והיה כי תמצאן אותו רעות רבות וצרות וענתה השירה הזאת לפניו לעד
The word v’hayah, it shall be, is used to imply simchah, joy. We wonder what the portent of ra’os rabos v’tzaros, many evils and distresses, has to do with joy? On the surface, it comes across as a period which clearly does not denote simchah. Horav Yitzchak Yedidyah Frankel, zl (Rav of Tel Aviv), offers an inspiring explanation for the placement of the term v’hayah in connection with tzaros rabos. He quotes Chazal (Pesichta Eichah Rabbah) who relate a powerful dialogue that ensued between Avraham Avinu and “representatives” of the alef–beis, Hebrew alphabet. The Midrash relates Avraham Avinu’s defense of…