Midrash sur La Genèse 37:34

“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 lowered their heads to the ground” (Lamentations 2:10).
“The elders of the daughter of Zion sit on the ground, are silent.” Rabbi Elazar said: Let the portion of vows not be insignificant in your eyes, as it is on account of the portion of vows that the Great Sanhedrin of Zedekiah were killed. When Yekhonya was exiled, King Nebuchadnezzar appointed him¹⁰⁶Zedekiah. over five kings. That is what is written: “Send to the king of Edom, to the king of Moav, to the king of the children of Ammon, to the king of Tyre and to the king of Sidon, in the hand of the messengers who come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah, king of Judah” (Jeremiah 27:3). He would enter and exit before him without permission.¹⁰⁷Zedekiah had unfettered access to Nebuchadnezzar. One day, he entered before him and saw that he was ripping the flesh of a hare and eating it raw. [Nebuchadnezzar] said to him: ‘Take an oath to me that you will not publicize this about me,’ and he took an oath to him. On what did he administer the oath to [Zedekiah]? Rabbi Yosei ben Rabbi Ḥanina said: On the inner altar. The five kings were sitting and maligning Nebuchadnezzar before Zedekiah and saying to him: ‘The kingdom is not suitable for Nebuchadnezzar, but rather it is suitable for you, as you are from the offspring of David.’ He, too, maligned Nebuchadnezzar and said: ‘I saw that he was ripping the flesh of a hare and eating it.’ Immediately, they sent [a message] to the king, saying: ‘This Jew who enters and exits before you without permission said about you: I saw that Nebuchadnezzar was ripping the flesh of a hare and eating it.’ That is what is written: “Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon” (II Kings 24:20).
Immediately, he¹⁰⁸Nebuchadnezzar. came and settled in Daphne of Antioch and the Great Sanhedrin went to greet him. When he saw that they were all men of noble form, he issued a command and had seats of honor brought for them, and he seated them. He said to them: ‘Teach me the Torah.’ Immediately they began reading each and every portion and translating it before him. When they reached the portion of vows: “A man who takes a vow” (Numbers 30:3), he said to them: ‘If he wishes to renege on it, can he or can he not do so?’ They said to him: ‘He can go to a Sage and [the Sage] can nullify his vow for him.’ He said to them: ‘It seems to me that you nullified for Zedekiah the oath that he took to me.’ Immediately, he decreed and had them placed down on the ground. That is what is written: “The elders of the daughter of Zion sit on the ground, are silent.” “They have placed dust [on their heads],” they began mentioning the merit of Abraham, as it is written: “I am dust and ashes” (Genesis 18:27). “Have girded themselves with sackcloth,” they began mentioning the merit of Jacob, as it is written: “He placed sackcloth on his loins” (Genesis 37:34).¹⁰⁹The Sages began to pray to God for mercy in the merit of Abraham and Jacob, both of whom took oaths and were careful to fulfill them (Etz Yosef; see Genesis 14:22, 28:20). What did they do to them? They tied their hair to horses’ tails and had them run from Jerusalem to Lod. That is what is written: “The virgins of Jerusalem have lowered their heads to the ground.”¹¹⁰They did so in mourning for the Sages. Alternatively, the Sages are alluded to with the term virgins because of their purity.

Another interpretation: Just as Jacob hid from his father for twenty-two years, so did Joseph hide from his father for twenty-two years. It is therefore stated (in Gen. 37:2): THESE ARE THE GENERATIONS OF JACOB: JOSEPH.¹¹So Rashi with considerable explanation on Gen. 37:34. R. Levi said: Rabbi Johanan said: Wherever it says, HE WAS, the HE saw three worlds.¹²Cf. Gen. R. 30:8; Esth. R. 6:3. It is written of Noah (in Gen. 6:9): HE WAS PERFECT. He saw the world when it was inhabited before the flood came, he saw it destroyed, and he saw it afterwards in its restoration. It is therefore said of him: HE WAS. In the case of Moses, it is written (in Exod. 3:1): HE WAS TENDING < THE FLOCK OF HIS FATHER-IN-LAW JETHRO, THE PRIEST OF MIDIAN >…. He saw Israel before the bondage tightened its grip, he saw the bondage, and {they} [he] saw them when they had been redeemed. [Of Mordecai it is written] (in Esth. 2:5): THERE WAS (literally: HE WAS) A CERTAIN JEW IN THE CITADEL OF SHUSHAN. He saw them (Israel) before they were enslaved at the hand of Haman, he saw them under the edicts which had been decreed against them, and he saw them in their redemption. Of Job it is written (in Job 1:1): THERE WAS (literally: HE WAS) A MAN IN THE LAND OF < UZ >, and he saw three worlds. He was whole, he suffered afflictions, and he was healed. So also in the case of Joseph, HE WAS is written of him (in Gen. 37:2): THESE ARE THE GENERATIONS OF JACOB: JOSEPH AT THE AGE OF SEVENTEEN WAS (literally: HE WAS) TENDING < THE FLOCK WITH HIS BROTHERS >….

“Mordekhai knew everything that had been done, and Mordekhai rent his garments and donned sackcloth and ashes. He went out in the midst of the city and cried a loud and bitter cry” (Esther 4:1).
“Mordekhai knew everything that had been done, and Mordekhai rent his garments.” Benjamin caused the tribes [his brothers] to rend; that is what is written: “They rent their garments” (Genesis 44:13). Where was he caused to rend? It was in Shushan the citadel; that is what is written: “Mordekhai rent his garments,” and he was from the tribe of Benjamin.¹The midrash is stating that the fact that Mordekhai had to rend his garments is in some respects a punishment for Binyamin having caused his brothers to have to rend their garments. This is because he was not careful enough and did not notice that the silver goblet had been placed in his sack (Etz Yosef).
“He donned sackcloth and ashes.” Rabbi Aivu said: Once Jacob our patriarch adopted sackcloth, as it is written: “He placed sackcloth on his loins” (Genesis 37:34), it never again left his descendants. It is written about Ahab: “He placed sackcloth on his flesh” (I Kings 21:27); his son Yoram: “The people saw, and behold, the sackcloth was on his flesh” (II Kings 6:30); Mordekhai, “He donned sackcloth and ashes.”
“He [Esau] cried a loud and bitter cry” (Genesis 27:34). Where was he repaid? In Shushan, as it is stated: “[Mordekhai] cried a loud and bitter cry.” Rabbi Ḥanin said: Anyone who says that the All-Merciful is One who forgoes, his innards will be forgone. He is forbearing, but then collects His due. Know that Jacob caused Esau to cry one cry, as it is written: “He cried a loud and bitter cry” [and as a result, Jacob’s descendant, Mordekhai, cried a loud and bitter cry].