Book of Lamentations, Chapter 5 Acrostic

Chapter 5 of Lamentations works as an acrostic if you take the three verses that begin with 'Al, עַל , and apply them as above for the letter Gimmel, Dalet and Samech (which is an exception). Furthermore, for the letter Tet, take the first letter of the second word in verse 13. Also, for those verses for which the first letter appears in more than one verse, use only one verse and take the second letter of the remaining verses.


7. Our fathers have sinned and are no more, and we have borne their iniquities.
ז. אֲבֹתֵינוּ חָטְאוּ וְאֵינָם וַאֲנַחְנוּ עֲו‍ֹנֹתֵיהֶם סָבָלְנוּ:

9. With our lives we bring our bread, because of the sword of the wilderness.
ט. בְּנַפְשֵׁנוּ נָבִיא לַחְמֵנוּ מִפְּנֵי חֶרֶב הַמִּדְבָּר:

5. We are pursued [with a yoke] on our necks; we toil but it does not remain with us.
ה. עַל צַוָּארֵנוּ נִרְדָּפְנוּ יָגַעְנוּ וְלֹא הוּנַּח לָנוּ:

17. For this our heart has become faint, for these things our eyes have grown dim.
יז. עַל זֶה הָיָה דָוֶה לִבֵּנוּ עַל אֵלֶּה חָשְׁכוּ עֵינֵינוּ:

21. Restore us to You, O Lord, that we may be restored! Renew our days as of old.
כא. הֲשִׁיבֵנוּ יְהֹוָה | אֵלֶיךָ וְנָשׁוּבָה חַדֵּשׁ יָמֵינוּ כְּקֶדֶם:

10. Our skin is parched as by a furnace because of the heat of hunger.
י. עוֹרֵנוּ כְּתַנּוּר נִכְמָרוּ מִפְּנֵי זַלְעֲפוֹת רָעָב:

1. Recall, O Lord, what has befallen us; behold and see our disgrace.
א. זְכֹר יְהֹוָה מֶה הָיָה לָנוּ הַבִּיטָה וּרְאֵה אֶת חֶרְפָּתֵנוּ:

2. Our heritage has been turned over to strangers, our houses to aliens.
ב. נַחֲלָתֵנוּ נֶהֶפְכָה לְזָרִים בָּתֵּינוּ לְנָכְרִים:

13. Young men carried the millstones, [and] youths stumbled under [loads of] wood.
יג. בַּחוּרִים טְחוֹן נָשָׂאוּ וּנְעָרִים בָּעֵץ כָּשָׁלוּ:

3. We have become orphans and fatherless, our mothers are like widows.
ג. יְתוֹמִים הָיִינוּ וְאֵין אָב אִמֹּתֵינוּ כְּאַלְמָנוֹת:

22. For if You have utterly rejected us, You have [already] been exceedingly wroth against us.
כב. כִּי אִם מָאֹס מְאַסְתָּנוּ קָצַפְתָּ עָלֵינוּ עַד מְאֹד:

20. Why do You forget us forever, forsake us so long?
כ. לָמָּה לָנֶצַח תִּשְׁכָּחֵנוּ תַּעַזְבֵנוּ לְאֹרֶךְ יָמִים:

4. Our water we have drunk for payment; our wood needs must come by purchase.
ד. מֵימֵינוּ בְּכֶסֶף שָׁתִינוּ עֵצֵינוּ בִּמְחִיר יָבֹאוּ:

11. They have outraged women in Zion [and] maidens in the cities of Judah.
יא. נָשִׁים בְּצִיּוֹן עִנּוּ בְּתֻלֹת בְּעָרֵי יְהוּדָה:

18. For Mount Zion, which was desolate; foxes prowled over it.
יח. עַל הַר צִיּוֹן שֶׁשָּׁמֵם שׁוּעָלִים הִלְּכוּ בוֹ:

8. Slaves rule over us, [and] there is none to deliver [us] from their hand.
ח. עֲבָדִים מָשְׁלוּ בָנוּ פֹּרֵק אֵין מִיָּדָם:

16. The crown of our head has fallen, woe to us, for we have sinned.
טז. נָפְלָה עֲטֶרֶת רֹאשֵׁנוּ אוֹי נָא לָנוּ כִּי חָטָאנוּ:

6. We have stretched out our hands to Egypt [and to] Assyria to get enough food.
ו. מִצְרַיִם נָתַנּוּ יָד אַשּׁוּר לִשְׂבֹּעַ לָחֶם:

14. The elders have ceased from the [city] gate, the young men from their music.
יד. זְקֵנִים מִשַּׁעַר שָׁבָתוּ בַּחוּרִים מִנְּגִינָתָם:

12. Princes were hanged by their hands, elders were not shown respect.
יב. שָׂרִים בְּיָדָם נִתְלוּ פְּנֵי זְקֵנִים לֹא נֶהְדָּרוּ:

15. The joy of our heart has ceased, our dancing has turned into mourning.
טו. שָׁבַת מְשׂוֹשׂ לִבֵּנוּ נֶהְפַּךְ לְאֵבֶל מְחוֹלֵנוּ:

19. [But] You, O Lord, remain forever; Your throne endures throughout the generations.
יט. אַתָּה יְהֹוָה לְעוֹלָם תֵּשֵׁב כִּסְאֲךָ לְדוֹר וָדוֹר:

Nachum Acrostic

B”H

In the first half of the first chapter of Nachum, half an acrostic can be easily identified.  The second half requires changing verses around and also focusing on when letters are repeated at the beginning of the sentence.


א. מַשָּׂא נִינְוֵה סֵפֶר חֲזוֹן נַחוּם הָאֶלְקֹשִׁי:

1. The harsh prophecy concerning Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.

ב. אֵל קַנּוֹא וְנֹקֵם יְהֹוָה נֹקֵם יְהֹוָה

2. The Lord is a jealous and vengeful God

וּבַעַל חֵמָה נֹקֵם יְהֹוָה לְצָרָיו וְנוֹטֵר הוּא לְאֹיְבָיו ג. יְהֹוָה אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם:

and is full of wrath; the Lord avenges Himself upon His adversaries, and He bears a grudge against His enemies.  3. The Lord is slow to anger

 וּגְדָל כֹּחַ וְנַקֵּה לֹא יְנַקֶּה יְהֹוָה בְּסוּפָה וּבִשְׂעָרָה

and great in power, but He will surely not acquit; the Lord-[His way] is with a tempest and with a storm and cloud is the dust of His feet.

 דַּרְכּוֹ וְעָנָן אֲבַק רַגְלָיו ד. גּוֹעֵר בַּיָּם וַיַּבְּשֵׁהוּ וְכָל:

His way; and cloud is the dust of His feet.  4. He rebukes the sea and dries it up, and He has dried up (and) all...

 הַנְּהָרוֹת הֶחֱרִיב אֻמְלַל בָּשָׁן וְכַרְמֶל וּפֶרַח לְבָנוֹן אֻמְלָל:

the rivers; Bashan and Carmel are cut off, and the blossoms of the Lebanon are cut off

 ה. הָרִים רָעֲשׁוּ מִמֶּנּוּ וְהַגְּבָעוֹת הִתְמֹגָגוּ

5. Mountains quaked because of him and the hills melted,

וַתִּשָּׂא הָאָרֶץ מִפָּנָיו וְתֵבֵל וְכָל יוֹשְׁבֵי בָהּ:

and the land raised up from before Him-and the inhabited earth and all who dwell thereon.

 ו. לִפְנֵי זַעְמוֹ מִי יַעֲמוֹד וּמִי יָקוּם בַּחֲרוֹן אַפּוֹ

6. Who can stand before His fury and who can rise amidst His wrath?

 חֲמָתוֹ נִתְּכָה כָאֵשׁ וְהַצֻּרִים נִתְּצוּ מִמֶּנּוּ:

His wrath has reached [the earth] like fire, and the rocks have been broken up by Him.

 ז. טוֹב יְהֹוָה לְמָעוֹז בְּיוֹם צָרָה וְיֹדֵעַ חֹסֵי בוֹ ח. וּבְשֶׁטֶף עֹבֵר כָּלָה:

7. The Lord is good-yea, a stronghold on a day of trouble- and is cognizant of those who trust in Him. 8. But, with an overrunning flood...

 יַעֲשֶׂה מְקוֹמָהּ וְאֹיְבָיו יְרַדֶּף חֹשֶׁךְ ט. מַה תְּחַשְּׁבוּן אֶל יְהֹוָה:

He shall make a full end of its place, and darkness shall pursue His enemies. 9. What do you think of the Lord?
 כָּלָה הוּא עֹשֶׂה לֹא תָקוּם פַּעֲמַיִם צָרָה :

He will make a full end; the trouble will not rise twice.

לֹא יִזָּרַע מִשִּׁמְךָ עוֹד

No more [offspring] of your name shall be sown;

מָלֵא יא. מִמֵּךְ יָצָא חֹשֵׁב עַל יְהֹוָה:

fully ripe. 11. From you has emanated one who plots evil against the Lord,

מֹטֵהוּ מֵעָלָיִךְ וּמוֹסְרֹתַיִךְ אֲנַתֵּק:

his yoke from you, and I will rend your bonds asunder.

  וְכֵן רַבִּים וְכֵן נָגוֹזּוּ:

-and likewise many-and likewise they have crossed

י. כִּי עַד סִירִים סְבֻכִים וּכְסָבְאָם סְבוּאִים אֻכְּלוּ כְּקַשׁ יָבֵשׁ

10. For, while the thorns are entangled and the drunkards are drinking, they are consumed like dry stubble,

וְעָבָר וְעִנִּתִךְ לֹא אֲעַנֵּךְ עוֹד יג. וְעַתָּה אֶשְׁבֹּר

and passed over, I will no longer afflict you. 13. And now I will break off...

פֶּסֶל וּמַסֵּכָה אָשִׂים

a graven image and a molten image; I will make

יד. וְצִוָּה עָלֶיךָ יְהֹוָה

14. And the Lord shall command concerning you;

קִבְרֶךָ כִּי קַלּוֹתָ:

your grave, for you have become worthless.

 רָעָה יֹעֵץ בְּלִיָּעַל יב. כֹּה | אָמַר יְהֹוָה:

 one who counsels wickedness. 12. So said the Lord:

אִם שְׁלֵמִים

Though they be at peace...

 מִבֵּית אֱלֹהֶיךָ אַכְרִית

from the house of your god I will cut off

The 70 Souls of Israel, the 70 Nations of the World, and the Jewish Calendar

In honor of the passing of Maran, Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef, of Blessed Memory, on the day of this writing:

As already mentioned in the introduction to Book 5, there is an interesting parallel between the 70 souls of the Jewish people that descended to Egypt and the calendar. Leah's children are seven in total, six men (the first six sefirot/ the first six days of the week) and one female (malchut, Shabat).

The counting of the omer/ weeks of the year. Leah children and grandchildren are 33 in total, including Yocheved, the hidden descendant. (See Rashi). Bilhah's (Leah's maidservant) descendants are 16, bringing the total number to 49. Dina again plays a special role, she's number 33, like Lag Ba'omer.

Book 4b then included Rachel, Joseph and Binyamin (which are mentioned next in the verse in Vayigash) as parallel to the weeks of Pessach/Shavuot, weeks 50, 51 and 52. (See Introduction to Book 1 as to why the last three weeks of the year represent the end of one cycle as well as the beginning of the next).

The remaining descendants of Rachel, her grandchildren, are 12 in total, and appear to parallel the months of the year. This would follow the notion that Joseph's progeny were supposed to parallel Jacob's, and it is well known that each of Jacob's sons, the Tribes, represent a month of the year. Because of the test Joseph faced with Potiphar's wife, he ended up having only two sons instead of twelve. However, not by coincidence, Benjamin has ten sons, all named after Joseph. 

Zilpah's descendants are seven in total, like Leah's children, one for each day of the week. 49 (52), 12, and 7 are the numbers most associated with the months, weeks, and days of the calendar. 

