json/Midrash/Aggadah/Midrash Rabbah/Eikhah Rabbah/English/Sefaria Community Translation.json

{
    "language": "en",
    "title": "Eikhah Rabbah",
    "versionSource": "https://www.sefaria.org",
    "versionTitle": "Sefaria Community Translation",
    "status": null,
    "license": "CC0",
    "versionTitleInHebrew": "תרגום קהילת ספאריה",
    "actualLanguage": "en",
    "languageFamilyName": "english",
    "isBaseText": false,
    "isSource": false,
    "direction": "ltr",
    "heTitle": "איכה רבה",
    "categories": [
        "Midrash",
        "Aggadah",
        "Midrash Rabbah"
    ],
    "text": {
        "Petichta": [
            "Rabbi Abba bar Kahana opened [with] (Isaiah 10:30) <i>\"Give a shrill cry O Bath-Gallim\"</i>. Isaiah says to Israel, As long as you are saying songs and psalms for planet worship, Cry out with words of Torah! Cry out in the synagogues! [Regarding] Bath-Gallim, just as waves (<i>Gallim</i>) are distinct in in the sea, so too their ancestors are distinct in the world. Another explanation, Bath-Gallim [is like] Bath-Golim, the daughter of exiles. The daughter of Abraham, about him it is written, (Genesis 12:10) <i>\"There was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt\"</i>. The daughter of Isaac, it is written about him, (Genesis 26:1) <i>\"Isaac went to Abimelech, king of the Philistines, in Gerar\"</i>. The daughter of Jacob, it is written about him, (Genesis 28:5) <i>\"He went to Paden Aram\"</i>. (Isaiah 10:30) <i>\"Hearken\"</i>, Hearken to my commandments! Hearken to words of Torah! Hearken to words of prophecy! Hearken to righteous acts and good deeds! (Isaiah 10:30) <i>\"Laishah\"</i>, if [you] do not [hearken], a Laishah, that is a lion, is ascending to you. This [lion] is Nebuchadnezzar the wicked, as it is written about him (Jeremiah 4:7) <i>\"The lion has come up from his thicket\"</i>. (Isaiah 10:30) <i>\"Take up the cry\"</i>, Take up the cry from the Righteous! Take up the cry from the words of prophecy! Take up the cry from commandments and good deeds! (Isaiah 10:30) <i>\"Anathoth\"</i>, if [you] do not [take up the cry], Anathoth, that is the Anathothite [Jeremiah], is coming to prophesize about you, as it is written (Jeremiah 1:1) <i>\"The words of Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth\"</i> Since the punishment [that he prophesized] came, he laments about them [saying] \"Alas!\" (Lamentations 1:1).   ",
            "Rabbi Abba bar Kahana opened [with] (Jeremiah 9:11) <i>\"What man is so wise That he understands this?\"</i>. Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai taught: If you see towns uprooted from their locations in the land of Israel, know that they did not possess the reward of scribes and those who repeat the Oral Torah, as it is said (Jeremiah 9:11) <i> \"Why is the land in ruins...\"</i> (Jeremiah 9:12) <i> \"The LORD replied: Because they forsook my Torah...\" </i> Rabbi sent the message to Rabbi Asei and Rabbi Amei to to go out and repair towns of the land of Israel. They would come to a town and say to them, \"Bring us the city's defenders,\" and they would bring them the chief of police and the bailiff, and say to them, \"These are the city's defenders.\" They (the rabbis) would say to them (the townspeople) \"These are the city's defenders?! These are are the city's destroyers!\" They would say to them, \"Then who are the city's defenders?\" They said to them, \"They are the scribes and those who repeat the Oral Torah, who recite, repeat, and preserve the Torah, day and night.\" As it is said (Joshua 1:8) <i> \"...recite it day and night.\" </i> And it is said (Psalms 127:1) <i> \"Unless the LORD builds the house...\" </i> Rabbi Huna and Rabbi Yirmiyah, quoting Rabbi Shmuel B'Rabbi Yitzchak say: We find that the Holy Blessed One overlooked idolatry, sexual crime, and bloodshed, but would not overlook the rejection of Torah. As it is said, (Jeremiah 9:11) <i> \"Why is the land in ruins...\"</i> It is not written, \"For idolatry\" or \"For sexual crime\" or \"For bloodshed\" but rather (Jeremiah 9:12) <i>  \"Because they forsook my Torah...\" </i> Rabbi Huna and Rabbi Yirmiyah, quoting Rabbi Hiyya Bar Abba say: (Jeremiah 16:11) <i> \"They deserted Me and did not keep My Torah\" </i> \"If only they deserted me but kept My Torah! As they busied themselves with it, the illumination within it would have brought them back to goodness.\" Rav Huna said: Study Torah, even if not for its own sake, since \"for its own sake\" derives from \"not for its own sake.\" Rabbi Yehoshua Ben Levi says: Every single day, a Divine Voice emerges from Har Chorev and says: \"Woe to mortals, for offending the Torah.\" Shmuel taught about it in the name of Rabbi Shmuel Bar Amei: When are governments able to proclaim decrees and successfully enforce them? Only when Israel is throwing the words of Torah to the ground. This is why it is written (Daniel 8:12) <i> \"An army was arrayed iniquitously against the regular offering...\" </i> and \"army\" (tzavah)  must refer to the government, as it is said, (Isaiah 24:21) <i> \"In that day, the LORD will punish The host (tzevah) of heaven in heaven (And the kings of the earth on earth.)\" </i> The 'regular offering' are Israel, as it is written (Joshua 1:8) <i> \"...recite it day and night.\" </i> 'Iniquitously' means for the iniquity against Torah, when Israel is throwing the words of Torah to the ground, the government can decree and succeed, as it is said (Daniel 8:12) <i> \"...it hurled truth to the ground...\" </i> And 'truth' could only mean Torah, as it is said (Proverbs 23:23 <i> \"Buy truth and never sell it.\" </i> If you throw the words of Torah to the ground, immediately the government succeeds. This is why it is written (Daniel 8:12) \"...and prospered in what it did. Rabbi Yehuda Ben Pazi says: (Hosea 8:3) <i> \"Israel rejects what is good...\" </i> and 'good' could only mean Torah as it is said: (Proverbs 4:2) <i> \"For I give you good instruction...\" </i> Rabbi Abba Bar Kahana said: There were never gentile philosophers of the stature of Bilam Ben Beor and Avnimus HaGardi. They were asked, \"Can we outmatch this nation?\" They said, \"Go around to their synagogues. If the children there are chirping with their voices, you will not be able to overcome them, but if not, you will be able to overcome  them, as their Patriarch promised them when he said (Genesis 27:22) <i>  “The voice is the voice of Jacob, yet the hands are the hands of Esau.” </i> While Jacob's voice is in the synagogues and study halls, the hands are not Esau's, but when his voice does not chirp in the synagogues and study halls, the hands are Esau's.\" And similarly it says: (Isaiah 5:24) <i> \"Assuredly, like the straw's consumption, a tongue of fire...\" </i> Can straw eat fire? Doesn't fire normally eat straw? You must interpret (Isaiah 5:24) <i> \"Assuredly, like the straw's consumption, a tongue of fire...\" </i> 'Straw' is the House of Esau, as it is said (Obadiah 1:18) <i> \"The House of Jacob shall be fire, And the House of Joseph flame, And the House of Esau shall be straw.\" </i> 'A tongue of fire' is the House of Jacob. (Isaiah 5:24) <i> \"And hay shrivels as it burns\" </i> - this is the House of Joseph. (Isaiah 5:24) <i> \"Their rootstock shall become like rot\" </i> - these are the Patriarchs, the rootstock of Israel. (Isaiah 5:24) <i> \"And their flowers shall blow away like dust\" </i> - these are the Tribes, who are the flowers of Israel. What was the reason? (Isaiah 5:24) <i> \"For they have rejected the Torah of the LORD of Hosts...\" </i> Rabbi Yudan said: (Isaiah 5:24) <i> \"For they have rejected the Torah of the LORD of Hosts...\" </i> refers to the Written Torah (Isaiah 5:24) <i> \"...and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel\" </i> refers to the Oral Torah. And once they threw the words of Torah to the ground, Yirmiyah began to lament over them \"Eicha\" (Jeremiah 9:16) <i> \"Thus said the LORD of Hosts: Listen! Summon the dirge-singers...\" </i> Rabbi Yochanan, Rabbi Shimon Ben Lakish, and the Rabbis [all offer parables to explain this]. Rabbi Yochanan compares it to a king who had two sons. He got angry at the eldest, took the staff, struck him, and exiled him. He said, \"Woe to this one, exiled from such tranquility!\" He got angry at the second, took the staff, struck him, and exiled him. He said, \"I am the source of corrupting influence.\" Thus, the ten tribes were exiled and the Holy Blessed One began saying this verse over them (Hosea 7:13) <i> \"Woe to them for straying from Me\" </i> but when Judah and Benjamin were exiled, if is as if the Holy Blessed One was saying (Jeremiah 10:19) <i> \"Woe unto me for my hurt.\" </i> Rabbi Shimon Ben Lakish says it is like a king who had two sons. He got angry at the eldest, took the staff, struck him, and he seized up and died. He began to lament over him. He got angry at the second, took the staff, struck him, and he seized up and died. He said, \"From now on, I have no strength to lament over them. Instead, (Jeremiah 9:16) <i> \"Summon the dirge-singers...\" </i> and let them lament over them.\" Thus, the ten tribes were exiled and He began lamenting over them (Amos 5:1) <i> \"Hear this word which I intone As a dirge over you, O House of Israel\" </i> but when Judah and Benjamin were exiled, it was as if the Holy Blessed one was saying, \"From now on, I have no strength to lament over them. Instead, (Jeremiah 9:16) <i> \"Summon the dirge-singers...\" </i> (Jeremiah 9:17) <i> \"Let them quickly start a wailing for us...\" </i> It is not written \"for them\" but \"for us,\" for me and you. (Jeremiah 9:17) <i> \"...that our eyes may run with tears...\" </i> It is not written \"their eyes may run with tears\" but \"our eyes,\" mine and yours. (Jeremiah 9:17) <i> ...and our eyelids flow with water.\" </i> It is not written \"and their eyelids\" but \"and our eyelids,\" mine and yours. Our Rabbis compare it to a king who had twelve sons. Two died, and he began to become reconciled to having the ten. Two more died, and he began to be reconciled to having eight. Two died, and he became to be reconciled to having six. Two died, and he began to be reconciled to having four. Two died, and he began to be reconciled to having two. But once they all died, he began lamenting over them, (Lamentations 1:1) <i> \"Alas! Lonely sits...\"</i>",
            "Rebbi Aba Bar Cahana opened:  <i> I never sat in the council of jokers and enjoyed myself </i> (Jeremiah 15:17). The congregation of Yisrael said before The Holy One Blessed is He, “Master of Universes, never in my life have I entered the theatres and circuses of the nations of the world and laughed and enjoyed myself with them”. <i> Because of Your hand I sit in loneliness </i> (ibid.). The hand of Pharaoh afflicted me, but I did not sit in loneliness. The hand of Sancherib  afflicted me, but I did not sit in loneliness. But now that Your hand has afflicted me, I sit in loneliness. How can this be!",
            "...Rabbi Abahu opens “And they, to a person, transgressed the covenant”  (Hosea 6:7). This is the first person, said the Kadosh Baruch Hu, the first person that I put into Gan Eden, and I commanded them and they transgressed my commands and I judged them according to exile and banishment, and I mourned for them, [saying] “How!?”I put them in Gan Eden, as it says “Hashem Elohim took the person and left them in Gan Eden” (Breishit 2:15), and commanded them, as it says “Hashem God commanded the person, saying….” (Breishit 2:16). And the person transgressed my commandments, as it says  “And what about the tree that I commanded you about [did you eat from it?]...” (Breishit 3:11), and I judged them according to exile, as it says  “[God] drove the person out…” (Breishit 3:24), and I judged the person according to banishment, as it says  “Hashem banished them from Gan Eden” (Breishit 3:23), and I mourned them, crying “where”, as it says  “[God] said to them ‘Where.’” (Breishit 3:9). “איכה” is written. Therefore only his son entered with him to the land of Israel, as it says  “I brought you to the farmland” (Jeremiah 2:7) and commanded them, as it says  “Command the Israelites” (Vayikra 24:2) and they transgressed my commandments, as it says  “All of the Israelites have transgressed Your Torah” (Daniel 9:11), and I judged them according to exile, as it says  “From my house, I will divorce them” (Hosea 9:15), and I judged them according to banishment, as it says  “Banish them from my presence and let them go out” (Jeremiah 15:1), and I mourned them “How it dwells alone” (Lamentations 1:1). ",
            "Rabbi Abahu, quoting Rabbi Yosei Bar Chanina, opened: (Ezekiel 24:6) <i> \"Assuredly, thus said the Lord GOD: Woe to the city of blood...\" </i> Woe to those who come to the city, who spill blood in it. (Ezekiel 24:6) <i> \"...a cauldron whose scum is in it...\" </i> - whose sediment is in it - (Ezekiel 24:6) <i> \"...whose scum has not been cleaned out.\" </i> - whose lower classes were not displaced from it.  (Ezekiel 24:6) <i> \"Empty it piece by piece...\" </i> - they were exiled in a patchwork pattern. How were they exiled? Rabbi Elazar says: The tribes of Reuven and Gad were exiled first. Rabbi Shmuel Bar Nachman says: The tribes of Zevulun and Naftali were exiled first, as it is written (Isaiah 8:23) <i> \"The first one brought abasement to the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali...\" </i> How does Rabbi Elazar uphold the truth of Rabbi Shmuel Bar Nachman's cited verse? Rather, at the time that the tribes of Revuven and Gad were exiled, the tribe of Zevulun and the tribe of Naftali were also exiled. (Isaiah 8:23) <i> \"...while the later one would have brought honor (hichbid)...\" </i> Rabbi Abbi Bar Kahana said: He disturbed them like with a sweeper (machbid). This is similar to how it is written <i> (Isaiah 14:23) \"I will sweep it with a broom of extermination.\" </i> (Ezekiel 24:6) <i> \"No lot has fallen upon it.\" </i> The Holy Blessed One said: While I was throwing scorn at the nations of the world, to exile them, they were not exiled. Why were you exiled? (Ezekiel 24:7) <i> \"For the blood she shed is still in her.\" </i> And why so extreme? (Ezekiel 24:8) <i> \"So that it may stir up fury.\" </i> Rabbi Yudan asked Rabbi Acha a question. He said to him: Where did Israel murder Zachariah- in the Israelite Courtyard [area of the Temple] or the Women's Courtyard? He said to him: Not in the Israelite Courtyard or the Women's Courtyard but in the Priests' Courtyard. And they treated his blood like neither ibex's or gazelle's, as regarding both ibex blood and gazelle blood it is written (Leviticus 17:13) <i> \"He shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth,\" </i> but in spite of this it is written, (Ezekiel 24:7) <i> \"For the blood she shed is still in her; She set it upon a bare rock; She did not pour it out on the ground To cover it with earth.\" </i> Another interpretation: (Ezekiel 24:9) <i> \"Assuredly, thus said the Lord GOD: Woe to the city of blood...\" </i> Woe to those who come to the city, who spill blood in it. (Ezekiel 24:9) <i> I in turn will make a great blaze.\" </i> - I will increase misfortune. (Ezekiel 24:10) <i> \"Pile on the logs...\" </i> - these are the legions - <i> \"...kindle the fire...\" </i> - these are the kings - <i> \"...cook the meat through...\" </i> - this is the public - <i> ...\"and stew it completely...\" </i> - Rabbi Yehoshua and Rabbi Nechemiah, quoting Rabbi Acha, say: Since all of Israel would say, 'Nevuchadnetzar has gathered all the money in the world, so why would he want our money?' The Holy Blessed one said: I swear by your lives that I will make your money as valuable to him as the spice on a banquet table. (Ezekiel 24:10) <i> \"...and let the bones be charred.\" </i> We find that when Israel was being exiled, their bodies were as volatile as that spice. (Ezekiel 24:10) <i> \"Let it stand empty on the coals...\" </i> Rabbi Elazar said: If \"broken\" had been said, there would be no way to fix this world. But since it says \"empty\" - all empty containers could ultimately be filled. And why so extreme? (Ezekiel 24:10) <i> \"So it becomes so hot that the copper glows, it shall melt away...\" </i> Once they sinned, they were exiled. And once they were exiled. Yirmiyah began to lament over them, (Lamentations 1:1) <i> \"Alas! Lonely sits...\" </i>",
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            "end of Petihta 24 ...At that moment, Rachel our Matriarch jumped forward before the Holy One Blessed be He and said…………Master of the Universe! it is known before You that Your servant Yacov’s love for me knew no bounds, and he worked for my father for seven years for me. When those seven years were completed and the time came for my marriage to my husband, my father advised exchanging me with my sister. This was exceedingly difficult for me, when I learned of this counsel. I informed Yacov, and I gave him a sign so that he could distinguish between me and my sister, so that my father would not be able to exchange me. After that I consoled myself, I suffered [to overcome] my desire and had compassion for my sister that she not suffer disgrace, and I gave her all the signs that I had given to my husband, so that he would think that she was Rachel…... I acted kindly with her, I was not jealous of her, and I did not cause her to be shamed and disgraced. What am I, flesh and blood, dust and ashes, that I was not jealous of my rival wife, and that I did not allow her to be shamed and disgraced, but You, Merciful Living and Eternal King, why were You jealous of idolatry that is of no import, and exiled my children who were slain by the sword, and allowed their enemies to do with them as they pleased?”                           Gd’s mercy was immediately revealed, and He said: “For your sake, Rachel, I shall return Israel to their place—for there is a reward for your labour […]. And there is hope for your future—declares the Lord: Your children shall return to their country” ",
