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| For a CAD -Tour of the Second Temple by Rabbi Boruch Clinton, see here. |
INTRODUCTION:
A common thread in many of the articles on KotzkBlog is the
multiplicity of rabbinical views on ideas which are today often presented from
one side only.
In this article, drawn from the research of Professor David
Stern[1]
of Harvard University, we will examine two early rabbinical texts which portray
two very different perspectives of G-d.
Professor Stern translated two texts from Eicha Rabba,
which is a Midrashic commentary on Eicha (Lamentations) originating
around the Talmudic or Amoraic period (somewhere between 400-700 CE).
This book is one of the oldest Midrashic works and although it is sometimes
ascribed to Rav Kahana, Stern is not certain about the authorship and simply
refers to an ‘anonymous’ writer.
This Midrashic work was apparently part of a Petichta
or Introduction to the synagogue service on the Ninth of Av, the fast
day commemorating the destruction of both First and Second Temples.
THE TWO NARRATIVES:
