would have taken responsibility for his sin, instead of complaining against Chava, they would not have been exiled from Gan Eden.

Instead of taking responsibility for our sins against G-d, it is much easier to pass the buck. It was "the woman" that You gave me who caused me to sin. Adam sinned and incredibly, what did he do? He blamed Chava, he blamed G-d! Everyone except himself.

The essence of the word Eicha (Ayeka), according to the Or HaChaim, is G-d asking us "Why are you hiding from Me and not showing yourself?" Paraphrased this means "Why do you keep blaming others? When are you going to take responsibility yourself?"

On Tisha B'Av we sit on the floor and ask how? why? We blame our fate on our forefathers "Our forefathers sinned and are no more and we are still suffering their sins!" (Eicha 5:7). Is it any wonder we have to keep repeating this lament every year? For the last 1956 years!?

The Gemara (Yerushalmi Yoma page 5) says "Any generation in which the Beit HaMikdash is not rebuilt, it is as if it was destroyed in that generation." It is time to take responsibility for the fact that the Beit HaMikdash has not yet been rebuilt in our generation and stop blaming it on others, on everyone except ourselves.

If each of us better spends Tisha B'Av this year doing personal introspection rather than bemoaning our fate, taking personal responsibility … we will collectively reverse the sin of Adam HaRishon and his exile, the sins of the generations of Bayit Rishon and Bayit Sheini and their exiles and will merit the rebuilding of the 3^rd Beit HaMikdash in our generation, G-d willing.

Parshat HaShavua Trivia Question: Why did G-d command Moshe not to provoke or wage war with Moav (Devarim 2:9)?

Answer to Last Shiur’s Trivia Question: How many cities of refuge were there in Eretz Yisrael and how many on the opposite side of the Jordan River? Three in Eretz Yisrael and three on the opposite side of the Jordan River, making a total of six.