“Eichah,” the name and first word of the book of Lamentations that we read on Tisha B’Av, is one of the most laden of Hebrew words. While this word is often translated as “alas,” or “how,” it actually conveys so much more. We say “eichah” and are saying “how can it be possible?” It is a word expressing shock and disbelief, used to describe a world turned upside down in ways previously unimaginable.
Writing on behalf of Jewish day schools and yeshivas at a time when the very future of the State of Israel may be threatened, I find that the word “eichah” captures my perspective in a frighteningly accurate way. How can it be that the love of Zion that our schools have imbued in generations of children must now confront rampant hatred and violence? What new world is it where families are torn from their homes in terror or where broad swaths of peace-loving communities are displaced for months on end? Alas, how can we find hope in these darkest of times?
