Torah Anthology Volume 40- Eicha: Lamenations (Hardcover)

It is a Jewish custom not to print the book of Eicha without including prayers and prophecies of consolation. as well. For Jewish tradition teaches us the proper way to view tragedy is not only in relation to past conduct but as a lesson in future hope: the deeper the misfortune, the greater the salvation to come. We learn this from the drama of Creation, in which darkness preceded light. Later, the darkness of Egyptian slavery preceded the light of the exodus and the giving of the Torah. Many tragedies befell the Jewish people on the day of the Ninth of Av, the Day of Lamentations, but also the day on which the Mashiach was born. Both Holy Temples were destroyed, with all the evil that accompanied those calamities. The Jews were expelled from Spain on that day. But the appropriate way to study the Book of Eicha as a link between despair and hope, between darkness and light, and also realize our negative actions that allowed such events to take place. This edition of Me'Am Lo'ez Eicha will enable the reader to understand that link in all its dimensions. It contains an introduction containing all the laws and customs regarding the Ninth of Av and the Three Weeks. It also contains several appendices detailing the events leading up to both Destructions. But primarily it contains a message of hope out of the ashes of catastrophe, a message that is both timeless and timely. Translated by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan.