Why Yisroel Was Exiled

Ben Azzai read the first word of Eichah, spelled alef, yud, chaf, hei, as a hint to the reason for the exile. The alef alludes to the one Hashem, the yud to the ten commandments, the chaf to the mitzvah of bris milah, given in the twentieth generation after Adam, and the hei to the five books of the Torah. Yisroel was exiled only after denying all of these. The interpretation answers the claims of the Christians of his day.