46. Rabbi Elazar went over to Rabbi Yosi, the son of Rabbi Shimon, ben Lakunya, his father-in-law. As soon as he saw him, he spread carpets over planks of wood and prepared a canopy under which they both sat. His father-in-law asked him if, by any chance, he had learned from his father the meaning of the verse: "Hashem has done that which He devised; He has performed His word that He commanded in the days of old" (Eichah 2:17).

47. He answered: Our friends have already explained it. "He has performed His word (also: 'He tore His hem')" means that He ripped His precious cloak; "that He commanded in the days of old" means that this cloak He commanded from the supernal days of old - MEANING FROM THE SFIROT OF THE PARTZUF OF ATIK, CALLED "DAYS OF OLD." On the day the Temple was destroyed, He ripped His cloak, for it is His glory and perfection, NAMELY MALCHUT, WHICH IS CALLED THE GLORY OF HASHEM, AND IT IS HIS PERFECTION BECAUSE THROUGH IT, HE PERFECTS HIMSELF WITH THE MOCHIN OF THE ILLUMINATION OF CHOCHMAH. And He ripped it, MEANS THAT THE FIRST NINE SFIROT LEFT HER AND ONLY THE TENTH REMAINED.

48. He asks, "Hashem has done that which He devised--" is this the way of a king to devise evil against his children even before they have sinned? And he answers him: It is like a king who had a precious vessel and was constantly afraid that it might one day break. So he used to watch it by keeping it under his eye. One day his son came along and made the king angry. So the king took his precious vessel and smashed it. That is why it says "that which He devised."

49. Come and behold: from the day the Temple was built, the Holy One, blessed be He, used to watch it, because it was very precious to Him. And He used to worry that Yisrael might sin and cause the Temple to be destroyed. So every time He came to the Temple, He wore a precious mantle, MEANING THAT HE MATED WITH MALCHUT. But when Yisrael sinned and made the King furious, the Temple was destroyed and He tore His cloak apart. That is the meaning of "Hashem has done that which He has devised... HE TORE HIS HEM."

50. "His hem (Heb. imratto)" as mentioned here, REFERS TO MALCHUT, which was sitting before on the top of the tree (Heb. amir). And the King crowned Himself with it and had before Him a beautiful tree; THE TREE OF THE SOULS BEFORE THEY COME INTO THIS WORLD. BUT NOW, AFTER THE DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE, HE TORE HER, MEANING THAT THE UPPER NINE SFIROT LEFT MALCHUT AND ONLY THE LIGHT OF NEFESH REMAINED THERE. So now, AFTER THE DESTRUCTION, there is sadness before Him all over in the external houses, BUT NOT IN THE INTERNAL ONES. As the verse reads: "Behold, the valiant ones shall cry without" (Yeshayah 33:7), THAT IS, ONLY EXTERNAL ONES.

51. "And on that day Hashem Tzva'ot called to weeping, to mourning, to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth" (Yeshayah 22:12). This means that only on that day, when the Temple was destroyed, DID HE CALL FOR WEEPING AND MOURNING. But aside from that day, there is no greater joy for the Holy One blessed be He, than when the wicked of the world, who provoke Him, are removed from this world. As it is written: "And when the wicked perish there is joy" (Mishlei 11:10). So in each generation, when judgment is executed on wicked people, there is joy and songs before the Holy one, blessed be He.

52. And if you claim that we learned that there is no joy before the Holy One, blessed be He, when He passes His judgment on the sinners, come and behold: when judgment is delivered on the wicked, there is joy and exultation before Him, because they are removed from this world. But, when is there joy? When the time that He has waited for them TO REPENT is over, and they have not returned to Him from sinning. But if judgment is delivered on them before their time has come, and the measure of their sins has not yet been completed. As it is written, "the iniquity of the Emorite is not yet full" (Beresheet 15:16), AND THERE STILL IS A CHANCE THAT THEY MAY REPENT; thus, there is no joy. And there is grief before Him because of their destruction.

53. But, you might ask, If their time has not come yet, then why should judgment be delivered on them? Because it is they who inflict the punishment on themselves, as the Holy One, blessed be He, would never punish them before their time has come. Because they associate with Yisrael in an effort to harm them, He passes His Judgment on them and entirely removes them from the world before their time is up. And now there is grief before Him, FOR HE DESTROYED THEM BEFORE THEIR TIME. This is also the reason why He drowned the Egyptians in the sea and destroyed the enemies of Yisrael in the days of Yehoshafat. They were all destroyed before their time because they harmed Yisrael.

54. So only when the time that He waits for them is completed, and they do not mend their ways, is their destruction a cause for joy and exaltation before Him. The only exception was the time when the Temple was destroyed, because even though their time for angering Him had expired, there was no joy before Him. From that time onward, there has been happiness neither above nor below.