Eikha: Chapter 1 (continued)

In the first part of chapter 1, we observed Jerusalem from the outside, judging and censuring her. When Jerusalem begins to speak, she springs to life, sharing the depths of her pain. We no longer regard her with disapproval; instead, we are party to her agony, experiencing it alongside her. In Jerusalem’s direct plea to the passersby, “Look and see! Is there any pain like my pain?” she appeals also to us, the readers, eliciting our attention and giving us pause to consider her suffering.