Chapter 36 in Yirmiyahu is particularly relevant to the days leading up to Tisha B'Av, as it deals with Megillat Eichah and how it came into being. The Megillat Eichah we possess today is essentially the "finished product"; the original scroll did not look like this at all. In the chapter before us, we will trace the transformations the scroll underwent - from its initial writing, through its burning at the hands of the king, to the scroll in our hands today, which was written by Yirmiyahu the Prophet.
וַיְהִי בַּשָּׁנָה הָרְבִעִית לִיהוֹיָקִים בֶּן־יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָה הָיָה הַדָּבָר הַזֶּה אֶל־יִרְמְיָהוּ מֵאֵת יְהֹוָה לֵאמֹר׃ - And it came to pass in the fourth year of Yehoyakim the son of Yoshiyahu, king of Yehudah, that this word came to Yirmiyahu from Hashem, saying:
The prophecy was spoken in the fourth year of Yehoyakim son of Yoshiyahu. Yehoyakim was a profoundly wicked king, and later in the chapter we will see how the punishment was fulfilled in him that his skull rolled about unburied, until it was burned in the era of the Sages of the Talmud.
קַח־לְךָ מְגִלַּת־סֵפֶר וְכָתַבְתָּ אֵלֶיהָ אֵת כׇּל־הַדְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁר־דִּבַּרְתִּי אֵלֶיךָ עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵל וְעַל־יְהוּדָה וְעַל־כׇּל־הַגּוֹיִם מִיּוֹם דִּבַּרְתִּי אֵלֶיךָ מִימֵי יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ וְעַד הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה׃ - Take for yourself a scroll of a book, and write upon it all the words that I have spoken to you concerning Yisrael, concerning Yehudah, and concerning all the nations, from the day I spoke to you, from the days of Yoshiyahu until this day.
"A scroll of a book" - a scroll refers to the parchment, the sheet. Upon this parchment Yirmiyahu was to record all the calamitous events that Hashem destined for Yisrael and Yehudah: both what had already transpired and what was yet to come. Not everything had been fulfilled by that time; there were prophecies that were only to come to pass in the future. All these he was to write, "from the days of Yoshiyahu until this day."
אוּלַי יִשְׁמְעוּ בֵּית יְהוּדָה אֵת כׇּל־הָרָעָה אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי חֹשֵׁב לַעֲשׂוֹת לָהֶם לְמַעַן יָשׁוּבוּ אִישׁ מִדַּרְכּוֹ הָרָעָה וְסָלַחְתִּי לַעֲוֺנָם וּלְחַטָּאתָם׃ - Perhaps the house of Yehudah will hear all the calamity that I plan to bring upon them, so that each person may turn from his evil way, and I will forgive their iniquity and their sin.
This is the entire purpose: when you compile in a single scroll all the prophecies uttered in advance, the people will see that the words previously spoken have already come to pass to the letter. Perhaps through this they will realize that the future forebodings will likewise come true, and they will be aroused to repentance. The Holy One, Blessed be He, conveys through this: "I do not desire the death of the dead, but that he return from his ways and live" - meaning, calamity is not an end in itself. The ultimate purpose of adversity is to bring about good, that they may repent and not need to go into exile.
Incidentally, regarding the verse "I do not desire the death of the dead" - there is a homiletic interpretation (derash) and a plain meaning (peshat). The derash: "The wicked, even in their lifetime, are called dead," and the Holy One, Blessed be He, says that He does not desire even the demise of that "dead person," that he should not suffer absolute destruction. And the peshat: in the manner of the verse, "if any fallen one falls from it" - where the Torah calls him "fallen" even before he falls, by virtue of his ultimate end. So too with "the death of the dead": regarding the person whose end appears destined for death, Hashem says, I did not desire to put him to death, but rather that he should not arrive at that state at all, but rather "return from his ways and live."
וַיִּקְרָא יִרְמְיָהוּ אֶת־בָּרוּךְ בֶּן־נֵרִיָּה וַיִּכְתֹּב בָּרוּךְ מִפִּי יִרְמְיָהוּ אֵת כׇּל־דִּבְרֵי יְהֹוָה אֲשֶׁר־דִּבַּר אֵלָיו עַל־מְגִלַּת־סֵפֶר׃ - And Yirmiyahu called Baruch the son of Neriyah, and Baruch wrote from the mouth of Yirmiyahu all the words of Hashem which He had spoken to him, upon a scroll of a book.
