Questions on Megillas Eicha to think about and discuss:

1. Who wrote Megillas Eicha and why?
2. Does Megillas Eicha have any other names and why?
3. Originally, Yirmiya wrote three chapters: 1, 2 and 4 and these were thrown into the fire by the King Yehoyokim who refused to acknowledge the warnings of the churban contained in it. Afterwards, he added Chapter 3 that parallels the previous three chapters that all contained the pesukim according to the Aleph-Beis by this new chapter having three times the Aleph-Beis in its pesukim. (Rashi to Eicha 1:1). What about the last chapter? Why did he add the earlier additional chapter in between the others (between 2 and 3) and not simply after them?
4. What lies behind the name of Megillas Eicha?
5. What lies behind the many allusions of the Aleph-Beis in Megillas Eicha?
6. There are for chapters that have the letters of the Aleph-Beis while the fifth has twenty-two pesukim instead. The third Chapter has three times the Aleph-Beis. What is the significance of having the Aleph-Beis alluded to seven times?
7. When it comes to reading the curses in the Torah the reader lowers his voice. Yet when it comes to reading Megillas Eicha, the reader starts reading louder as he goes on reading?
8. In the chapters of Megillas Eicha that have the pesukim in the order of the Aleph-Beis, only one of the first four chapters does not have two letters switched. Only in Chapter 1 does it not put the letter Pei before the letter Ayin. Why switch these particular letters and why does it not do so in this one chapter like the other chapters?
9. Why does the last chapter not have any order of Aleph-Beis letters?
10. In what capacity is the reading of Megillas Eicha and the reciting of the Kinois to be taken in?

Idea for answers on Megillas Eicha:

1. The prophet Yirmiya (Gemora Bava Basra 14b). He writes (Yirmiya Chapter 36) that he was commanded by hashem to write a book warning the Jews of the impending disaster if they did not mend their ways. Yirmiya was imprisoned and therefore dictated the text to his trusted pupil, Boruch Ben Neiri, who wrote it down. He told him to read out its contents in public on a fast day, which he did. The wicked king Yehoyokim heard about this and ordered to hear the contents and then angrily slashed the scroll with a scribe’s knife and cast it into the fire (see Gemora Moed Koton 26a). Hashem then told Yirmiya to rewrite and add another chapter.
2. It is also known as Kinous (see Gemora Bava Basra 14a) expressing sadness as it discusses the churban.
3. The last chapter, 5, follows the theme of the Aleph-Beis, not in the form of the letters at the beginning of each possuk, but it has 22 pesukim alluding to the 22 letters of the Aleph-Beis. With regards to why the additional chapter 3 does not appear after the first three but is inserted as chapter 3, the Maharsha (Bova Kamma 55a) answers. See there at length, but in short: the first two chapters refer to the destruction of the first two Botei Mikdoshim while the fourth refers to the third Beis Hamikdosh and therefore this later chapter was inserted to separate between the destruction and the ultimate goodness of the third Beis Hamikdosh.
4. The Gemora (Sanhedrin 104a) points out that the name Eicha connotes how low the Jews had sinned. The gematria, numerical value, of Eicha is 36 alluding to them transgressing all 36 mitzvos that have the penalty of kores, excommunication. Another idea is that this word has special associations with sin. The possuk (Bereishis, 3:9) brings that after Odom sinned Hashem said to him the word Ayeko, “where are you”, that has the same hebrew letters as Eicha (איכה). This word in all forms expresses the impact of sin – being distanced from Hashem.
5. The word Emes is the seal of Hashem because it contains the first, middle and last letters of the Aleph- Beis (see Rashi Shabbos 55a). …
6. Perhaps we find a similar seven with regards to the five chumoshim. There are four chumoshim while Sefer Bamidbar is split into three by the parsha of Vayihei Binsoya HoOron. This is the same as four chapters with one Aleph-Beis and one with three. Perhaps the idea here is that this is seen as the anti to the revelation that came about with the Torah. It is where the revelation of the Aleph-Beis of the Torah that reveals Hashem is now reversed where Hashem is hidden in the guise of Golus.
7. Perhaps the idea is that when the curses are read during the year, they are read together with other good things and therefore the voice is lowered and raised depending on the content. However, on Tisha BiAv, we are fully focused on the bad nature of the day and therefore we are meant to internalise it and deal with the problem. Therefore, instead of saying things quietly we hear it even louder.
8. The Taamei Haminhogim brings that the Gemora (Shabbos 104a) that talks about the order of the Aleph-Beis letters says that the letter Samech is next to Ayin to allude to Soimech Aniyim, to assist the poor. On Tisha BiAv this was not the case, as no mercy for the poor Jews was shown. Therefore these letters are separated in the Aleph-Beis in Eicha (Chapter 2) and the Pei separates them being switched with the Ayin. But you can still ask, why not switch the previous letters – the Nun with the Samech. Why instead substitute the Pei with the Ayin? To answer this we comes onto the reason of the Gemora (Sanhedrin 104b) that brings that since the meraglim, spies, spoke (pei for mouth) about their preconceived notions even before seeing (Ayin) Eretz Yisroel therefore the order of these letters is switched. Perhaps the reason why the switch does not appear only in chapter one is that in order we first see the right order to know how it should be and only then in the next three chapters does it show the effects of the meraglim with the switch of letters.
9. We said that the reason why the first chapter has the right order of the Aleph-Beis is to show what is the correct order. Then comes the next three chapters with the switch of letters of Ayin and Pei. The last chapter with no order of Aleph-Beis but only alluded to in the twenty-two pesukim is coming to show how the order became not only a switch but a total non-order.
10. It is read as Aveilus like a hesped over a dead person – see the Tur (Siman 559 from Meseches Sofrim 18:4). It is not simply to be taken as recounting over one’s sorrows and tragedies but the main thing is to think into the cause of the sorrows and know what needs doing to stop these happening again. (Palgei Mayim in introduction to Megillas Eicha)