            ". . . Another Interpretation: (Isaiah 22:12) <i>\"My Lord GOD of Hosts summoned on that day to weeping and lamenting etc.\"</i> When The Holy One blessed is He sought to destroy the temple, he said, 'As long as I am inside [the temple] the nations of the world cannot touch it, so I will hide my eyes from it, and I will swear that I will not connect to it until the end time, and the enemies will come and destroy it.' Immediately The Holy One blessed is He swore with his right hand and withdrew it behind his back, as it is written (Lamentations 2:3) <i>\"He has withdrawn his right hand in the presence of the foe.\"</i> In that moment the enemies entered the [Temple] hall and burned it. When it had burned, The Holy One blessed is He said, 'I no longer have a dwelling on the Earth. I will lift my presence from it and I will return to my original home. As it is written (Hosea 5:15) <i>\"And I will return to My abode - Till they realize their guilt and beg my favor\"</i> In that moment The Holy One blessed is He was crying and saying, 'Woe is to me what have I done.  My presence served below for Israel's sake, and now that they have sinned I have returned to my original place, I never intended to be a laughing stock to the nations and a joke to the people.' In that moment Metatron came and fell on his face and said, 'Master of the world I should cry instead of you.' [G-d] said to him, 'If you do not allow me to cry now, I will retreat to a place that you cannot enter, and I will cry [there].' As it says, (Jeremiah 13:17) <i>\"For if you do not give heed, My inmost self must weep because of your arrogance.\"</i> The Holy One blessed is He said to the ministering angels , 'Let us go, you and I, and we will see what the enemies did to my house.' Immediately The Holy One blessed is went with the ministering angles and Jeremiah ahead. When The Holy One blessed is He saw the Temple, he said with confidence, 'This is My house and this is My resting place, into which enemies came and did as they wished.' In that moment The Holy One blessed is He was crying and saying, 'Woe is to me for my house. My children, where are you? My priests, where are you? My beloved, where are you? What can I do for you!? I warned you, but you did not repent.' The Holy One blessed is He said to Jeremiah, 'Today I am like a man who had one son. He made a [wedding?] canopy [for the son], and [the son] died under his canopy. There is no pain for me nor for my son. (G-d is numbed by the tragedy) [Jeremiah] go and call Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses out from their graves, since they know how to cry.' [Jeremiah] said, 'Master of the world I do not know where Moses is buried.' The Holy One blessed is He said to him, \"Stand on the bank of the Jordan, and raise your voice and call out, 'Son of Amram Son of Amram, stand and gaze upon your sheep whom the enemies swallowed.'\" Immediately Jeremiah went to the Machpelah cave and said to the Fathers of yore, 'Stand, for the time has arrived when you are summoned before The Holy One blessed is He.' They said to [Jeremiah], 'Why?' [Jeremiah] said to them, 'I do not know.' Since he feared they would say, 'In your days this happened to our children.' (i.e. it was Jeremiah's fault) Jeremiah set them down, and he stood on the bank of the Jordan and called out, 'Son of Amram Son of Amram, Stand up. The time has arrived that you are summoned before The Holy One blessed is He.' [Moses] said to him, 'What is special about today, that I am being summoned before The Holy One blessed is He.' Jeremiah said to him, 'I do not know.' Moses set him [Jeremiah?] down and went to the ministering angels, since he knew them from the giving of the Torah. [Moses] said to them, 'Ministers of the lofty ones, do you know anything about why I am summoned before The Holy One blessed is He.' They said to him, 'Son of Amram, don't you know that the Temple was destroyed and Israel was exiled.' [Moses] cried and wept until he reached the Fathers of yore. Immediately they too tore their garments and cried and wept until [they reached] the Temple gates. When The Holy One blessed is He saw them, immediately <i> The LORD God of hosts summoned on that day to weeping and lamenting, to tonsuring and girding with sackcloth. </i> (Isaiah 22:12) If this was not written in scripture it would be impossible to say. They went weeping from gate to gate like a man whose deceased is placed before him. The Holy One blessed is He lamented and said, 'Woe is to the king who succeeded in his youth, but failed in his old age.' Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachman said, when the Temple was destroyed, Abraham came before The Holy One blessed is He weeping, tearing out his beard and his hair, slapping himself in the face, and tearing his clothes and ashes on his head. He was walking through the Temple lamenting and crying. He said before The Holy One blessed is He, 'Why did I make myself different from every nation and language to be brought to such shame and embarrassment as this.' When the ministering angels saw him, they too composed a lamentation line by line saying (Isaiah 33:8) <i>\"Highways are desolate wayfarers have ceased etc.\"</i> What does “Highways are desolate” mean? the ministering angels said before The Holy One blessed is He, ‘The highways that you made for Jerusalem so that the travelers would not be delayed. How are they desolate now? <i>'Wayfarers have ceased'</i> The ministering angels said before The Holy One Blessed is He, 'The roads that Israel would travel on for the festivals, How have they ceased [travel]?' <i>'A covenant has been renounced'</i> The ministering angels said before The Holy One Blessed is He, 'The covenant of Abraham their father has been renounced, through his hand the world was settled, and through his hand the world recognized that you are G-d most high creator of heaven and earth.' <i>'He rejected cities.'</i> The ministering angels said before The Holy One Blessed is He, 'You have rejected Jerusalem and Zion after you chose them.’ As it is written (Jeremiah 14:19) <i>”Have You, then, rejected Judah? Have you spurned Zion? etc.”</i> (Isaiah 33:8) <i>’He did not consider man.’</i> The ministering angels said before The Holy One blessed is He, ‘Even according to the generation of man that were the most prominent pagans, you have not evaluated Israel.’ In that moment The Holy One blessed is He connected to the ministering angels, he said to them, ‘Why are you composing a lamentation like this line by line?’ They said before him, ‘Master of the world, because of Abraham your beloved who came to your house and lamented and wept because you did not watch over it.’ [G-d] said to them, ‘From the day that my beloved passed before me into his world (i.e. when he died), he did not come to my house, and now (Jeremiah 11:15) <i>”Why should my beloved be in My house,”</i>’ Abraham said before The Holy One blessed is He, ‘Master of the world why have you exiled my children and passed them into the hands of the nations who have killed them with all manner of strange deaths? And you destroyed the Temple; the place where I offered my son as a burnt offering before you.’ The Holy One blessed is He said to Abraham, ‘Your children have sinned and transgressed the entire Torah and the 22 letters within it.’ As it is written (Daniel 9:11), <i>”All Israel has violated your teaching.”</i> Abraham said before The Holy One blessed is he, ‘Who among them has testified against Israel that they transgressed your Torah?’ [G-d] said to him, ‘The Torah will come and testify against Israel.’ Immediately the Torah came to testify against them. Abraham said to her (the Torah), ‘My daughter (term of endearment), you are coming to testify against Israel, who transgressed all your commandments, and you have no shame in front of me. Remember the day that The Holy One blessed is He passed you to every nation and language, and no one desired to accept you until my children came to Mount Sinai and accepted and honored you. And now you are coming to testify against them on their day of distress.’ When the Torah heard this, she stood to the side and did not testify against them. The Holy One blessed is He said to Abraham the 22 letters will come to testify against Israel. Immediately the 22 letters came. Alef came to testify against Israel that they transgressed the Torah. Abraham said to her, ‘Alef you are the head of all the letters, and you came to testify against Israel on the day of their distress. Remember the day that The Holy One blessed is He was revealed on Mount Sinai, and he began with you (Exodus 20:2) <i>”I The LORD am you G-d”.</i> No nation or language accepted you except my children, and you are coming to testify against my children?’ Immediately Alef stood to the side, and did not testify against them. Bet came to testify against Israel. Abraham said to her, ‘My daughter, you are coming to testify against my children, who are quick to follow the five books of the Torah of which you are the head.’ As it is written (Genesis 1:1) <i>”When G-d began to create.”</i> Immediately Bet stood to the side, and did not testify. Gimel came to testify against Israel. Abraham said to her, ‘Gimel you are coming to testify against my children, who have transgressed the Torah. There is no nation that fulfills the commandment of Tzitzit, of which you are placed at its head, except my children.’ As it is written (Deuteronomy 22:12) <i>”You shall make tassels.”</i> Immediately Gimel stood to the side, and did not testify. When all the letters saw that Abraham had silenced them, they were ashamed and they stood amongst themselves and did not testify against Israel. Immediately Abraham opened up before The Holy One blessed is He and said, ‘Master of the world, at one hundred years [of age] you gave me a son, and when he became an adult and was a lad of thirty seven years, you said to me, “bring him as a burnt offering before me.” I acted upon him with cruelty and I did not pity him, rather I myself forced him. [Yet] you will not remember this for me, and you will not not have mercy upon my children!’ Isaac opened up and said, ‘Master of the world, when Dad told me (Genesis 22:8) <i>”G-d will see to the sheep for His burnt offering, my son.”</i> I did not hesitate on his words, and I bound myself with the will of my heart upon the altar and I stretched my neck under the knife. [Yet] you will not remember this for me and you will not have mercy for my children.’ Jacob opened up and said, ‘Master of the world, did I not stand in Laban’s house for twenty years, and when I left his house Esau the wicked attacked me and sought to kill my children, so I gave myself up to die for them. And now they have been given to their enemies like sheep to the slaughter, after I raised them like the chicks of chickens. I was burdened with the pain of raising children, for most of my days I was in great pain because of them. And yet you will not remember this for me to have mercy for my children.’ Moses opened and said, ‘Master of the world was I not the faithful shepherd of Israel for forty years; I ran in front of them like a horse in the desert. But when the time came to enter the land, you decreed upon me that my bones would fall in the desert. And now that [Israel] was exiled, you sent for me to lament and cry for them. This is like the proverb that people say, “What’s good for my lord is not good for me, and what’s bad for him is bad for me.” In that moment Moses said to Jeremiah, ‘Go lead me that I should go and bring [Israel] and show who laid his hand upon them.’ Jeremiah said to him, ‘It is impossible to go on the road because of the corpses.’ [Moses] said to him, ‘Despite that, [go].’ Immediately Moses went and Jeremiah led him. When they reached the rivers of Babylon, they saw Moses and they said to each other, ‘The son of Amram has come from his grave to redeem us from our oppressors.’ A divine whisper was sent out and said, ‘It is a decree from my presence’. Immediately Moses said to them, ‘My children it is impossible to return you, since a decree has already been made, but The Place (refers to G-d) will return you soon and place you [back home]. In that moment they raised their voices with a great wail until their cry reached up high, as it is written (Psalms 137:1) <i>”By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat, sat and wept.”</i> When Moses came to the fathers of yore, they said to him, ‘What have the enemies done with our children?’ [Moses] said to them, ‘Some they killed, some they forced their hands behind their backs, some are tied in iron chains, some are stripped naked, some died on the road and their corpses [were left] for the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the land, some were thrown out in the sun hungry and thirsty.’ Immediately they all opened up and wept and lamented with lamentations: Woe on what has reached our children. How have you become like orphans without a father? How can you sleep at noon and in the summer without clothing and without a covering? How do you walk on mountains and sharp rocks barefoot and without shoes? How do you bear mundane loads? How are your hands tied behind your backs? How have you not swallowed the spit in your mouths? Moses opened up and said: Curse the Sun! Why didn’t you darken when the enemy entered the Temple? The Sun responded, On your life Moses the faithful shepherd. How could I have become dark? They did not allow me and they were not lax with me. They held me with sixty poles of fire, and they told me, Go and shine your light! Moses opened up again and said: Woe for you glow O’ Temple! How did it darken? Woe for its time has come to be destroyed, and the Hall to be burned. And the school children are murdered. And their fathers go in captivity, to exile, or by the sword. Moses opened up again and said: Captors, if on your lives you are murderers. Do not kill in a cruel way. Do make a complete destruction. Do not kill a son on the face of his father. Do not kill a daughter on the face of her mother. The time is coming when The Lord in heaven calculates your tally. But the wicked Chaldeans do not act this way. Rather they sit the son in his mother’s lap, and they say to his father, Get up! Slaughter him! His mother weeps and leaves tears on [her son], and his father extends his [son’s] neck. [Moses] said further before him, ‘Master of the world you wrote in your Torah (Leviticus 22:28) <i>”However, no animal from the herd or from the flock shall be slaughtered on the same day with its young.”</i> Have they not already killed so many sons with their mothers, and you are silent.’ In that moment Rachel our mother jumped before The Holy One blessed is He and said, ‘Master of the world it is revealed before you that Jacob your servant loved me the most. He worked for my father for me for seven years, and when those seven years were completed and the time of my marriage to my husband arrived, my father thought to switch me with my sister. It was very hard for me because I had a solution. I informed my husband and I gave him a signal so that he could recognize me over my sister so that my father could not switch me. After that I regretted it, so I controlled my desire and I had mercy on my sister that she should not be embarrassed. That evening they switched me for my sister, and I gave my sister all the signals that I gave my husband, so that he would think that she was Rachel. Not only that, I went underneath the bed, that he was sleeping on with my sister, and when he would speak to her, she remained quiet, I answered him for everything so that he would not recognize the voice of my sister. I performed a kindness for her, and I was not jealous and I did not embarrass her. What am I, flesh, blood, dirt, and ashes, [but] I was not jealous of my sister-wife nor did I embarrass or shame her. And you living existing King, merciful one, why were you jealous of idol worship that contains nothing real? And yet you exiled my children and they were killed at the sword and the enemies did with them as they pleased. Immediately the mercy of The Holy One blessed is He rolled forth and he said, ‘Because of you Rachel, I am returning Israel to their place.’ As it is written (Jeremiah 31:15) <i>”Thus said the LORD: A cry is heard on high - Wailing, bitter weeping- Rachel weeping for her children. She refuses to be comforted for her children, who are gone.”</i> And it is written (Jeremiah 31:16) <i>”Thus said the LORD: Retrain your voice from weeping, your eyes from shedding tears; For there is a reward for your labor etc.”</i> And it is written (Jeremiah 31:17) <i>”And there is hope for your future -declares the LORD: Your children shall return to their country.”</i> ",
            "",
            "...Rabbi Abahu opens “And they, to a person, transgressed the covenant”  (Hosea 6:7). This is the first person, said the Kadosh Baruch Hu, the first person that I put into Gan Eden, and I commanded them and they transgressed my commands and I judged them according to exile and banishment, and I mourned for them, [saying] “How!?”I put them in Gan Eden, as it says “Hashem Elohim took the person and left them in Gan Eden” (Breishit 2:15), and commanded them, as it says “Hashem God commanded the person, saying….” (Breishit 2:16). And the person transgressed my commandments, as it says  “And what about the tree that I commanded you about [did you eat from it?]...” (Breishit 3:11), and I judged them according to exile, as it says  “[God] drove the person out…” (Breishit 3:24), and I judged the person according to banishment, as it says  “Hashem banished them from Gan Eden” (Breishit 3:23), and I mourned them, crying “where”, as it says  “[God] said to them ‘Where.’” (Breishit 3:9). “איכה” is written. Therefore only his son entered with him to the land of Israel, as it says  “I brought you to the farmland” (Jeremiah 2:7) and commanded them, as it says  “Command the Israelites” (Vayikra 24:2) and they transgressed my commandments, as it says  “All of the Israelites have transgressed Your Torah” (Daniel 9:11), and I judged them according to exile, as it says  “From my house, I will divorce them” (Hosea 9:15), and I judged them according to banishment, as it says  “Banish them from my presence and let them go out” (Jeremiah 15:1), and I mourned them “How it dwells alone” (Lamentations 1:1). ",
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            "end of Petihta 24 ...At that moment, Rachel our Matriarch jumped forward before the Holy One Blessed be He and said…………Master of the Universe! it is known before You that Your servant Yacov’s love for me knew no bounds, and he worked for my father for seven years for me. When those seven years were completed and the time came for my marriage to my husband, my father advised exchanging me with my sister. This was exceedingly difficult for me, when I learned of this counsel. I informed Yacov, and I gave him a sign so that he could distinguish between me and my sister, so that my father would not be able to exchange me. After that I consoled myself, I suffered [to overcome] my desire and had compassion for my sister that she not suffer disgrace, and I gave her all the signs that I had given to my husband, so that he would think that she was Rachel…... I acted kindly with her, I was not jealous of her, and I did not cause her to be shamed and disgraced. What am I, flesh and blood, dust and ashes, that I was not jealous of my rival wife, and that I did not allow her to be shamed and disgraced, but You, Merciful Living and Eternal King, why were You jealous of idolatry that is of no import, and exiled my children who were slain by the sword, and allowed their enemies to do with them as they pleased?”                           Gd’s mercy was immediately revealed, and He said: “For your sake, Rachel, I shall return Israel to their place—for there is a reward for your labour […]. And there is hope for your future—declares the Lord: Your children shall return to their country” "
        ],
        "": [
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                "\"Gone from Fair Zion\"... \"are all that were her glory\": This is the Holy Blessed One, as is written, \"You are clothed in glory and majesty\" (Psalms 104:1).  Alternatively, \"all that were her glory\": This is the Sanhedrin [court], as is written, \"She is clothed with strength and splendor\" (Proverbs 31:25). Alternatively, \"all that were her glory\": These are the Torah scholars, as is written, \"You shall rise before the aged and show glorify the presence of an elder (i.e., Torah scholar)\" (Leviticus 19:32). Alternatively, \"all that were her glory\": These are the [priestly] watches, as is written, \"glorifying the One majestic in holiness\" (II Chronicles 20:21). Alternatively, \"all that were her glory\": These are the children.  R' Yehuda said, Come and see how dear children are to the Holy Blessed One.  The Sanhedrin was exiled and Shechina [Divine Presence] was not exiled with them.  The [priestly] watches were exiled and Shechina was not exiled with them.  When the children were exiled, Shechina was exiled with them, as is written [at the end of the immediately preceding verse]  \"Her infants have gone into captivity before the enemy.\" Immediately followed by \"Gone from Fair Zion are all that were her glory\"."
