Kedushas Levi
“The strong ones of Zion and her cities were like a woman in birth pangs and labor pains.” (End of Kinnos for Tisha Be’Av Day)
The Kedushas Levi explains that when a woman is giving birth and she is hunched over in labor, she suffers great pain. After the birth, however, she is very joyous. Similarly, all those around her are happy even while she is still in pain, since they all know that any moment now she will give birth to a boy or a girl – truly a great reason for rejoicing. And she, too, will rejoice once she has given birth, even though at present, while she is in labor and giving birth, she is in pain.
The same is true regarding Tzion. Even though now we are pained over her destruction, she is just like a woman in labor: Hashem has great joy, knowing that this pain is only temporary and that He will soon rebuild the Bais HaMikdosh with greater strength and glory. This concept is hinted at in the Medrash (Eicha Rabba 1:26). Commenting on the pasuk (Eicha 1:2) Ein Lah Menachem – “She has no comforter”, the Medrash says: “Anywhere the pasuk says ‘she has none’ means that later she will have. Similarly, regarding Sarai (Sarah), the pasuk (Bereishis 11:30) says: ‘Sarai was barren and she had no child.’ Later, she did have.” This can be elucidated based on what my master and Rebbe, the Mezritcher Maggid, taught: “Ein Mazal LeYisrael (‘There is no Mazal for Yisrael’) (Shabbos 156a). [Read this as:] The Ayin (aspect of nullification) is the Mazal of Yisrael. The Ayin is the mashpi’a which pours forth abundant blessings; Mazal shares a meaning with ‘pour forth’, as in (BaMidbar 24:7) ‘Yizal Mayim – Water shall pour forth from his wells.’” This is the way we should understand the meaning of Ein Lah Menachem: the attribute of Ayin will console and comfort her, since we know that Hashem will surely rebuild her and comfort her numerous times.