Baruch ben Neriah was a sage who lived in Yirmiyahu's time, acting as the prophet's disciple, assistant, and helper, accompanying him through a long part of his journey. Yirmiyahu would dictate the words and Baruch would write them down. The Malbim cites the Abarbanel: all of Yirmiyahu's prophecies were written by Yirmiyahu himself, in his own wording and handwriting, in clear and pure language. This was not the case with Megillat Eicha, which was uttered not at the level of prophecy, but with Ruach HaKodesh (the Holy Spirit) - which is one degree below prophecy. Therefore, he relaxed his usual practice here and instructed that he would dictate while Baruch would write.
For this reason, the Malbim infers from the verse below, "And Baruch read... the words of Yirmiyahu": had these been words of prophecy, it should have said "the words of Hashem." But since this was on the level of Ruach HaKodesh, they are called "the words of Yirmiyahu." Make no mistake: both prophecy and Ruach HaKodesh ultimately originate from Hashem; however, at the lower level, it is more fitting to say "the words of Yirmiyahu" rather than "the words of Hashem."
וַיְצַוֶּה יִרְמְיָהוּ אֶת־בָּרוּךְ לֵאמֹר אֲנִי עָצוּר לֹא אוּכַל לָבוֹא בֵּית יְהֹוָה׃ - And Yirmiyahu commanded Baruch, saying, "I am confined; I cannot enter the House of Hashem."
"I am confined" - in prison. Although we saw that Tzidkiyahu later imprisoned him in the court of the guard, from here we learn that Yehoyakim imprisoned him as well. The kings did not like Yirmiyahu because he constantly delivered harsh messages to them; they wanted him to speak words of comfort and praise, but he showed no favoritism - and so they imprisoned him.
וּבָאתָ אַתָּה וְקָרָאתָ בַמְּגִלָּה אֲשֶׁר־כָּתַבְתָּ־מִפִּי אֶת־דִּבְרֵי יְהֹוָה בְּאׇזְנֵי הָעָם בֵּית יְהֹוָה בְּיוֹם צוֹם וְגַם בְּאׇזְנֵי כׇל־יְהוּדָה הַבָּאִים מֵעָרֵיהֶם תִּקְרָאֵם׃ - "Therefore you shall go, and read from the scroll that you have written from my mouth the words of Hashem in the ears of the people in the House of Hashem on the fast day; and also in the ears of all of Judah who come from their cities shall you read them."
Yirmiyahu says to Baruch: Since I am confined, I am unable to go out and publicize this among the entire nation, and the people must know - for what good is writing it alone? We must remember that in those days, there were no mass media outlets. Anyone who had a message had to take the scroll and read it aloud to the people: sound a trumpet, unroll the scroll, read it, move to the next street and read it again, and so on. It was truly painstaking work, person by person. Today, one sends a single message and hundreds of thousands know immediately; back then, that was not the case. Therefore Yirmiyahu says: I am restricted, I am in prison - so you must go and read it aloud to the people in the House of Hashem on a fast day.
Radak explains simply: a day of fasting. However, Radak cites another explanation in the name of his father: the root of the word tzom (fast) is related to tzomet (junction or concentration), meaning an assembly or gathering. Just as tzomet hagiddim refers to a junction where many sinews converge, and a crossroads is an intersection where roads from many directions meet, and similarly nitzmat basro means his flesh shrank and contracted. According to this, a "day of tzom" is a day when the people gather and congregate, either in the synagogues or at the Beit HaMikdash. Indeed, such was the practice: "Proclaim a fast, gather an assembly" - when a fast is declared, the people assemble for prayer. Yirmiyahu therefore commands him to read on that day, because everyone will already be gathered in one place and he will not need to exert himself to spread the word. If he reads before a thousand or two thousand people, then based on the principle of "your friend has a friend," within two or three days the message will reach all the people living throughout the cities of Judah.
אוּלַי תִּפֹּל תְּחִנָּתָם לִפְנֵי יְהֹוָה וְיָשֻׁבוּ אִישׁ מִדַּרְכּוֹ הָרָעָה כִּי־גָדוֹל הָאַף וְהַחֵמָה אֲשֶׁר־דִּבֶּר יְהֹוָה אֶל־הָעָם הַזֶּה׃ - "Perhaps their supplication will be presented before Hashem, and every one will turn back from his evil way, for great is the anger and wrath that Hashem has spoken against this people."
Perhaps when they hear these words, their uncircumcised hearts will be humbled, they will return to the Holy One, blessed be He, plead over this very matter, and repent.
