Eichah - "1-2-3 Punch"

8 Menachem Av 5772

Rav Yehudah wraps up his lesson with the following:

Rebbe Natan, of Breslov points out that Moshe Rabeinu uses the word "Eichah" in Parshat Devarim at the beginning of the second aliyah [pasuk yud bet]. Ashkenazim even sing this verse to the tune of Megillat Eichah.

Chazal say, in Midrash Eichah, that three prophets used the expression "Eichah."

1) Moshe Rabeinu in Devarim when he began to teach the people about the problems in the judicial system. ("How can I alone carry your contentiousness, your burdens and your quarrels?")

2) Yeshayahu in the haftarah of Parshat Devarim when he enumerates all the problems which angered G-d. ("How has she become a harlot?")

3) Yirmiyahu in Megillat Eichah when he began to describe the destruction.

All three use the same word. Rebbe Natan said that when we look and see that there are problems in the realm of the brit and modesty, the source can be found in problems with the judicial system. The first step is injustice and it leads to prostitution and immodesty which brings about destruction.

This pattern is expressed by the three usages of Eichah. First, Moshe Rabeinu describes problems in the judicial system and it is followed directly by Yeshayahu's reference in the haftarah to harlotry which will in turn be followed by Yirmiyahu's detailed description of the horrible destruction and exile.

Problems with same-sex relations, prostitution and immodesty begin with a corrupt judicial system and it ends in destruction. We see this also in the case of the Generation of the Flood as well as the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. The corruption of justice led to sexual sins which ended in complete and utter destruction of society.

Many rabbis, including Rav Shmuel Eliyahu, have recently made public calls to fight the courts on their corrupt rulings. The case against the Ulpana buildings is a case in point. And there are many, many others. And it's not just happening in Eretz Yisrael, but all over the world and it's bringing desolation to the land.

In America, where the courts have legalized same-sex unions, the land is being destroyed by flood and fire and drought.