The listing of the 70 souls that descended to Egypt is in Chapter 46 of Genesis, which can be found here:

http://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/showrashi/false/aid/8241/jewish/Chapter-46.htm 

There also appears to be a parallel between the 70 souls that descended to Egypt and the nations of the world, which we read about in this week's portion. Verse 8 in Haazinu states: "When the Most High gave  nations their lot, when He separated the sons of man, He set up the boundaries of peoples according to the number of the children of Israel." This is also mentioned in the Zohar, Shemot 5)[1]

- The sons of Japheth are 7, which parallel the children of Leah (or the descendants of Zilpah).

- The grandchildren of Japheth are also 7, which also parallel the children of Leah (or the descendants of Zilpah).

- The descendants of Shem are 26, which parallel the grandchildren of Leah.

- The descendants of Ham are 30, which parallel the descendants of Rachel (14) plus those of Bilhah (16). 

Below is Chapter 10 of Bereshit, with numbers added by the descendants: 

1. And these are the generations of the sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and sons were born to them after the Flood.  

2. The sons of Japheth were Gomer and Magog and Madai and Javan and Tubal, and Meshech and Tiras. (Sons of Japheth: 7)

3. And the sons of Gomer were Ashkenaz and Riphath and Togarmah. (3)

4. And the sons of Javan were Elishah and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. (4)

(Descendants of Japheth: 14)

6. And the sons of Ham were Cush and Mizraim and Put and Canaan. (Sons of Ham: 4)

7. And the sons of Cush were Seba and Havilah and Sabta and Raamah and Sabtecha, and the sons of Raamah were Sheba and Dedan. (7)

8. And Cush begot Nimrod; he began to be a mighty man in the land. 

(...)

13. And Mizraim begot the Ludim and the Anamim and the Lehabim and the Naphtuhim,

14. And the Pathrusim and the Casluhim, from whom the Philistines emerged, and the Caphtorim. (7)  

15. And Canaan begot Zidon his firstborn and Heth.

16. And the Jebusites and the Amorites and the Girgashites.

17. And the Hivvites and the Arkites and the Sinites.

18. and the Arvadites and the Zemarites and the Hamathites, and afterwards the families of the Canaanites were scattered. (11)

(Descendants of Ham: 30)

22. The sons of Shem were Elam and Asshur and Arpachshad and Lud and Aram. (Sons of Shem: 5) 23. And the sons of Aram were Uz and Hul and Gether and Mash. (4)

24. And Arpachshad begot Shelah, and Shelah begot Eber. (2)

25. And to Eber were born two sons: one was named Peleg, because in his days the earth was divided, and the name of his brother was Joktan. (2)

26. And Joktan begot Almodad and Sheleph and Hazarmaveth and Jerah.

27. And Hadoram and Uzal and Diklah.  

28. And Obal and Abimael and Sheba.  

29. And Ophir and Havilah and Jobab; all these were the sons of Joktan. (13)

(Descendants of Shem: 26)

The following is a link to Chapter 10 of Genesis: http://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/8174

Observation: Interestingly, Nimrod is usually not included in the counting of the nations of the world. Instead "Plishtim," the Philistines are included. If one groups the Philistines with Canaan instead of  Mizraim (after all, historically they dwelt in the Land of Canaan), then the 30 descendants of Ham can be further subdivided int two groups:

- Put, Canaan and their descendants (including Plishtim) total 14, which parallel the descendants of Rachel.

- Cush, Mizraim and their descendants (not including Plishtim) are 16, which parallel the descendants of Bilhah.

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[1] http://www.chabad.org/kabbalah/article_cdo/aid/1381811/jewish/Included-in-the-Seventy.htm

A Promised Land

It is interesting to note that just as the Levitical cities were 52 in total (like the weeks of the year, and four to five to each tribe, like the weeks of the month), consisting of 48 cities, in addition to Jerusalem, the capital, and three future cities, so too the United States has historically consisted of 52 entities, 48 states, the capital, and mainly 3 territories – Alaska, Hawai, and Puerto Rico. (Levitical Cities are one of the main topics of Book 2). Below is a map of Biblical Israel (inverted rotated horizontally) and an 1860 map of the United States.

Levitical Cities and Constellations