וַיַּעַשׂ בָּרוּךְ בֶּן־נֵרִיָּה כְּכֹל אֲשֶׁר־צִוָּהוּ יִרְמְיָהוּ הַנָּבִיא לִקְרֹא בַסֵּפֶר דִּבְרֵי יְהֹוָה בֵּית יְהֹוָה׃ - "And Baruch son of Neriah did according to all that Yirmiyahu the prophet commanded him, to read from the scroll the words of Hashem in the House of Hashem."
The Malbim raises a question: the command was given in the fourth year of Yehoyakim, yet the actual reading took place in the fifth year, in the ninth month (the seventh month being Tishrei, and the ninth being Kislev). Seemingly, it would have been proper to read it immediately - why did he wait? Rather, the verse is precise: "according to all that Yirmiyahu the prophet commanded him" - he acted according to all the conditions specified to him: to read the words of Hashem in the House of Hashem, and on a fast day. There was no widespread assembly of the people in the House of Hashem until that time, when people also gathered from the outlying cities and it was possible to read with great publicity. He therefore postponed the matter in order to fulfill the command in its entirety - that it be done publicly.
And why did he not read it before a small audience and then before more and more people, instead of waiting a year and a half? The answer is simple: had he read it before fifteen people, they would have arrested him on the spot, confiscated the scroll, and no one would have ever known. But when there are thousands of people and he reads before them, there is no stopping it: the message is out, and everyone knows.
וַיְהִי בַשָּׁנָה הַחֲמִשִׁית לִיהוֹיָקִים בֶּן־יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ מֶלֶךְ־יְהוּדָה בַּחֹדֶשׁ הַתְּשִׁעִי קָרְאוּ צוֹם לִפְנֵי יְהֹוָה כׇּל־הָעָם בִּירוּשָׁלִָם וְכׇל־הָעָם הַבָּאִים מֵעָרֵי יְהוּדָה בִּירוּשָׁלִָם׃ - "And it came to pass in the fifth year of Yehoyakim son of Yoshiyahu, king of Yehudah, in the ninth month, that they proclaimed a fast before Hashem - all the people in Jerusalem and all the people who came from the cities of Yehudah to Jerusalem."
Here all the conditions were fulfilled: 1) "They proclaimed a fast" - as he was commanded to read on a fast day. 2) "Before Hashem." 3) "All the people in Jerusalem." 4) "Those who came from the cities of Yehudah." This was indeed the most optimal way to read the scroll, so that a maximum number of people would hear and know. There is also an additional dimension to it being a fast day: on a fast day, a person is more open to receiving rebuke. It is a day of repentance, of closeness to Hashem, of a desire for rectification - and at such a time, a person is far more open to change.
וַיִּקְרָא בָרוּךְ בַּסֵּפֶר אֶת־דִּבְרֵי יִרְמְיָהוּ בֵּית יְהֹוָה בְּלִשְׁכַּת גְּמַרְיָהוּ בֶן־שָׁפָן הַסֹּפֵר בֶּחָצֵר הָעֶלְיוֹן פֶּתַח שַׁעַר בֵּית־יְהֹוָה הֶחָדָשׁ בְּאׇזְנֵי כׇּל־הָעָם׃ - "Then Baruch read from the scroll the words of Yirmiyahu in the House of Hashem, in the chamber of Gemaryahu son of Shafan the scribe, in the upper courtyard, at the entrance of the New Gate of the House of Hashem, in the hearing of all the people."
"The words of Yirmiyahu" - as explained above, because these words were delivered through Ruach HaKodesh, they are called "the words of Yirmiyahu" rather than "the words of Hashem."
וַיִּשְׁמַע מִכָיְהוּ בֶן־גְּמַרְיָהוּ בֶן־שָׁפָן אֶת־כׇּל־דִּבְרֵי יְהֹוָה מֵעַל הַסֵּפֶר׃ - "And Mikhayahu son of Gemaryahu, son of Shafan, heard all the words of Hashem from the scroll."
He heard all the words of Hashem that were read from the scroll.
וַיֵּרֶד בֵּית־הַמֶּלֶךְ עַל־לִשְׁכַּת הַסֹּפֵר וְהִנֵּה־שָׁם כׇּל־הַשָּׂרִים יוֹשְׁבִים אֱלִישָׁמָע הַסֹּפֵר וּדְלָיָהוּ בֶן־שְׁמַעְיָהוּ וְאֶלְנָתָן בֶּן־עַכְבּוֹר וּגְמַרְיָהוּ בֶן־שָׁפָן וְצִדְקִיָּהוּ בֶן־חֲנַנְיָהוּ וְכׇל־הַשָּׂרִים׃ - "And he went down to the king's palace, to the scribe's chamber, and behold, all the ministers were sitting there: Elishama the scribe, Deliyahu son of Shemayahu, Elnatan son of Akhbor, Gemaryahu son of Shafan, Tzidkiyahu son of Chananyahu, and all the ministers."
