Our story today comes from Midrash Tehillim, a collection of interpretations on the Book of Psalms. It's a look at Psalm 137, which starts with the heartbreaking words: "By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and wept as we remembered Zion." It’s not just a lament, though; it's a window into the soul of a people grappling with loss, trauma, and the yearning for redemption.
Rav Yehuda, quoting Rav, tells us that God actually showed David the destructions of both the First and Second Temples. Imagine seeing that future devastation laid out before you. Heavy stuff. The Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary) paints a vivid picture of the exiles' journey. When Jeremiah reached the Euphrates, he refused to go with Nebuzaradan to Babylon because he knew the remaining exiles needed him. The exiles, seeing him leave, were heartbroken. Jeremiah swears to them that they cried all the way to Zion. He points out that they were so broken-hearted, they didn't even have a place to sit until they reached the Euphrates. They were forced to keep moving against their will. "We were pursued on our necks," they lamented.
Why did the Israelites cry so much by those rivers? Rabbi Yochanan offers a powerful reason: For them, the loss of even one fish from the Euphrates in Israel was more painful than all the evil Nebuchadnezzar had inflicted. When they were in their own land, they drank only rainwater, natural springs, and well water. In Babylon, they were forced to drink from the waters of the Euphrates, and they died. The exiles wept for those killed by their enemies, those who died on the journey, and those killed by the Euphrates.
The Midrash doesn't shy away from the humiliation. Nebuchadnezzar forced the kings of Judah to walk naked along the riverbanks in chains. When he noticed they were walking upright, he ordered books filled with sand placed on their shoulders until they bent over. "We are pursued on our necks," they cried. Rabbi Acha bar Abba says that at that moment, God almost returned the world to chaos but stayed his hand, saying, "Everything I have created, I have created for these people."
There's a poignant comparison drawn to a king's daughter who refuses a cup from her husband and is banished, only to later regret her pride when married to a leper. The exiled Israelites, in a similar vein, initially refused to sing for their captors, recognizing the sacrilege of performing sacred songs before idols. As Rabbi Yitzhak Bar Tabla puts it, they ultimately chose to bite their fingers rather than desecrate their heritage.
This refusal to compromise their faith came at a cost. Nebuchadnezzar, enraged, hung the corpses of those who refused to play. But despite the horror, they rejoiced that they did not sing before an idol. The Midrash tells us that God swore to Israel, "You have ruled yourselves and cut off your right fingers. Even I… have turned back my right hand because of the enemy, and I will not return it except to remind you."
So, what do we take away from all this? It’s more than just a historical account. It's a profound meditation on loss, resilience, and the enduring power of memory. The Midrash grapples with questions of excessive mourning, reminding us, as Rabbi Joshua says, that "a decree is not issued unless the majority of the congregation can uphold it."
Even in our own lives, how do we balance remembering the past with living in the present? How do we mourn without letting grief consume us? The Sages suggest practical measures: keeping a small reminder of Jerusalem in our homes, like ash on the head of the groom at a wedding, placed where tefillin (leather phylacteries worn during prayer) are worn, as a constant symbol of remembrance. It is taught in the Talmud, Sotah 49b, that a person should forsake everything he has in his house and leave only a small reminder of Jerusalem.
Ultimately, the Midrash Tehillim on Psalm 137 is a reminder that even in the darkest of times, hope and memory can sustain us. It's a call to remember, to mourn, but also to rebuild and to never forget the preciousness of what we hold dear. "If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill."
