The first word of the Book of Lamentations - "Eicha", which is read on the 9th of Av, also appears in the Torah reading on the Shabbat preceding that day:

Moses asks the people, "How [in Hebrew, 'eicha'] can I alone bear your weight, and your burden, and your strife?" (Deut. 1:12)

The sages teach us that it was meaningless hatred that caused the destruction of the Second Temple. The Zohar analyses this word "eicha" the first time it appears in the Torah and immediately connects it to the destruction of the Temples. Interestingly a different word with the same spelling appears once again elsewhere in the Torah:

And the Lord G‑d called to Adam, and said to him, "Where are you"? [in Hebrew, 'ayeka', which has the same spelling as the word 'eicha']

This verse is spoken after Adam has eaten from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. He knows he has done wrong and has hidden in the Garden of Eden. G‑d asks him where he is and eventually banishes both he and Eve from the Garden. This story parallels the destruction of the Temples and the exile of the Jews from the Holy Land, as hinted at by the key word, "ayeka".

Thus it was hinted to Adam that in the future the Temple would be destroyed and be mourned tearfully with the saying of "eicha" [the name in Hebrew of the book of Lamentations], as is written: "How [in Hebrew, "eicha"] lonely sits the city, that was full of people!" (Lamentations 1:1) [And "eicha" is also two words:] "aye ka".

Just as the Garden of Eden was left bereft, so will Jerusalem be as a result of failing to heed His word. "eicha" is spelled aleph-yud, chaf-hei. "Alef-yud" means "where", and "chaf-hei" always refers to the Shechina in the Zohar. Now the word is interpreted to mean: Where is the Shechina that dwelt in the Holy Temples? Where is the feeling of divine providence? Sinning causes the holy presence to depart, leaving the unfortunate sinner in a state of harsh exile instead of sweet unity. At the time of the redemption of Israel, Zeir Anpin…and Malchut…will be in perfect unity…

And in the future the Holy One blessed be He will burn up all manner of wickedness from the world, as is written: "He will destroy death for ever; and the Lord G‑d will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the insult of His people shall He take away from all the earth; for G‑d has spoken it. And it shall be said on that day, Behold, this is our G‑d; we have waited for Him, and He will save us… we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation." (Isaiah 25:8-9)

How precisely these verses fit! First death, which was the result of Adam's sin in the first-quoted ayeka, will be destroyed; the spirit will triumph over matter instead of the reverse. Second, the tears of lamentation over the destruction of the Temples will be wiped away. Thirdly the insult to His people, namely their exile from the Temple Mount by the nations, and rampant anti-Semitism, will be removed. Finally the presence of the Divine will again be felt in joy, removing the Jews from the state of exile.

Then all [the partzufim] will return to their place [as they were before the sin of Adam]. This is as is written: "And the G‑d will be king over all the earth; on that day the G‑d shall be one, and His name one." (Zachariah 14:9)

At the time of the redemption of Israel, Zeir Anpin, referred to by "G‑d", and Malchut, called "His Name", will be in perfect unity and man will be fully conscious of this.

Zohar parashat Bereishit p.29a; translation and commentary by Simcha-Shmuel Treister

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