וַיִּשְׁלְחוּ כׇל־הַשָּׂרִים אֶל־בָּרוּךְ אֶת־יְהוּדִי בֶּן־נְתַנְיָהוּ בֶּן־שֶׁלֶמְיָהוּ בֶן־כּוּשִׁי לֵאמֹר הַמְּגִלָּה אֲשֶׁר קָרָאתָ בָּהּ בְּאׇזְנֵי הָעָם קָחֶנָּה בְיָדְךָ וָלֵךְ וַיִּקַּח בָּרוּךְ בֶּן־נֵרִיָּהוּ אֶת־הַמְּגִלָּה בְּיָדוֹ וַיָּבֹא אֲלֵיהֶם׃ - "Then all the ministers sent Yehudi son of Netanyahu, son of Shelemyahu, son of Kushi, to Baruch, saying: 'The scroll from which you read in the hearing of the people - take it in your hand and come.' So Baruch son of Neriyahu took the scroll in his hand and came to them."
"Take it in your hand, and go" - meaning, come to us. The officers want to hear the words firsthand, for they understood that there was a message here.
וַיְהִי כְּשׇׁמְעָם אֶת־כׇּל־הַדְּבָרִים פָּחֲדוּ אִישׁ אֶל־רֵעֵהוּ וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֶל־בָּרוּךְ הַגֵּיד נַגִּיד לַמֶּלֶךְ אֵת כׇּל־הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה׃ - And it came to pass, when they had heard all the words, they turned in fear one to another, and said to Baruch: We will surely tell the king of all these words.
The simple reading of the text: each of them was frightened by the words, and they said they must inform the king. The Malbim, however, explains differently: "They turned in fear one to another" - they would have preferred that the king not hear of it at all, but each one feared his peer, lest his fellow go and tell the king, and the king would then say to him: Why did you not come and tell me that such was the prophecy, that Baruch ben Neriah said this? Had they all agreed among themselves to remain silent and claim, "We did not know and we did not hear," they would have preferred that - but due to their mutual suspicion, they said they had no choice but to tell the king.
וְאֶת־בָּרוּךְ שָׁאֲלוּ לֵאמֹר הַגֶּד־נָא לָנוּ אֵיךְ כָּתַבְתָּ אֶת־כׇּל־הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה מִפִּיו׃ - And they asked Baruch, saying: Tell us now, how did you write all these words from his mouth?
The officers want to know: Did you write the words exactly as they issued from Jeremiah's mouth, in which case we must be deeply concerned about every single detail written here; or did Jeremiah speak in general terms and you, with your vivid phrasing, added, elaborated, expanded, and gave examples - in which case we need not be so alarmed by the specific details, since we could assume you were carried away, exaggerated, or offered a far-reaching interpretation?
The Malbim adds: The officers in the days of Yehoyakim had resolved that Jeremiah was not liable to the death penalty for the prophecy itself, since he spoke in the name of Hashem. But regarding the words of Baruch ben Neriah, they were uncertain whether he might be liable to death. Why? Perhaps he copied the words from what Jeremiah had written for himself without Hashem having sent him to copy and publish them, which would mean he was speaking in the name of Hashem that which was not commanded to him - and a prophet who speaks in the name of Hashem that which He did not command him is liable to death. Furthermore, they wanted to know whether he had added anything of his own accord.
וַיֹּאמֶר לָהֶם בָּרוּךְ מִפִּיו יִקְרָא אֵלַי אֵת כׇּל־הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה וַאֲנִי כֹּתֵב עַל־הַסֵּפֶר בַּדְּיוֹ׃ - Then Baruch answered them: He pronounced all these words to me with his mouth, and I wrote them with ink in the scroll.
Baruch answers: Make no mistake - he uttered all these words to me with his mouth, and I wrote them down word for word. And why did he emphasize "in the scroll with ink"? What practical difference does it make what he wrote it with? Rather, there is a halachic principle regarding the writing of Sifrei Torah and scrolls: they must be written on a scroll - that is, on parchment - and with ink, and ink must be made with gallnut water (mei afatzim). If one did not write it this way, the text does not bear the halachic status of Kitvei HaKodesh (sacred scriptures), its level of holiness is far lower, and one cannot fulfill an obligation with such a scroll, even if written in ink on paper, diftra (unfinished hide), papyrus, or the like. Therefore Baruch tells them: Know that what I am reading before you was written in the exact manner that the Sefer Torah itself was written - the Holy One, Blessed is He, would dictate and Moshe would write, upon a scroll in ink; and so it was here: Jeremiah dictated and I wrote from his mouth upon the scroll in ink. This is a precise writing and faithful transmission without omission and without addition, exactly as conveyed, and it has the full halachic status of Kitvei HaKodesh.
וַיֹּאמְרוּ הַשָּׂרִים אֶל־בָּרוּךְ לֵךְ הִסָּתֵר אַתָּה וְיִרְמְיָהוּ וְאִישׁ אַל־יֵדַע אֵיפֹה אַתֶּם׃ - Then the officers said to Baruch: Go, hide yourself, you and Jeremiah, and let no man know where you are.
The Radak explains: Hide in the court of the guard. And the reason - lest the king's anger be kindled against you when he hears these words and he seek to harm you; therefore, go and hide to be saved from him. "And let no man know" - for if anyone knows, he might go and reveal it to the king and you will once again be in danger; therefore, hide in such a way that no one knows where you are.
The Malbim adds insight into their words: Had Baruch said that he had copied the words from a book Yirmeyahu wrote for himself, Yirmeyahu would not have been held liable before the king for personal notes he wrote for his own use. But since he admitted that he copied what Yirmeyahu had written and commanded him to publicize, and that he was Yirmeyahu's designated emissary, through this he also placed Yirmeyahu's life in danger before the king. Therefore, both of them needed to go into hiding.
Our Sages state (Sanhedrin 103a) that Yehoyakim was wicked while his generation was righteous, whereas the reverse was true of Tzidkiyahu. See this right here: Yehoyakim's generation, the ministers, wanted to save Yirmeyahu, while the wicked king wanted to kill him. In Tzidkiyahu's days, the exact opposite occurred - the ministers wanted to execute him, and it was the king who saved him.
וַיָּבֹאוּ אֶל־הַמֶּלֶךְ חָצֵרָה וְאֶת־הַמְּגִלָּה הִפְקִדוּ בְּלִשְׁכַּת אֱלִישָׁמָע הַסֹּפֵר וַיַּגִּידוּ בְּאׇזְנֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ אֵת כׇּל־הַדְּבָרִים׃ - And they came to the king into the court, but they deposited the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and they told all the words in the ears of the king.
They came to the king's courtyard, having stored away the scroll in the meantime in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and related to the king the entire message that had been delivered by Baruch in the name of Yirmeyahu.
וַיִּשְׁלַח הַמֶּלֶךְ אֶת־יְהוּדִי לָקַחַת אֶת־הַמְּגִלָּה וַיִּקָּחֶהָ מִלִּשְׁכַּת אֱלִישָׁמָע הַסֹּפֵר וַיִּקְרָאֶהָ יְהוּדִי בְּאׇזְנֵי הַמֶּלֶךְ וּבְאׇזְנֵי כׇּל־הַשָּׂרִים הָעֹמְדִים מֵעַל הַמֶּלֶךְ׃ - So the king sent Yehudi to fetch the scroll, and he took it out of the chamber of Elishama the scribe. And Yehudi read it in the ears of the king, and in the ears of all the princes who stood beside the king.
"Yehudi" - that was his personal name. The king, too, wanted to hear the entire scroll in full detail.
וְהַמֶּלֶךְ יוֹשֵׁב בֵּית הַחֹרֶף בַּחֹדֶשׁ הַתְּשִׁיעִי וְאֶת־הָאָח לְפָנָיו מְבֹעָרֶת׃ - Now the king was sitting in the winter house in the ninth month, and the hearth was burning before him.
Kings had both a summer house and a winter house. The summer house was a place with high ceilings and many windows; the winter house had low ceilings and few windows so that it would be less cold, and it also contained a burning hearth. And what is an ach? A stove or fireplace. Why is it called by this name? Our Sages say it is called ach because the pieces of wood catch fire in brotherhood (achva), one log catching from another, in the manner of "we are brothers" (achim). Some have remarked wittily: whoever touches the hearth gets burned and cries out, "Ach!" The Malbim explains that it derives from the word achu, as in "and they fed in the reed-grass (ba'achu)" - they would dry out the meadow grasses and thorns, and use them to kindle the fire in the wood. That is how they lit the fire: they placed dry grasses over the wood to ignite it. Therefore the hearth is called an ach, from the root achu - dry grasses.
