This #pillowsonEichah comes from Eichah 1:4 The verse reads, "The roads of Zion are mournful because no one comes to the appointed season; all her gates are desolate, her priests moan; her maidens grieve while she herself suffers bitterly." Rashi and the Ibn Ezra (along with Tosfos) disagree as to what the word “moed” (appointed season) refers to. Rashi explains that it means the three festivals (The Moadim) where the Jewish people would travel to Jerusalem to observe the festivals together as one nation. The Ibn Ezra explains that it refers to the Temple itself, the “Place of meeting,” Moed can also mean meaning, where people would come to rendezvous with our Creator through study and service. What are Rashi and the Ibn Ezra really arguing about? When the Temple was destroyed we lost the opportunity to rendezvous with our Creator. The “Roads of Zion” of our verse refers to the path - the Torah, mitzvot, and wisdom - that would lead us to this great time of unity, prayer and development of the soul. These paths are “mournful” because they are empty, no one is “travelling” on them. We have abandoned the pursuit of Torah, mitzvot and wisdom to run to the “pit of destruction." (from the prayer at the end of a siyum). What was the goal of the “Roads of Zion?” Herein lies the debate between Rashi and the Ibn Ezra. Was the destination that the roads led to the unity of a nation during the festival (as Rashi would explain) or was it the rendezvous with our Creator through study and service in the Temple (as the Ibn Ezra would explain). The difference between Rashi and the Ibn Ezra’s comments isn’t great. They both agree that the path we could’ve taken to develop both our relationship with our Creator and personal improvement is gone, but they disagree as to what would aid our journey to improvement - unity or study and service? The Medrash explains why “her priests moan,” referring to the Cohanim. With the destruction of the Temple, the gifts that each person would separate from their offerings, (sections of the animal) to give to the Cohanim, and through which the Cohanim who were forbidden to work to earn a living, sustained themselves, was stopped. It was the lack of priestly gifts that the Cohanim moaned about. At face value the Medrash seems to be saying that while the rest of us mourn the loss of the Temple, the Cohanim moan about a decrease in their gifts. I find it hard to believe this deserves mentioning. Rather, I’d like to think that verse is referring to what the gifts represented. The Cohanim merited these gifts as a way to show the Jewish people that by being chosen to represent the Jewish people in the Temple service, they were different than the “average” Jew. These gifts were a reminder of the uniqueness of the Cohen. Today, without our Temple, and without the offerings, we tend to forget that Cohanim were chosen by God for special purpose. This lack of status and purpose is what “her priests moan” about in our verse.
Posted on: Tue, 16 Jul 2013 15:33:09 +0000