            ],
            [
                "\"Terror (<i>balahot</i>) tumbles (<i>hahpakh</i>) upon me (Job 30:15)\": Rabbi Chanina said: \"The assembly of Israel said before the Holy One, blessed be He: \"In the past I was terrifying others, and this verse supports it: \"And hurriedly (<i>vayyavhilu</i>) brought Haman (Esther 6:14)\", and another verse says: \"I will make you a horror (<i>balahot</i>) (Ezekiel 26:21)\", and another says: \"Now are the clans of Edom dismayed (<i>nivhalu</i>) (Exodus 15:15)\". But now it is turned (<i>hafukhah</i>) on me\". Rabbi Acha said: \"Like a column fragment which rolls (<i>mithapekhet</i>) around the palace and it lodges on a pebble and is stopped (<i>nismekhah</i>), so: \"Your fury lies heavy (<i>samkhah</i>) upon me (Psalm 88:8)\". \" It sweeps away my honor (<i>nedivati</i>) like the wind (Job 30:15): Humans who are willing (<i>nedivim</i>) and are seen to come to me, redemption is in their hands, and you sweep them away like the wind. \"My dignity (<i>yeshu'ati</i>) vanishes like a cloud (Job 30:15)\": Humans who are willing and are seen to come to me, salvation (<i>yeshu'ah</i>) is in their hands, but you drive them away like a cloud, as it is said: \"<b>Alas! Hashem in His wrath Has shamed the daughter of Zion</b> (Lamentations 2:1)\". And it is written: \"Like the nations that Hashem will cause to perish before you, so you will perish (Deuteronomy 8:20): you will say: \"Why [will you perish like the Canaanites]?\". Because [they on account] of the priest and the prophet, so too because of the priest and the prophet, and \"Why?\". Because of the shofar and trumpet, so too because of the shofar and trumpet, and  \"Why?\". Because of the fourteen [nations] as it is said: \"Denites and Apharesatechites, Tarpelites, Apharesites, Archavites, Babylonians, Susites, Dehites, and and other peoples whom the great and glorious Osnappar deported and settled (Ezra 4:9-10)\". And you will say: \"There are fourteen, as it is written: \"In that day, their fortress cities shall be like the deserted sites which the Horesh and the Amir abandoned (Isaiah 17:19)\". What does Amir mean? Rabbi Pinchas said: \"As I said (<i>kide'imrei</i>)\". Rabbi Yehudah son of Rabbi Simon said: \"As it is said in the Torah, it is written: \"Like the nations that Hashem will cause to perish before you\". You will say: \"Why [did they perish]?\". With the fall of a wall, as it is written: \"And the wall fell upon them (Joshua 6:20)\". So these too by the fall od a wall, as it is written: \"They enter the clouds (<i>be'avim</i>), they clamber up the rocks (Jeremiah 4:29)\", so these with clouds: \"<b>Alas! Hashem in His wrath Has shamed (<i>ya'iv</i>) the daughter of Zion</b>\"....",
                "\"<b>Alas! Hashem in His wrath Has shamed the daughter of Zion</b> (Lamentations 2:1)\": Rabbi Chama son of Rabbi Chanina said [in Aramaic]: \"How Hashem condemned the daughter of Zion in his anger. There is a similarity in pronunciation between \"anger\" (<i>chayyayva</i>) and \"shame/cloud\" (<i>'ayayva</i>)\". Rabbi Samuel son of Nachmani said: \"How Hashem felt pain in anger\": there is a similarity in pronunciations between \"pain\" (<i>kheiva</i>) and \"shame/cloud\" (<i>'eyyva</i>)\". And the Rabbis said: \"How Hashem punished in anger\" [<i>shayyeim/'eyyva</i>]\". \"<b>Has cast down from heaven to earth the majesty of Israel</b>\": Rabbi Huna and Rabbi Acha in the name of Rabbi Chanina son of Rabbi Abbahu: \"There is a parable of a king who had a son. He wept and he put him on the trailing stems of a vine. He wept and he put him in his arms. He wept and he put him on his shoulder, but he messed himself on him and he threw him from his hand to the ground. He did not throw him down as he lifted him up, and lifted up as he was raised, but he was raised slowly. Thus: \"I have pampered Ephraim, taking them in My arms (Hosea 11:3)\". And further it says: \" I will make Ephraim do advance plowing; Judah shall do [main] plowing! Jacob shall do final plowing! (Hosea 10:11)\". And thus it says: \"<b>Has cast down from heaven to earth the majesty of Israel</b>\". Another interpretation: \"<b>Has cast down from heaven to earth the majesty of Israel</b>\": Rabbi Yehoshua son of Rabbi Nachman said: \"There is a parable of the inhabitants of a province who made a crown for the king. They provoked him and he suffered it. Then they provoked him and he suffered it. Finally a third time and the king said to them: \"All of you are provoking me, is it because of the crown you crowned me with? So then I throw it in your faces\". So said the Holy One, blessed be He, to Israel: \"All of you are provoking me, is it because of the image of Jacob engraved on my throne? So then I throw it in your faces, and so: \"<b>Has cast down from heaven to earth the majesty of Israel</b>\"\"",
                "\"<b>He did not remember His Footstool On His day of wrath</b> (Lamentations 2:1)\": Rabbi Chanina son of Rabbi Yitzchak said: \"The Holy One, blessed be He, did not remember the blood between the feet of the old man, as it is said: \"Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he circumcised the flesh of his foreskin (Genesis 17:24)\"\". Rabbi Yudan said: \"As a king who captured his enemies and killed them, and the people of the province struggled in the blood of his enemies. At a later time they provoked the king and he threw them our and sent them out of the palace. They said to him: \"Does not the king remember how we struggled in the blood of his enemies?\" So Israel said before the Holy One, blessed be He: \"Do you not remember for us the blood which was in Egypt, as it is said: \"They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses (Exodus 12:7)\"?\". Another interpretation: \"<b>He did not remember His Footstool On His day of wrath</b>\": this is not the footstool but the Temple. See! It is written: \"Exalt Hashem our God and bow down to His footstool; He is holy! (Psalms 99:5)\". \"<b>On His day of wrath</b>\": Rabbi Acha said: \"There was one day of wrath for the Holy One, blessed be He, but if Israel had made repentance, it would have dissolved\". \"Then He called loudly in my hearing, saying, “Approach, you men in charge of the city, each bearing his weapons of destruction! (Ezekiel 9:1)” : Until when did the sin of the golden calf apply? Rabbi Berechyah and there are those saying Rabbi Nechemyah son of Eleazar said: \"Until the calves of Jeroboam son of Nebat. See! It is written: \"When I would heal Israel, The guilt of Ephraim reveals itself And the wickedness of Samaria (Hosea 7:1)\". The Holy One, blessed be He, said: \"I have come to heal Israel from the sin of the calf and the wickedness of Samaria was revealed\"\". Rabbi Ishmael son of Nachmani in the name of Rabbi Yochanan said: \"Until the destruction of the Temple, as it is said: \"\"Approach, you men in charge (<i>pequddot</i>) of the city, each bearing his weapons of destruction!\"\". And it is written: \"But when I make an accounting, I will bring them to account (<i>paqdi ufaqadti</i>) for their sins (Exodus 32:34)\". It is written: \"And six men entered by way of the upper gate that faces north, each with his club in his hand; and among them was another, clothed in linen, with a writing case at his waist. They came forward and stopped at the bronze altar (Ezekiel 9:2)\". It is written: \"Six men\" but are there not five decrees? As it is written: \"“Follow him through the city and strike; show no pity or compassion (Ezekiel 9:5)\". And it is written: \"Kill off graybeard, youth and maiden, women and children; but do not touch any person who bears the mark (Ezekiel 9:6)\". Rabbi Yochanan said to the harsh angel among them, this is Gabriel, as it is said: \"and among them was another, clothed in linen, with a writing case at his waist\". Three things this angel served as: as an accountant <i>quaestor</i>, an executioner and a high priest. An accountant, as it is written: \"with a writing case at his waist\". As an executioner, as it is said: \" He has doomed them, consigned them to slaughter (Isaiah 34:2)\". As a high priest, as it is said: \"And among them was another, clothed in linen\", and it is written about the priest: \"He shall be dressed in a sacral linen tunic (Leviticus 16:4)\". \"Each with his club in his hand\": Weapons of fighting, weapons of destruction, and weapons of exile. Weapons of fighting: \"Each with his club in his hand\". And weapons of destruction: \" That he make all the altar-stones Like shattered blocks of chalk (Isaiah 27:9)\". And weapons of exile, as it is written: \"You are My war club, [My] weapons of battle (Jeremiah 51:20)\". And it is written: \"They came forward and stopped at the bronze altar\": Rabbi Yehudah son of Simon said: \"To the place of permission\". And the Rabbis say: \"He stands and remembers the sins of Ahaz, as it is written: \"And I will decide about the bronze altar (2 Kings 16:15)\". What does \"I will decide\" mean? Rabbi Pinchas said: \"He engraved it and put blemised ones on it, and so it was said: \"The priest will not decide (Leviticus 13:36)\". \"And Hashem said to him (<i>elav</i>) “Pass through the city, through Jerusalem (Ezekiel 9:4)\": \"To his divine one (<i>elo</i>)\" is written. Rabbi Shimon son of Lakish said: \"To the angel that is harsh among them (that is Gabriel). \"\"And put a mark (<i>tav</i>)\"\": Rab Nachman said: \"These are people who follow the Torah from alef to tav [a to z]. And the Rabbis say: \"The condemned ones and separated ones\". And Rab said: \"Because it was spelled in every case with a tav, \"be (<i>tihei</i>)\" and \"live (<i>techei</i>)\" [are symbolized]. Rabbi Chanina son of Yitzchak said: \"The memory of their fathers is ended (<i>tammah</i>)\". Rabbi Hoshaya sent and said to Rabbi Simon: \"Because you serve in the house of the exilarch, why do you not reproach them?\". He said to him: \"If only we were among those about whom it is written: \"the men who moan and groan (Ezekiel 9:4)\". He said to him: \"And is it not from them the beginning of the punishment, as it is written: \"To the others He said in my hearing (Ezekiel 9:5)\"? Rabbi Eleazar said: \"Forever the Holy One, blessed be He, did not attach his name to evil but to good. See! It is written: \"To the others God said in my hearing\" is not written alone, but rather \"To the others He said in my hearing “Follow him through the city and strike; show no pity or compassion. Kill off graybeard, youth and maiden, women and children; but do not touch any person who bears the mark. Begin here at My Sanctuary” (Ezekiel 9:5-6)\". How can this be? Rather, at that time the prosecutor was angry before the throne of glory and said before him: \"Master of the universe, who from them was killed for your name? Who from them was wounded on his head for your name? Who from them gave his life for your name?\" He said: \"For none among them is this document\"\". Rabbi Ayyvu said: \"The Holy One, blessed be He, said: \"The Temple will be destroyed but let your hand not touch the righteous\". Rabbi Yehudah son of Rabbi Simon said: \"For it and them was this document\". Rabbi Tanchuma and Rabbi Abba in the name of Rabbi Abba: \"From eternity the Holy One, blessed be He, did not speak a good word and retract it, but here he retracted it. See! It is written: \"Begin here at My Sanctuary\". Do not read \"at my sanctuary (<i>mimmiqdashi</i>) but rather \"Begin from my sanctified ones (<i>mimquddashai</i>). That is why it is written: \"So they began with the elders who were in front of the House\"\". And it is written: \"And He said to them, “Defile the House and fill the courts with the slain. Then go forth.” So they went forth and began to kill in the city (Ezekiel 9:7)\". And it is written: \"When they were out killing, and I remained alone, I flung myself on my face and cried out “Ah, Lord God! Are you going to annihilate all that is left of Israel (Ezekiel 9:8)\". There was no remnant except the righteous, and he came and said: \"<b>The Lord has laid waste without pity</b> (Lamentations 2:2)\".",
                "\"<b>The Lord has laid waste without pity all the habitations of Jacob</b> (Lamentations 2:2)\": Rabbi Pinchas in the name of Rabbi Hoshaya said: \"There were 480 synagogues in Jerusalem, which is the numerical value of \"That was filled (<i>mel'eati</i>) with justice (Isaiah 1:21)\": <i>meleti</i> is written without an alef, and in everyone there was a Beit Sefer and a Beit Midrash, the Beit Sefer for reading scripture and the Beir Midrash for studying Mishnah. Another interpretation: \"<b>The Lord has laid waste without pity all the habitations (<i>ne'ot</i>) of Jacob</b>\": The important ones (<i>neotayv</i>) of Jacob.",
                "\"<b> He has razed in His anger the daughter of  Judah’s strongholds</b> (Lamentations 2:2)\": Rabbi Yudan said: \"Every strongholdl and stronghold of Jerusalem did not appear to be conquered except in 40 days\". Rabbi Pinchas said: \"Except in 50 days and their sins were added \"<b> He has razed in His anger the daughter of  Judah’s strongholds; He has brought low in dishonor</b>\". \"<b>In dishonor the kingdom and its leaders</b>\": \"<b>In dishonor the kingdom (<i>mamlakhah</i>)</b>\": This is Israel, and this verse supports it: \"But you shall be to Me a kingdom (<i>mamlakhah</i>) of priests and a holy nation (Exodus 19:6)\". \"<b>And its leaders</b>\": These are the princes of above. You brought forth to where the enemies did not come. Jeremiah says to them: \"Make repentance and you will not go into exile\" and they said to him: \"If the enemies come what can they do to us?\" One person said: \"I would encircle the it with a wall of water\". Another said: \"I would encircle it with a wall of fire\". Another said: \"I would encircle it with a wall of iron\". The Holy One, blessed be He, said to them: \"Do you feel strong because of what is mine?\" The Holy One, blessed be He, stood and changed the names of the angels: the one who controlled the water was over fire, the one over fire to iron and those below called on their names and they did not answer them. See! It is written: \"So I profaned the holy princes (Isaiah 43:28)\", and when their sins were added and the enemies came they started to call on some angel: \"One who controls such element, come to us, so and so\" and the angel replied to them: \"No because I am taken away from that field of control\". Another interpretation: \"<b>In dishonor the kingdom and its leaders</b>\": \"<b>In dishonor the kingdom</b>\": This is Zedekiah king of Judah\". \"<b>And its leaders</b>\": These are the princes above....",
                "\"<b>In blazing anger He has cut down All the might (<i>qeren</i>) of Israel</b> (Lamentations 2:3)\". There are ten horns/mights: the horn of Abraham, the horn of Isaac, the horn of Joseph, the horn of Moses, the horn of Torah, the horn of priesthood, the horn of the Levites, the horn of prophecy, the horn of the Temple, the horn of Israel. There are those who say: \"The horn of the Messiah\". The horn of Abraham, as it is said: \"My beloved had a vineyard On a fruitful (<i>qeren</i>) hill (Isaiah 5:1)\". The horn of Isaac, as it is said: \"Caught in the thicket by its horns (Genesis 22:13)\". The horn of Joseph, as it is said: \"He has horns like the horns of the wild-ox (Deuteronomy 33:17)\". The horn of Moses, as it is written: \"The skin of his face had horns (beams) of light (Exodus 34:29)\". The horn of Torah, as it is written: \"It is a brilliant light Which gives off rays (horns) on every side (Habbakuk 3:4)\". The horn of the priesthood, as it is written: \"His horn is exalted in honor (Psalms 112:9)\". The horn of the Levites, as it is said: \"All these were sons of Heman, the seer of the king, [who uttered] prophecies of God for His greater glory (<i>qaren</i>) (1 Chronicles 25:5)\". The horn of prophecy, as it is said: \"My heart (<i>qarni</i>) exults in Hashem (1 Samuel 2:1)\". The horn of the Temple, as it is written: \"From the horns of wild oxen rescue me (Psalms 22:22)\". The horn of Israel, as it is said: \"He has exalted the horn of His people (Psalms 148:14)\". And there are those who say: \"The horn of the Messiah\", as it is said: \"He will give power to His king, and triumph(<i>qeren</i>) to His anointed one (1 Samuel 2:10)\". And all of these were placed on the heads of Israel and when they sinned, they fell off of them. See! it is written: \"<b>In blazing anger He has cut down All the might (<i>qeren</i>) of Israel</b>\". And they were given to the nations of the world. See! It is written: \"And of the ten horns on its head; and of the new one that sprouted, to make room for which three fell (Daniel 7:20)\". And it is written: \"And the ten horns [mean]—from that kingdom, ten kings will arise, and after them another will arise. He will be different from the former ones, and will bring low three kings (Daniel 7:24)\". And when Israel makes repentance, the Holy One, blessed be He, will restore them to their place. See! It is written: \"All the horns of the wicked I will cut; but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up (Psalms 75:11)\". The horns which the righteous one of the world cut off. How will he restore them to their place? When the Holy One, blessed be He, will raise up the horn of his Messiah, as it is written: \"He will give power to His king, and triumph(<i>qeren</i>) to His anointed one (1 Samuel 2:10)\". \"<b>He has withdrawn His right hand in the presence of the foe</b>\": Rabbi Azariah in the name of Rabbi Yehudah son of Rabbi Simon said: \"When their sins add up and the enemies are gathered to Jerusalem, the mighty men of Israel shall fall and their hands will be bound behind their backs. The Holy One, blessed be He said: \"I will be with him in distress (Psalms 91:15)\", I wrote in the Torah and now my sons are upset and I am calm, perhaps \"<b>He has withdrawn His right hand</b>\" and at the end he revealed to Daniel. See! It is written: \"But you, go on to the end (Daniel 12:13)\". He said to him: \"To give judgment and reckoning\". The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: \"And you shall rest\". He said to him: \"To rest forever\"? And he said to him: \"And you will stand\". And he said to him: \"With whom? With the righteous or with the wicked?\". And he said to him: \"According to your lot, with the righteous\". He said to him: \"At the end of days (<i>yamim</i>) or the end of the right hand (<i>yamin</i>)?\" He said to him: \"At the end of <i>yamin</i> [\"days\" in Aramaic but \"right hand\" in Hebrew]. That right hand is that which was enslaved, and I have set an end for my right hand. And I redeemed my children, I redeemed my right hand, and so David said: \"That those whom You love might be rescued, deliver with Your right hand and answer me (Psalms 60:7)\". ",
                "\"<b>He has ravaged Jacob like flaming fire, consuming on all sides</b> (Lamentations 2:3)\": Rabbi Shimon son of Lakish said: \"When the punishment comes, it is not for the world but rather for Jacob. What proves this? \"<b>He has ravaged Jacob like flaming fire</b>\". And when good comes, it is not for the world but rather for Jacob. See! It is written: \"Let Jacob shout out, let Israel rejoice (Psalms 14:7)\"",