וַיְהִי כִּקְרוֹא יְהוּדִי שָׁלֹשׁ דְּלָתוֹת וְאַרְבָּעָה יִקְרָעֶהָ בְּתַעַר הַסֹּפֵר וְהַשְׁלֵךְ אֶל־הָאֵשׁ אֲשֶׁר אֶל־הָאָח עַד־תֹּם כׇּל־הַמְּגִלָּה עַל־הָאֵשׁ אֲשֶׁר עַל־הָאָח׃ - And it came to pass, when Yehudi had read three or four columns, he cut it with the scribe's knife and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until the entire scroll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth.
When he had read three or four verses before him, not only was he unmoved by the words, but he took the scroll, sliced it with a penknife - with a blade - and threw it into the burning fire. See what foolishness: as if burning the parchment on which the prophecy was inscribed would prevent the prophecy from coming to pass! Wickedness and blindness combined.
Our Sages explain: They began reading before him, "How does the city sit solitary" (Eichah yashvah vadad), then "She weeps sorely in the night" (Bacho tivkeh balailah), then the letter Gimmel - "Yehudah has gone into exile because of affliction" (Galtah Yehudah mei'oni), and then "The ways of Tzion mourn" (Darchai Tzion aveilot). Throughout all of these, he remained unconcerned. Why? He thought: I am a king, and I still reign over those who remain here, and nothing has been written here yet about me personally. But when they reached the letter Hei - "Her adversaries have become the head" (Hayu tzareha l'rosh), which is the fifth verse, and this is what Scripture alluded to with "three or four columns" - that infuriated him. He said: In that case, I am not king; they will be the head! That he could not accept, and immediately "he cut it with the scribe's knife" - tearing and cutting the scroll, to demonstrate that he was ostensibly nullifying the words and refusing to accept them.
וְלֹא פָחֲדוּ וְלֹא קָרְעוּ אֶת־בִּגְדֵיהֶם הַמֶּלֶךְ וְכׇל־עֲבָדָיו הַשֹּׁמְעִים אֵת כׇּל־הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה׃ - Yet they were not afraid, nor did they tear their garments, neither the king nor any of his servants who heard all these words.
They should have been apprehensive, fearful, and torn their garments - after all, one is hearing horrific words of distress and calamity from Megillat Eichah. The ministers indeed feared, as we saw earlier ("they turned in fear one to another"), and they also tried to prevent the king from burning the scroll, as we will see immediately. But the king and the courtiers with him feared nothing at all. And Chazal derive from here that if a person sees a Sefer Torah torn, he must tear his garments - for the prophet rebukes them: "nor did they tear their garments," meaning there was an obligation upon them to rend their clothing in such a situation.
וְגַם אֶלְנָתָן וּדְלָיָהוּ וּגְמַרְיָהוּ הִפְגִּעוּ בַמֶּלֶךְ לְבִלְתִּי שְׂרֹף אֶת־הַמְּגִלָּה וְלֹא שָׁמַע אֲלֵיהֶם׃ - Furthermore, Elnatan and Delayahu and Gemaryahu had pleaded with the king not to burn the scroll, but he would not listen to them.
They tried to reason with him: Do not burn the scroll, this is a prophecy that must be taken seriously - but he would not listen to them.
וַיְצַוֶּה הַמֶּלֶךְ אֶת־יְרַחְמְאֵל בֶּן־הַמֶּלֶךְ וְאֶת־שְׂרָיָהוּ בֶן־עַזְרִיאֵל וְאֶת־שֶׁלֶמְיָהוּ בֶּן־עַבְדְּאֵל לָקַחַת אֶת־בָּרוּךְ הַסֹּפֵר וְאֵת יִרְמְיָהוּ הַנָּבִיא וַיַּסְתִּרֵם יְהֹוָה׃ - And the king commanded Yerachme'el the king's son, and Serayahu the son of Azriel, and Shelemyahu the son of Avde'el, to seize Baruch the scribe and Yirmiyahu the prophet, but Hashem hid them.
The king commands that Yirmiyahu and Baruch the scribe be arrested, because he does not like what they are saying and disseminating, and he fears they will publish these matters further, undermine his reign, and instill faintheartedness in the people. This very reason explains why the kings disliked the prophets: the prophets would frighten the people, warning them that the enemy was near, that they had to come to terms with the enemy, and that it was forbidden to rebel against him because Hashem had granted him dominion - and all this provoked the kings to war against the prophets and seek to suppress their words.
