דניאל, פרק ט׳, פסוק ח׳

A profound sense of collective shame washes over the entire nation, uniting everyone from the highest levels of leadership down to the everyday citizen. This deep regret stems from a severe fracture in their relationship with God. The commentators agree that this humiliation reaches all layers of society, but it rests particularly heavily on the most prominent figures: the kings, the princes, and the ancestors [ביאור שטיינזלץ, יוסף אבן יחיא].

When exploring the exact nature of this shame, different perspectives emerge. One approach suggests that the humiliation is a direct result of the punishment and the exile, as the nation's wrongdoings brought about their current lowly reality [מצודת דוד]. Conversely, another perspective argues that the true source of shame has nothing to do with the physical punishment or the loss of social standing. Rather, the distress comes purely from the very act of offending God. This explains why the shame extends even to the ancestors who had already passed away and never actually suffered the harsh conditions of the exile; their shame is rooted simply in the fact that they sinned [מלבי״ם].

Building on this idea, it would be easy to assume that the royal and political leaders feel humiliated primarily because they were stripped of their authority and reduced to a despised state in exile. Yet, the leadership's true shame does not come from the loss of their political power or worldly prestige. Instead, their regret is focused entirely on the reality that they sinned against God [אלשיך].