Forms of Mourning: Kinah & Misped II: Lamenting With God
“Hear this word, O house of Israel, this lament I take up concerning you: “Fallen is Virgin Israel, never to rise again, deserted in her own land, with no one to lift her up.”
This is what the Master, Lord, God, says: “The city that marches out a thousand strong for Israel will have only a hundred left; the town that marches out a hundred strong will have only ten left.”
This is what God says to the house of Israel:
“Seek me and live;
do not seek Bethel,
do not go to Gilgal,
do not journey to Beersheba.
For Gilgal will surely go into exile, and Bethel will be reduced to nothing.”
Seek God and live,
or He will sweep through the house of Joseph like a fire;
it will devour,
and Bethel will have no one to quench it.
You who turn justice into bitterness
and cast righteousness to the ground.
He Who made the Pleiades and Orion,
Who turns blackness into dawn
and darkens day into night,
Who calls for the waters of the sea
and pours them out over the face of the land,
God is His name.
He flashes destruction on the stronghold
and brings the fortified city to ruin.
You hate the one who reproves in court
and despise he who tells the truth.
You trample on the poor
and force him to give you grain.
Therefore, though you have built stone mansions, you will not live in them;
though you have planted lush vineyards, you will not drink their wine.
For I know how many are your offenses and how great your sins.
You oppress the righteous and take bribes
and you deprive the poor of justice in the courts.
Therefore the prudent man keeps quiet in such times,
for the times are evil.
Seek good, not evil, that you may live.
Then God, Lord of Hosts, will be with you,
just as you say He is.
Hate evil, love good;
maintain justice in the courts.
Perhaps God, Lord of Hosts, will have mercy on the remnant of Joseph.
Therefore this is what God, Lord of Hosts, says:
“There will be wailing in all the streets
and cries of anguish in every public square.
The farmers will be summoned to weep and the mourners to wail.
There will be wailing in all the vineyards, for I will pass through your midst,” says God. (Amos 5:1-17)
Kinah – Lament:
God says, “Because you do not desire to return to me, and because you do not hear My prophets, you will hear My Kinah for you (Radak), and you will eventually lament with Me (Ibn Ezra).”
This Tisha B’Av Kinah is one we lament together with God. We moan the Lamentations together with Him, which is why we recite the words of Lamentations in an undertone as the Reader reads aloud: We are lamenting along with God.
This is even more tragic as we consider that God offers us the opportunity to pray with Him: See: “Voices.” This is more than lamenting with God; it is lamenting rather than praying with Him! (“You have covered Yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can get through (Lamentations 3:44).”)
How did this happen?
We refused to seek God, and looked to others for help and success.
“You who turn justice into bitterness
and cast righteousness to the ground.”
And when, “He flashes destruction on the stronghold and brings the fortified city to ruin,” our response was, “You hate the one who reproves in court, and despise he who tells the truth. You trample on the poor, and force him to give you grain. “
Misped:
“There will be wailing in all the streets, and cries of anguish in every public square.
The farmers will be summoned to weep and the mourners to wail.
There will be wailing in all the vineyards, for I will pass through your midst,” says God.”
This is the Misped-Wailing of failed efforts: You will see your vineyards flourish and you will never drink their wine (Ibn Ezra). You will work your vineyards, but not a single grape will grow (Radak).
This Tisha B’Av Misped gives voice to all the efforts we feel were wasted, all the work that did not result in success; a direct result, my father zt”l taught, of living without a Beit Hamikdash.
We therefore recall Amos’ words:
“Seek good, not evil, that you may live.
Then God, Lord of Hosts, will be with you,
just as you say He is.
Hate evil, love good;
maintain justice in the courts.”