Eikhah Rabbah

154 texts in Midrash Rabbah

There was an incident involving Miriam bat Baitus, whom

Eikhah Rabbah 1:47

There was an incident involving Miriam bat Baitus, whom Yehoshua ben Gamla betrothed [to him], and the king appointed him to be the High Priest.173He was appointed to this position...

TorahTempleMiraclesCovenant

There was an incident involving Miriam daughter of Nakdimon

Eikhah Rabbah 1:48

There was an incident involving Miriam daughter of Nakdimon for whom the Sages alloted five hundred gold dinars for a basket of perfume each day. She nonetheless stood and cursed t...

WisdomWomen of the BibleMusic & SongSolomon

There was an incident involving Miriam bat Baitus, the

Eikhah Rabbah 1:49

There was an incident involving Miriam bat Baitus, the baker, who was taken captive and redeemed in Akko. They purchased a mantle for her.180The local Jewish community ransomed her...

ExileDivine justiceWomen of the BibleRedemption

There was an incident involving Miriam daughter of the

Eikhah Rabbah 1:50

There was an incident involving Miriam daughter of the baker, who was taken captive with her seven sons. The emperor took them and placed them behind seven partitions. He brought t...

TorahExilePatriarchsProphecy

There was an incident involving Doeg ben Yosef who died and

Eikhah Rabbah 1:51

There was an incident involving Doeg ben Yosef who died and left a young son to his mother. She would measure him in handbreadths and donate his weight in gold to the Temple182Lite...

TorahExileRedemptionProphecy

“Zion spread her hands, there was no comforter for her; the

Eikhah Rabbah 1:52

“Zion spread her hands, there was no comforter for her; the Lord has commanded for Jacob that her adversaries surround her. Jerusalem has become like a pariah among them” (Lamentat...

CreationRedemptionPatriarchsProphecy

“The Lord is righteous, for I have defied His word

Eikhah Rabbah 1:53

“The Lord is righteous, for I have defied His word. Hear now all you peoples, and see my pain: My young women and young men have gone into captivity” (Lamentations 1:18).“The Lord ...

ExileMosesProphecyDivine justice

“I called to my lovers, they deceived me; my priests and my

Eikhah Rabbah 1:54

“I called to my lovers, they deceived me; my priests and my elders perished in the city while they sought food for themselves to restore their souls” (Lamentations 1:19).“I called ...

TorahExileProphecyWisdom

“See, Lord, for I am in distress, my innards burn, my heart

Eikhah Rabbah 1:55

“See, Lord, for I am in distress, my innards burn, my heart overturned within me, for I have been defiant. Outside the sword bereaves; in the house, it is like death” (Lamentations...

MosesDeathTribulationHumor

“They heard that I sigh; there is no comforter for me; all

Eikhah Rabbah 1:56

“They heard that I sigh; there is no comforter for me; all my enemies heard of my misfortune, were glad because You acted. May You bring the day that You proclaimed, and they will ...

TorahExileRedemptionMoses

“Let all their wickedness come before You, and do to them

Eikhah Rabbah 1:57

“Let all their wickedness come before You, and do to them as You did to me for all my transgressions, for my sighs are many and my heart is suffering” (Lamentations 1:22).“Let all ...

CreationRedemptionMosesProphecy

“How the Lord has clouded the daughter of Zion in His wrath

Eikhah Rabbah 2:1

“How the Lord has clouded the daughter of Zion in His wrath. He cast the splendor of Israel from the heavens to the earth, and did not remember His footstool on the day of His wrat...

TorahExileRedemptionProphecy

“How the Lord has clouded [ya’iv] the daughter of Zion in

Eikhah Rabbah 2:2

“How the Lord has clouded [ya’iv] the daughter of Zion in His wrath.” Rabbi Ḥama bar Rabbi Ḥanina said: How did the Lord condemn in His wrath the daughter of Zion?8Rabbi Ḥama inter...

PatriarchsProphecyDeathHoly Land

“And did not remember His footstool [hadom raglav],” Rabbi

Eikhah Rabbah 2:3

“And did not remember His footstool [hadom raglav],” Rabbi Ḥanina bar Yitzḥak said: The Holy One blessed be He does not remember that blood [hadam] that was between the legs of the...

CreationTorahExilePatriarchs

The Fall of Beitar and the Blood That Flowed

Eikhah Rabbah 2:4

Rabbi Pinhas said in the name of Rabbi Hoshaya: There were four hundred and eighty synagogues in Jerusalem before the destruction. The number came from a single verse — "filled wit...

Temple destructionExileMartyrdomRome

“He destroyed, in His ire, the strongholds of the daughter

Eikhah Rabbah 2:5

“He destroyed, in His ire, the strongholds of the daughter of Judah.” Rabbi Yudan said: Each and every castle that was in Jerusalem was not fit to be conquered in any less than for...

