Jul 15, 2026 · 13 min · 8 segments
Parashat Devarim is always read on the Shabbat preceding Tisha B’Av, the week in which we read Megillat Eikhah (the Book of Lamentations). This creates a triple echo of a single word within our…
Parashat D'varim is always read on the Shabbat preceding Tisha b'Av, the week in which we read Megillat Eicha, the Book of Lamentations.
This creates a triple echo of a single word within our tradition, eicha, which can mean both alas and how.
The first is the one read on Tisha b'Av, the very eicha that opens the scroll and gives it its name.
A second eicha is found in the haftarah of Parashat D'varim, spoken by Isaiah.
Alas, eicha, she has become a whore, the faithful city that was filled with justice, where righteousness dwelt, but now murderers.
And the third eicha is uttered by Moses in the opening verses of Parashat D'varim.
An eicha we might easily overlook if not for this convergence of timing and the echo of Megillat Eicha.
How, eicha, can I bear by myself your burden, your weight, and your strife? What is the relationship between these three eichas, and what meaning is generated by the echoing of this single word from text to text within the period of mourning for the destruction? The opening of the first parasha of Midrash Eicha Rabba links these three eichas together, concluding with an interpretive dispute regarding the meaning of the use of the word eicha.
Parashat D'varim is always read on the Shabbat preceding Tisha b'Av, the week in which we read Megillat Eicha, the Book of Lamentations.
This creates a triple echo of a single word within our tradition, eicha, which can mean both alas and how.
The first is the one read on Tisha b'Av, the very eicha that opens the scroll and gives it its name.
A second eicha is found in the haftarah of Parashat D'varim, spoken by Isaiah.
Alas, eicha, she has become a whore, the faithful city that was filled with justice, where righteousness dwelt, but now murderers.
And the third eicha is uttered by Moses in the opening verses of Parashat D'varim.
An eicha we might easily overlook if not for this convergence of timing and the echo of Megillat Eicha.
How, eicha, can I bear by myself your burden, your weight, and your strife? What is the relationship between these three eichas, and what meaning is generated by the echoing of this single word from text to text within the period of mourning for the destruction? The opening of the first parasha of Midrash Eicha Rabba links these three eichas together, concluding with an interpretive dispute regarding the meaning of the use of the word eicha.
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