Midrasch zu Ejchah 3:40

R. Simon b. Lakish said: "Whoever studies the Torah will prevent affliction from coming upon him, for it is said (Job 5, 7.), And the sons of fire take up their flight. By Uf (flight) is meant nothing else but the Torah, as it is said (Pr. 23, 5.) When thou letteth merely thine eye fly over it (i.e., if you study the Torah by merely glancing over it with your eyes), it is no more, (you will easily forget it). And Reshef (fire) means nothing else but affliction, as it is said (Deu. 32, 24.) Devoured with evil spirits." "Aye." exclaimed R. Jochanan, "even the school children know this! for it is said, (Ex. 15. 2.5.) And he said, if thou wilt deligently hearken unto the voice of the Lord and wilt do what is riqht in His eyes, etc. But it means thus: Upon him who is capable of studying the Torah, but does not do so the Holy One, praised be He! will bring repulsive suffering which will greatly disturb him; for it is said (Ps. 39, 3.) I was dumb in deep silence, I was quite still even from speaking good, but my pain greatly disturbed me. By tob (good) is meant nothing else but the Torah, for it is said (Pr. 4, 2.) For good doctrine do I give, etc." R. Zeira, and some say, R. Chanina b. Papa, said: "Come and see that the custom of the Holy One. praised be He! is not like the custom of mortal men. The custom of mortal men is that if a man sell a valuable thing to his fellow-man, the seller is sorry and only the buyer is happy; but the custom of the Holy One, praised be He! is not so. He bestowed the Torah on Israel and He rejoiced, for it is said (Ib. 4, 2.) For good doctrine do I give thee." Raba, and according to others R. Chisda, said: "If a man see that troubles are coming unto him, let him search his deeds, for it is said, (Lam. 3, 40) Let us search through and examine our ways and let us return unto the Lord. If he has investigated and found nothing wrong, then let him attribute it to a neglect of the study of the Torah. for it is said (Ps. 94, 12.) Happy is the man whom Thou admonisheth, O Lord, and teacheth out of Thy Torah. But if he investigated and did not find [neglect of the study of the Torah] then it is known that his affliction is the cause of God's love, for it is said (Pr. 3, 12.) Because whomsoever the Lord loveth He admonisheth." Raba, in the name of R. Sechorah, who quoted R. Huna, said: "Whomsover the Holy One, praised be He! loveth. He afflicteth, for it is said (Is. 53, 10.) But the Lord was pleased to crush him through disease. We might think that, even if he does not accept the affliction with resignation. It is therefore said (Ib.) When his soul hath brought the trespass-offering, i. e., just as a guilt offering must come with his acknowledgement, so also must this be accepted with resignation. And if he accept it with love what will be his reward? Then shall he see (his) seed live many days, (Ib.) and moreover his learning shall endure with him, as is said (Ib.) And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand." As to affliction, there is a difference of opinion between R. Jacob b. Ide and R. Acha b. Chanina. One holds that all such affliction which does not prevent one from studying the Torah is one of love, for it is said (Ps. 94, 12.) Happy is the man whom Thou admonisheth, O Lord, and teacheth from Thy Torah; and the other holds that such affliction which does not prevent one from praying is one which comes from love, for it is said (Ps. 66, 20.) Blessed he God who hath not removed my prayer nor His kindness from me. R. Abba, the son of R. Chiya b. Abba, said: "Thus said my father (R. Chiya) in the name of R. Jochanan; 'Both of these afflictions are the kind which come from love, for it is written (Pr. 3, 12.) Because whomsoever the Lord loveth He admonisheth; But what do we learn [from the passage] Thou teacheth him of the Torah. Do not read Tlamdenu (that he should be able to study the Torah); but read it Tlamdainu (Out of Thy Torah, Thou teacheth us) i. e., we learn from thine Torah [that one who is punished by God should be happy] namely, through the rule of a fortiori concerning the tooth and the eye; that if the loss of a tooth or an eye [stricken out by the master] which affects only one member of the human body, frees the slave, how much more then are afflictions, which affect the whole human body, capable of cleaning one of evil.'" And that is meant by R. Simon b. Lakish, for he said: "It is said Convenant (Brith) in connection with the word salt, and it is said Convenant (Brith) in connection with the word affliction. Covenant by salt — as it is written (Lev. 2, 13.) Thou shalt not suffer the salt of the covenant (Brith)! Covenant by affliction — as it is written (Deu. 28, 49.) These are the words of the covenant. (Brith) Just as the covenant of the salt was made to sweeten meat, so the covenant of affliction was made to cleanse man of all iniquities."

Furthermore, said R. Levi b. Chama, in the name of Resh Lakish : "What is meant by the passage (Ex. 24:12) And I will give thee the tablets of stone, with the law and the Commandments, which I have written to teach them? i.e, the tablets of stone, refers to the ten commandments; the Torah, refers to the Bible; the commandments, refers to the Mishnah; which I hare written, refers to the Prophets and Hagiographa ; to teach them, refers to the Gemara ; whence we infer that — all were given unto Moses on Mt. Sinai."...R. Simon b. Lakish said : "Whoever studies the Torah will prevent affliction from coming upon him, for it is said (Job 5:7), And the sons of fire take up their flight. By Uf (flight) is meant nothing else but the Torah, as it is said (Pr. 23, 5.) When thou letteth merely thine eye fly over it (i.e., if you study the Torah by merely glancing over it with your eyes), it is no more, (you will easily forget it). And Reshef (fire) means nothing else but affliction, as it is said (Deu. 32:24) Devoured with evil spirits." "Aye." exclaimed R. Jochanan, "even the school children know this! for it is said, (Ex. 15:2:5.) And he said, if thou wilt diligently hearken unto the voice of the Lord and wilt do what is right in His eyes, etc. But it means thus: Upon him who is capable of studying the Torah but does not do so, the Holy One, praised be He, will bring repulsive suffering, which will greatly disturb him; for it is said (Ps. 39, 3): I was dumb in deep silence, I was quite still even from speaking good, but my pain greatly disturbed me. By tov (good) is meant nothing else but the Torah, for it is said (Pr. 4, 2): "For good doctrine do I give, etc." R. Zeira, and some say, R. Chanina b. Papa said: "Come and see that the custom of the Holy One. praised be He, is not like the custom of mortal men. The custom of mortal men is that if a man sell a valuable thing to his fellow man, the seller is sorry and only the buyer is happy; but the custom of the Holy One, praised be He, is not so. He bestowed the Torah on Israel and He rejoiced, for it is said (ibid. 4, 2): For good doctrine do I give thee." Raba, and according to others R. Chisda said: "If a man see that troubles are coming unto him, let him search his deeds, for it is said (Lam. 3, 40): Let us search through and examine our ways and let us return unto the Lord. If he has investigated and found nothing wrong, then let him attribute it to a neglect of the study of the Torah. For it is said (Ps. 94, 12): Happy is the man whom Thou admonisheth, O Lord, and teacheth out of Thy Torah. But if he investigated and did not find [neglect of the study of the Torah], then it is known that his affliction is the cause of God's love, for it is said (Pr. 3, 12): Because whomsoever the Lord loveth He admonisheth." Raba, in the name of R. Sechorah, who quoted R. Huna, said: "Whomsoever the Holy One, praised be He, loveth. He afflicteth, for it is said (Is. 53, 10): But the Lord was pleased to crush him through disease. We might think that even if he does not accept the affliction with resignation. It is therefore said (ib.): When his soul hath brought the trespass offering, i.e., just as a guilt offering must come with his acknowledgment, so also must this be accepted with resignation. And if he accept it with love, what will be his reward? Then shall he see (his) seed live many days (ib.), and moreover his learning shall endure with him, as is said (ib.): And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand." As to affliction, there is a difference of opinion between R. Jacob b. Ide and R. Acha b. Chanina. One holds that all such affliction which does not prevent one from studying the Torah is one of love, for it is said (Ps. 94, 12): Happy is the man whom Thou admonisheth, O Lord, and teacheth from Thy Torah; and the other holds that such affliction which does not prevent one from praying is one which comes from love, for it is said (Ps. 66, 20): Blessed be God, who hath not removed my prayer nor His kindness from me. R. Abba, the son of R. Chiya b. Abba, said: "Thus said my father [R. Chiya] in the name of R. Jochanan: 'Both of these afflictions are the kind which come from love, for it is written (Pr. 3, 12): Because whomsoever the Lord loveth He admonisheth. But what do we learn [from the passage] Thou teacheth him of the Torah. Do not read tlamdenu (that he should be able to study the Torah); but read it tlamdainu (out of Thy Torah, Thou teacheth us), i.e., we learn from Thine Torah [that one who is punished by God should be happy], namely, through the rule of a fortiori concerning the tooth and the eye: that if the loss of a tooth or an eye [stricken out by the master], which affects only one member of the human body, frees the slave, how much more then are afflictions, which affect the whole human body, capable of cleansing one of evil.'" And that is meant by R. Simon b. Lakish, for he said: "It is said Covenant (Brith) in connection with the word salt, and it is said Covenant (Brith) in connection with the word affliction. Covenant by salt — as it is written (Lev. 2, 13): Thou shalt not suffer the salt of the covenant (Brith)! Covenant by affliction — as it is written (Deut. 28, 49): These are the words of the covenant (Brith). Just as the covenant of the salt was made to sweeten meat, so the covenant of affliction was made to cleanse man of all iniquities."