ExileProphecyAngelsRepentance

“He severed in his enflamed wrath all the horn of Israel

Eikhah Rabbah 2:6

“He severed in his enflamed wrath all the horn of Israel; He retracted His right hand from before the enemy. He burned in Jacob like flaming fire, consuming all around” (Lamentatio...

TorahRedemptionPatriarchsMoses

“He burned in Jacob like flaming fire, consuming all around

Eikhah Rabbah 2:7

“He burned in Jacob like flaming fire, consuming all around.” Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: When calamity comes, it is only Jacob who senses it. What is the source? “He burned in J...

PatriarchsCharityHoly Land

“He drew His bow like an enemy; His right hand stood as an

Eikhah Rabbah 2:8

“He drew His bow like an enemy; His right hand stood as an adversary, and he killed all delights of the eye. In the tent of the daughter of Zion, He poured out His fury like fire” ...

MosesProphecyDivine justicePrayer

“The Lord was like an enemy

Eikhah Rabbah 2:9

“The Lord was like an enemy. He demolished Israel, demolished all its palaces, destroyed its strongholds. He multiplied mourning and moaning in the daughter of Judah” (Lamentations...

ExileProphecyDivine justiceShabbat

“He stripped His shrine like a garden; He destroyed His

Eikhah Rabbah 2:10

“He stripped His shrine like a garden; He destroyed His place of assembly. The Lord caused festival and Shabbat (the Sabbath) to be forgotten in Zion and He scorned king and priest...

CreationExileTempleShabbat

“The Lord forsook His altar, cursed His Temple; He gave

Eikhah Rabbah 2:11

“The Lord forsook His altar, cursed His Temple; He gave into the hand of the enemy the walls of its palaces. They raised their voice in the House of the Lord, like a day of festiva...

ExileProphecyWisdomTemple

“The Lord resolved to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion

Eikhah Rabbah 2:12

“The Lord resolved to destroy the wall of the daughter of Zion. He drew a line, did not withdraw His hand from demolishing. He caused the rampart and wall to mourn, together they l...

ExileProphecyHoly Land

“Its gates sank into the ground; He eradicated and broke its bars

Eikhah Rabbah 2:13

“Its gates sank into the ground; He eradicated and broke its bars. Its king and its princes are among the nations; there is no Torah; its prophets, too, could not find a vision fro...

TorahProphecyWisdomTemple

“The elders of the daughter of Zion sit on the ground, are silent

Eikhah Rabbah 2:14

“The elders of the daughter of Zion sit on the ground, are silent. They have placed dust on their heads, have girded themselves with sackcloth. The virgins of Jerusalem have lowere...

TorahExilePatriarchsProphecy

“My eyes fail from tears; my innards burn; my liver is

Eikhah Rabbah 2:15

“My eyes fail from tears; my innards burn; my liver is poured on the earth over the disaster of the daughter of my people, as the infants and the sucklings faint in the city square...

ExileRedemptionProphecyTemple

“To their mothers they say — Where is grain and wine

Eikhah Rabbah 2:16

“To their mothers they say: Where is grain and wine? While fainting like corpses in the city squares, while their souls are poured into their mothers' bosoms” (Lamentations 2:12).“...

DeathWomen of the BibleRainNoah & Flood

“What shall I attest to you, to what shall I liken you

Eikhah Rabbah 2:17

“What shall I attest to you, to what shall I liken you, daughter of Jerusalem? To what shall I equate you, and comfort you, virgin daughter of Zion? For your breach is as vast as t...

TorahMosesProphecyAngels

“Your prophets envisioned futility and impropriety for you

Eikhah Rabbah 2:18

“Your prophets envisioned futility and impropriety for you and did not reveal your iniquity to bring about your rehabilitation. They envisioned for you prophecies of futility and d...

ExileProphecyHoly Land

“All wayfarers clapped their hands over you; they whistled

Eikhah Rabbah 2:19

“All wayfarers clapped their hands over you; they whistled and shook their heads at the daughter of Jerusalem: Is this the city that was said to be perfect beauty, the joy of the e...

ProphecyHoly LandJerusalemJoy

“All your enemies opened their mouths wide against you

Eikhah Rabbah 2:20

“All your enemies opened their mouths wide against you; they whistled and gnashed teeth, they said: We have demolished! Indeed, this is the day for which we hoped; we found, we saw...

WisdomHumorTragedy

“The Lord accomplished what He devised — He implemented His

Eikhah Rabbah 2:21

“The Lord accomplished what He devised: He implemented His statement that He commanded from the days of old; He destroyed and had no compassion. He caused the enemy to rejoice over...

