ירמיהו, פרק ט׳, פסוק י״ט

A direct address to women serves as a solemn preparation for an impending national tragedy. The prophecy calls upon them to internalize the coming disaster and ready themselves for a period of widespread mourning. The specific focus on women stems from their natural sensitivity. Because they possess soft hearts and are easily moved to tears, they have the unique ability to stir deep emotion and weeping throughout the entire nation [רד״ק, צאינה וראינה].

The women are instructed to listen closely to the word of God, which carries the heavy news of the approaching destruction [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. The instruction emphasizes that they must absorb this message directly from God Himself, without any middlemen [מלבי״ם]. Hearing the command directly from Him serves two vital purposes. First, it ensures that the mourning women will not refuse to carry out their difficult task [אברבנאל]. Second, it shifts their entire perspective on the tragedy. Rather than viewing the disaster as a random accident or an act of blind chance, they learn to mourn with the clear understanding that it is a decree of divine providence [מלבי״ם].

Once they accept this harsh reality, the women are tasked with spreading the practice of mourning. The sheer scale of the coming ruin requires thorough preparation, ensuring that every single woman knows how to grieve properly over the great disaster [אברבנאל]. They must teach their friends how to recite full lamentations [מצודת ציון], while also teaching their daughters the sounds of weeping and crying [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. A clear division in the grieving process emerges here. The adult, married women recite the complete, structured lamentations, while they teach the young girls to follow after them with shorter, broken cries of grief [מלבי״ם].