                "\"<b>The Lord has acted like a foe</b> (Lamentations 2:4)\": Rabbi Ayyvu said: \"These did not go to the limit of the measure of justice, so the measure of justice did not go to the limit after them. They did not go to the limit of the measure of justice, as it is written: \"And the people were like murmurers (Numbers 11:1)\": \"murmurers\" is not written but rather \"like murmurers\". They were \"The officers of Judah have acted like shifters of field boundaries (Hosea 5:10)\": \"shifters\" is not written but rather \"like shifters\". \"Ah, Israel has balked Like a stubborn cow (Hosea 4:16)\": \"a stubborn cow\" is not written but rather \"like a stubborn cow\". So the measure of justice did not go to the limit after them, as it is written: \"<b>The Lord has acted like a foe</b>\": \"The Lord was a foe\" is not written but rather \"<b>like a foe</b>\"\". Another interpretation: \"<b>The Lord has acted like a foe</b>\": This is Pharaoh, as it is said: \"The foe said (Exodus 15:9)\". \"<b>Poised His right hand like a foe</b>\": This is Haman, as it is said: \"“The adversary and enemy,” replied Esther, “is this evil Haman!” (Esther 7:6)\". Another interpretation: \"<b>The Lord has acted like a foe</b>\": This is Esau, as it is written: \"Because the enemy gloated over you, “Aha!\" (Ezekiel 36:2)\". \"<b>He slew all who delighted the eye</b>\": Rabbi Tanchum son of Jeremiah said: \"These are children who are the beloved of their fathers like the pupil of their eye\". The Rabbis say: \"These are the Sanhedrin which was beloved to Israel like the pupil of an eye\". “<b>In the tent of the daughter of Zion, He has poured out His fury, which is like fire</b> (Lamentations 2:4)\": There are four ‘pouring out’ for good and four ‘pouring out’ for evil. The four for good: “And I will pour out upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplications. (Zechariah 12:10)\", “And it shall come to pass afterwards that I will pour out My spirit upon all flesh (Joel 3:1)\", “And even upon the slaves and the maidservants in those days will I pour out My spirit (Joel 3:2)\", “And I shall no longer hide My face from them, for I shall have poured out My spirit upon the House of Israel (Ezekiel 39:29)\". The four for evil: “And He poured out upon them the fury of His anger (Isaiah 42:25)\", “When You pour out Your fury on Jerusalem (Ezekiel 9:8)\", “<b>Hashem has spent His fury, He has poured out His fierce anger</b> (Lamenations 4:11)\". So too, “<b>In the tent of the daughter of Zion, He has poured out His fury, which is like fire</b>\".",
                "\"<b>The Lord has acted like a foe</b> (Lamentations 2:5)\": Rabbi Ayyvu said: \"These did not go to the limit of the measure of justice, so the measure of justice did not go to the limit after them. They did not go to the limit of the measure of justice, as it is written: \"And the people were like murmurers (Numbers 11:1)\": \"murmurers\" is not written but rather \"like murmurers\". They were \"The officers of Judah have acted like shifters of field boundaries (Hosea 5:10)\": \"shifters\" is not written but rather \"like shifters\". \"Ah, Israel has balked Like a stubborn cow (Hosea 4:16)\": \"a stubborn cow\" is not written but rather \"like a stubborn cow\". So the measure of justice did not go to the limit after them, as it is written: \"<b>The Lord has acted like a foe</b>\": \"The Lord was a foe\" is not written but rather \"<b>like a foe</b>\"\". \"<b>He has laid waste Israel, laid waste all her citadels</b>\": Rabbi Berechyah in the name of Rabbi Chelbo in the name of Rabbi Samuel son of Nachman said: \"In three place Israel was exiled: one to beside the River Sambatyon, as it is written: \"Saying to the prisoners, “Go free,” to those who are in darkness, \"Show yourselves\" (Isaiah 49:9)\". One was outside the River Sambatyon: \"They shall pasture along the roads (Isaiah 49:9)\": these are those on whom a cloud descended on them and covered them. \"On every bare height shall be their pasture (Isaiah 49:9)\": These are those who were exiled to Daphne in Antioch\". \"<b>He has increased within fair Judah mourning and moaning</b>\": the defeated of the defeated.",
                "\"<b>He has stripped His booth like a garden</b> (Lamentations 2:6)\": Rabbi Chama son of Rabbi Chanina said: \"Like a garden in which its well has been stripped and its plants turn white\". And Rabbi Shimon son of Nachman said: \"Like Adam, the first man, and this verse supports that: \"He drove the man out (Genesis 3:24)\"\". Rabbi Abbahu said: \"<b>his booth (<i>sukko</i>)\" is written, and when Israel went into exile, the wrath of the Holy One, blessed be He, was covered over (<i>sakhkhah</i>)\". \"<b> Hashem has ended (<i>shikkach</i>) in Zion festival and Sabbath</b>\": Is it that the Holy One, blessed be He, caused Israel to forget (<i>meshakkeach</i>) their festivals and Shabbats? Rather the festivals and Shabbats of Jeroboam son of Nebat which he invented for them. See! It is written: \"The month in which he had contrived of his own mind (<i>millibbo</i>) to establish a festival for the Israelites (1 Kings 12:33)\". \"Besides\" (<i>millvad</i>) is written and this verse supports that: \"Apart (<i>millvad</i>) from the sabbaths of Hashem (Leviticus 23:38)\". \"<b>In His raging anger He has spurned King and priest</b>\": \"<b>king</b>\" this is Zedekiah and \"<b>priest</b>\" this is Seraiah son of Mahseiah\".</b>",
                "\"<b>Hashem has rejected His altar</b> (Lamentations 2:7)\": Rabbi Chaggai in the name of Rabbi Yitzchak said: \"To the people of a district that laid out their tables for the king. They annoyed him and he endured them. The king said to them: \"Are all of you annoying me just because of the tables which you laid out for me? Fine, endure it thrown back in your faces!\" In this way the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel: \"All of you are despising me just because of the sacrifices you offered to me? Fine, endure it thrown back in your faces! And see, it is written: \"<b>Hashem has rejected His altar, disdained His Sanctuary</b>\". Rabbi Berechhya and Rabbi Chelbo and Rabbi Ayyvi in the name of Rabbi Samuel son of Nachman said: \"You see that at the time the nations  entered into the Temple put their hands beneath their necks and they turned their faces up and they did disgraceful things and they scraped, and the nails of their shoes made marks on the Temple floor (<i>masger</i>), and see! It is written: \"<b> He has handed over (<i>hisgir</i>) to the foe the walls of its citadels; they raised a shout in the House of Hashem as on a festival day</b>\". Rabbi Chanina and Rabbi Acha and Rabi Meyashah in the name of Rabbi Yannai say: \"From the strength of her voice Babylon fell, as it is written: \"“Fallen, fallen is Babylon, And all the images of her gods Have crashed to the ground!” (Isaiah 21:9)\"\". Rabbi Berechyah and Rabbi Chelbo and Rabbi Ayyvu in the name of Rabbi Samuel son of Nachman say: \"So this kingdom did also. See! It is written: \"<b>they raised a shout in the House of Hashem as on a festival day</b>\". Rabbi Huna and Rabbi Acha and Rabbi Meyashah in the name of Rabbi Yannai: \"So she did not have to fall but rather from the strength of her voice. See! It is written: \"At the sound of Babylon’s capture (Jeremiah 50:46)\"\". Rabbi Yehoshua son of Levi said: \"The voice of disasters happening all at once and darkness arises to encircle the greatness of Tyre. And why? Because the voice of Esau denounced them. See! It is written: \"Hark, tumult from the city, Thunder from the Temple! It is the thunder of Hashem as He deals retribution to His foes (Isaiah 66:6)\".",
                "\"<b>Hashem resolved to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion</b> (Lamentations 2:8)\": Rabbi Yochanan said: \"Not from a public announcement. See! It is written \"This city has aroused My anger and My wrath from the day it was built until this day (Jeremiah 32:31)\"\". Rabbi Ilam said: \"Like a man who passed over to a place that was defiled and weaves to avoid its smell. \"<b>He measured with a line</b>\": there is a measuring line for good and there is a measuring line for evil. For good: \"The measuring line is being applied to Jerusalem (Zechariah 1:16)\", and this is the measuring line for evil: \"<b>He measured with a line</b>\". \"<b>He refrained not from bringing destruction. He has made wall and rampart to mourn, together they languish</b>\": like this Rabbi Huna son of Rabbi Acha said: \"The large and the smaller\".",
                "\"<b>Her gates have sunk into the ground</b> (Lamentations 2:9)\": Rabbi Huna in the name of Rabbi Jose said: \"The gates honored the glory of the ark, and so the enemy had no control over them. See! It is written: \"Lift up your heads you gates (Psalm 24:7)\", and so \"<b>Her gates have sunk into the ground, he has smashed her bars to bits</b>\". \"<b> Her king and her leaders are in exile, Torah is no more</b>\": if a man should say to you: \"There is wisdom among the nations\", believe it. See! It is written: \"I will make the wise vanish from Edom, understanding from Esau’s mount (Obadiah 1:8)\". If a man should say: \"There is Torah among the nations\", do not believe it, as it is written: \"<b> Her king and her leaders are in exile, Torah is no more</b>\". \"<b>Her prophets</b>\": these are false prophets. \"<b>Her prophets, too</b>\": these are the true prophets \"<b>receive no vision from Hashem</b>\".",
                "\"<b>Silent sit on the ground the elders of the daughter of Zion</b> (Lamentations 2:10)\": Rabbi Eleazar said: \"Let not the portion about vows be light in your eyes, for because of the portion of vows the Great Sanhedrin of Zedekiah was killed. And when Jeconiah was exiled, King Nebuchadnezzar appointed five kings. See! It is written: \"And send them to the king of Edom, the king of Moab, the king of the Ammonites, the king of Tyre, and the king of Sidon, by envoys who have come to King Zedekiah of Judah in Jerusalem (Jeremiah 27:3)\", and he would go and come before him, and one day he came before him and he was seen skinning the flesh of a rabbit and eating it while it was still alive, and he said to him: \"Swear an oath that you will keep my secret\". And he said to him: \"I swear\". And by what did he swear? Rabbi Jose son of Rabbi Chanina said: \"By the inner altar\". And there were five kings that came in and reproached Nebuchadnezzar before Zedekiah and they said to him: \"The kingdom is not suited to you but rather to you since you are from the seed of David\". Then he reproached Nebuchadnezzar and said: \"I saw him skinning the flesh of a rabbit and eating it\". They went from his and they said to the king: \"That Jew goes and comes before you and he said to the five of us to Nebuchadnezzar \"I saw him skinning the flesh of a rabbit and eating it\". See! This is according to what is written: \"And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon (2 Kings 24:20)\". From then he came and he dwelled in Daphne of Antioch and the Great Sanhedrin came out to meet him, and when he saw them, that they all were attractive people, he decreed and brought to them grand chairs (<i>cathedrae</i>) and he set them in them and he said to them: \"Expound the Torah\". And then they read portion after portion and were translating it before him and when they reached the portion about vows, \"If a man makes a vow (Numbers 30:3)\" he said to them: \"If he wishes to go back on that vow is he able to or not?\" And they said to him: \"He should go before a wise man and he will release him from his vow\". And he said to them: \"It seems to me that you released Zedekiah from the vow which he vowed to me\". And then he made a decree and made them sit on the ground, as it is written: \"<b>Silent sit on the ground the elders of the daughter of Zion</b>\". \"<b>They have strewn dust on their heads</b>\": recalling the practice of Abraham, as it is written: \"I who am but dust and ashes (Genesis 18:27)\". \"<b>And girded themselves with sackcloth</b>\": they began to recall the practice of Jacob, as it is written: \"Put sackcloth on his loins (Genesis 37:34)\". What did they do to them? They tied their hair to the tails of their horses and they had them run from Jerusalem to Lud. See! It is written: \"<b>The maidens of Jerusalem have bowed Their heads to the ground</b>\".",
                "\"<b>My eyes are spent with tears</b> (Lamentations 2:11)\": Rabbi Eleazar said: \"Lumps formed on the eye\", tears of hardness, and tears of mustard, and tears of collyrium, and tears of laughter are the most pleasant of all of them. Three kinds of tears are evil: tears of smoke, tears of weeping, and tears from the bathroom, and tears over an adult child are the worst of all. For example: A certain woman, her adult son died and she was weeping over him each night until lashes of her eyes fell out and she went to the doctor and he said to her \"Put on mascara with my mascara and you will be healed\". \"<b>My heart is in tumult, my being (<i>kevedi</i>) melts away</b>\": for example: a certain man, his adult son died and he was weeping over him each night until his liver (<i>kevedeh</i>) collapsed, and he said: \"My liver is heavy and has fallen under its weight because I am weeping over him and all of this does not matter\".",
                "\"<b>They keep asking their mothers, “Where is bread and wine?”</b> (Lamentations 2:12)\": Rabbi Chanina said: \"Flour from Lesbos and spiced wine\". And Rabbi Simon said: \"Flour from Lesbos and aged wine\". \"<b>As they languish like battle-wounded In the squares of the town</b>\": There was a woman who said to her husband: \"Take some bangle or some earring and go to the market to sell all of them so we can eat\". He went to the marked and looked and he did not see anything and he had a seizure and died. And she said to her son: \"See what your father is doing\". So he went to the market and saw his father dead and he had a seizure and died over him. See! It is as it is written: \"<b>As they languish like battle-wounded In the squares of the town</b>\": These were her husband and her grown son.\"<b>As their life runs out In their mothers’ bosoms</b>\": She had a baby wanting to nurse and he did not find milk and had a seizure and died.",
                "\"<b>What can I take as witness or liken to you?</b> (Lamentations 2:13)\": How many prophets did I appoint as witnesses for you? Rabbi and Rabbi Nathan: Rabbi said: \"One prophet in the morning and one prophet as the sun set. See! It is as it is written: \"Hashem warned Israel and Judah by every prophet [and] every seer (2 Kings 17:13)\"\". Rabbi Nathan said: \"Two prophets at dawn and two prophets at evening. See! It is as it is written: \"And though I kept sending all My servants, the prophets, to them daily and persistently (Jeremiah 7:25)\": \"daily\" in the morning, \"and persistently\": in the evening\". Another interpretation: \"<b>What can I take as witness</b>\": Rabbi Yonatan said: \"How many chances to conquer others did I give to you? The conquest of Egypt and the conquest of the sea and the conquest of Sihon and Og, the conquest of 31 kings\". Rabbi Levi said: \"In the wilderness they complained of conquest, a witness\". Another interpretation: \"<b>What can I take as witness (<i>e'idekh</i>)</b>\": How many meetings did I meet with you (<i>vi'udin vi'adti</i>)? The tent of meeting (<i>mo'ed</i>) and Giglal and Shiloh and Nob and Gibeon and two Temples. Another interpretation: \"<b>What can I take as witness</b>\": Rabbi says: \"How many adornments did I adorn you with? Rabbi Yochanan: 60,000 ministering angels descended with the Holy One, blessed be He, at Sinai and each one had a crown in his hand to crown everyone in Israel\". Rabbi Abba son of Kahana in the name of Rabbi Yochanan said: \"100,00 descended, one to adorn each and one to clothe each with a crown\". Rabbi Huna from Sepphoris said: \"A sash, and this verse supports that: \"He undoes the belts of kings, And fastens loincloths on them (Job 12:18)\". \"<b>Or liken to you?</b>\": to what nation did I liken you? What nation did I redeem with a strong hand and bring out from their enemies with ten plagues? For what nation did I split the sea and send down manna and decree quail and raised for them the well? For what nation did I put on clouds of glory and bring them before Mount Sinai and give them my Torah? \"<b>O daughter of Jerusalem</b>\": the daughter who respects and is perfected for me. \"<b>What can I match with you to console you</b>\": Rabbi Yaakov of Kfar Chanan said: \"When I match with you I will console you and when that day comes, it is written about it: \"Man’s haughty look shall be brought low, And the pride of mortals shall be humbled. None but Hashem shall be Exalted in that day (Isaiah 2:11)\" and at that time I will console you\". \"<b>Maiden daughter of Zion (<i>bat tziyyon</i>)</b>\": sons marked (<i>banim hametzuyyanin</i>) by circumcision and by not shaving and by tzitzit. \"<b> For your ruin is vast as the sea</b>\": Rabbi Cholefai said: \"He who is going to heal the shattering of the sea he \"<b>can heal you</b>\". Rabbi Avin said: \"He to whom you sand in the \"Song at the Sea\": \"This is my God and I will praise him (Exodus 15:2)\" he \"<b>can heal you</b>\". Rabbi Yehoshua son of Levi said he \"<b>can heal you</b>\", ie \"<b>your prophets</b> (Lamentations 2:14)\"\".",
                "\"<b>Your seers prophesied to you delusion and folly</b> (Lamentations 2:14)\": Rabbi Eleazar said: \"This is said about the prophets of Samaria in regard to their prayer, as it is said:  \"In the prophets of Samaria I saw a repulsive thing (Jeremiah 23:13)\". And it is said about the prophets of Jerusalem in regard to prayer. See! It is written: \"<b>delusion and folly</b>\". Rabbi Samuel son of Nachmani said: \"It is said about the prophets of Jerusalem regarding their horror, as it is said: \"But what I see in the prophets of Jerusalem is something horrifying (Jeremiah 23:14)\". And it is said about the House of Israel regarding its horror, as it is written: \"Maiden Israel has done A most horrible thing (Jeremiah 18:13)\". \"<b>They did not expose your iniquity so as to restore your fortunes</b>\": they put because of you covers over their faces. \"<b>But prophesied to you oracles Of delusion and deception (<i>madduchim</i>)</b>\": and <i>madduchim</i> is spelled without a yod representing <i>i</i>.",
                "\"<b>All who pass your way clap their hands at you</b> (Lamentations 2:15)\": Rabbi Yochanan in the name of Rabbi Shimon son of Yochai said: \"There were accountants outside of Jerusalem and all who wanted to pay their account would run out and pay their account there, that they would not go out of Jersualem upset; this satisfies what is said <b>joy of all the Earth</b>\", and now they \"<b>clap their hands at you</b>\", \"<b>They hiss and wag their head at the daughter of Jerusalem</b>\". The cities of the nations they speak in praise of themselves. See! It is written: \"O Tyre, you boasted, I am perfect in beauty (Ezekiel 27:3)\", but Jerusalem later they spoke in praise of them. See! It is written: \"<b>Is this the city that was called perfect in beauty, joy of all the Earth?</b>\". Rabbi Nathan said: \"A merchant went to sell wool but he fell asleep and did not make a sale and he said: \"<b>Is this the city that was called perfect in beauty, joy of all the Earth?</b>\", and he then made a sale and he said: \"Truly they said \"<b>joy of all the Earth</b>\"\".",
                "\"<b>All your enemies jeer at you with their mouth</b> (Lamentations 2:16)\": why is there a reversal of the <i>peh</i> and the <i>ayin</i> verse [thus altering the alphabetic order of the acrostic]? Because they were speaking \"<b>with their mouth (<i>pihem</i>)</b>\" what they did not \"<b>see</b>\" with their eyes (<i>'eineihem</i>).",
                "\"<b>Hashem has done what He purposed</b> (Lamentations 2:17)\": Rabbi Ahavah son of Rabbi Zeira said: \"From the time when the Holy One, blessed be He, said: \"And if, for all that, you do not obey Me (Leviticus 26:18)\", \"I too will remain hostile to you (Leviticus 26:24)\", and did he do thus? Certainly not! Rather: \"<b>Hashem has done what He purposed, has carried out the decree</b>\": he tempered himself\". Rabbi Yaakov from Kfar Chanan said: \"He split his purple [robe]\". \"<b> He has let the foe rejoice over you</b>\": Rabbi Acha said: \"In good times he rejoices with them, as it is said: \"For Hashem will again delight in your well-being, as He did in that of your fathers (Deuteronomy 30:9)\" but in evil times he causes others to rejoice. See! It is written:\"<b> He has let the foe rejoice over you, has exalted the might of your enemies</b>\". And on this topic it is written: \"<b>Their heart cried out to Hashem. O wall of the daughter of Zion, shed tears like a torrent day and night! Give yourself no respite, your eyes no rest</b> (Lamentations 2:18)\".",
                "\"<b>Arise, cry out in the night At the beginning of the watches</b> (Lamentations 2:19)\": Rabbi says: \"There are four watches in the night and four watched in the day\". The <i>'onah</i> is 1/24th of an <i>'et</i> and the <i>'et</i> is 1/24th of an <i>'onah</i> and the <i>reg'a</i> is 1/24th of an <i>'et</i> and how much is a <i>reg'a</i>? Rabbi Berechyah in the name of Rabbi Chelbo said: \"As much as saying something\". And the Rabbis say: \"In the sparkling of an eye\". And Samuel said: \"1/56,548 of a <i>sha'ah</i>, this is a <i>reg'a</i>\". Rabbi Nathan said: \"There are three watches in the night\". Rabbi Zerika and Rabbi Amei in the name of Rabbi Shimon son of Lakish said: \"A certain thing is written: \"I arise at midnight to praise You for Your just rules (Psalm 119:62\", and a certain thing is also written: \"My eyes greet each watch of the night, as I meditate on Your promise (Psalm 119:148)\". How do these two statements stand? Rabbi Chizkiyah and others who say that and Rabbi Zerika and Rabbi Amei. One said: \"It is proven through Rabbi\". Another said: \"It is proven by Rabbi Nathan. How does proof come from Rabbi? That is self-evident. How does proof come from Rabbi Nathan? \"At the beginning of the middle watch (Judges 7:9)\". And Rabbi Nathan, how does he explain \"at midnight\"? With \"My eyes greet each watch of the night\". And why did he do that? At the time when David ate his meal, it was until the night hour and he went to bed until the beginning of the watch and he got up, and roused himself, and studied Torah, and when David ate a meal of kings, he ate until evening and he woke up at midnight and roused himself and studied Torah and on his bed, given both of these situations he was never sleeping at dawn, and David himself said: \"Awake, O my soul! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will wake the dawn (Psalm 57:9)\", that is to say wake up my glory before the glory of my Make, my glory is entirely lesser than the glory of my Maker. \"I will wake the dawn\": I will rouse the dawn and the dawn will not rouse me. Rabbi Pinchas said in the name of Rabbi Eleazar son of Menachem: \"What would David do? He would take up a harp and lyre and put them by his head [before he went to sleep], then at midnight he would get up and play them\". Rabbi Levi said: \"The harp was suspended over the bed of David and when it was midnight, the wind from the north would hit it and it would play by itself. See! It is written: \"As the musician played (1 Kings 3:15)\": \"and as he played on the instrument (<i>bamenaggen</i>)\" is not written but rather \"as the instrument played (<i>hamenaggen</i>)\", and when David heard its sound he stood up and studied the Torah, and when Israel heard the music, they would say, “Well, if King David is engaged in Torah study [at this this hour], then we should be all the more so!”. From this they studied the Torah. And how does Rabbi explain the verse of Rabbi Nathan? Rabbi Huna said: \"The end of the second and the beginning of the third which divide the night\". Rabbi Manei said to him: \"If it was referring to the middle ones you would be correct, but see, it does not refer to that but rather to the middle watch\". The earlier one does not matter since the time had not yet come.",
                "\"<b>See,Hashem, and behold, To whom You have done this!</b> (Lamentations 2:20): They say of Doeg son of Joseph, who died and left a young child to his mother, that each year she would measure him by hand-breadth and give his weight in gold to the Temple. When they surrounded the citadel of Jerusalem, she slaughtered him with her own hand and ate him. And it is over her that Jeremiah keens  \"<b>Shall women eat their fruit, their fondled ones</b>? And the Holy Spirit answers her:  \"<b>Shall there be killed in the Temple of the Hashem, Cohein and prophet!<b>\" that is Zechariah son of Jehoiada.  </b></b>",
                "\"<b>Prostrate in the streets lie both young and old</b> (Lamentations 2:21)\": it is written: \"But I am filled with the wrath of Hashem, I cannot hold it in. Pour it on the infant in the street, and on the company of youths gathered together! Yes, men and women alike shall be captured, elders and those of advanced years (Jeremiah 6:11)\". Thus: \"<b>Prostrate in the streets lie both young and old</b>\".",
                "\"<b>You summoned, as on a festival, My neighbors from roundabout</b> (Lamentations 2:22)\": what is \"neighbors\" (<i>megurei</i>)\"? He who lives in my house (<i>miggo beitai</i>). Rabbi Eleazar son of Rabbi Marinus said: \"The ones who made cups of my endowment you led against me\". \"<b>On the day of the wrath of Hashem, None survived or escaped</b>\": Rabbi Chiyya taught: \"Of sons and daughters that you will have, and sin destroyed them.  Not just \"<b>Those whom I bore and reared</b>\" is written but rather: \"<b>Those whom I bore and reared, my foe has consumed</b>\". End of the second alphabet."
            ],
            [
                "",
                "\"<b>He has worn away my flesh</b> (Lamentations 3:4)\": This is the community. \"<b>And skin</b>\": This is the Sanhedrin. Like the skin is a covering for the flesh, so the Sanhedrin was the covering over Israel. \"<b>He has shattered my bones (<i>'atzumotai</i>)</b>\": My strength (<i>'itzumai</i>): these people were like strong people. \"<b>All around me He has built misery(<i>rosh</i>)</b> (Lamentations 3:5): This is Nebuchadnezzar, as it is written about him: \"you are the head (<i>reshah</i>) of gold (Daniel 2:38)\". \"<b>And hardship</b>\": This is Nebuzaradan. Another interpretation: \"<b>Misery</b>\": This is Vespasian. \"<b>And hardship</b>\": This is Trajan. \"<b>He has made me dwell in darkness like those long dead</b> (Lamentations 3:6)\": Rabbi Samuel said: \"There are four who are made to dwell like the dead: a blind man, as it is written: \"<b>He has made me dwell in darkness like those long dead</b>\"; a <i>metzor'a</i>, as it is said: \"Let her not be as one dead (Numbers 12:12)\"; one who has no children, as it is written about Rachel: \"Give me children, or I shall die (Genesis 30:1)\"; and one who descended into obscurity as it is said: \"For all the men who sought to kill you are dead (Exodus 4:19)\" and they were not dead, but rather they descended into obscurity.  ",
                "\"<b>He has walled me in and I cannot break out</b> (Lamentations 3:7): Rabbi Ayyvu said: \"This is in the camp of Arabia\". Rabbi Berechya said: \"This is camp of Persia\". And the Rabbis said: \"This is the mine of the Samaritans\". \"<b>He has weighed me down with chains</b>\": He weighed me down with the <i>annona</i> agricultural tax, the public tax and head taxes. \"<b>And when I cry and plead</b> (Lamentations 3:8): Rabbi Acha said: \"Everyone who prats with the community what is he like? To people who make a crown for a king. A certain poor man came and gave his contribution in their mix. What did the king say? \"Because of this poor man, I accept it\" and because of this the king accepted it and put it on his head. So if ten righteous men and standing in prayer and a wicked man is standing among them, what does the Holy One, blessed be He, say? \"Because of this wicked man I do not accept their prayer\". And the Rabbis say: \"One came after the congregation and his works are scrutinized, to what is he like? To a king whose tenants and slaves gathered for his glory, and a certain one came later. The king said: \"Let his wine jug be closed\". And why did he close it for him? Because he came later. So all who pray after the congregation and his works are scrutinized, about such it is said: \"<b> I cry and plead, He shuts out my prayer</b>\": \"He shuts out (<i>satam</i>) is written because the congregation has completed (<i>shettammu</i>) their prayer. \"<b>He has walled in my ways with hewn blocks</b> (Lamentations 3:9)\". The women of Lud would knead their dough and go up and pray and descend and yet their dough had not leavened. The women of Sepphoris would go and worship in the Temple and no one else harvested figs earlier than them. And the scholar of Magdala arranged the candles in the evening and he went and worshiped and returned and lit them. And there are those who say that the scholar every evening went and explained his portion in the Temple and returned for Shabbat to his house. A certain man was working and his cow escaped, and he went and told people, and they said to him: \"By what path was it?\" He said to them: \"I did not see which way\", and they applied to that man this verse: \"<b>He has walled in my ways with hewn blocks, He has made my paths a maze (<i>'ivvah</i>)</b>\": My ruin, as it is said: \"Ruin (<i>'avvah</i>), an utter ruin I will make it (Ezekiel 21:32)\".  ",
                "\"<b>He is a lurking bear to me</b> (Lamentations 3:10)\": This is Nebuchadnezzar. \"<b>A lion in hiding</b>\": This is Nebuzaradan. Another interpretation: \"<b>He is a lurking bear to me</b> (Lamentations 3:10)\": This is Vespasian. \"<b>A lion in hiding</b>\": This is Trajan. \"<b>He has forced me off my way</b> (Lamentations 3:11)\". That is split, as they say: \"A tree which is split they tie it up in the Sabbatical Year (Sheviit 4:6)\". \"<b>He has bent His bow and made me The target of His arrows</b> (Lamentations 3:12)\": the Amoraim interpret it two ways: One said: \"like a wedge\" and another said: \"Like a target at which everyone shoots at it and it stands\". Rabbi Yudan said: \"He strengthened me to stand against everything\". You find it after the curses which are in the Book of Deuteronomy. What is written? \"All of you are standing here today (Deuteronomy 29:9)\" and they translate it into Aramaic: \"All of you are strong to stand against everything\".  ",
                "\"<b>He has shot into my vitals the shafts of His quiver (<i>ashpato</i>)</b> (Lamentations 3:13)\": Rab and Samuel: Rab said: \"Children of ruin, children of idolatry\". And Samuel said: \"People who eat a lot and send out excrement (<i>ashpot</i>) \"<b>He has shot</b>\" at me\". \"<b>I have become a laughingstock to all people</b> (Lamentations 3:14)\": it is written: \"Those who sit in the gate talk about me (Psalms 69:13)\": The nations of the world were sitting in theaters and in circuses. \"I am the taunt of drunkards\": After they sat and ate and drank and became drunk they were sitting and talking about me and mocking me and saying: \"We do not need carob like the Jews\" and they said one to another: \"How many years do you want to live?\" and they said: \"Like the dress of the Jews on Shabbat\". And they brought their camel into the theater and put dresses on them and they said, one to another: \"Why is it mourning?\" and they said: \"The Jews are observing the Sabbatical Year and they do not have vegetables and they are eating the thorns of this one and he is mourning over them\". And they brought a mime actor into their theater and his head was shaved and they said, one to another: \"Why is his head shaved?\" and he said: \"The Jews are keeping their Sabbaths and all which they get for all the days they eat on Shabbat but they have no wood to cook it and they broke their beds and cooked with them and they sleep on the earth and they make themselves dusty with dirt and they annoint themselves with oil and so the oil is expensive\". Another interpretation: \"Those who sit in the gate talk about me\": This is Israel who sits in the synagogues and the Beitei Midrash. \"I am the taunt of drunkards\": And after they sat and ate and drank and got drunk on the meal of Tisha b'Av they sat and read elegies and mourning songs in Lamentations. \"<b>He has filled me with bitterness</b> (Lamentations 3:15)\": This is the first festival day of Passover, as it is written about it: \"With unleavened bread and bitter herbs (Numbers 9:11)\". \"<b>Sated me with wormwood</b>\": Witch what he satisfied me on the first night of Passover, he \"<b>sated</b>\" me on the night of the fast of Tisha b'Av: the night of the first day of Passover is the night of Tisha b'Av. ",
                "\"<b>He has broken my teeth on gravel</b> (Lamentations 3:16)\": There is a story about the son of Rabbi Chananyah son of Teradyon who was joined with the bandits and revealed their recret and they killed him and filled his mouth with dust and pebbles. Three days later they placed him in the casket and they sought to honor him because of the glory of his father and he did not allow them. He said to them: \"Allow it and I will speak over my son, and he began his sermon and said: \"I did not pay heed to my teachers, Or incline my ear to my instructors. Soon I was in dire trouble amidst the assembled congregation (Proverbs 5:13-14)\". And his mother called out over him: \"A stupid son is vexation for his father And a heartache for the woman who bore him (Proverbs 17:25)\". His sister called out over him: \"Bread gained by fraud may be tasty to a man, But later his mouth will be filled with gravel (Proverbs 20:17)\". And it was taught: \"In any meal that is eaten due to the fast of the Ninth of Av, it is prohibited to eat meat; and it is prohibited to drink wine; and it is likewise prohibited to bathe in anticipation of the fast. However, in any meal that is not due to the Ninth of Av, i.e., one is eating the meal in order that he shouldn’t be hungry on the Ninth of Av, it is permitted to eat meat and to drink wine and two dishes. Rab when he ate over all his food he placed a bit of ash and he said about it: \"This is the meal of Tisha b'Av, to fulfill what is said: \"<b>He has broken my teeth on gravel, has ground me into the dust</b>\". \"<b>My life was bereft of peace, I forgot what happiness was</b> (Lamentatation 3:17)\": Rabbi Eleazar son of Rabbi Jose in the name of Rabbi Chananya son of Rabbi Abbahu said: \"There is a story about a certain woman in Caesarea and she brought her son to a certain bakery and said to him: \"Teach my son this trade.\" He said to her: \"Leave him in my care for five years and I will teach him 500 kinds of bread. How many kinds of bread are there? Rabbi Acha said: \"With this kind of wheat there is no kinds of bread\". And the Rabbis said: \"500 kinds of bread based on the numerical value of the word kinds (<i>minnit</i>)\". Rabbi Chanina and Rabbi Yonatan were were studying and they thought up for them 60 and then they stopped. And further, Rabbi Eleazar son of Rabbi Jose said: \"There is a story about a certain woman who brought her son to a chef and she said to him: \"Teach my son this trade\". He said to her \"Leave him in my care for five years and I will teach him 100 things to do with an egg\". Rabbi heard and said: \"I have not seen that there is \"<b>happiness</b>\" in the world\". Rabbi Shimon son of Chalafta heard and he said: \"We have not heard there is \"<b>happiness</b>\" in the world\". Rabbi Yehudah son of Beteira went to Nisibis on the eve of the great fast and he ate and finished and the exilarch heard and come to invite him and he said to him: \"Come over to my house Rabbi\". And he said to him: \"I have eaten and finished\". And he said to him \"Come over to my house Rabbi, so they will not say that he did not think anything of me at all\", so he went to him. When he came he said to the maitre d': \"Now, the courses which you bring to us, one time serve them and do not repeat them for a second time\". While they were eating they brought and served 80 courses and he ate from each course a little bit and drank from each wine jar a little bit, and he said to him: \"Rabbi, after you ate and finished you have come back and tasted each course, from each course you ate and from each wine jar you drank\". And he said: \"Why do we say that appetite is a \"life\" (<i>nafsh</i>)? Because more and more it goes and grows (<i>nefishah</i>)\". Rabbi Abbah went to Bozrah and was received by Jose the head, and they served him 80 kinds of birds' heads and he said to him: \"Do not be upset, Rabbi, but there was not enough birds\" and do they not call him Jose the head for anything but that his food was nothing but birds' heads? Rabbi Chiyya the elder went to Rome and he was received by Rabbi Yehoshua son of Levi and they went and served him 24 dishes. He said to him: \"On Shabbat what are you going to do?\". He said: \"We double them\". Some days later Rabbi Yehoshua son of Levi went to Tiberias and was received by Rabbi Chiyya the elder and he gave to the students of Rabbi Yehoshua money and said to them, buy and do according to the custom of your master\". Rabbi Yitzchak son of Rabbi Eleazer was one who knew the order to the meals according to the counting of days. So it was when he had money, and when he did not have it he took pits and counted them so he would not forget. \"<b> I forgot what happiness was</b>\": Rabbi Shimon son of Gamliel said: \"This is washing the hands and feet after they have been washed\". \"<b>I thought my strength and hope Had perished before Hashem</b> (Lamentations 3:18)\": Rabbi Shimon son of Lakish said: \"When the Holy One, blessed be He, withdraws from the righteous in this world he changes his mind and is merciful on them. See! It is said: \"<b>I thought my strength</b>\". ",
                "\"<b>To recall my distress and my rebellion was wormwood and poison</b> (Lamentations 3:19)\": The Assembly of Israel said before the Holy One, blessed be He: \"Master of the universe, <b>recall</b> the <b>distress</b> which I distressed you and my <b>rebellion</b> which I rebelled against you and let them remove one another, the <b>wormwood and poision</b>\" one will release the other\". \"<b>Whenever I thought of them</b> (Lamentations 3:20\": Rabbi Chiyya taught: \"There is a parable of a king who went out to war and his sons were with him and they annoyed him. Later the king went out by himself and his sons were not with him. The king said: \"My sons were not with me although they annoy me\". So as to the king, this is the Holy One, blessed be He, and as to his sons, this is Israel. When Israel went out to war, the Holy One, blessed be He, went out with them and when they provoked him he did not go out with them and when Israel was not in the land, He said: \"Israel was not with me although they provoke me, and so it is in three verses: \"Oh, to be in the desert, at an encampment for wayfarers! Oh, to leave my people (Jeremiah 9:1)\": My people like they were when they were in the desert. And it is written: \"O mortal, when the House of Israel dwelt on their own soil, they defiled it with their ways and their deeds (Ezekiel 36:17)\" and here \"<b>Whenever I thought of them, I was bowed low</b>\". Rabbi Yudan said: \"\"<b>Whenever I thought of them</b>\": I know that you remember the nations of the world, but what will I do \"<b>I was bowed low</b>\". So it is said: \"The fat becomes small and the small one dies\". \"<b>But this do I call to mind, therefore I have hope</b> (Lamentations 3:21)\": Rabbi Abba son of Kahana in the name of Rabbi Yochanan said: \"What parable is this thing like? To a king who married a wife and wrote a grand ketubah for her, and he said to her: \"So I am making huppahs for you and so I am giving expensive clothes to you\". The king left her and went to the sea province and beyond. And those who lived near her came and harassed her and said to her: \"The king has abandoned you and gone to the province of the sea and he is not going to return back to you\". She was weeping and sighing and when she went to the middle of her house and opened and brought out her ketubah and read it and she saw in the ketubah \"So I am making huppahs for you and so I am giving expensive clothes to you\", because of this she was comforted. After many days the king came and said to her: \"My daughter I am shocked. How have you stayed by me all these years?\" She said to him: \"My lord king, if not for the grad ketubah that you wrote and gave to mu, long ago the neighbors would have made me leave\". So the idolaters harass Israel and they say to them: \"You God hid his face from you and has removed his shekhinah from you and he is not going to return to you, and they weep and sigh and when they gather at synagogues at house of study and read in the Torah: \"I will look with favor upon you, and make you fertile and multiply you; I will establish My abode in your midst, and I will not spurn you, I will be ever present in your midst (Leviticus 26:9, 11, 12)\" then they are comforted. \"Tomorrow the end of the exile will come\" the Holy One, blessed be He, says to them \"My sons I am shocked, how have you stayed by me all these years?\" And they say before him: \"Master of the universe, if not for your Torah which you gave us, the nations would have made us leave\". And so it is said: \"<b>But this do I call to mind, Therefore I have hope</b>\". And this is nothing else than the Torah, as it is said: \"And this is the Torah (Deuteronomy 4:44)\". And so David said: \"Were not Your teaching my delight I would have perished in my affliction (Psalm 119:92)\". \"<b>Therefore I have hope</b>\": and they unify his name twice a day and say: \"Hear O Israel, Hashem is your God, Hashem is one (Deuteronomy 6:4)\".\n"
            ],
            [
                "\"<b>Alas! The gold is dulled</b> (Lamentations 4:1)\": Rabbi Samuel said: \"How the gold was covered, as this verse supports: \"In no hidden matter can anyone compare to you (Ezekiel 28:3)\". And the Rabbis say: \"How the gold has been changed\". Rabbi Chama son of Chanina said: \"How the gold is dimmed. See! It is written: \"<b>Alas! The gold is dulled</b>\". Rabbi Chiyya taught: \"Coals, are they able to be dim? This teaches us that it is fire. If it is fire, then it can burn. This teaches us about coals, as he brings from the the glowing coals\". \"<b>The sacred gems are spilled at every street corner</b>\": They are the companions of sages who went and worked. So it was written about them: \"<b>The sacred gems are spilled at every street corner</b>\". Another interpretation: it refers to Josiah. \"<b>Alas! The gold is dulled</b>\": because he was like an ornament of gold. \"<b>Debased the finest gold! </b>\": because his body was like a beautiful gem and pearl. \"<b>The sacred gems are spilled at every street corner</b>\": these are the two <i>revi'it</i> of blood which Jeremiah collected and buried. See! It is written: \"There he died, and was buried in the graves of his fathers (2 Chronicles 35:24)\". In how many tombs was he entombed? It says in the \"graves\" of his fathers\": these are the two <i>revi'it</i> of blood which Jeremiah collected and buried. Another interpretation: it refers to them men od Jerusalem who were like an ornament of gold, and their bodies were like beautiful gems and pears, and if he will say to you that \"man\" is not written meaning \"men of Jerusalem\" say to him: \"It was previously written: \"<b>The precious children of Zion</b> (Lamentations 4:2)\".",
                "\"<b>The precious children of Zion</b> (Lamentations 4:2)\": Why were they precious? A villager who married a girl from Jerusalem gives for her her weight in gold, and thus a man of Jerusalem who married a girl from a village, they gave for him his weight in gold. Another interpretation: Why were they precious? At that time any man from them who married a woman of greater station than him, he made tables more than the feast. A woman of lower station than him, he made the feast more than the tables. Another interpretation: Why were they precious? There was not one of them who went to a feast unless he was summoned for a second time.",
                "There is a story about a certain man in Jerusalem who made a feast. He said to his slave: \"Go and bring to me my friend, Kamtza. He went and bought him Bar Kamtza his enemy and he came and sat down among the guests. He saw him between his guests and said to him: \"You are my enemy and you are sitting in my house! Get up and leave my house!\" He replied to him: \"Do not shame me and I will return to you the price of the feast\". He said to him: \"You must not recline\". He said to him: \"Do not shame me and I will return do you double of what I eat\". He said to him: \"You must not recline\". He said to him: \"Do not shame me and I will return the cost of this entire banquet\". He said to him: \"Get up and go!\" Rabbi Zechariah son of Eukolos was there and it was in his hand to stop it and he did not stop it. He left from there and said to himself: \"They are reclining and feasting extravagantly and I am going to go and press charges against them. What did he do? He went to the magistrate and said to him: \"Those sacrifices which you send to the Jews to sacrifice, they eat them and they offer other ones, exchanging them\". He did not care. He came back and said to him: \"Those sacrifices which you send to the Jews to sacrifice, they eat them and they offer other ones, exchanging them. If you do not trust me, send with me an <i>eparch</i> and a sacrifice and you will know that I am not lying\". When they were going, the <i>eparch</i> fell asleep and he got up and made all the animals secretly blemished. When the priest saw them he sacrificed other animals in their place. The representative of the king said: \"Why did you not sacrifice those sacrifices\"? He said to him: \"Tomorrow\". The next day came and he did not sacrifice them. He sent and said to the king: \"The whole issue of the Jews is exactly as it was said\". Because of this he came to the Temple and destroyed it. See! Because of this <i>baraita</i> they say: \"Between Kamtza and between Bar Kamtza the Temple was destroyed\". Rabbi Jose said: \"The extreme humility and unwillingness of Rabbi Zechariah son of Eukolos burned the Temple\". Another interpretation: Why were they precious? There was not one of them who bore a deaf child or blemished child.",
                "There is a story about Rabbi Yehoshua son of Chananiah who once went to the great city of Rome, where they said to him: There is a child in prison with beautiful eyes and an attractive appearance, and his curly hair is arranged in locks. Rabbi Yehoshua went and stood by the entrance to the prison. He said, as if speaking to himself: “Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to the robbers? (Isaiah 42:24)\". That child answered by reciting the continuation of the verse: “Did not the Lord, He against Whom we have sinned, and in Whose ways they would not walk, neither were they obedient to His law?” When Rabbi Yehoshua heard that he called to him: \"<b>The precious children of Zion, once valued as gold</b> (Lamentations 4:2)\". Rabbi Yehoshua said: I am certain that, if given the opportunity, this child will issue halakhic rulings in Israel, as he is already exceedingly wise. He said: \"I take an oath by heaven and earth that I will not move from here until I ransom him for whatever sum of money they set for him\". They said that he did not move from there until he ransomed him for a great sum of money, and not even a few days had passed when this child then issued halakhic rulings in Israel. And who was this child? This was Rabbi Yishmael ben Elisha. Another interpretation: Why were they precious? Became not one of them went to a banquet before he knew with whom he was banqueting and seal before he knew with whom he sealed, in accordance with which it was said: \"You shall not join hands with the guilty to act as a malicious witness (Exodus 23:1)\". Another interpretation: Why were they precious? Because not one of them claimed a claim in vain. Rabbi Shimon son of Gamliel says: \"A great custom that was followed in Jerusalem was that when one made a feast, there would be a cloth [mappa] spread over the entrance to the hall. As long as the cloth was spread, the guests would enter, as the presence of the cloth indicated that there was food for more guests. When the cloth was removed, the guests would not enter any more\". Another interpretation: Why were they precious? They entrusted the banquet to a caterer, and if something in the banquet went wrong, they blamed it all on the caterer, in line with the deference for the master of the house and the deference of the guests. Another interpretation: Why were they precious? At that time, when one of them made a banquet he listed all the courses of the banquet on a menu. Why so? So that someone did not eat something that was bad for them. Rabbi Chiyya the reader said in the name of Rabbi Samuel son of Nachman: \"From the day when the Temple was destroyed, wine jelly and white glass were prohibited. Why did they call it \"white\"? Because it was layered.",
                "There is a story about a certain man from the upper classes of Jerusalem who said to his slave: \"Go and bring me water\". He watched him from the top of the roof. He came and said to him: \"I did not see water\". He said to him: \"Dmash your pitcher on the wall\" and he dashed his pitcher on the wall and he dashed himself from the top of the roof and he fell and died and his limbs were mixed together with the pottery fragments, and about him it says: \"<b>Alas, they are accounted as earthen pots</b> (Lamentations 4:2)\".  ",
                "\"<b>Even jackals offer the breast And suckle their young</b> (Lamentations 4:3)\": The <i>yerudata</i> according to its species covers over its face when it suckles its children so there is no anger at its children and it desires to eat them.",
                "\"<b>The tongue of the suckling cleaves to its palate for thirst</b> (Lamentations 4:4)\": Rabbi Abba son of Kahana said: \"A spring of water went from Bethany and the <i>sicarii</i> went and stopped it from flowing and a man brought his son to the sping and he did not find water and his tongue stuck \"<b>to its palate for thirst</b>\". \" Little children beg for bread; none gives them a morsel\": Rabbi Yehudah and Rabbi Nehemiah and the Rabbis: Rabbi Yehudah said: \"If there was no one who would give to them, who would comfort them? And this verse supports it: \"They shall not break bread for a mourner, nor comfort him (Jeremiah 16:7)\"\". Rabbi Nehemiah said: \"There was no one who would give to them a \"<b>morsel (<i>perusah</i>) of bread</b>\", and this verse supports it: \"It is to share (<i>paros</i>) your bread with the hungry (Isaiah 58:7)\"\". And the Rabbis say: \"There was no one for them who would stand up for the mourning line (<i>bashshurah</i>), and this verse supports it: \"Any animal that has true hoofs (<i>mafreset parsah</i>) (Leviticus 11:3)\". ",
                "\"<b>Those who feasted on dainties</b> (Lamentations 4:5)\": Rabbi Chanina so on Pappa said: \"Flour from Lesbos and old wine\". \"<b> Those who were reared in purple</b>\": They lie on a dunghill.",
                "\"<b>The guilt of my poor people exceeded</b> (Lamentations 4:6)\": Rabbi Yehoshua son of Rabbi Nehemiah in the name of Rabbi Acha said: \"It is said: \"In the tribe of Judah and Benjamin what is not said about the people of Sodom. About the people of Sodom is written: \"Their sin so grave (Genesis 18:20)\", but about the tribe of Judah and Benjamin it is said: \"The iniquity of the Houses of Judah and Israel is very very great (Ezekiel 9:9)\"\". Rabbi Tanchuma said: \"There is an example: \"<b>The guilt of my poor people exceeded the iniquity of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment, without a hand striking it</b>\": Those did not stretch out their hands against mitzvot, but rather they stretched out their hands against mitzvot . See! It is written: \"<b>With their own hands, tenderhearted women Have cooked their children</b> (Lamentations 4:10)\" and why did all this happen? Because \"<b> Such became their fare</b>\".",
                "\"<b>Her elect were purer than snow</b> (Lamentations 4:7)\": These were those who drank the snow. \"<b>Whiter than milk</b>\": These were those who drank milk. \"<b>Their limbs were ruddier than coral, their bodies were like sapphire</b>\": Is this sapphire a fragile stone? Rabbi Pinchas said: \"There is a story about a certain man who when to Rome to buy a sapphire, and the buyer said to him: \"Let me test it and I will buy it\". He put it on the top of an anvil and began to strike it with a hammer and the anvil broke and the hammer broke and the sapphire stayed in its place\".",
                "\"Now their faces are blacker than soot (Lamentations 4:8)\": Rabbi Abba son of Kahana said: \"Like shoe polish\". And Rabbi Levi said: \"Like pitch\". \"They are not recognized in the streets\": Rabbi Eliezer son of Rabbi Zadok said: \"May I see the consolation only on the condition that father, all the years after the destruction [of the Temple] and his body never was restored to him. He was like death, fulfilling what was said: \"Their skin has shriveled on their bones, it has become dry as wood\". ",
                "\"<b>Better off were the slain of the sword</b> (Lamentations 4:9)\": In the first destruction of the Temple they died from the smell of thistles, but in the second destruction of the Temple there were not thistles? What did they do for themselves? They brought kids and grilled them in the western side of the city and the smell penetrated them and they died, to fulfill what was said: \"<b> Who pined away, [as though] wounded, For lack of the fruits of the field</b>\".",
                "\"<b>The hands of merciful women cooked their children</b> (Lamentations 4:10)\": Rabbi Huna said in the name of Rabbi Jose: \"The Holy One, Blessed be He said: \"They prevented me from acting in my world. How? One of [the women] had a loaf of bread, which was sufficient to feed her and her husband for one day. However, her neighbor's son died, so she took that same loaf of bread, and used it to comfort [her neighbor]. The text praises them, saying it's as if they cooked their children for mitzvot. Thus it is written: \"<b>The hands of merciful women cooked their children</b>\". And why [include this at all]? [To report] that \"<b>they became their fare</b>\".",
                "\"<b>Hashem vented all His fury, poured out His blazing wrath</b> (Lamentations 4:11)\": Rabbi said: \"There are four ‘pouring out’ for good and four ‘pouring out’ for evil. The four for good: “And I will pour out upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplications. (Zechariah 12:10)\", “And it shall come to pass afterwards that I will pour out My spirit upon all flesh (Joel 3:1)\", “And even upon the slaves and the maidservants in those days will I pour out My spirit (Joel 3:2)\", “And I shall no longer hide My face from them, for I shall have poured out My spirit upon the House of Israel (Ezekiel 39:29)\". The four for evil: “And He poured out upon them the fury of His anger (Isaiah 42:25)\", “When You pour out Your fury on Jerusalem (Ezekiel 9:8)\", and it is written: \"<b>He poured out his anger like fire</b> (Lamentations 2:4)\" and here: “<b>Hashem has spent His fury, He has poured out His fierce anger</b> (Lamenations 4:11)\". \"<b>He kindled a fire in Zion</b>\": It is written: \"A psalm of Asaph. O God, heathens have entered Your domain (Psalm 79:1)\": This verse should not have said \"psalm\", but rather a \"lament\" of Asaph, a \"mourning song\" of Asaph, an \"elegy\" of Asaph, so why does it say \"a psalm of Asaph\"? Rather it is a parable about a king who made a huppah for his son and its foundation and its wall and its decoration, and his son went out and did evil debauchery, and so the king went up to the huppah and tore up the curtains and smashed the supports and his tutor (<i>paidogogos</i>) went and made a flute of the support and was playing music. They said to him: \"The king overturned his son's huppah and you are sitting playing music?\" and he said to them: \"I am playing music because he overturned his son's huppah and did not \"<b>pour out his anger</b>\" on his son. So they said to Asaph: \"The Holy One, blessed be He, has destroyed the Temple and you are sitting and playing music?\" and he said to them: \"I am playing music because the Holy One, blessed be He, \"<b>poured out his anger</b>\" on wood and stone and did not \"<b>pour out his anger</b>\" on Israel. See! It is written: \"<b>He kindled a fire in Zion which consumed its foundations</b>\".",
