155 passages in Rabbinic Midrash
Individual passages from Eikhah Rabbah, shown in source order. Page 4 of 4.
“The young men carried the mill, and the lads stumbled on the wood” (Lamentations 5:13).“The young men carried the mill.” You find that there was no mill in Babylon. When Nebuchadn...
This comment from Eikhah Rabbah, the midrash on Lamentations, unpacks a verse from the closing chapter of the book, The elders have ceased from the gate, the young men from their m...
“The gladness of our heart has ceased; our dance has been transformed into mourning” (Lamentations 5:15).“The gladness of our heart has ceased.” Rav Ḥisda said: Initially, when fea...
The verse laments, "The crown of our head has fallen; woe to us, for we have sinned" (Lamentations 5:16), and Eikhah Rabbah attaches to it a grim story that reads the fallen crown ...
“For this our heart suffers; for these our eyes are dim” (Lamentations 5:17).“For this our heart suffers.” Rabbi Simlai said: The Holy One blessed be He gave great suffering to thi...
“For Mount Zion, which is desolate; foxes walk on it” (Lamentations 5:18).“For Mount Zion, which is desolate.” It happened that Rabban Gamliel, Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya, Rabbi Yehos...
The book of Lamentations closes with a verse that the rabbis of Eikhah Rabbah read as the hinge of the whole lament: "You, Lord, are enthroned forever; Your throne is from generati...
“Why do You forget us forever, forsake us for so long?” (Lamentations 5:20).“Why do You forget us forever?” Rabbi Yehoshua bar Avin said: Jeremiah employed four expressions: Spurni...
“Return us to You, Lord, and we will return; renew our days as of old” (Lamentations 5:21).“Return us to You, Lord, and we will return.” The congregation of Israel said before the ...
The Book of Lamentations closes on a wound that refuses to scab over. Its final verse cries out, "For You have despised us, You have been exceedingly angry with us" (Lamentations 5...
Jewish tradition, particularly in esoteric texts, grapples with this very question. Imagine a cosmic courtroom, a beth din, in the time to come. God, seated on His Throne of Justic...
