예레미야애가 2:11의 미드라쉬
כָּל֨וּ בַדְּמָע֤וֹת עֵינַי֙ חֳמַרְמְר֣וּ מֵעַ֔י נִשְׁפַּ֤ךְ לָאָ֙רֶץ֙ כְּבֵדִ֔י עַל־שֶׁ֖בֶר בַּת־עַמִּ֑י בֵּֽעָטֵ֤ף עוֹלֵל֙ וְיוֹנֵ֔ק בִּרְחֹב֖וֹת קִרְיָֽה׃ (ס)
내 눈이 눈물에 상하며 내 창자가 끓으며 내 간이 땅에 쏟아졌으니 이는 처녀 내 백성이 패망하여 어린 자녀와 젖먹는 아이들이 성읍 길거리에 혼미함이로다
Eikhah Rabbah
“My eyes fail from tears; my innards burn; my liver is poured on the earth over the disaster of the daughter of my people, as the infants and the sucklings faint in the city squares” (Lamentations 2:11).
“My eyes fail from tears.” Rabbi Elazar said: Limitations were imposed on the eye.111There is a limit to the functional abilities of the eye; if one cries too much, it will affect his vision (Etz Yosef). [There are tears that are beneficial:] The tear caused by a drug, the tear caused by mustard, and the tear caused by eye balm; and the tear of laughter is the best of all. There are three harmful tears: The tear caused by smoke, the tear caused by weeping, and the tear caused by the lavatory;112This is when one suffers from an intestinal malady. and the tear over a young person is the worst of all. There was an incident involving a certain woman who had a young son who died. She cried over him at nights until her eyelashes fell out. She went to a doctor. He said to her: ‘Apply some of this eye paste and you will feel relief.’
“My liver is poured on the earth.” There was an incident involving a certain man who had a young son who died. He cried over him at nights until his liver dropped. He said: ‘The liver of this man has already dropped, who will cry over him? But it was to no avail for me.’113The man said: I am going to die because of the medical damage caused by my crying, but my crying did not accomplish anything. Similarly, the verse bemoans the effects of the crying in the aftermath of the destruction, which did not accomplish anything, as salvation did not arrive and the Temple remained destroyed.
“My eyes fail from tears.” Rabbi Elazar said: Limitations were imposed on the eye.111There is a limit to the functional abilities of the eye; if one cries too much, it will affect his vision (Etz Yosef). [There are tears that are beneficial:] The tear caused by a drug, the tear caused by mustard, and the tear caused by eye balm; and the tear of laughter is the best of all. There are three harmful tears: The tear caused by smoke, the tear caused by weeping, and the tear caused by the lavatory;112This is when one suffers from an intestinal malady. and the tear over a young person is the worst of all. There was an incident involving a certain woman who had a young son who died. She cried over him at nights until her eyelashes fell out. She went to a doctor. He said to her: ‘Apply some of this eye paste and you will feel relief.’
“My liver is poured on the earth.” There was an incident involving a certain man who had a young son who died. He cried over him at nights until his liver dropped. He said: ‘The liver of this man has already dropped, who will cry over him? But it was to no avail for me.’113The man said: I am going to die because of the medical damage caused by my crying, but my crying did not accomplish anything. Similarly, the verse bemoans the effects of the crying in the aftermath of the destruction, which did not accomplish anything, as salvation did not arrive and the Temple remained destroyed.
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