They Like Adam Broke the Covenant and the Lament of Eikhah

Eikhah [How]. Rabbi Abbahu in the name of Rabbi Yose bar Hanina opened: "But they, like Adam, transgressed the covenant; there they dealt faithlessly with me" (Hosea 6:7). "But they, like Adam" refers to Adam the first man. The Holy One, blessed be He, said: Adam the first man, I brought him into the garden of Eden and commanded him, and he transgressed my command, and I judged him with banishment and I judged him with sending away, and I lamented over him, "Eikhah" [How]. I brought him into the garden of Eden, "and the LORD God took the man" (Genesis 2:15). And I commanded him, "and the LORD God commanded the man" (Genesis 2:16). And he transgressed the command, "have you eaten from the tree from which I commanded you" (Genesis 3:11). And I judged him with banishment, "and He banished the man" (Genesis 3:24). And I judged him with sending away, "and the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden" (Genesis 3:23). And I lamented over him, "Eikhah": "and the LORD God called to the man and said to him, ayekah" (Genesis 3:9) [Where are you?]; it is written ayekah [which can be read as the lament eikhah, How]. So too his children: I brought them into the land of Israel and commanded them, and they transgressed my command, and I judged them with banishment and I judged them with sending away, and I lamented over them, "Eikhah." I brought them into the land of Israel, "and I brought you into a land of fruitful fields" (Jeremiah 2:7). And I commanded them, "command the children of Israel" (Leviticus 24:2). And they transgressed the command, "and all Israel transgressed your Torah" (Daniel 9:11). And I judged them with banishment, "from my house I will drive them" (Hosea 9:15). And I judged them with sending away, "send them from my presence and let them go out" (Jeremiah 15:1). And I lamented over them, "Eikhah": "How [Eikhah] she sits alone" (Lamentations 1:1).