"And Hashem hid them" - the Metzudot explains that this occurred miraculously. And the Radak explains that He may have set darkness around them, casting obscurity and gloom about them so that the pursuers were as if struck with blindness, searching for them without being able to find them; or their faculty of sight was suspended. Through a miracle, Hashem made it impossible for them to be captured.
וַיְהִי דְבַר־יְהֹוָה אֶל־יִרְמְיָהוּ אַחֲרֵי שְׂרֹף הַמֶּלֶךְ אֶת־הַמְּגִלָּה וְאֶת־הַדְּבָרִים אֲשֶׁר כָּתַב בָּרוּךְ מִפִּי יִרְמְיָהוּ לֵאמֹר׃ - And the word of Hashem came to Yirmiyahu after the king had burned the scroll and the words that Baruch wrote at the dictation of Yirmiyahu, saying:
The Radak explains: Do not suppose that he burned only the blank margins of the scroll; rather, Scripture emphasizes "the scroll and the words" - both the margins surrounding the writing and the script itself. This accounts for the duplicate phrasing in the verse, and from here Chazal teach that one who sees a Sefer Torah burned must tear two rents in his garments: one for the parchment itself, which is holy, and one for the sacred script.
שׁוּב קַח־לְךָ מְגִלָּה אַחֶרֶת וּכְתֹב עָלֶיהָ אֵת כׇּל־הַדְּבָרִים הָרִאשֹׁנִים אֲשֶׁר הָיוּ עַל־הַמְּגִלָּה הָרִאשֹׁנָה אֲשֶׁר שָׂרַף יְהוֹיָקִים מֶלֶךְ־יְהוּדָה׃ - "Take for yourself another scroll again, and write upon it all the former words that were on the first scroll, which Yehoyakim king of Yehudah burned."
The first scroll had been written without a duplicate copy, and now Hashem tells him: Sit down and write the entire scroll anew.
וְעַל־יְהוֹיָקִים מֶלֶךְ־יְהוּדָה תֹּאמַר כֹּה אָמַר יְהֹוָה אַתָּה שָׂרַפְתָּ אֶת־הַמְּגִלָּה הַזֹּאת לֵאמֹר מַדּוּעַ כָּתַבְתָּ עָלֶיהָ לֵאמֹר בֹּא־יָבוֹא מֶלֶךְ־בָּבֶל וְהִשְׁחִית אֶת־הָאָרֶץ הַזֹּאת וְהִשְׁבִּית מִמֶּנָּה אָדָם וּבְהֵמָה׃ - "And concerning Yehoyakim king of Yehudah you shall say: Thus said Hashem: You burned this scroll, saying, 'Why did you write upon it, saying: The king of Bavel will surely come and destroy this land, and eradicate from it man and beast?'"
You, Yehoyakim, burned this scroll because it was hard for you to accept and you were displeased by what I had written, that the king of Bavel would come, destroy the land, and wipe out man and beast from it.
לָכֵן כֹּה־אָמַר יְהֹוָה עַל־יְהוֹיָקִים מֶלֶךְ יְהוּדָה לֹא־יִהְיֶה־לּוֹ יוֹשֵׁב עַל־כִּסֵּא דָוִד וְנִבְלָתוֹ תִּהְיֶה מֻשְׁלֶכֶת לַחֹרֶב בַּיּוֹם וְלַקֶּרַח בַּלָּיְלָה׃ - "Therefore, thus said Hashem concerning Yehoyakim king of Yehudah: He shall have no one sitting upon the throne of David, and his corpse shall be cast out to the heat by day and to the frost by night."
"He shall have no one sitting upon the throne of David" - his son Yehoyachin reigned for only three months, and that is not considered "sitting upon the throne of David." "And his corpse shall be cast out" - he would not be buried after his death, and his skull lay discarded like dung upon the face of the field until the era of the Sages.
The Gemara relates: One of the Sages found this skull one day, and since it had inscribed upon it, "This, and yet another," he said that it is not fitting for a king's skull to be disgraced in this manner; he brought it home and wrapped it in silk. Note: this was already a thousand years or more after the time of Yehoyakim, and his skull was still lying like dung upon the face of the field. That Sage's wife came home and saw a skull wrapped in fine fabric inside his closet. Panicking, she went to ask her neighbors. Her neighbor said to her: "Since he wrapped it in fine fabric and stored it away, it must be his first wife, and he finds it hard to part from her, which is why he kept her skull for safekeeping." She said: "I will help him part from her." She took the skull, cast it into the hearth, into the oven, and burned it. This is what was written upon it, "This, and yet another": fulfilled in him was "the burial of a donkey, dragged and cast away" - lying like dung upon the open field, and yet another fate was fulfilled in him - that he was burned. One can see this as a measure-for-measure retribution: you burned the scroll containing the word of Hashem, and your own skull will be burned.
