R. Avital Hochstein on Parashat Devarim: Eikhah: What Does God Lament?

Ta Shma · Jul 15, 2026 · 12m

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 tradition: eikhah (which can mean both “alas” and “how”). The first is the one read on Tisha B’Av, the very eikhah that opens the scroll and gives it its name: “Alas (eikhah)! Lonely sits the city once great with people! She that was great among nations is become like a widow; the princess among states is become a thrall” (Lamentations 1:1). A second eikhah is found in the Haftarah for Parashat…