“Let us search and examine our ways, and return to the Lord. Let us lift up our heart with our hands to God in the heavens” (Lamentations 3:40–41).
“Let us search and examine our ways, and return to the Lord. Let us lift up our heart with our hands to God in the heavens” – Rabbi Beiva bar Zavdai, Rabbi Tanḥum bar Ḥanilai, and Rabbi Yoshiya went out for a fast.⁶⁵On fast days, the congregation would take the ark out to the city square and pray there. See Mishna Taanit 2:1. Rabbi Beiva bar Zavdai expounded and said: Is it possible that a person’s heart is taken from him and returns to him?⁶⁶What, then, is the meaning of the verse “Let us lift up our heart with our hands”? Rather, we should focus our hearts on our hands,⁶⁷We must ensure that our hands have not engaged in malfeasance with another’s property. and only thereafter to God in the heavens. If there is a swarming creature in a person’s hand, even if he immerses himself in all of the primordial waters, he will never be purified. If he casts the swarming creature from his hand, his immersion is effective for him [even] in forty se’a.
Rabbi Tanḥuma expounded: “The princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said: The Lord is righteous” (II Chronicles 12:6). And it is written: “When the Lord saw that they had humbled themselves, the word of the Lord was with Shemaya, saying: They have humbled themselves; I will not destroy them, and I will grant them a small measure of deliverance, and My wrath will not be poured upon Jerusalem by means of Shishak” (II Chronicles 12:7). It is not written here, “when the Lord saw that they had fasted,” but rather, “that they had humbled themselves.”
Rabbi Yoshiya expounded: “Gather yourselves, gather [hitkosheshu vakoshu]” (Zephaniah 2:1) – let us adorn [nekashet] ourselves and thereafter adorn others. Because there is a person who is here who slandered me before Rabbi Yoḥanan; let the entire people stand for judgment.⁶⁸He demanded that the individual who had slandered him repent before exhorting others to do so, and so too that each person repent from his sins. They said: Rabbi Ḥiyya, Rabbi Ami, and Rabbi Yosei were there. They stood and went out.⁶⁹Some explain that it is because they were the guilty parties and they were angry that he had called them out (Yefe Anaf). Others explain that they sought to spare the guilty party the public shame (Matnot Kehuna).
“We have transgressed and defied; You have not forgiven” (Lamentations 3:42).
“We have transgressed and defied [umarinu]” – the Rabbis there⁷⁰In Babylon said: When the endives are bitter [meriran], the vinegar is sour.⁷¹This translation is based on the interpretation of Rabbi David Luria. He explains that the endives are dipped in the vinegar. The point is that Israel sinned, and so too God was strict in exercising judgment. There are alternate interpretations of this line in the midrash; see, e.g., Matnot Kehuna. The Rabbis here⁷²In the Land of Israel said: If actions are evil, they are harsh for the one who performs them. Rabbi Huna said in the name of Rav Yosef: “We have transgressed and defied” – as is our wont. “You have not forgiven” – is that Your wont? Rabbi Levi said: “We have transgressed and defied” – and You destroyed Your Temple.⁷³As “You have not forgiven.”