                "“<b>The kings of the earth did not believe, nor all the inhabitants of the world, that a foe or enemy could enter the gates of Jerusalem</b>.” (Lamentations 4:12) There were four kings, and each one demanded what the others did not demand. They are David, Asa, Jehosaphat and Hezekiah. Regarding David it says “I have pursued my enemies and overtaken them” (Psalms 18:38). The Holy One said to him: I will do so. This is what is written “And David smote them from evening until evening to their morrow” (Samuel I 30:17) What does ‘to their morrow’ mean? R’ Yehoshua son of Levi said: for two nights and one day. The Holy One lit up the night for him with shooting stars and lightning, as it is taught (Mishna Berachot 2:9) ‘on shooting stars, on earthquakes and on lightning.’ This is what is written “For You light my lamp” (Psalms 18:29). Asa stood up and said: I do not have the strength to kill them, rather I will pursue them and You do the rest. This is what is written “And Asa and the people who were with him pursued them… for they were broken before the Lord and before His camp, and they carried away very much spoils.” (Chronicles II 14:12) It is not written ‘before Asa’ but rather ‘before the Lord and before His camp.’ Jehosaphat stood up and said: I have no strength to kill or to pursue, rather I will sing a song and You do the rest. The Holy One said to him: I will do so, as it says “And at the time they commenced with song and praise…” (Chronicles II 20:22) Hezekiah stood up and said: I have no strength to kill, or to pursue or to sing a song, rather I will sleep on my bed and You do the rest. The Holy One said to him: I will do so, as it says “And it came to pass on that night that an angel of the Lord went out and slew one hundred eighty-five thousand of the camp of Assyria” (Kings II 19:35). How many remained from them? Rab said: \"Ten, as it is said: \"Shall be so few that a boy may record them (Isaiah 10:19)\" and the way of a child is to be able to write a yod [which represents the number 10]\". Rabbi Eliezer says: \"Six, because the way of a child is to be able to write a straight stroke [for vav which represents the number 6]\". Rabbi Yehoshua says: \"Five, as it is said: \"Two berries or three on the topmost branch (Isaiah 17:6)\"\". Rabbi Yehudah son of Rabbi Simon said: \"Nine. See! It is written: \"Two berries or three on the topmost branch, four or five on the boughs of the crown (Isaiah 17:6)\"\". Between the opinions of these men and between the opinions of those men everyone agrees that Nebuchadnezzar was one of them. When the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: \"Ascend and destroy the Temple\", he said \"He does not want that but rather he is trapping me doing to me as he did to my father\". What did he do? He went and stayed in Daphne of Antioch and he sent Nebuzaradan, the leader of the guards to destroy Jerusalem. He was besieging it for three years and every day he attacked Jerusalem and he was not able to capture it and when he was not able to capture it and he was seeking to go away, the Holy One, blessed be He, placed it in his heart to start measuring the wall which was sinking every day by <i>tefachim</i> and he stayed until the whole thing sank and when it all sank the enemies entered Jerusalem. About this time it says: \"<b>The kings of the earth did not believe, nor any of the inhabitants of the world, that foe or adversary could enter The gates of Jerusalem</b>\".",
                "\"<b>It was for the sins of her prophets</b> (Lamentations 4:13)\": Rabbi Yudan asked Rabbi Acha: \"Where did they kill Zechariah in the Court of Israel or the Court of the Women\"? He said to him: \"Not in the Court of Israel or the in the Court of Women but rather in the Court of the Priests, and they did not treat his blood either like the blood of a deer and not like the blood of a goat, so it is written: \"And if any Israelite or any stranger who resides among them hunts down an animal or a bird that may be eaten, he shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth (Leviticus 17:13)\" but in the above case it is thus written: \"For the blood she shed is still in her; She set it upon a bare rock; She did not pour it out on the ground To cover it with earth (Ezekiel 24:7)\". And why did they do that? \"She set her blood upon the bare rock, So that it was not covered, So that it may stir up [My] fury To take vengeance (Ezekiel 24:8)\". Seven transgressions did Israel commit on that day: they killed a priest, and a prophet, and a judge, and they poured out innocent blood, and they profaned the Name, and they defiled the Temple court, and it was a Shabbat and Yom Kipput. And when Nebuzaradan came up he saw the blood of Zechariah was dripping and he said to them: \"What is this?\" They said to him: \"The blood of bulls and sheep\". He brought bulls and sheep and it did not stop. He brought animals of every species and the blood did not stop. He said to them: \"Tell me the truth, if you do not I will tear apart your flesh by raking it with combs of iron\" and they did not speak to him. And he spoke to them again and they said to him: \"What can we say? He was a prophet and a priest for us and he reproached us in the name of Heaven and we did not receive his instruction but we got together and killed him\". He said to them: \"I will make peace for him\". He brought the Great Sanhedrin and killed them but the blood did not rest. He killed the Lesser Sanhedrin and the blood did not rest. He brought the flower of the priesthood and killed them but it did not rest. He killed the children of the Great House and it did not rest. Finally he bowed and said to him: \"Zechariah, the good things of you people I destroyed for your sake; will I destroy all of them to stop your blood?\" The evil Nebuzaradan considered repentance and said: \"All this for one soul of Israel who was killed about whom it was written: \"Whoever sheds the blood of man, By man shall his blood be shed (Genesis 9:6)\". So for many souls how much more!\" Because of this the Holy One, blessed be He, was filled with mercy and made a secret sign to the blood and it was swallowed up in its place. At that time he said: \"<b>It was for the sins of her prophets, The iniquities of her priests, Who had shed in her midst The blood of the just</b>\".",
                "\"<b>They wandered blindly through the streets</b> (Lamentations 4:14)\": The blind among them said: \"Who will reaveal to us the place where they killed Zechariah so we can go there and embrace him and kiss him, to fulfill what is written: \"<b>They wandered blindly through the streets defiled with blood</b>\". The lame among them were saying who will show us the blood of Zechariah so we can go up and wallow in it to fulfill what is said: \"<b> Defiled with blood, so that no one was able to touch their garments</b>\".",
                "\"<b>“Away! Unclean!” people shouted at them</b> (Lamentations 4:15)\": Rabbi Chanina interpreted this verse as referring to the daughters of Zion. See! It is written: \"Hashem said: “Because the daughters of Zion Are so vain And walk with heads thrown back (Isaiah 3:16)\": \"Because the daughters of Zion Are so vain\": they walked about with presumptuousness of spirit. \"And walk with heads thrown back\": As was the case when one of them dressed up in ornaments, she stretched her neck here and there in her pride to show off her jewelry. \"With roving eyes\": Rabbi Asei of Caesarea said: \"They deceptively painted their eyes with red paint\". And Rabbi Shimon son of Lakish said: \"With red collyrium\". \"And with mincing gait\": If one of them was tall she went with two short women on either side, so that she might seem taller because of their height. And if one of them was short, she wore platform shoes so she might appear tall. \"Making a tinkling with their feet\": Rabbi Jose said: \"She was decorated by the form of a dragon on her sandals\". And the Rabbis said\" \"She brought the crop of a rooster and it was filled with balsam oil and she placed in between her heel and her sandal and when she saw a group of guys she smashed it and the scent spread among them and this was like the venom of a snake\". It happened that Jeremiah said to them: \"Make repentance so that the enemies will not come\". And they said to him: \"If the enemies come upon us, what are they able to do to us? See! It is written: \"Let Him speed, let Him hasten His purpose, If we are to give thought; Let the plans of the Holy One of Israel Be quickly fulfilled, If we are to give heed (Isaiah 5:19)\". A duke sees me and takes me and settles me with him on a chariot, she said to Jeremiah: \"Let it be known which will stand, our opinion of his opinion\". When their sins were tallied and their enemies came, they made themselves up and went out to them like harlots, and a duke saw one and took her and an <i>eparch</i> saw another and took her, and <i>strategos</i> saw one and took her and set her with him in his chariot. The Holy One, blessed be He, said: \"Will my opinion not stand yet theirs will?\" What did he do? \"Hashem will bare the pates Of the daughters of Zion, Hashem will uncover their heads (Isaiah 3:17)\": Rabbi Eleazar and Rabbi Jose the son of Rabbi Chanina: Rabbi Eleazar said: \"He struck them with <i>tzara'at</i> and see this is what is said: \"For swellings, for rashes, or for discolorations (Leviticus 14:56)\". Rabbi Jose son of Rabbi Chanina said: \"He brought families on their heads, families of lice!\" And Rabbi Chiyya son of Abba said: \"He made them slaves who bore burdens\". What does \"bore burdens\" mean? Slave women. Rabbi Berechyah and Chalafi son of Zevid in the name of Rabbi Isei: \"What does \"bare\" (<i>sippach</i>) mean here? To seep with discharges (<i>shipp'a</i>), as to guard the holy seed which will not be mingled with the peoples of the land, the Holy One, blessed be He, said: \"I know that idolaters do not stay away from someone with <i>tzara'at</i>. What did he do? \"Hashem will uncover their heads (Isaiah 3:17): The Holy One, blessed be He, allegorically speaks of their internal springs and he caused blood to flow from them which filled with whole chariot, and when he saw that he pierced her with his spear and placed her in front of the chariot and he drove his chariot over her and she was torn apart, this is why Jeremiah says: \"<b>“Away! Unclean!” people shouted at them, “Away! Away! Touch not!”</b>\". \"<b>So they wandered and wandered again</b>\": Rabbi Chanina said: Israel did not go into exile until they blasphemed the Holy One, blessed be He\". And Rabbi Simon said: \"Israel did not go into exile until they made themselves fighters against the Holy One, blessed be He\".",
                "\"<b>Hashem’s countenance has turned away from them</b> (Lamentations 4:16)\": from 100, 100. From 200, 200 (<i>matayim</i>). There they call a town a <i>matan</i>.",
                "\"<b>Even now our eyes pine away</b> (Lamentations 4:17)\": What were the ten tribes doing? They were sending oil to Egypt and bringing grain and they sent that to Babylon so that if enemies came against them they would have an ally. See! It is written: \"Now they make a covenant with Assyria, now oil is carried to Egypt (Hosea 12:2)\". At a later time the enemies came and they sent word to Pharaoh Necho as he was traveling on the Great Sea and the Holy One, blessed be He, made a secret signal to the skeletons and they floated on the face of the water. And they spoke to each other: \"Why are the skeletons floating?\" And he said to them: \"Their fathers stood beneath your fathers and they stood up and drowned them in the sea\"&gt; They said: \"And as they have doen thus to our fathers, are we going to go and be allies to them?\" Because of this they left. See! it is written: \"The army of Pharaoh, which set out to help you, will return to its own land, to Egypt (Jeremiah 37:7)\", and thus it is written: \"<b>As we waited, still we wait for a nation that cannot help</b>\".",
                "\"<b>Our steps were checked, We could not walk in our squares</b> (Lamentations 4:18)\": For 52 years Beitar existed after the destruction of the Temple, and why was it destroyed? Because they kindled lights for the destruction of the Temple. And why did they kindle them? They said: \"The city councilmen who were in Jerusalem were sitting in the center of the town, and thus someone would come from there to pray and they said to him: \"Do you want to serve as a city councilman?\" He said to them: \"No\". \"Do you want to serve as an archon?\" He said to them \"No\". They said to him \"We heard that you had an estate, do you want to sell it?\" He said to them: \"I did not think about that\". And they wrote and sent a document to the overseer of his house that \"So-and-so should not be able to set foot on the estate because he sold it to me\". And that man said: \"If only he had broken his foot and he had not gone there!\" So it is written: \"<b>Our steps were checked</b>\": their steps were prevented from walking in the colonnades. \"<b> Our end is near</b>\": the end of the Temple. \"<b>Our days are </b>\": the day of the Temple. But it was not good for them, as it is written: \"He who rejoices over another’s misfortune will not go unpunished (Proverbs 17:5)\".",
                "\"<b>Our pursuers were swifter Than the eagles in the sky</b> (Lamentations 4:19)\": The Emperor Trajan, may his bones rot!, his wife gave birth on the night of Tisha b'Av and all Israel was in mourning. The child was silenced on Chanukah; Israel said: \"Should we light candles or not light?\" They said: \"We should light and all what will happen will happen because of it\". The candles were lit and they went and spoke about it slanderously to the wife of Trajan: \"Those Jews when you gave birth they mourned and when your child died they lit their lamps!\". She sent and wrote to her husband, why are you attacking the barbarians? Come and attack these Jews who rebelled against you!\" He went and reckoned that the trip would be a five day journey and the wind brought him in five days and he came and they were focused on this verse: \"Hashem will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, which will swoop down like the eagle (Deuteronomy 28:49)\". He said to them: \"I am the eagle who calculated I would come in ten days but the wind brought me in five days\". He besieged them with his legions and killed them. He said to the women: \"Obey my legions and if not I will treat you in the way in which I treated the men\". They said: \"Do to us what you did to the men\", and so he besieged them with his legions and killed them. And their blood was mixed up with the blood of them, and the blood broke forth and went until it reached the river of Cyprus. \"<b>They chased us (<i>delaqunu</i>) in the mountains</b>\": Rabbi Ayyvu said: \"They set fires (<i>dolqin</i>) behind their siege engines\". Rabbi Yaakov of Kfar Chanin said: \"They shot fire arrows at Jerusalem\". And the Rabbis say: \"They were pursuers (<i>dolqeihen</i>) of Israel, and thus it says: \"<b>They chased us in the mountains</b>\".",
                "\"<b>The breath of our life, Hashem's anointed</b> (Lamentations 4:20)\": Rabbi and Rabbi Ishmael son of Rabbi Jose were sitting and studying in the megillah of Lamentations on the evening of Tisha B'Av and it happened to be on Shabbat, and they left out on chapter of the alphabetic acrostics, and they said: \"We will go and finish it tomorrow\". When Rabbi was going up to his house he stubbed his thumb and he said over himself: \"Many are the torments of the wicked (Psalm 32:10)\". Rabbi Ishmael son of Rabbi Jose said to him: \"We were focused on this task and this happened to you, so I should have said this, and now how much more should I: \"<b>The breath of our life, Hashem's anointed</b>\". When Rabbi went up to his house he placed on the wound a dry sponge and bound around it grass from outside. Rabbi Ishmael the son of Rabbi Jose said: \"From him we learned three things: a dry sponge does not heal but rather it guards a wound, grass from the house is usable, and they do not read verses from the Writings unless after Minchah and in the time approaching evening, but they can study them and expound on them, and if they need to examine and to read them, they bring them and read them\". Samuel said: \"A piece of pottery\". Rabbi Zeira in the name of Rabbi Samuel said: \"A clay lid and baked clay, it is permitted to handle on Shabbat, and that thrown in the trash, it is forbidden to handle on Shabbat. \"He who trusts in Hashem he is surrounded by lovingkindness (Psalms 21:10)\": Rabbi Eleazar of Bozrah and Rabbi Tanchum in the name of Rabbi Acha said: \"If even an evil man, the Holy One, blessed be He, turns to him and receives him, as it is said: \"He who trusts in Hashem he is surrounded by lovingkindness.",
                "\"<b>Rejoice and exult, daughter of Edom</b> (Lamentations 4:21)\": This is Caesarea. \"<b>Who dwell in the land of Uz!</b>\": This is Persia. \"<b>To you, too, the cup shall pass, You shall get drunk and expose your nakedness</b>\".",
                "\"<b>Your iniquity, daughter of Zion, is expiated</b> (Lamentation 4:22)\": Rabbi Chelbo in the name of Rabbi Yochanan said: \"Better was the removal of the ring of pharaoh in Egypt than the forty years when Moses prophesied over them because that oppression was redemption but this oppression was not redemption\". Rabbi Shimon son of Lakish said: \"Better was the removal of the ring of Achashverosh over Israel in Medea than the 60,000 prophets who prophesied in the days of Elijah. Why? Because that oppression was redemption but this oppression was not redemption\". The Rabbis say: \"Better was the megillah of Lamentations than the forty years when Jeremiah prophesied over them. Why? Because Israel made full reparations for their sins on the day the Temple was destroyed. See! It is written: \"<b>Your iniquity, daughter of Zion, is expiated</b>\". \"<b>Your iniquity, daughter of Edom, He will note</b>\": This was written to fulfill what was said: \"Hashem will ward off from you all sickness; He will not bring upon you any of the dreadful diseases of Egypt, about which you know, but will inflict them upon all your enemies (Deuteronomy 7:5)\": Rabbi Pinchas in the name of Rabbi Hoshaya said: \"Why were the corrections created? To fall upon the house where they were meant. See! It is written: \"But will inflict them upon all your enemies\". And further it is written: \"The prophecy of Obadiah. We have received tidings from Hashem...“Up! Let us rise up against her for battle.” Thus said my Lord GOD concerning Edom (Obadiah 1:1)\" and then this verse is written: \"<b>Your iniquity, daughter of Zion, is expiated; He will exile you no longer</b>\". End of the fourth alphabetic acrostic."
