Getting Perspective After Loss

This past week, we flew through the first perek of Eicha, a book notoriously known for being one of the most depressing books in all of Tanach. When we started learning Eicha, Mrs. Perl told us that we wouldn't find it so depressing. Honestly, after learning the first perek and learning about the lamentations of the מקונן and the more profound wails of Jerusalem herself, I'm not completely convinced.

In the first 11 pesukim of this perek, we heard the story of the abandonment of Jerusalem from the point of the מקונן. He began his piece by describing how Jerusalem was abandoned by all of her "friends" and has officially become as lonely as a widow. He then tries to describe why all of this has happened to Jerusalem. The answer is quite simple: she has sinned and this was her punishment. Just then, the speaker changes and Jerusalem herself is now telling the same story from her own perspective. Naturally, her wording and implications are quite different. She goes through some stages of anger and denial until she finally recognizes that she sinned and comes to terms with the fact that she is now being given the accountability for her actions by G-d. This huge change in her attitude also mark a huge change in her character and in her perspective on life.

I feel like Eicha is quite comparable to Kohelet in that it can teach us something deep about human nature and about how we deal with tragedy and loss. Jerusalem was crying because she put her faith in the wrong people (as opposed to putting her faith in G-d) and, as a result of her actions, her people were all sent into exile and are now gone. I honestly wonder if any person, barring holocaust survivors or the survivors of any genocide in history, can quite understand and relate to this kind of loss. However, I think I can say that most people go through serious struggles in life. What can you do with those struggles and that experience? As Mrs. Perl would put it, you can get some perspective.

We all watched "Soul Surfer" on the bus during the fall trip this year. While some people liked it because Bethany Hamilton is awesome, others hated it because there was a shark and a lot of blood. There is one scene from the movie that perfectly sums up the ideas I'm trying to convey. Here it is.

In this scene, Sarah is trying to explain to Bethany why bad things happen to good people. While this situation isn't exactly the same as Jerusalem's situation, the take-home lesson is still the same: after you're done mourning your loss, take a step back and look at the bigger picture. As we learned in Kohelet, G-d is in control and has a plan for us. The stages of grief that Jerusalem went through are totally normal and expected. Once you're done mourning, you can get some perspective and try to see the bigger picture.

Bonus video: Since Jerusalem basically cried her way through the entire first perek and probably will cry throughout the sefer, why not a little Shwekey to cheer her up?