Lesser Midrash on Lamentations

R. Eleazar the son of R. Yosi the Galilean expounded, and, following him, R. Ḥanina expounded similarly: How does the city sit solitary (Lamentations 1:1).

Jeremiah said before the Holy One, “Master of the universe, should the city that contains Your Name and Your Honor, whose nation travels to it on the three pilgrimage festivals, sit alone?” The Holy One replied to Jeremiah, “Before you advocate for them, hear my contentions—How is the faithful city become a harlot (Isaiah 1:21).”

Jeremiah said, “She weeps sore in the night (Lamentations 1:2),” but the holy spirit responded to him, “and there sat the women bewailing Tammuz (Ezekiel 8:14).”

Jeremiah said, “Judah has gone into exile because of affliction and because of great servitude (Lamentations 1:3),” but the holy spirit responded, “So she uncovered her harlotries, and uncovered her nakedness (Ezekiel 23:18).”

Jeremiah said, “The ways of Zion do mourn (Lamentations 1:4),” but the holy spirit responded, “Where have you not been lain with? By the ways you sat for them (Jeremiah 3:2).”

Jeremiah said, “Her adversaries are become the head (Lamentations 1:5),” but the holy spirit responded, “The friends over you as head, whom you yourself trained against you (Jeremiah 13:21).” And similar responses were made to each and every statement. [ . . . ]

They said: The story was told of a certain woman who had three sons. Two of them went off to become soldiers. She took her nursing child and cooked him in a pot. When they were eating, the brothers recognized the arm of their younger brother. They went up to the roof and threw themselves off it. It is about these that Jeremiah laments: They who are slain with the sword are better than they who are slain with hunger (Lamentations 4:9).

The city of Jerusalem cried out: Woe is me! for I am as the last of the summer fruits, as the grape gleanings of the vintage (Micah 7:1). She said, “The one who cuts grain leaves gleanings, and the one who harvests grapes leaves the individual ones. But in my case, nothing is left. I have been given over to Nebuchadnezzar like a ewe in the hands of a lion and like a kid in the hands of the butcher.”

They said: There were two women in Jerusalem who were especially beautiful. The Chaldeans captured them, and 250 men came upon them, until they died in the midst of rape. They cried out and said, “Where is Your mercy, O God, that You created in Your world!?” And upon their deaths, Jeremiah lamented: They have ravished the women in Zion, the maidens in the cities of Judah (Lamentations 5:11). The Chaldeans continued ravaging the virgin girls until the blood from the rape flowed as from a wine press, as it says: Her maidens [betuloteha] are unhappy [nugot] (Lamentations 1:4). Do not read nugot, rather min gat [as from a wine press]. Do not read betulot [virgins], rather be‘ulot [ravaged ones] [see Lamentations 1:15].

They said: It happened that seventy virgins were taken captive and were placed on a boat to be taken and placed in brothels. Those virgins said to one another, “Let us go and sanctify the Name of the Holy One, rather than allow the uncircumcised non-Jews to defile us.” What did they do? They climbed to the roof of the boat and threw themselves into the sea, drowning themselves there. [ . . . ]

My Lord God of Hosts called on that day for weeping and lamentation, for tonsuring and girding with sackcloth. (Isaiah 22:12)

They said: At the time when the Holy One desired to destroy the Temple, He said, “As long as I am in it, the nations of the world cannot touch it; rather, I will turn My eyes from it and swear that I will not return to it until the end, so that the enemies can come and destroy it.” At that very moment the Holy One took His right hand and turned it behind Him, as it says: He has drawn back His right hand from before the enemy (Lamentations 2:3). At that moment, the enemies entered the sanctuary and burned it down. Once it was burned, the Holy One declared, “I no longer have a place to rest on Earth, the Earth is no longer Mine, so I will remove My divine presence from it.”

Then the Holy One cried and said, “What have I done? I originally brought My divine presence down to earth because of the merit of Israel, but now that they have sinned, I am back to the first situation. Heaven forbid that I have become a laughingstock to those who speak and a source of mockery to My creations.”

At that time, [the angel] Metatron came and fell on his face, saying, “Master of the Universe, let me cry, but You should not cry.” He responded, “Why will you not allow Me to cry? I will go to a place where you may not enter, and I will cry there, as it says: But if you will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret for your pride; and my eyes shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the Lord’s flock is carried away captive (Jeremiah 13:17).”

The Holy One said to the ministering angels, “Let us go together to see what the enemy has done.” At that very moment, the Holy One went together with the ministering angels and Jeremiah before them. When He saw the Temple, He said, “That surely was My house, and it was My resting place, and now the enemies have come and have done as they pleased.” He began to scream and cry, saying, “My children! Where are they? My priests and Levites! Where are they? My noble ones! Where are they? But what can I do? I warned you so many times to repent, but you did not.”

The Holy One turned to Jeremiah and said, “What are you looking at and yet remain silent? Today I am like a man who had a son and brought him to the marriage canopy only to find that he died under the canopy, yet you do not feel the pain—neither My pain nor the pain of My children! Go and call Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses from their graves, for they know how to cry.”

He responded, “Master of the Universe! I do not know where Moses is buried.”

He said to him, “Go and stand on the banks of the Jordan River and cry out, ‘Son of ‘Amram! Son of ‘Amram! Come and see your flock that has been swallowed by the wolves!’”

Jeremiah immediately went to the Cave of Machpelah and said, “Patriarchs of the world, arise! For the time has come that you are invited to appear before the Holy One.” They asked him, “For what reason?” He answered, “I do not know,” because he was afraid to tell them about the destruction of the Temple, since he feared that they would hold him responsible for its having happened in his lifetime.

Jeremiah left them and went to the banks of the Jordan River, where he called out, “Son of ‘Amram! Son of ‘Amram! Arise! For the time has come that you are invited to appear before the Holy One.” He [Moses] asked him, “For what reason?” He answered, “I do not know.” He [Moses] went to the ministering angels he knew from when he received the Torah and said to them, “Servants of the Most High, do you know why I am being asked to appear before the Holy One?” They said to him, “Do you not know that the Temple has been destroyed, in the days of Jeremiah, and the people taken into exile? You are being asked to offer a eulogy and to weep.” He immediately tore the robes of honor given to him by the Holy One, placed his hand on his head, and began shouting and crying. He went over to the patriarchs, who said to him, “Moses, shepherd of the nation of Israel, what is unusual about today?” He said to them, “My fathers, do you not know that the Temple has been destroyed, and the Israelites have been exiled among the nations?” They immediately put their hands on their heads and began to scream and cry, until they arrived at the Temple gates. When the Holy One saw them, He put on sackcloth and tore out His hair, something that would be forbidden to say had it not been clearly written, as it says: My Lord God of Hosts called on that day for weeping and lamentation, for tonsuring and girding with sackcloth (Isaiah 22:12). And they walked, while crying, from one gate to another, like a man whose deceased relative remains unburied before him, and the Holy One eulogized, “Woe to the king who was successful in his youth, but unsuccessful in his old age; woe to the elders who destroyed their houses in their old age.”