Eichah: The Darkest Book In The Bible

New York Jewish Week, The, August, 2008 by Gillman, Rabbi Neil

This Shabbat, the Shabbat before Tisha b'Av, is Shabbat Chazon, the opening word of its haftarah that is also the opening word of the book of Isaiah. Tisha b'Av, literally the ninth day of the month of Av, commemorates the destruction of Jerusalem, first by Babylonia and centuries later by Rome, both of which are believed to have occurred on this day.

The haftarah and Lamentations (Eichah), which we read on Tisha b'Av eve, share similar themes. Eichah, a collection of dirges, is attributed to the prophet Jeremiah who is believed to have witnessed the earlier desolation. The prophet Isaiah, who lived over a century earlier, anticipates it. Both prophets mourn, but both understand the tragedy to be God's punishment for the sins of the community. The manifold individual acts of...

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