וָאַלְבִּישֵׁ֣ךְ רִקְמָ֔ה וָאֶנְעֲלֵ֖ךְ תָּ֑חַשׁ וָאֶחְבְּשֵׁ֣ךְ בַּשֵּׁ֔שׁ וַאֲכַסֵּ֖ךְ מֶֽשִׁי׃
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Eikhah Rabbah
“How does the greatly crowded city sit alone? She has become like a widow. Great among the nations, a princess among the states: She has become a vassal” (Lamentations 1:1).
“How [eikha] does…sit [alone].” Three prophesied with the term eikha: Moses, Isaiah, and Jeremiah. Moses said: “How [eikha] can I bear alone…” (Deuteronomy 1:12). Isaiah said: “How [eikha] did [the faithful city] become a harlot?” (Isaiah 1:21). Jeremiah said: “How [eikha] does [the greatly crowded city] sit alone?” Rabbi Levi said: This is analogous to a noblewoman who had three friends. One saw her in her tranquility, one saw her in her debauchery, and one saw her in her disgrace. So, Moses saw them in their glory and their tranquility and said: “How [eikha] can I bear alone your troubles?” Isaiah saw them in their debauchery and said: “How [eikha] did [the faithful city] become a harlot?” Jeremiah saw them in their disgrace and said: “How [eikha] does [the greatly crowded city] sit [alone]?”
They asked ben Azai, saying to him: ‘Our teacher, expound for us one matter from the scroll of Lamentations.’ He said to them: ‘Israel was exiled only after they denied the Unique One of the world, circumcision that was given after twenty generations, the Ten Commandments, the five books of the Torah; the numerical value of eikha.’1Alef—the Unique One of the world; yod—the Ten Commandments; kaf—twenty generations; heh—five books of Moses.
Rabbi Levi said: Israel was exiled only after they denied the thirty-six instances of karet in the Torah and the Ten Commandments, the numerical value of “how does…sit solitary [eikha yasheva badad]?”2Eikha: Alef -1, yod – 10, kaf – 20, heh – 5 = 36. Badad: Beit – 2, dalet – 4, dalet – 4 = 10.
Rabbi Berekhya [said] in the name of Rabbi Avdimai of Haifa: [This is analogous] to a king who had a son. When he would perform his father’s will, [the king] would clothe him in fine silk, and when he would not perform his will, he would clothe him in the garments of an olive-press worker [badad]. So too Israel, as long as they would perform the will of the Holy One blessed be He, it is written: “I clothed you in embroidery” (Ezekiel 16:10). Rabbi Sima said: Purple garments. Onkelos translated: Embroidered garments. But when they do not perform the will of the Holy One blessed be He, He clothes them in the garments of olive-press workers. That is what is written: “How does…sit solitary [badad]?”
Rav Naḥman said that Shmuel said in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi: The Holy One blessed be He summoned the ministering angels and said to them: ‘A flesh and blood king, when a relative of his dies and he mourns, what does he typically do?’ They said to Him: ‘He hangs sackcloth on his entrance.’ He said to them: ‘I, too, will do so.’ That is what is written: “I clothe the heavens in blackness and I place sackcloth as their garment” (Isaiah 50:3). ‘A flesh and blood king, what [else] does he typically do?’ They said to Him: ‘He extinguishes the lamps.’ He said to them: ‘That is what I will do,’ as it is stated: “The sun and the moon darkened and the stars withdrew their shining” (Joel 4:15). ‘A flesh and blood king, what does he typically do?’ ‘He overturns the beds.’ ‘That is what I will do,’ as it is stated: “Until thrones were set in place and the Ancient One sat” (Daniel 7:9), [implying,] as it were, that they had been overturned.3Beds were a general term for anything one would sit on. The fact that the thrones, in this verse, were set in place, implies that previously they had been overturned as a sign of mourning. ‘A flesh and blood king, what does he typically do?’ ‘He walks barefoot.’ ‘That is what I will do,’ as it is stated: “His path is in tempest and in storm, and clouds are the dust of His feet” (Nahum 1:3). ‘A flesh and blood king, what does he typically do?’ ‘He rends his purple garments.’ ‘That is what I will do,’ as it is stated: “The Lord accomplished what He devised; He implemented [bitza] His statement [emrato]” (Lamentations 2:17). Rabbi Yaakov of Kefar Ḥanan explained it: What is bitza emrato? It is that He rent His purple garments.4The word rent, or tear, in Aramaic, biza, is similar to bitza. The word emrato is spelled the same as imrato, which in rabbinic parlance means the edge of one’s garment (Matnot Kehuna). ‘A flesh and blood king, what does he typically do?’ ‘He sits in silence.’ ‘That is what I will do,’ as it is stated: “Let him sit alone and be silent” (Lamentations 3:28). ‘A flesh and blood king, what does he typically do?’ ‘He sits and weeps.’ ‘That is what I will do,’ as it is stated: “The Lord, God of hosts, called on that day for weeping and for lamentation and for baldness” (Isaiah 22:12).
Another matter: Eikha, Jeremiah said to them: ‘What did you see in idol worship that you are so enthusiastic to follow it? If it had a mouth to engage in debate, we would have said this.5We would have proven the falseness of idolatry and the idols themselves would have had to concur. The word eikha is being interpreted as two words: Ei, ka, “if…this” (Etz Yosef). Instead, we will speak of it and we will speak of Him.’ We will speak of it, “So said the Lord: Do not learn the way of the nations, and from the signs of the heavens do not be frightened, though the nations are frightened by them” (Jeremiah 10:2). We will speak of Him: “Tell them this: The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall vanish from the earth and from under these heavens. [He makes the earth with His might]” (Jeremiah 10:11–12). “The Portion of Jacob is not like these, for He is the one who forms everything, and Israel is the tribe of His inheritance, the Lord of hosts is His name” (Jeremiah 10:16).
Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Neḥemya, Rabbi Yehuda says: The term eikha is nothing other than an expression of reproof. That is what is written: “How [eikha] can you say: We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us...”? (Jeremiah 8:8). Rabbi Neḥemya says: The term eikha is nothing other than an expression of lamentation. That is what is written: “The Lord God called to the man, and said to him: Where are you [ayeka]?” (Genesis 3:9), woe are you [oy lekha]. When was the scroll of Lamentations composed? Rabbi Yehuda says: It was composed in the days of Yehoyakim.6This was before the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. This is consistent with Rabbi Yehuda’s view that the term eikha is a term of reproof. In his view, Lamentations, or Eikha, was composed as a warning before the destruction. Rabbi Neḥemya said to him: ‘Does one weep over the dead before he dies? Rather, when was it composed? After the destruction of the Temple. This is its solution: “How [eikha] does…sit solitary?”’7This phrase implies that Jerusalem was already desolate.
“How [eikha] does…sit [alone].” Three prophesied with the term eikha: Moses, Isaiah, and Jeremiah. Moses said: “How [eikha] can I bear alone…” (Deuteronomy 1:12). Isaiah said: “How [eikha] did [the faithful city] become a harlot?” (Isaiah 1:21). Jeremiah said: “How [eikha] does [the greatly crowded city] sit alone?” Rabbi Levi said: This is analogous to a noblewoman who had three friends. One saw her in her tranquility, one saw her in her debauchery, and one saw her in her disgrace. So, Moses saw them in their glory and their tranquility and said: “How [eikha] can I bear alone your troubles?” Isaiah saw them in their debauchery and said: “How [eikha] did [the faithful city] become a harlot?” Jeremiah saw them in their disgrace and said: “How [eikha] does [the greatly crowded city] sit [alone]?”
They asked ben Azai, saying to him: ‘Our teacher, expound for us one matter from the scroll of Lamentations.’ He said to them: ‘Israel was exiled only after they denied the Unique One of the world, circumcision that was given after twenty generations, the Ten Commandments, the five books of the Torah; the numerical value of eikha.’1Alef—the Unique One of the world; yod—the Ten Commandments; kaf—twenty generations; heh—five books of Moses.
Rabbi Levi said: Israel was exiled only after they denied the thirty-six instances of karet in the Torah and the Ten Commandments, the numerical value of “how does…sit solitary [eikha yasheva badad]?”2Eikha: Alef -1, yod – 10, kaf – 20, heh – 5 = 36. Badad: Beit – 2, dalet – 4, dalet – 4 = 10.
Rabbi Berekhya [said] in the name of Rabbi Avdimai of Haifa: [This is analogous] to a king who had a son. When he would perform his father’s will, [the king] would clothe him in fine silk, and when he would not perform his will, he would clothe him in the garments of an olive-press worker [badad]. So too Israel, as long as they would perform the will of the Holy One blessed be He, it is written: “I clothed you in embroidery” (Ezekiel 16:10). Rabbi Sima said: Purple garments. Onkelos translated: Embroidered garments. But when they do not perform the will of the Holy One blessed be He, He clothes them in the garments of olive-press workers. That is what is written: “How does…sit solitary [badad]?”
Rav Naḥman said that Shmuel said in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi: The Holy One blessed be He summoned the ministering angels and said to them: ‘A flesh and blood king, when a relative of his dies and he mourns, what does he typically do?’ They said to Him: ‘He hangs sackcloth on his entrance.’ He said to them: ‘I, too, will do so.’ That is what is written: “I clothe the heavens in blackness and I place sackcloth as their garment” (Isaiah 50:3). ‘A flesh and blood king, what [else] does he typically do?’ They said to Him: ‘He extinguishes the lamps.’ He said to them: ‘That is what I will do,’ as it is stated: “The sun and the moon darkened and the stars withdrew their shining” (Joel 4:15). ‘A flesh and blood king, what does he typically do?’ ‘He overturns the beds.’ ‘That is what I will do,’ as it is stated: “Until thrones were set in place and the Ancient One sat” (Daniel 7:9), [implying,] as it were, that they had been overturned.3Beds were a general term for anything one would sit on. The fact that the thrones, in this verse, were set in place, implies that previously they had been overturned as a sign of mourning. ‘A flesh and blood king, what does he typically do?’ ‘He walks barefoot.’ ‘That is what I will do,’ as it is stated: “His path is in tempest and in storm, and clouds are the dust of His feet” (Nahum 1:3). ‘A flesh and blood king, what does he typically do?’ ‘He rends his purple garments.’ ‘That is what I will do,’ as it is stated: “The Lord accomplished what He devised; He implemented [bitza] His statement [emrato]” (Lamentations 2:17). Rabbi Yaakov of Kefar Ḥanan explained it: What is bitza emrato? It is that He rent His purple garments.4The word rent, or tear, in Aramaic, biza, is similar to bitza. The word emrato is spelled the same as imrato, which in rabbinic parlance means the edge of one’s garment (Matnot Kehuna). ‘A flesh and blood king, what does he typically do?’ ‘He sits in silence.’ ‘That is what I will do,’ as it is stated: “Let him sit alone and be silent” (Lamentations 3:28). ‘A flesh and blood king, what does he typically do?’ ‘He sits and weeps.’ ‘That is what I will do,’ as it is stated: “The Lord, God of hosts, called on that day for weeping and for lamentation and for baldness” (Isaiah 22:12).
Another matter: Eikha, Jeremiah said to them: ‘What did you see in idol worship that you are so enthusiastic to follow it? If it had a mouth to engage in debate, we would have said this.5We would have proven the falseness of idolatry and the idols themselves would have had to concur. The word eikha is being interpreted as two words: Ei, ka, “if…this” (Etz Yosef). Instead, we will speak of it and we will speak of Him.’ We will speak of it, “So said the Lord: Do not learn the way of the nations, and from the signs of the heavens do not be frightened, though the nations are frightened by them” (Jeremiah 10:2). We will speak of Him: “Tell them this: The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall vanish from the earth and from under these heavens. [He makes the earth with His might]” (Jeremiah 10:11–12). “The Portion of Jacob is not like these, for He is the one who forms everything, and Israel is the tribe of His inheritance, the Lord of hosts is His name” (Jeremiah 10:16).
Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Neḥemya, Rabbi Yehuda says: The term eikha is nothing other than an expression of reproof. That is what is written: “How [eikha] can you say: We are wise, and the law of the Lord is with us...”? (Jeremiah 8:8). Rabbi Neḥemya says: The term eikha is nothing other than an expression of lamentation. That is what is written: “The Lord God called to the man, and said to him: Where are you [ayeka]?” (Genesis 3:9), woe are you [oy lekha]. When was the scroll of Lamentations composed? Rabbi Yehuda says: It was composed in the days of Yehoyakim.6This was before the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. This is consistent with Rabbi Yehuda’s view that the term eikha is a term of reproof. In his view, Lamentations, or Eikha, was composed as a warning before the destruction. Rabbi Neḥemya said to him: ‘Does one weep over the dead before he dies? Rather, when was it composed? After the destruction of the Temple. This is its solution: “How [eikha] does…sit solitary?”’7This phrase implies that Jerusalem was already desolate.
Midrash Tanchuma Buber
(Numb. 14:11:)1This supplement comes from Codex Vaticanus, Ebr. 34. It is found neither in Buber’s primary Oxford manuscript nor in the traditional version of the Tanhuma. THEN THE LORD SAID UNTO MOSES: HOW LONG WILL THIS PEOPLE SCORN ME, AND HOW LONG WILL THEY HAVE NO FAITH IN ME …? This text is related (to Prov. 1:25, 30): BUT YOU HAVE SPURNED ALL MY PLAN AND WOULD NOT ACCEPT MY REBUKE [….] THEY HAVE DESPISED ALL MY REBUKE. What is the implication of BUT YOU HAVE SPURNED ALL MY PLAN? Simply that all the good which I planned for you, you have spoiled and spurned.2Numb. R. 16:24. Thus it is stated (in Prov. 1:25): BUT YOU HAVE SPURNED (rt.: PR') ALL MY PLAN? At the beginning I said to Moses (in Exod. 3:8): I HAVE COME DOWN TO DELIVER THEM OUT OF THE HAND OF THE EGYPTIANS AND TO BRING THEM UP <OUT OF THAT LAND UNTO A GOOD AND SPACIOUS LAND>…. But you did not act in the way <I intended>. Instead you came to the sea and immediately spoiled my plan, as stated (in Ps. 106:7): THEY REBELLED AT THE SEA, AT THE REED SEA. When you came to Mount Sinai, I descended and spoke with you. I brought down on your behalf thousands upon thousands and myriads upon myriads of angels, and I passed on two angels to each and every person in Israel. R. Johanan said: One to gird him with his weapons3Gk.: zone (“girdle”). and one to put a crown on his head.4Above, Exod. 2:9 and 8:7 (with the notes in those sections); also Lam. R. 2:13 (17); Cant. R. 4:4:1 PRK 16:3; PR 21:7; 33:10; M. Ps. 103:8. R. Huna of Sepphoris said: He bound their weapons to them, while R. Simoy said: He clothed them in purple, as stated (in Ezek. 16:10): I CLOTHED YOU WITH EMBROIDERED GARMENTS. R. Simeon b. Johay says: He clothed them with an instrument of weaponry with the Ineffable Name written upon it. Moreover, as long as it was in their hand, nothing evil had power against them, neither the angel of death nor anything else.5See above, Exod. 9:12; Exod. R. 32:1; 41:7; 51:8; Lev. R. 18:3; cf. ‘AZ 5a. But when they sinned, Moses had said to them (in Exod. 33:5): NOW THEN, REMOVE YOUR ORNAMENTS (i.e., your weapons) FROM YOURSELVES, THAT I MAY KNOW WHAT TO DO TO YOU. At that time (according to vs. 4): WHEN THE PEOPLE HEARD THIS BAD NEWS, THEY WENT INTO MOURNING, <AND NO ONE PUT HIS ORNAMENTS ON HIMSELF>. And what is written (in vs. 6)? SO [THE CHILDREN OF] ISRAEL STRIPPED THEMSELVES OF ORNAMENTS…. What had the Holy One done (at the giving of Torah)?6See Exod. R. 32:1. He had brought the angel of death and said to him: All the world is under your authority, except this people whom I have chosen for myself. R. Eleazar the Son of R. Jose the Galilean said: The angel of death said to the Holy One: Have I been created in the world for nothing?7Exod. R. 27. The Holy One said to him: I created you so that you would destroy <all> the peoples of the world except this people, over whom you have no authority to take a single one of them. Look at the plan which the Holy One had devised concerning them for them to live and endure! Thus it is stated (in Deut. 4:4): BUT YOU WHO CLUNG TO THE LORD YOUR GOD ARE ALL ALIVE TODAY. So also it says (in Exod. 32:16): AND THE WRITING WAS THE WRITING OF GOD INSCRIBED (harut) ON THE TABLETS. What is the meaning of harut? R. Judah says: FREEDOM (herut) from the empires; but R. Nehemiah says: FREEDOM (herut) from the angel of death; and our masters say: FREEDOM from afflictions. Look at the plan which the Holy One had devised for them! Then they immediately spoiled this plan after <only> forty days. It is therefore stated (in Prov. 1:25): BUT YOU HAVE SPURNED ALL MY PLAN.
Midrash Tanchuma
Then washed I thee with water indicates that you must make a laver2To be placed in the Temple courtyard for the use of the priests. for Me. I anointed thee with oil corresponds to the anointing oil (that must be available).3For anointing the High Priest. I clothed thee also with richly woven work corresponds to the embroidered garments (worn in the Temple). And shod thee with sealskin (tahash) corresponds to the tehashim that were used (for the cover of the Holy of Holies). And I wound fine linen about thy head corresponds to the twisted linen (of the priests’ garments). And covered thee with silk corresponds to the clouds of glory, as it is said: The pillar of cloud departed not from before the people (Exod. 13:22), and that corresponds to the curtains of goats’ hair. I decked thee also with ornaments alludes to the purple cloak, and that corresponds to the ark and its overlay. And I put a ring upon thy nose corresponds to the nose rings and earrings that (the women brought to donate for the gold of the Tabernacle and priestly garments). A beautiful crown upon thy head corresponds to the ark cover and the gold rim around the table. Behold, I will cause to rain bread (Exod. 16:4) corresponds to the show-bread. And the Lord went before them by day (ibid. 13:21) corresponds to His injunction that the Israelites shall burn a lamp continually.