Midras Yoel 4:15: Eikhah Rabbah, Otzar Midrashim & Pesikta DeRav Kahana

“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.

The celestial sphere is likened to a dome, expansive like a tent and measured in length akin to the Mishkan (Tabernacle), as it is written, "He stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in" (Yeshayahu 40:22). The northern expanse remains uncovered, fashioned in the shape of an open colonnade, as it says, "He stretches out the north over the void" (Iyov 26:7). The southern end is sealed like a chamber, round like a furnace, as it states, "He makes the Bear, Orion, Pleiades, and the chambers of the south" (Iyov 9:9).
The east and west are fixed upon the earth like foundations of a building, as it says, "He builds His upper chambers in the heavens and has founded His vault upon the earth" (Amos 9:6). The sphere spans eighteen measures in circumference, six in width, with the distance from east to west matching the height from earth to the heavens. From north to south, constellations such as Ash (Orion) and Kesil (Pleiades) traverse the heavens, and the heavenly bodies orbit from east to west, as it is written, "Can you bind the chains of Pleiades or loosen the cords of Orion?" (Iyov 38:31).
Pleiades has seven stars, and Orion, five. Together they form twelve. The heavenly sphere contains seven stars aligned inwardly and five outwardly. Seven rise from the north on the right, and five from the left. Correspondingly, six gather by day and six by night. The constellation Te’omim (Gemini) marks the end of the seven, and Akrav (Scorpio) concludes the five. From Te’omim to Keshet (Sagittarius) is the same distance as from Akrav to Sartan (Cancer). Between Akrav and Sartan lies the Agala (Wagon/Ursa Major) in the north, while Akrav is situated in the south.
The celestial sphere rises in a circular motion to the south and sets in a circular motion to the north. In the north, the Agala revolves, serving the Te’li (Celestial Pole). The Te’li influences the constellations, the constellations influence the heavenly sphere, and the sphere revolves around the Te’li. All are moved by the divine wind, as it says, "By His wind the heavens are adorned; His hand pierced the fleeing serpent" (Iyov 26:13). The fleeing serpent refers to the Te’li, stretching across the expanse like a coiled serpent, with its head and tail marked, as it is written, "The Lord will cut off from Israel head and tail" (Yeshayahu 9:13).
The head of the Te’li aligns with the solar circuit, and its tail aligns with the lunar circuit. The sun and moon move in opposite arcs, as it says, "Together they shall form a single ring" (Shemot 26:24). Above these circuits are the windows of heaven, as it states, "Peering through the windows, peeking through the lattices" (Shir HaShirim 2:9). These higher levels guide the heavenly spheres, while the lower spheres operate like waterwheels, drawing sustenance from below, as it states, "He draws water with His feet" (Devarim 11:10).
The sun shines like a blazing torch in its orbit, while the moon glows like a lamp atop a menorah. Other celestial bodies—Mercury and Mars—mirror the sun’s brilliance, while Venus and Jupiter resemble the moon’s light, akin to lamps upon candelabra. Saturn, however, partakes of both luminaries, appearing like a lantern suspended by chains.
The head of the Te’li directs one side of the sphere, while its tail steers the opposite. When the celestial lights align with the Te’li, they move together as if in perfect harmony, as it is written, "One comes near to the other, and no breath passes between them" (Iyov 41:8), and, "Can two walk together unless they have agreed?" (Amos 3:3). (Yet this encounter is fraught, like meeting a bereaved bear rather than a fool in his folly, as it states,) "Better to meet a bereaved bear than a fool in his folly" (Mishlei 17:12).
Whether one is at its head and the other at its tail, or both are at its head or its tail—whether they confront one another directly, stand behind one another, or approach from either side—the result is the same. The sun and moon darken, as it says, "The sun and the moon grow dark" (Yoel 4:15). One of the luminaries and one of the stars withdraw their radiance, leaving their brilliance diminished.

Bar Kaparah opened: And the Lord God of Hosts called [read midrashically as the Lord God called to the Hosts] on that day for crying and mourning and baring of the head, and wearing sackcloth. (Isaiah 22:12). The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to the ministering angels: A human king who mourns, what does he do? They said to him, he hangs sackcloth on his entrance. He said to them, I too will do this: “I clothe the skies in darkness [and make sackcloth their covering]” (Isaiah 50:3). And he asked them further: A human king who mourns, what does he do? They said to him, he covers the torches. He said to them, I too will do this: “The sun and moon are darkened and the stars withdraw their shining” (Joel 4: 15). And he asked them further: A human king who mourns, what does he do? They said to him, he goes barefoot. He said to them, I too will do this: “The Lord’s way is in whirlwind and storm and the clouds are the dust on his feet” (Nahum 1:3). And he further asked them: A human king who mourns, what does he do? They said to him, he sits and is silent. He said to them, I too will do this: “He sits alone and is silent for he has imposed it” (Lamentations 3:28). And he further asked them: A human king who mourns, what does he do? They said to him, he overturns the couches. He said to them, I too will do this: “I watched as thrones were set in place” (Daniel 7:9). And he further asked them: A human king who mourns, what does he do? They said to him, he rends his garments. He said to them, I too will do this: “The Lord has done as he intended; he has fulfilled his word” (batzah emrato) (Lamentations 2:17). What does “he has fulfilled his word” mean? Rabbi Ya’akov of Kefar Hanan said, he rends (mevazei’a) his garment. And he further asked them: A human king who mourns, what does he do? They said to him, he sits and wails. He said to them, I too will do this: “How does it sit desolate?!” (Lamentations 1:1).