As we have now entered the Three Weeks, the period leading up to Tisha B'Av, commemorating the Destruction of the Jewish Temples, I have been studying the Book of Eicha, and wanted to share some things I saw, and some ideas I had.
In the third Pasuk of Eicha (which is read on Tisha B'Av) it says גלתה יהודה מעוני, the inhabitants of Judea were exiled מעוני. What is the meaning of this word?
The Targum understands it to mean "from affliction," and explains that the populace mistreated the downtrodden, rather than seeking to assist them. Rav Shmuel D'Ozida explains that the root word is עני, poverty, and that they were exiled for not taking proper care of the poor. These are distressingly similar explanations. According to both, the cause of exile was a lack of compassion for those less fortunate.
Interestingly, this word עוני is also found in the context of Matzo eaten on Pesach which the Torah calls לחם עוני, the bread of עוני. There too we find those who understand it to mean the Bread of Affliction, referring to the food that the slaves ate in Egypt, and others render it as poverty, referring to the fact that Matzo is a food commonly eaten by poor people who cannot afford anything more than flour and water out of which to create their food.
There is yet another explanation of עוני in the context of Matzo, לחם שעונין עליו דברים הרב, bread of which many words are spoken. In that context it refers to the contents of the Hagaddah. Perhaps in the case of exile, where people neglected or mistreated the less fortunate, we can also understand it to mean many words being spoken, meaning that people are full of explanations, dare I say excuses, for their neglect or ignoring of those less fortunate. Or, perhaps, it is referring to people who talk a lot about the plight of the less fortunate, but do nothing to change the situation.
In the Haftorah of Yom Kippur we are reminded that the purpose of a fast, is not to merely refrain from eating and to bang our hearts in supplication. We are meant primarily to spend our time on fast days, looking out for the poor and unfortunate. I would suggest that as we enter this period of Three Weeks that we all seek out such opportunities to counter the mistakes made by those who were originally exiled, so that our actions will bring about the return and rebuilding.
In the third Pasuk of Eicha (which is read on Tisha B'Av) it says גלתה יהודה מעוני, the inhabitants of Judea were exiled מעוני. What is the meaning of this word?
The Targum understands it to mean "from affliction," and explains that the populace mistreated the downtrodden, rather than seeking to assist them. Rav Shmuel D'Ozida explains that the root word is עני, poverty, and that they were exiled for not taking proper care of the poor. These are distressingly similar explanations. According to both, the cause of exile was a lack of compassion for those less fortunate.
Interestingly, this word עוני is also found in the context of Matzo eaten on Pesach which the Torah calls לחם עוני, the bread of עוני. There too we find those who understand it to mean the Bread of Affliction, referring to the food that the slaves ate in Egypt, and others render it as poverty, referring to the fact that Matzo is a food commonly eaten by poor people who cannot afford anything more than flour and water out of which to create their food.
There is yet another explanation of עוני in the context of Matzo, לחם שעונין עליו דברים הרב, bread of which many words are spoken. In that context it refers to the contents of the Hagaddah. Perhaps in the case of exile, where people neglected or mistreated the less fortunate, we can also understand it to mean many words being spoken, meaning that people are full of explanations, dare I say excuses, for their neglect or ignoring of those less fortunate. Or, perhaps, it is referring to people who talk a lot about the plight of the less fortunate, but do nothing to change the situation.
In the Haftorah of Yom Kippur we are reminded that the purpose of a fast, is not to merely refrain from eating and to bang our hearts in supplication. We are meant primarily to spend our time on fast days, looking out for the poor and unfortunate. I would suggest that as we enter this period of Three Weeks that we all seek out such opportunities to counter the mistakes made by those who were originally exiled, so that our actions will bring about the return and rebuilding.
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