Dressed in His purple cloak, gleaming

This poem describes the sufferings of the Jewish community of Blois, France, in 1171. Following the accusations of the ritual murder of a Christian child, thirty-three Jews were murdered. Barukh conveys the tragedy and pain of these events, challenging God to account for the death of innocent Jews. Each stanza, formatted here in prose, contains an internal rhyme and many references to biblical and rabbinic literature. For more on the events of 1171 in Blois, see the three entries titled “Letter about the Blois Incident.”