וּפָקַדְתִּי עָלָיו וְעַל־זַרְעוֹ וְעַל־עֲבָדָיו אֶת־עֲוֺנָם וְהֵבֵאתִי עֲלֵיהֶם וְעַל־יֹשְׁבֵי יְרוּשָׁלִַם וְאֶל־אִישׁ יְהוּדָה אֵת כׇּל־הָרָעָה אֲשֶׁר־דִּבַּרְתִּי אֲלֵיהֶם וְלֹא שָׁמֵעוּ׃ - "And I will visit their iniquity upon him, upon his offspring, and upon his servants, and I will bring upon them, upon the inhabitants of Yerushalayim, and upon the men of Yehudah all the disaster that I spoke to them, but they did not listen."
I will visit upon them all the misfortune they refused to hear - let them not imagine that by burning the scroll they could nullify the decree; rather, all of it will come upon them.
וְיִרְמְיָהוּ לָקַח מְגִלָּה אַחֶרֶת וַיִּתְּנָהּ אֶל־בָּרוּךְ בֶּן־נֵרִיָּהוּ הַסֹּפֵר וַיִּכְתֹּב עָלֶיהָ מִפִּי יִרְמְיָהוּ אֵת כׇּל־דִּבְרֵי הַסֵּפֶר אֲשֶׁר שָׂרַף יְהוֹיָקִים מֶלֶךְ־יְהוּדָה בָּאֵשׁ וְעוֹד נוֹסַף עֲלֵיהֶם דְּבָרִים רַבִּים כָּהֵמָּה׃ - "And Yirmiyahu took another scroll and gave it to Baruch the son of Neriyahu the scribe, and he wrote upon it from Yirmiyahu's mouth all the words of the book that Yehoyakim king of Yehudah had burned in the fire, and many similar words were added to them besides."
What is the meaning of "and there were added besides unto them"? The Gemara notes that Rabbi Chama bar Rabbi Chanina and Rav disputed this matter. One said: "And there were added" - this refers to the chapter of Eichah ya'iv be'apo ("How has Hashem covered with a cloud"); "words" - Eichah yu'am zahav ("How is the gold become dim"); "many" - Zechor Hashem meh hayah lanu ("Remember, Hashem, what has come upon us"); "like them" - Ani hagever ra'ah oni ("I am the man that has seen affliction"). Another opinion holds that "and there were added besides unto them" refers solely to the chapter of Ani hagever; that is, the original scroll already contained Eichah yashvah, Eichah ya'iv, and Eichah yu'am zahav, and what was added was only Ani hagever - "words" hinting to the fact that it has three verses for each letter of the alphabet, and "many" hinting to the mentions of Hashem's Name within it.
Either way, what is clear is that the scroll was originally more limited in scope. The five chapters we have today in Megillat Eichah include chapters that were added as a consequence of Yehoyakim burning the scroll. Had the scroll not been burned, we would have had only one chapter - or four according to the other opinion - but not five. Some say four were added, and some say one chapter was added. Either way, the scroll was meant to be shorter, and only as a result of Yehoyakim's deed were "many like words" added to it.
Chapter 36 reveals to us the origin of Megillat Eichah: Hashem commands Yirmiyahu to compile in writing all the prophecies of rebuke, so that the people will see that what was foretold in the past came to pass, and will realize that the future prophecies will likewise be fulfilled - "that every man may return from his evil way." Baruch ben Neriyah writes at Yirmiyahu's dictation, waits wisely for a fast day when all the people are gathered in Yerushalayim, and reads the scroll publicly. The ministers are terrified and seek to hide Yirmiyahu and Baruch, but King Yehoyakim - whose generation was righteous while he was wicked - cuts and burns the scroll in the fire of the brazier, "yet they were not afraid, nor rent their garments." The sheer folly of the act cries out: as if burning the written word could nullify the prophecy! And the outcome is the exact opposite: the scroll is rewritten, with "many like words" added to it, while upon Yehoyakim himself it is decreed that he will receive no burial and that his skull will be burned - measure for measure. From this chapter we have learned several fundamental principles: that calamity is not an end in itself but a means to inspire teshuvah, that one is obligated to rend one's garments over a Torah scroll that was torn or burned, and that one who flees from rebuke does not nullify it, but only intensifies it upon himself.