Tishah b'Av 5778: Where is "So"?

As I have done in past years, I came home from shul and hastily typed up a blog post based on the kinnos recitation and discussion I had in the morning. Think of this as "musings on kinnos" rather than as a proper "shiur." 

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Artwork: Doomsday, by Noah Bradley

Tishah b'Av 5778: Where is "So"?

This year the kinnah (lamentation) that caught my eye was #13. The refrain of this kinnah is based on a Hebrew wordplay involving the first word of Megilas Eichah: איכה (eichah), which is usually translated as "how"? The paytan (poet-author) of this kinnah breaks איכה into two words: אי כה (eiy koh), which translates as "Where is [the] 'so'?" 

Here is the text of this kinah in English, based on the [bracket-laden] Artscroll translation (with a few of my own tweaks):

Kinnah #13 - by R' Elazar ha'Kalir 

Where is the "so" promised with a proclamation to [our] father [Avraham] at the Covenant Between the Parts, "so shall [your offspring] always be [as numerous as the stars]" (Bereishis 15:5)? Behold, now, how my bones are swallowed up murderously. Why, O God, have You abandoned us [for what seems like] an eternity?

Where is the "so" [mentioned when Avraham] approached [with his son] as with a sheep for a burnt offering to please You? They persuaded [the others to stay behind, saying], "we shall go so far" (ibid. 22:5) [in order to fulfill] Your testimonies. Behold now, how Your beloved ones are speared like a piece of fruit. Why does Your wrath smolder against the sheep of Your pasture?

Where is the "so" in the promise [to Yaakov] in the dark of night [when You promised him an abundance of] striped and spotted [sheep]? When [Lavan] would say, "[with sheep marked] so [I will reward you]" (ibid. 31:8), so was the sign swiftly fulfilled. Behold now, how You admonished [Jerusalem,] the city once filled with a chorus of jubilation. Lift Your footsteps to wreak [eternal] ruin [upon the enemy who destroyed this holy city]. 

Where is the "so" when [Moshe] intentionally killed an Egyptian [who was beating a Jew] in [view of the Israelites, who are like] a garden locked in with holiness? "He turned like so and like so" (Shemos 2:12), and the matter [of the Egyptian's death] was kept sealed within the holy congregation [of Israel]. Behold now, how their portion was devoured in the month [of tragedy, Av], when all of the enemy's wickedness was wreaked in the Sanctuary.

Where is the "so" when Tov[iah, Moshe,] was sent to redeem Your servants? [When You said,] "so shall you say [unto the Children of Israel" (Shemos 3:14), this nation must be sent out to serve You. Behold now, how traitors occupy Your House of Meeting, [as it is written,] Your enemies have roared amidst Your meeting place. 

Where is the "so" when new [blood] covenants were sealed [when the Jews were redeemed from Egypt]? Moshe said, "so says [Hashem]: At about midnight [I shall go out among the Egyptians]" (ibid. 11:4) with miraculous signs. Behold, now, how they have gathered to come into [the Temple] in their shoes; they have made their signs for signs.

Where is the "so" which was heard when Moshe ascended [Mount Sinai and God told him to tell Israel,] "so shall you say unto [the women]" (ibid. 19:3), the distinguished homemakers? Behold, now, how the sons of iniquity blaspheme Him and it is regarded as an attack on [God] above.

Where is the "so" mentioned at [the beginning of] the sixty-letter premier] benediction, "so shall you bless" (Bamidbar 6:23) which is like sixty mighty warriors? Behold, now, the once slumbering [Babylonian Empire] has reawakened [and ascended] to power and its axes are in the wooden thicket.

Where is the "so" when [the wicked Bilaam] opened his mouth to curse - but instead blessed - Your holy nation? [You commanded Bilaam,] "Return [to Balak, the king who hired you,] and so shall you say" (ibid. 23:5) [that the curses were] transformed [into blessings] for Your holy ones. Behold, now, how they have set upon Your holy city; they have sent Your Sanctuary up in flames. 

Where is the "so" when the Levites, Your perfect [attendants,] were taken [into Your service with the words], "So you shall do unto them, to purify them" (cf. Bamidbar 8:7) for your Eternal Temple? Behold, now, how they have stormed [the earthly Temple] and thereby caused Your heaven[ly Temple] to tremble; to the ground have they desecrated the Abode of Your Name.

Where is the "so" [when the Jews circled the walls of Jericho and seven priests sounded] seven powerful ram's horns? [For You had said,] "So shall you do for six days" (Yehoshua 6:3) to topple the wall to the ground. Behold, now, how the gates [of our Holy Temple] have sunk into the ground; [and] they have burned all of God's meeting places on earth.

Where is the "so" [which assured] salvation emanating from [the Holy Temple described as] the storehouses brimming with abundance. [The prophecies of future redemption which God] designated for His visionaries [all began with the words], "So says [Hashem]." Behold, now, how my flower[-like children] lie bloated [from starvation] in each courtyard. How long, O God, will the tormentor revile? 

The theme of this kinnah is easily identifiable: "Where is the 'so'?" The question is: What does this mean? It would seem that the instances of the word "so" in Tanach cited by the paytan have little or nothing to do with each other. What does Hashem's promise to Avraham of "so shall be your offspring" have to do with Moshe Rabbeinu "look[ing] like so and like so"? What does the opening of Birkas Kohanim ("so shall you bless") have to do with Yehoshua's conquest of Jericho ("so shall you do for six days")?

Apparently, this kinnah is based on a midrash in Eichah Rabbah 1:1, which is quoted by Rav Avigdor Kohen Tzedek in his commentary on Eichah 1:1:

"Eichah" is two words: "eiy koh." This means that Yirmiyahu lamented, saying: "Where is the zechus (merit) of Avraham, that it was said to him: "so shall be your offspring"? This is "Where is the 'so'?" And where is the zechus of Moshe, that it was said to him: "so said Hashem: 'at around midnight etc.'"? Likewise, where is the zechus of the Akeidah (Binding of Isaac), about which it was stated: "we will go until so far"? And where is the zechus of Yaakov, as it is stated: "so shall you say to the House of Yaakov"? And where is the zechus of the berachos, as it is stated: "so shall you bless Bnei Yisrael"? And where is the zechus of David, who said Torah koh times (i.e. 25 times) in the eight-fold [psalm 119]?

In other words, R' Avigdor Kohen Tzedek learns the word "so" as an expression of zechus. Accordingly, this kinnah is a lamentation over the fact that the zechus of these righteous people and phenomena is absent, to the extent that we have been subject to so much destruction and affliction. 

I have a slightly different approach, based on the definition and function of the word "so" in this context. In all of the citations in this kinnah the word "so" is used to signify "in the manner or way indicated or suggested." (If you don't believe me, go back and check; substitute each instance of "so" for "in this manner.") Understood in this way, the word "so" points to a director, who supervises what is going on, and says: "This is what will happen," "This is how things should be," "This is how things will go," "This is what you shall say," "This is how you should act." 

Thus, the repeated question in the refrain: "Where is the 'so'?" expresses astonishment at the seeming absence of Hashem as the manhig (director) - as the mashgiach (supervisor) who oversees the events of Jewish history as they unfold, and ensures that they do so in accordance with what is best for His people. Each of the citations in the kinnah represents a key turning point in Jewish history where Hashem's intervention resulted in a different path for our nation. Were it not for His promise to Avraham Avinu, we wouldn't be here. Were it not for the zechus of the Akeidah or the success of Yaakov Avinu, we wouldn't be here. Were it not for Moshe Rabbeinu killing the Egyptian, or Moshe's statement to Paroh, or makkas bechoros (the plague of the first born), we wouldn't have left Egypt. And so on.

I believe this is why the rendering of "eichah?" as "eiy koh?" is more than just a play-on-words. Lurking behind the question of eichah - "How can this have happened to our city and our people?" - is an underlying feeling that God has abandoned His people, leaving no one to guide the events of history by saying, "So shall it be." The paytan brings out this sentiment by explicitly asking: "Where is God? Where is the Conductor Who says 'so' in steering the course of our people?" This the meaning of the antithesis in each stanza: the paytan juxtaposes God's supervision in the past, expressed in the word "so," with the hester panim (withdrawal of Divine providence) in the calamities of the past and the present:

Where is the "so" promised with a proclamation to [our] father [Avraham] at the Covenant Between the Parts, "so shall [your offspring] always be [as numerous as the stars]" (Bereishis 15:5)? 

(Avraham was promised by Hashem that He would oversee his descendants and help them become as numerous as the stars.) 

Behold, now, how my bones are swallowed up murderously. Why, O God, have You abandoned us [for what seems like] an eternity?

(Where did His supervision go? The fact that our numbers are being diminished by our enemies would seem to indicate that He has forsaken us, and that we are no longer under His watchful care.)

This reading forces us to confront the question: Where is the "so"? Where did our Supervisor go?

The answer lies in the recognition that the abandonment, itself, is an act of Divine providence.  Hester panim is a type of hashgachah, even if it looks like the absence of hashgachah. 

This perspective is clear from the words of the neviim (prophets) who prophesied about the destruction and exile. They repeatedly emphasize that God will never abandon His people, even when they are deserving of punishment. It is also clear from the words of the Torah itself, at the end of the tochachah (rebuke) in Parashas Bechukosai:

But despite all this, while they will be in the land of their enemies, I will not have been revolted by them nor will I have rejected them to obliterate them, to annul My covenant with them - for I am Hashem, their God. I will recall for them the covenant of the ancients, those whom I have taken out of the land of Egypt before the eyes of the nations, to be God unto them - I am Hashem. (Vayikra 26:44-45)

This is even more explicit in Moshe Rabbeinu's statement about the present exile, which we read this morning:

When you beget children and grandchildren and will have been long in the Land, you will grow corrupt and make a carved image of anything, and you will do evil in the eyes of Hashem, your God, to anger Him. I appoint heaven and earth this day to bear witness against you that you will surely perish quickly from the Land to which you are crossing the Jordan to possess; you shall not have lengthy days upon it, for you will be destroyed. Hashem will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where Hashem will lead you. There you will serve gods, the handiwork of man, of wood and stone, which do not see, and do not hear, and do not eat, and do not smell. From there you will seek Hashem, your God, and you will find Him, if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul. When you are in distress and all these things have befallen you, at the end of days, you will return unto Hashem, your God, and hearken to His voice. For Hashem, your God, is a merciful God, He will not abandon you nor destroy you, and He will not forget the covenant of your forefathers that He swore to them. (Devarim 4:25-31)

The only way we will be able to find Hashem in our state of distress is if we recognize that the abandonment of the Jewish people is an act of hashgachah (Divine providence), for our benefit, to spur us to do national teshuvah. 

Without this recognition of Divine immanence in what appears to be Divine neglect, our observance of Tishah b'Av cannot achieve its purpose, and the suffering of our people throughout our many centuries of exile is for naught. 

"imo anochi b'tzarah" says Hashem. "He will call upon Me and I will answer him, I am with him in distress" (Tehilim 91:15) - but only if we recognize it.