The Wisdom That Was Lost

The first verse of Eikhah/Lamentations contains the word רַבָּתִי (rabbati, great) twice. In the first instance, the verse mentions Jerusalem’s large population (רַבָּתִי עָם, rabbati ‘am). The second instance (רַבָּתִי בַגּוֹיִם, rabbati bagoyim) says that Jerusalem was great among the nations of the world.