CovenantHoly LandJoyTragedy

“Arise, cry out at night, at the beginning of the watches

Eikhah Rabbah 2:22

“Arise, cry out at night, at the beginning of the watches, pour out your heart like water before the face of the Lord. Lift up your hands to Him for the life of your infants, who a...

CreationTorahCharityHoly Land

“See, Lord, and look to whom You have done this

Eikhah Rabbah 2:23

“See, Lord, and look to whom You have done this. Shall women eat their fruit, the infants of their nurturing? Shall the priest and the prophet be slain in the Temple of the Lord?” ...

ProphecyTempleDeathHoly Land

“Lad and elder lay on the ground in the streets, my young

Eikhah Rabbah 2:24

“Lad and elder lay on the ground in the streets, my young women and my young men fell by the sword. You killed on the day of Your wrath, You slaughtered, had no compassion” (Lament...

ProphecyHumorTragedyViolence

“You have called, as on the appointed day, my fears from

Eikhah Rabbah 2:25

“You have called, as on the appointed day, my fears from all around, and there was no refugee or remnant on the day of the Lord’s wrath. Those whom I nurtured and reared, my enemy ...

DeathHumorNationsSin

“I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of His

Eikhah Rabbah 3:1

“I am the man who has seen affliction by the rod of His fury” (Lamentations 3:1).“I am the man” – Rabbi Ḥama bar Ḥanina began: “Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Barukh s...

TorahMosesProphecyDivine justice

“He wore away my flesh and my skin, broke my bones”

Eikhah Rabbah 3:2

“He wore away my flesh and my skin, broke my bones” (Lamentations 3:4).“He wore away my flesh” – this is the community. “And my skin” – this is the Sanhedrin (the supreme rabbinic ...

ExilePatriarchsMosesDeath

“He fenced me in that I will not emerge; He made my fetters

Eikhah Rabbah 3:3

“He fenced me in that I will not emerge; He made my fetters heavy” (Lamentations 3:7).“He fenced me in that I will not emerge” – Rabbi Aivu said: This is the enclosure of the Arabs...

TorahProphecyDivine justicePrayer

“He is like a bear in ambush to me, a lion in hiding”

Eikhah Rabbah 3:4

“He is like a bear in ambush to me, a lion in hiding” (Lamentations 3:10).“He is like a bear in ambush to me” – this is Nebuchadnezzar. “A lion in hiding” – this is Nevuzaradan. Al...

ExileTragedyProtectionTribes

“He brought the contents of His quiver into my kidneys”

Eikhah Rabbah 3:5

“He brought the contents of His quiver into my kidneys” (Lamentations 3:13).“He brought the contents of His quiver [benei ashpato] into my kidneys” – Rav and Shmuel: Rav said: His ...

ShabbatCharityHoly Land

“He has broken my teeth with gravel, covered me in ashes”

Eikhah Rabbah 3:6

“He has broken my teeth with gravel, covered me in ashes” (Lamentations 3:16).“He has broken my teeth with gravel” – there was an incident involving the son of Rabbi Ḥananya ben Te...

RedemptionProphecyDivine justiceWisdom

“Remember my affliction and my anguish, wormwood and gall”

Eikhah Rabbah 3:7

“Remember my affliction and my anguish, wormwood and gall” (Lamentations 3:19).“Remember my affliction and my anguish [umrudi]” – the congregation of Israel says before the Holy On...

TorahRedemptionProphecyWisdom

“It is the Lord’s kindnesses that have not ceased, for His

Eikhah Rabbah 3:8

“It is the Lord’s kindnesses that have not ceased, for His mercies have not ended” (Lamentations 3:22).“It is the Lord’s kindnesses that have not ceased” – Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish ...

AngelsDivine justiceWisdomHoly Land

“The Lord is good to those who trust in Him, to the soul

Eikhah Rabbah 3:9

“The Lord is good to those who trust in Him, to the soul that seeks Him” (Lamentations 3:25).“The Lord is good to those who trust in Him” – is it, perhaps, to everyone?55One might ...

TorahRedemptionDivine justiceCharity

“Let him sit alone and be silent, because He has laid it

Eikhah Rabbah 3:10

“Let him sit alone and be silent, because He has laid it upon him” (Lamentations 3:28).“Let him sit alone and be silent” – Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman said: The Holy One blessed be He ...

ProphecyAngelsDivine justiceKings

“For the Lord will not forsake forever

Eikhah Rabbah 3:11

“For the Lord will not forsake forever. For, if He torments, He will have compassion according to His abundant grace. For He does not afflict willingly and torment the children of ...

TorahExileMosesDivine justice

“To subdue under his feet all the prisoners of the earth”

Eikhah Rabbah 3:12

“To subdue under his feet all the prisoners of the earth” (Lamentations 3:34).“To subdue under his feet…” – this is Nebuchadnezzar, in whose regard it is written: “[And everywhere]...

ExileDanielTribesTragedy