מדרש על איכה 3:46
Eikhah Rabbah
“All our enemies have opened their mouth against us” (Lamentations 3:46).
“[All our enemies] have opened [patzu] their mouth against us” – why does peh come before ayin?74The verses in chapter 3 of Lamentations form an alphabetical acrostic, with three consecutive verses beginning with each letter of the alphabet. However, the verses that begin with peh (verses 46–48) come before the verses that begin with ayin (verses 49–51), despite the fact that ayin precedes peh in the alphabet. Because they would say with their mouths what they had not seen with their eyes.75The word for mouth is peh, whereas the word for eye is ayin. The enemies rejoiced over their projected victory before it even happened.
“[All our enemies] have opened [patzu] their mouth against us” – why does peh come before ayin?74The verses in chapter 3 of Lamentations form an alphabetical acrostic, with three consecutive verses beginning with each letter of the alphabet. However, the verses that begin with peh (verses 46–48) come before the verses that begin with ayin (verses 49–51), despite the fact that ayin precedes peh in the alphabet. Because they would say with their mouths what they had not seen with their eyes.75The word for mouth is peh, whereas the word for eye is ayin. The enemies rejoiced over their projected victory before it even happened.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy