From Woe to Wow – When Eicha Changes its Tune
This week we do not have a distinctive trope when we encounter the word, albeit one almost wishes it could be sung, not in the familiar minor key of lamentation, but in a major key of possibility. Amidst a plethora of extraordinary blessings and assurances of a life of happiness and meaning, Moses anticipates that the people may be apprehensive, 7:13;
כִּ֤י תֹאמַר֙ בִּלְבָ֣בְךָ֔ רַבִּ֛ים הַגּוֹיִ֥ם הָאֵ֖לֶּה מִמֶּ֑נִּי אֵיכָ֥ה אוּכַ֖ל לְהוֹרִישָֽׁם׃
When you say to yourselves, “These nations are more numerous than we; how can we triumph over them?”
The word eicha makes an additional appearance, providing another exposition for how and when this oft daunting term enters our lexicon.
As we have noticed and highlighted in recent learnings of the tropes of the parshiot over the past few weeks, here too, the supposition is not Im if, rather Ki, when. Moses, our leader and our teacher is once again expressing deep empathy and compassion. Anxiety is neither weakness nor failure, it is the expected companion of responsibility.
Sforno, offers that you are right to be fearful, which is why in the continuing verses Moses reminds and reassures them that as they have already experienced, God will be with them, and they should not assume that they can succeed without this help.
Hamek Hadavar, Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin 1816 – 1893, offers an astonishing interpretation truly moving us from an approach of woe to wow. He expounds that the fear being raised is not that of going into battle, we had already experienced successful campaigns, no, the anxiety is a deep felt concern for the acts the people are asked to undertake,
…אלא על שנצטוו להורישם ולכלותם. איכה אוכל להגיע לכך …
How are we supposed to be able to conquer and destroy these peoples? This is an ethical concern not a military one, and through the use of Ki, the ‘when’, it is anticipated, and should continue to be practiced if and when we have to embark in war. Eicha becomes not the language of fear but the language of conscience. The Netziv refuses to read Israel’s anxiety as cowardice. Instead, he credits them with moral sensitivity.
In such a brief time of little over a week, the powerless eicha of Tisha b’Av becomes the powerful manifestation of sovereignty. One word contains the arc of Jewish history. The challenge of Jewish sovereignty is not merely to answer eicha with strength, but to ensure that strength never silences eicha. The day we cease asking “How can we do this?” is the day power has eclipsed conscience. The same word that once gave voice to our suffering now safeguards our humanity.
