God's Tears

And concerning earthquakes. What are these "earthquakes"? Rav Katina said: A rumbling tremor. Rav Katina was once walking on the road. When he reached the entrance of the house of a certain necromancer, a rumbling tremor groaned forth. He said: Does this necromancer know what this rumbling is? The necromancer raised his voice and called out: Katina, Katina, why should I not know? At the hour when the Holy One, blessed be He, remembers His children who dwell in suffering among the nations of the world, He lets fall two tears into the Great Sea, and His voice is heard from one end of the world to the other, and that is the rumbling. But Rav Katina himself said: He claps His hands together, as it is said, "I also will smite My hands together, and I will cause My fury to rest" (Ezekiel 21:22). Rabbi Natan says: He sighs a sigh, as it is said, "and I will cause My fury to rest upon them, and I will be comforted" (Ezekiel 5:13). And the Rabbis say: He stamps upon the firmament, as it is said, "He gives a shout, as those who tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth" (Jeremiah 25:30). Rav Acha bar Yaakov said: He presses His feet beneath the Throne of Glory, as it is said, "Thus says the LORD: The heavens are My throne and the earth is My footstool" (Isaiah 66:1).