On the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and wept, as we remembered Zion. Rav Yehuda said in the name of Rav: This teaches us that the Holy One, blessed be He, showed David the destruction of the First Temple and the destruction of the Second Temple. The First Temple was on the rivers of Babylon, while for the Second Temple, the verse states, "Remember, O Lord, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell." (Lamentations 4:22) When Jeremiah reached the Euphrates River, Nebuzaradan said to him, "If it is good in your eyes to come with me to Babylon." Jeremiah thought to himself, "If I go with them to Babylon, there will be no comfort for the remaining exiles." The exiles covered their eyes and saw Jeremiah leaving them. They all cried and said, "Our teacher Jeremiah is leaving us here, as it is stated, 'On the rivers of Babylon, there we sat and wept.'" Jeremiah replied, "I swear by Heaven and Earth, you cried one cry until you reached Zion. 'There we sat and wept' teaches us that they had no place to sit from the time they left Jerusalem until they reached the Euphrates." They said to him, "May the Merciful One have mercy on them." And once they had shown Him their faces, He had mercy on them, lest they repent and all unite and call upon their God and be helped, and we would not have been exalted. Therefore, they were forced and hurried along against their will, as it is stated, "We were pursued on our necks." (Lamentations 5:5) Our pursuers were light, even as they chased us. (Lamentations 4:19) They also oppressed us. Why did the Israelites cry over the rivers of Babylon? Rabbi Yochanan said that the killing of one Euphrates fish in Israel was more grievous than all the evil that Nebuchadnezzar wrought. When Israelites were in their own land, they drank only from rainwater, natural springs, and well water. But when they were exiled to Babylon, they drank from the waters of the Euphrates and died. Therefore, they wept over those who were killed by their enemies, those who died on the journey, and those killed by the Euphrates. Furthermore, Nebuchadnezzar and all his nobles and officials were on a ship, along with all kinds of musicians, as it says: "The Chaldeans are coming with their ships, and their men of war come against her" (Isaiah 43:14). All the kings of Judah were thrown into iron chains and made to walk naked on the banks of the river. Nebuchadnezzar, the wicked one, raised his eyes and saw them, and said to his servants, "Why are these people walking upright without any burden on their shoulders?" At that moment, they brought books and made them into pillows, filled them with sand, and placed them on their shoulders until they bent over. They said to themselves, "We are pursued on our necks," as it says: "We have pursued on our necks" (Lamentations 5:5). At that time, all Israel wept until their cry reached the heavens. Rabbi Acha bar Abba said that at that moment, God wanted to return the world to chaos and void, but he said: "Everything I have created, I have created for these people," as it says: "I will also beat My fists together, and I will cause My wrath to rest; I the Lord have spoken." (Ezekiel 21:22) The verse (2 Samuel 2:26) says: "Therefore I said, 'Turn away from me; let me weep bitterly. Do not try to comfort me for the destruction of my people.'" David said to his attendants that their words of comfort are like insults to him, and he would rather be left alone to mourn. But the angels descended and lifted the burden of mourning from him. They did not only include the ministering angels but also God himself, as it says: "For your sake, I sent Babylon to bring you down...". When the exiles returned to Jerusalem, they were met by the people of Be'eri and other neighboring cities who saw them naked. The sons of Barai stripped their slaves and maidservants and offered them as a gift before Nebuchadnezzar, saying, "Perhaps you are a king who loves the naked." He told them to go and clothe the Israelites. As a reward for their kindness, God bestowed upon the sons of Barai kindness from all the land of Israel, and they became more beautiful. They said that anyone who enters there does not seek to leave without sinning. They also cried and mourned with them, and God cried with them too. "On its ruins we hung our harps," for there we asked of our captors words of song. Nebuchadnezzar said to them, "Why are you sitting and crying?" They prepared themselves until we eat and drink. "I ask that you stand and play before me and before this foreign worship with your harps, as you would play before your God." They looked at each other and said, "It is not enough that we destroyed His Temple, but now we are about to play before this idol and this foreign worship." Rabbi Yitzhak Bar Tabla says: "To what is this matter similar? It is similar to a human king who married a daughter of another king. He said to her, 'Stand before me and let me give you a cup to drink.' She refused to drink the cup, and he became angry with her and banished her from his house. She went and married a leper. The king said to her, 'Stand before me and let me give you a cup to drink.' She replied, 'I was a princess and married to a king, and when he told me to drink a cup, I refused, and he banished me from his house. If you had given me a cup to drink, I would have added to my honor. Now you tell me to stand before you and drink a cup.' All the people stood up and took matters into their own hands, grabbing the upper parts of their garments and biting them. They sang for us the Song of Zion. We will not sing, but we will say how we will sing. They pointed their fingers and said, 'We used to clap our hands and cut off our fingers.' This is what is meant by the verse in Ezra 8:15, 'I assembled them by the river that flows towards Ahava.' I did not find any Levites there. They were there, but they could not play the harps. How did the Levites who were exiled among them return? As it is stated in Ezra 3:12, 'But many of the priests and Levites and heads of the fathers' houses, old men who had seen the first house, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes.' When Nebuchadnezzar knew this, he went and hung the corpses of those who had been killed. Nevertheless, they rejoiced that they did not sing before an idol, as it says, 'We hung up our harps.'" At that hour, God swore to Israel, "You have ruled yourselves and cut off your right fingers. Even I, as it is written in Lamentations 2:3, have turned back my right hand because of the enemy, and I will not return it except to remind you, as it is said, 'If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill.' It is taught in the Talmud, Sotah 49b, that a person should forsake everything he has in his house and leave only a small reminder of Jerusalem, and a woman should make jewelry as a reminder of Jerusalem, as it is said, 'If I forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill.' When the Temple was destroyed, many Pharisees in Israel stopped eating meat and drinking wine. Rabbi Joshua inquired of them, "Why do you not eat meat or drink wine?" They replied, "We used to eat meat every day, as there was always a daily offering on the altar, and we used to drink wine every day, as it was poured on the altar. But now it is abolished." Rabbi Joshua responded, "Even figs and grapes are not eaten solely for their own sake, but because they bring the first fruits, bread is not eaten solely for its own sake, but because it brings the two loaves on Shavuot and the showbread every Sabbath. Water is not drunk solely for its own sake, but because it is poured out on the holiday. Be silent." He told them not to mourn excessively, for it is impossible to mourn excessively. Rabbi Joshua said, "A decree is not issued unless the majority of the congregation can uphold it." What is the verse that supports this? Rav Adda bar Ahavah said, "You are arrogant, you have said, 'It is useless to serve God. What have we gained by keeping his requirements and walking mournfully before the Lord Almighty?'" (Malachi 3:14) There is no nation without its share of troubles, but the sages said, "A person should arrange their house with a set budget, and should keep only a small amount of unnecessary items." This is stated in the Talmud (Bava Batra 65b). With this method, a person can make all the necessary preparations for a meal while keeping only a few unnecessary things. What is the reason for this? Rav Papa said, "It is like the chair of the blacksmith. Just as a blacksmith creates everything he needs on his chair and keeps only a few things, so should a person arrange their home." Rav Batzada said, "This is similar to the verse 'If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill' (Psalms 137:5). What does this mean? It refers to the ash on the head of the groom. Rav Papa asked Abaye, "Where should we place it?" Abaye responded, "In the place of tefillin, as it says, 'For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until her righteousness shines like a bright light, and her salvation, like a blazing torch' (Isaiah 62:1)." Rabbi Dosa said, "If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill, so that I cannot perform miracles." Rabbi Zeira said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish, "When the sins of the people caused the nations to enter Jerusalem, they took the mighty men of Israel and forced them to turn their hands behind their backs. God said, 'I am with them in their distress' (Psalms 91:15). The sons of Nathan were in distress, and I see it as if their right hand has been pushed back because of the enemy.' In the end, they were revealed to Daniel (Daniel 12:13), and he said, 'Go your way.'" He said to him, "There is no judgment and no accounting." He said to him, "Rest." He said to him, "It is forever stagnant." He said to him, "At the end of days or at the end of the right." He said to him, "At the end of the right, which is subservient." He said to him, "I have given the right to the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. As long as my children are subservient, let the right be subservient with them. I have redeemed my children with the right, my right." As David said, "That Your beloved ones may be delivered, help with Your right hand, and answer us." The Lord of the universe did this for them on behalf of Your beloved ones, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and as long as they have no merit, He did it for them on behalf of Your right hand and answer us. The Holy One, blessed be He, said, "I will do it," as it says, "Reveal Your arm, the Holy One." And it is written, "Save with Your right hand, and answer me." "Remember, O Lord, against the children of Edom the day of Jerusalem." Israel said before the Holy One, blessed be He, "Master of the Universe, You tell us to remember, but forgetfulness is present within us. You remember, for there is no forgetfulness before Your throne of glory." Those who said, "Arise, Arise, until the foundation is destroyed in it." Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said, "They are ruined, they are ruined," as it says, "The wall of Babylon will fall." Rabbi Levi said, "Punishment, punishment," as it says, "And she emptied her vessel into the trough." "Remember, O Lord, against the children of Edom the day of Jerusalem." When its foundations will be uprooted from it, those who said, "Arise, Arise, until the foundation is destroyed in it," will be asked. They asked Rabbi Eliezer: Are the later generations superior to the earlier ones? He said to them, "You are compared to the chosen house that proves its ancestors. They removed the plaster, as it says, 'And he revealed the covering of Judah.' But we have chipped away at the walls, as it says, 'Those who said, "Arise, Arise, until the foundation is destroyed in it."' To teach you that any generation that does not build the Temple in its time, it is considered as if they destroyed it. What is the reason? Because they did not repent (`aseh teshuvah)."
