דברים, פרק כ״ח, פסוק נ״ו

Extreme distress during times of siege and starvation can completely erase a person's humanity, replacing natural compassion and family love with madness. Even the most refined individuals lose their sensitivity, turning cruel toward those closest to them. The subject of this tragedy is a woman who was raised in an environment of extreme pampering, softness, and refinement [ביאור שטיינזלץ, אוהב גר]. Some commentators identify her with historically wealthy and famously pampered figures, such as Martha bat Beithus [בכור שור, שפתי כהן]. Her delicacy was so profound that she never even walked barefoot [ביאור שטיינזלץ]. This detail is understood as an intentional exaggeration to emphasize just how sheltered her life had been [ביאור יש״ר].

However, the terror of starvation brings about a complete and horrifying reversal in her nature. She becomes entirely selfish and cruel toward her husband and her children. The primary approach among commentators is that this initial cruelty is directed specifically at her older children, as her infants are addressed separately [רש״י, מזרחי, שד״ל, ברכת אשר על התורה]. Her selfishness is demonstrated by a complete refusal to share any food whatsoever with her family [רשב״ם, שד״ל, ביאור יש״ר, משכיל לדוד].

The tragedy reaches a peak of horror when, driven by total deprivation, she secretly consumes her own afterbirth and her newborn infants. She goes to great lengths to do this in hiding, ensuring that her actions remain unknown so she will not be forced to share even this gruesome meal with her husband and older children [רשב״ם, ביאור יש״ר]. Because this graphic reality is so deeply disturbing, some early translators chose to use euphemisms, referring to the afterbirth simply as small children to avoid the shocking literal meaning [נתינה לגר, ברכת אשר על התורה, משכיל לדוד].