Living Jewishly Prayer & Study
Inclusion for People with Disabilities Conservative Jewish Action Center Social Justice Social Action Convention Resolutions
Join A Listserve Synagogue Administration Leadership Council of Regional Presidents
Schechter Awards Synagogue Resource Center Hazak (55+)
Fuchsberg Jerusalem Center Conservative Yeshiva in Israel Making Aliyah to Israel USCJ Israel Programs & Travel Family Education Initaitive Israel Commission
Services Provided Early Childhood Education Your Child Newsletter Religious Schools Adult & Family Education
Jewish Holidays Shabbat Candlelighting Times Secular Holidays
 
YOU ARE HERE: Study Programs >> Perek Yomi (A Chapter a Day) >> Questions to Guide You

Perek Yomi - Eicha (Lamentations)

According to tradition, the authorship of Lamentations is attributed to the Prophet Jeremiah who was contemporaneous with the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem (587/6 B.C.E.) and, indeed, prophesied the conquest of Jerusalem by the Babylonians and the ensuing exile of the Judean population into Babylonia.

Most modern scholars give the composition of Eichah a somewhat later date and ascribe authorship to more than one anonymous source, but they see a basic unity in the book.

Lamentations is the third in a grouping known as the Five Megillot (Scrolls) and is read in the synagogue on Tisha B'Av (Ninth of Av) which commemorates the destruction of both the First and Second Temples and other tragic events in Jewish history. The five chapters of Eichah, also known as kinot (dirges), are sung in a uniquely mournful cantillation or trope.

Chapter 1

  1. Why are the verses in this chapter and other chapters arranged in alphabetical order?
  2. In verse 1, in the reference to Jerusalem's desolation, the image of a widow appears as a simile rather than a metaphor. Jerusalem is not a widow; she is k'almanah, like a widow. Why?
  3. Who are the "friends and allies" in verse 2? What is the literal meaning of ohaveha?
  4. According to verse 5, what is the fundamental reason for Jerusalem's downfall? What theological issues arise from this explanation, especially in our time?
  5. Verse 8 tells us that "Jerusalem has greatly sinned." What were her sins? Refer to prophetic writings, particularly Jeremiah.
  6. Explain the clause, "nations which You have denied admission into Your community" (verse 10). What is the theological implication of this reference?
  7. Beginning with verse 12, the poem shifts from the third person to the first person. What does this shift signify? Who is speaking?
  8. In verse 15, who are "all my heroes" and "my young men"'.)
  9. Contrast the emotional outburst in verses 21 and 22 with the preceding verses. Does it conform to normal emotional expressions in the kind of crisis described here?

Chapter 2

  1. This chapter is also arranged alphabetically, with one variation for which there appears to be no reasonable explanation. Where does the variation occur?
  2. What is the Footstool referred to in verse 1 and why is it spelled with a capital F? Why is this metaphor used?
  3. References to God's anger are repeated constantly and He is likened to an enemy in the opening verses. Why is God portrayed in such harsh language?
  4. What are poet's sentiments about Jerusalem and how does he feel about the city its fate? Why do you think he feels so strongly?
  5. Where else in Biblical literature is God depicted explicitly as a warrior? Cf. Exodus 15.
  6. Verse 9 demonstrates that the destruction is more than physical. How so?
  7. What is the significance of the specific reference to the maidens of Jerusalem in verse 10?
  8. How do verses 11 and 12 adumbrate all instances of human calamity?
  9. What dilemma does the accusation in verse 14 present to ordinary people? See Deuteronomy 18.
  10. How do verses 15-17 reinforce the earlier depiction of God as wrathful and punitive?
  11. What images support the view that Tisha B'Av should be a time to commemorate the Shoah (Holocaust)?

Chapter 3

  1. In this chapter there are three verses for each letter of the alphabet. The verses are much shorter and have a different meter and cantillation from the rest of the book. The poem is also written in the first person. How do you account for these changes?
  2. Do you have any thoughts about the identity of the poet?
  3. What is the effect on the reader of the description of an individual's suffering as opposed to the picture of national calamity in the preceding chapters?
  4. What does the chapter say about the writer's personal theology? Why does he liken God to a bear and a lion?
  5. How do you explain the change of mood beginning in verse 19?
  6. The mood shifts again at verse 40. What do these shifts tell us about the poet's emotions?
  7. To which biblical book dealing with human suffering is this chapter comparable? Are the issues similar?
  8. What is the significance of the shift to first person plural beginning with verse 42 and then back to first person singular in verse 48 and following?
  9. Verse 55 is reminiscent of Psalm 130. How so?
  10. How do verses 61-66 represent diametrically opposite views of the enemy when compared with Chapter II?

Chapter 4

  1. How does this Chapter more closely resemble Chapters I and II than Chapter III?
  2. For what does the gold in verse 1 serve as a metaphor?
  3. Is it fair to compare the people in besieged Jerusalem to jackals and ostriches?
  4. Is it fair to compare the guilt of the people to the iniquity of Sodom? See Genesis 19.
  5. In verse 7, nezireha is translated "her elect". What is a nazir (Nazirite) and why, therefore, may this translation be inaccurate? See Numbers 6.
  6. How is this chapter (particularly verses 8-11) reminiscent of Deuteronomy 28?
  7. Why are the prophets and priests blamed for the calamity (verse 13)? What is the irony of the exclamations in verse 15?
  8. What is the significance of the imprecation against Edom? What does Edom represent historically for Israel?

Chapter 5

  1. This chapter is brief and is not an alphabetical acrostic. Is there any significance to the change in literary style? Is it coincidental that the chapter consists of 22 verses?
  2. What is the significance of the dominant use of the first person plural?
  3. What is different about the tone and content of the poet's address to God?
  4. Do the references to Assyria and Egypt (verse 6) appear to be misplaced or out of context?
  5. Why is verse 21 repeated in small type in the translation and when chanted in the synagogue? Where does this verse appear in the liturgy?
Addicott Web Design and Consulting