            ],
            [
                "\"<b>Remember, God, what happened to us...</b>\" (Lamentations 5:1) - Rabbi Yitzchak began: (Proverbs 30:31) \"The greyhound or the male goat...\" The way of the world is that when a person raises two greyhounds in his house, one big and one small, he puts the big one in front, [in case the big one is attacked,] a mercy on his expenses. Rabbi Berachia said: Israel said before the Holy One, blessed be He, \"Master of the World, doesn't it say in your Torah, (Deuteronomy 25:17) 'Remember what Amalek did to you...'? He did it to us, but not to You? Didn't he destroy Your Temple? The Rabbanan said: Israel said before the Holy One, blessed be He, we are Yours and the nations of the world are Yours, why don't You have mercy on Your nation? \"And the king against whom there is no rising up\" (Proverbs 30:31): Rabbi Yitzchak said: Israel said to the Holy One, blessed be He, \"Forgetfulness is among us, but it is not among You, nor before You. Therefore, remember! (Psalms 137:7) \"Remember, God, the people of Edom on the day of Jerusalem; who said, \"Aru, Aru\", even to the foundation thereof.\" Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: [\"Aru, Aru\" means] \"Destroy, Destroy\". And Rabbi Levi said: [\"Aru, Aru\" means] \"Raze, Raze\". the one who says, \"Destroy, Destroy\" uses the verse (Jeremiah 51:58) \"Babylon's thick walls will be \"Ar'er tit'ar'er\" - \"totally demolished\"\". The one who said \"Raze, Raze\" uses the verse (Psalms 137:7) \"even the foundations thereof\", even to it's bottommost foundations. \"Look, see our shame\" (Lamentations 5:1) - Rabbi Yudan said: Looking is up close, seeing is from afar. \"Looking is up close\", as is written, (I Kings 19:6) \"And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake cooked on hot coals...\" \"Seeing is from afar\", as is written, (Genesis 22:4) \"And he saw the place from afar.\" Rabbi Pinchas said: Looking is from afar, as is written, (Psalms 80:14), \"Look from the heavens and see.\" Seeing is up close, as is written, (Genesis 32:26), \"And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh.\"",
                "\"<b>Our inheritance has been turned over to strangers...</b>\"(Lamentations 5:2) - What kind of \"turning over\"? Like the turning over of Sodom. Jeremiah called it: \"Our inheritance.\" Isaiah called it: (Isaiah 64:10)\"Our holy and beautiful house.\" Asaf came and said: It is not \"our inheritance\", nor \"our holy and beautiful house\", but \"the nations invade what is Yours\". That is what is written: (Psalms 79:1) \"[A psalm of Asaf:] O God, the nations have invaded Your inheritance; they have defiled Your holy Temple, they have reduced Jerusalem to rubble.\"",
                "\"<b>We have become orphans, and fatherless...</b>\" (Lamentations 5:3) - Rabbi Berachya said in the name of Rabbi Levi: The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel: You weep and say before me, \"We have become orphans, and fatherless.\" By your lives, so will your redeemer that I will raise among you in Media, he will not have a father nor a mother. That's what is written: (Esther 2:7) \"He brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle's daughter; for she had neither father nor mother.\"",
                "\"<b>We pay to drink our water...</b>\" (Lamentations 5:4) - One time, enemies entered, took the bread, wine, oil, and water, came back and sold it to them. They said, \"Woe is to us, that we have fulfilled this verse: 'We pay to drink our water, our wood comes at a price.'\" (Lamentations 5:4)",
                "\"<b>Our pursuers are at our necks...</b>\" (Lamentations 5:5) - Hadrian, may his bones be crushed, decreed and said: If we come and find a Jew with hair, we will take off his head. That's what is written, \"<b>Our pursuers are at our necks</b>.\" (Lamentations 5:5). Alternatively: \"<b>Our pursuers are at our necks</b>\", for we rebelled against our necks on this day of distress [and had thrown off the yoke of Torah]. \"We have toiled and have received no rest.\" (Lamentations 5:5) - Nebuchadnezzar, may his bones be crushed, commanded Nevuzaradan and said to him: \"The god of these people accept repentant ones, and his hand extends to receive those who return [to him]. Once you have captured them, we must not allow leave for them to pray, so they won't repent for their god to have mercy on them, and they will leave with blackened faces. Don't be easy on them.\" Once he captured them, when one would stand before him, he had him sentenced to be torn limb from limb. He tore him up in front of them. They went unwillingly without [needing] shackles. Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: Nevuzaradan is Arioch. Why was his name Arioch? Because he would roar at the captives like a lion, until they arrived at the Euphrates. When they reached the Euphrates, he said to the soldiers: Let them rest now, for from this point on their god won't return to them. That is what is written, (Psalms 137:1) \"By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat, we also cried.\" Until that point, we did not sit.",
                "\"<b>We have given the hand to the Egyptians, and to the Assyrians, to be satisfied with bread</b>.\" (Lamentations 5:6) - What did the 10 tribes do? They sent oil to Egypt, brought in wheat and sent it to Assyria. For if enemies would come, they could help. That's what is written, (Hosea 12:1) \"They do make a covenant with the Assyrians, and oil is carried into Egypt.\" [Additional version: That's what is written, (Lamentations 4:17) \"Our eyes failed, looking in vain for help...\"",
                "\"<b>Our fathers sinned and are no more... [it is we who have borne their iniquities]</b>\" (Lamentations 5:7) - The Holy One, blessed be He, said to them: Through your [suffering] did they survive. Alternatively: [You] survive on My account.",
                "\"<b>Servants rule over us...</b>\" (Lamentations 5:8) - This refers to Egypt. \"<b>There is none to deliver us out of their hand</b>.\" (Lamentations 5:8) - If it weren't for Moses. Alternatively: \"Servants rule over us...\" - This refers to the non-Jews. \"<b>There is none to deliver us out of their hand</b>\" - If it weren't for the Holy One, blessed be He.",
                "\"<b>We get our bread [in trade] for our spirit, [because of the sword in the wilderness]</b>.\" (Lamentations 5:9) - Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel said: Originally, they were short of spirit, [and] distress from the non-Jews [only] shortened it [even more]. It is written about our ancestors: (Numbers 21:4) \"The people became short of spirit on the way...\" Daniel said: (Daniel 7:15) \"I was short of spirit.\" Isaiah said: (Isaiah 21:3) \"My loins are full of distress...\" Jeremiah said: \"<b>We get bread [in trade] for our spirit</b>.\" We, who find ourselves among the non-Jews, how much more so.",
                "\"<b>Our skin has become contracted (n-ch-m-r-u) like an oven('s heat), [because of the terrible famine]</b>\" (Lamentations 5:10) - 2 amoraim: One said, \"[Their skin was] like those withered fruits [ch-m-r-y-a-t-a].\" And one said, \"Like an oven that has not been kindled as much as it needed to be [and have become blackened].\"",
                "\"<b>They ravished the women of Zion...</b>\" (Lamentations 5:11) - Nevuzaradan [alt. Nevuchadnezzar] commanded his troops, saying to them, \"The god of these people hates promiscuity. Be careful not to touch another man's wife.\" Once the women heard that, they came and said to a man: We will eat our own bread, and wear our own clothes; only let us be called by your name [so that the troops won't touch us]. That's what is written, (Isaiah 4:1) \"And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel; only let us be called by your name, to take away our shame.\" Except 3 were lazy and did not do this, and they were ravished. Therefore it says, (Lamentations 5:11) \"<b>They ravished the women of Zion, virgins [b-t-l-t] in the cities of Judah</b>\", written as \"three\" [b-t-l-t].",
                "\"<b>Princes were hanged up by their hand...</b>\" (Lamentations 5:12) - An appointed officer would enter the city, and would take the best of the city and hang them. The elderly would come and bribe them, but they wouldn't accept it from them. Therefore it says, \"<b>Princes were hanged up by their hand, the faces of elders were not honored</b>.\" (Lamentations 5:12)",
                "\"<b>Young men must carry millstones</b> (Lamentations 5:13)\": It was the case that there were no millstones in Babylon and when Nebuchadnezzar came up he made them bring millstones and go down. See! It is written: \" For your sake I send to Babylon; I will bring down all bars (<i>barichim</i>) (Isaiah 43:14); it is talking about millstones (<i>barechim</i>). Another interpretation: \"<b>Young men must carry millstones</b>\": this is euphemistic. And so it said: \"and he became a mill slave in the prison (Judges 16:21)\". \"<b>And youths stagger under loads of wood</b>\": Rabbi Yehoshua son of Levi said: Three hundred young kids were found hanged on one branch\".",
                "\"<b>The old men are gone from the gate, The young men from their music</b> (Lamentations 5:14)\": Rabbi Abba son of Rabbi Jeremiah said: \"They stopped from their singing\".",
                "\"<b>Gone is the joy of our hearts</b> (Lamentations 5:15)\": Rabbi Chisda said: \"At first when there was fear of the Sanhedrin over Israel they did not speak an offensive thing in song, but when they abolished the Sanhedrin, they said offensive things in song\". Rabbi Jose the son of Rabbi Avin in the name of Rabbi Chisda said: \"At first when trouble came upon Israel they stopped their joy because of that, and when they abolished the Sanhedrin, they abolished singing from the banquet house, as it is said: \"They drink their wine without song (Isaiah 24:9)\". Since this and that have been abolished: \"<b>Gone is the joy of our hearts; our dancing is turned into mourning</b>\".",
                "\"<b>The crown has fallen from our head</b> (Lamentations 5:16)\": Rabbi Jeremiah of Shabshab (Branch) made a crown of olive leaves and bound it on his head and Samuel heard and said: \"Ah! Better for him to have his head cut off and not to this, as it is: \"Here is an evil I have seen under the sun as great as an error committed by a ruler (Ecclesiastes 10:5)\" and thus it was written for him: \"<b>The crown has fallen from our head; Woe to us that we have sinned!</b>\".",
                "\"<b>Because of this our hearts are sick</b> (Lamentations 5:17)\": Rabbi Simlai said: \"The Holy One, blessed be He, gave great distress to this women, and after she watched for the days of her <i>niddah</i> she went and watched for the days of her <i>zivah</i>\". Rabbi Eleazar the son of Rabbi Jose the Galilean says: \"This woman because she leaves her house for two or three days thus the Torah says \"sick\". See! It is written: \"who is in menstrual infirmity (Leviticus 15:33)\". We leave the house of our life and the house of our holiness for how many days, how much more so should we be called \"sick\". Thus it is said: \"<b>Because of this our hearts are sick, because of these our eyes are dimmed</b>\". ",
                "\"<b>Because of Mount Zion, which lies desolate</b> (Lamentations 5:18)\": And it once was that Rabban Gamliel, Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya, Rabbi Yehoshua, and Rabbi Akiva were walking along the road in the Roman Empire, and they heard the sound of the multitudes of Rome from Puteoli at a distance of one hundred and twenty mil. The city was so large that they were able to hear its tumult from a great distance. And the other Sages began weeping and Rabbi Akiva was laughing. They said to him: For what reason are you laughing? Rabbi Akiva said to them: And you, for what reason are you weeping? They said to him: These gentiles, who bow to false gods and burn incense to idols, dwell securely and tranquilly in this colossal city, and for us, the House of the footstool of our God, the Temple, is burnt by fire, and shall we not weep? Rabbi Akiva said to them: That is why I am laughing. If for those who violate His will, the wicked, it is so and they are rewarded for the few good deeds they performed, for those who perform His will, all the more so will they be rewarded. The Gemara relates another incident involving those Sages. On another occasion they were ascending to Jerusalem after the destruction of the Temple. When they arrived at Mount Scopus and saw the site of the Temple, they rent their garments in mourning, in keeping with halakhic practice. When they arrived at the Temple Mount, they saw a fox that emerged from the site of the Holy of Holies. They began weeping, and Rabbi Akiva was laughing. They said to him: For what reason are you laughing? Rabbi Akiva said to them: For what reason are you weeping? They said to him: This is the place concerning which it is written: “And the non-priest who approaches shall die” (Numbers 1:51), and now foxes walk in it; and shall we not weep? Rabbi Akiva said to them: That is why I am laughing, as it is written, when God revealed the future to the prophet Isaiah: “And I will take to Me faithful witnesses to attest: Uriah the priest, and Zechariah the son of Jeberechiah” (Isaiah 8:2). Now what is the connection between Uriah and Zechariah? He clarifies the difficulty: Uriah prophesied during the First Temple period, and Zechariah prophesied during the Second Temple period, as he was among those who returned to Zion from Babylonia. Rather, the verse established that fulfillment of the prophecy of Zechariah is dependent on fulfillment of the prophecy of Uriah. In the prophecy of Uriah it is written: “Therefore, for your sake Zion shall be plowed as a field, and Jerusalem shall become rubble, and the Temple Mount as the high places of a forest” (Micah 3:12), where foxes are found. There is a rabbinic tradition that this was prophesied by Uriah. In the prophecy of Zechariah it is written: “There shall yet be elderly men and elderly women sitting in the streets of Jerusalem” (Zechariah 8:4). Until the prophecy of Uriah with regard to the destruction of the city was fulfilled I was afraid that the prophecy of Zechariah would not be fulfilled, as the two prophecies are linked. Now that the prophecy of Uriah was fulfilled, it is evident that the prophecy of Zechariah remains valid. The Gemara adds: The Sages said to him, employing this formulation: Akiva, you have comforted us; Akiva, you have comforted us.",
                "\"<b>But You, Hashem, are enthroned forever, Your throne endures through the ages</b> (Lamentations 5:19\": And is there a sitting when there is no throne and there is a king without a wife?  ",
                "“<b>Why do You forget us forever, forsake us so long?</b>” (Lamentations 5:20) R’ Yehoshua ben Avin said, ‘Jeremiah made four claims – abandonment, forgetting, rejection and wrath.’ Abandonment and forgetting - “<b>Why do You forget us forever, forsake us so long?</b>” Rejection and wrath – “<b>For if You have utterly rejected us, You have been exceedingly wrathful against us</b>.” (Lamentations 5:22) Rejection had already been reversed in his days, as it says “So said the Lord: If the heavens above will be measured and the foundations of the earth below will be fathomed, I too will reject…” (Jeremiah 31:36) Wrath was already reversed in the days of Isaiah, as it says “For I will not contend forever, neither will I be wrathful to eternity…” (Isaiah 57:16) Abandonment and forgetting have not been reversed, therefore Zion complains and says “But Zion said: ‘The Lord has forsaken me, and the Lord has forgotten me.’” (Isaiah 49:14) Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said ‘Jeremiah made four claims – abandonment, forgetting, rejection and despising.’ Abandonment and forgetting - “<b>Why do You forget us forever, forsake us so long?</b>” Rejection and despising – “Have You indeed rejected Judah? Has Your soul despised Zion? (Jeremiah 14:19) Rejection and despising were already reversed in the days of Moses, as it says “But despite all this, while they are in the land of their enemies, I will not despise them nor will I reject them to annihilate them…” (Leviticus 26:44) Abandonment and forgetting have not been reversed, therefore Zion complains and says “But Zion said: ‘The Lord has forsaken me, and the Lord has forgotten me.’” (Isaiah 49:14)",
                "\"<b>Take us back, O Hashem, to Yourself, And let us come back</b> (Lamentations 5:21)\": The assembly of Israel said before the Holy One, blessed be He: \"Master of the universe, it is up to you, \"<b>take us back</b>\"\". He said to them: \"It is up to you, as it is said: \"Turn back to Me, and I will turn back to you—said Hashem (Malachi 3:7)\". They said before him: \"Master of the universe, it is up to you, as it is said: \"Turn again, O God, our helper, revoke Your displeasure with us (Psalms 85:5)\" and so it is said: \"<b>Take us back, O Hashem, to Yourself, And let us come back</b>\". \"<b>Renew our days as of old!</b>\": Like Adam the first, according to what was written: \"He drove the man out, and stationed east of the garden of Eden (Genesis 3:24)\". Another interpretation: \"<b>Renew our days as of old!</b>\": According to what was written: \"Then the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem shall be pleasing to Hashem as in the days of yore and in the years of old (Malachi 3:4)\". \"Days of yore\": This is Moses, as it is written: \"Then they remembered the ancient days, Him, who pulled His people out (<i>mosheh</i>) (Isaiah 63:11)\". \"Years of old\": like the years of Solomon. Rabbi says: \"\"Days of yore\": like the days of Noah, as it is said: \"For this to Me is like the waters of Noah (Isaiah 54:9)\". \"Years of old\": like the years of Abel, when there was no worship of idols in the world\".",
                "\"<b>For truly, You have rejected us, Bitterly raged against us</b> (Lamentations 5:22)\": Rabbi Shimon son of Lakish said: \"If there is rejection there is no hope, and if there is raging there is hope, as everyone who is angry is able to be calmed in the end\". "
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