“This photograph is my proof. There was that afternoon, when things were still good between us, and she embraced me, and we were so happy. It did happen. She did love me. Look for yourself.” This is my proof, Duane Michals, 1974
אָזְדָה כְּהוּפְרָה הָאֲבִיּוֹנָה. אֶזְכְּרָה כִּי הָיִיתִי מְחֻתָּנָה. אַזִּיל פְּלָגִים כִּבְרֵכָה הָעֶלְיוֹנָה. אֶעֱגוֹר מִי יִתֶּן לִי אֵבֶר כַּיּוֹנָה:
She went into exile due to the breaking of the ancestral covenant. I remember when we were married. I will shed tears like streams from a great pond. I will wail “O that I had the wings of a dove!”
הָלֹ֡ךְ וְֽקָרָ֩אתָ֩ בְאׇזְנֵ֨י יְרוּשָׁלַ֜͏ִם לֵאמֹ֗ר כֹּ֚ה אָמַ֣ר יְהֹוָ֔ה זָכַ֤רְתִּי לָךְ֙ חֶ֣סֶד נְעוּרַ֔יִךְ אַהֲבַ֖ת כְּלוּלֹתָ֑יִךְ לֶכְתֵּ֤ךְ אַֽחֲרַי֙ בַּמִּדְבָּ֔ר בְּאֶ֖רֶץ לֹ֥א זְרוּעָֽה׃
Go proclaim to Jerusalem: Thus said GOD:I accounted to your favorThe devotion of your youth,Your love as a bride—How you followed Me in the wilderness,In a land not sown.
הַמֵּבִיא גֵט מִמְּדִינַת הַיָּם, צָרִיךְ שֶׁיֹּאמַר, בְּפָנַי נִכְתַּב וּבְפָנַי נֶחְתָּם.
An agent who brings a bill of divorce [get] from a husband to his wife from the sea-country [overseas] is required to state the following formula when he hands over the bill of divorce: This get was written in my presence and it was signed in my presence.
מדרש תהלים מזמור סח "אבי יתומים ודיין אלמנות“ ישראל בגולה דומין לאלמנות ויתומים, שנאמר ”יתומים היינו ואין אב אמותינו כאלמנות“ -איכה ה:ג. ולא אלמנות ממש, אלא כאשה שהלך בעלה למדינת הים ודעתו לחזור אליה. ולא יתומים ממש, אלא כקטנים שהלך אביהם למדינת הים ואין מי שיפרנס אותם. וכן כתיב ”כי לא אלמן ישראל ויהודה מאלהיו“
Midrash Tehillim Psalm 68
“A father of orphans and champion of widows” (Psalm 68:6). Israel in exile are similar to widows and orphans, as it is said, “we have become orphans without a father, and our mothers are like widows” (Lamentations 5:3). Still, not [similar to] actual widows, but to a woman whose husband went off to sea-country and intends to return to her. And not to actual orphans, but to children whose father went off to sea-country and nobody is there to support them. As so it is written, “for Israel and Judah were not bereft of their God” (Jeremiah 51:5).
(א) אֵיכָ֣ה ׀ יָשְׁבָ֣ה בָדָ֗ד הָעִיר֙ רַבָּ֣תִי עָ֔ם הָיְתָ֖ה כְּאַלְמָנָ֑ה רַבָּ֣תִי בַגּוֹיִ֗ם שָׂרָ֙תִי֙ בַּמְּדִינ֔וֹת הָיְתָ֖ה לָמַֽס׃ {ס}
Alas!Lonely sits the cityOnce great with people!She that was great among nationsIs become like a widow;The princess among statesIs become a thrall.
הָיְתָה כְּאַלְמָנָה ... אֵין כְּתִיב כָּאן, אֶלָּא כְּאַלְמָנָה, כְּאִשָּׁה שֶׁהָלַךְ בַּעֲלָה לִמְדִינַת הַיָּם וְדַעְתּוֹ לַחֲזֹר אֵלֶיהָ. (איכה ב, ד): דָּרַךְ קַשְׁתּוֹ כְּאוֹיֵב, אוֹיֵב אֵין כְּתִיב כָּאן, אֶלָּא כְּאוֹיֵב. הָיָה ה' כְּאוֹיֵב, אוֹיֵב אֵין כְּתִיב כָּאן, אֶלָּא כְּאוֹיֵב. דָּבָר אַחֵר, הָיְתָה כְּאַלְמָנָה, רַבִּי חָמָא בַּר עוּקְבָא וְרַבָּנָן, רַבִּי חָמָא בַּר עוּקְּבָא אָמַר לְאַלְמָנָה שֶׁהָיְתָה תּוֹבַעַת מְזוֹנוֹתֶיהָ וְלֹא הָיְתָה תּוֹבַעַת כְּתֻבָּתָהּ. וְרַבָּנָן אָמְרִין לְמֶלֶךְ שֶׁכָּעַס עַל מַטְרוֹנָה וְכָתַב לָהּ גִּטָּהּ וְעָמַד וַחֲטָפוֹ מִמֶּנָּהּ, וְכָל זְמַן שֶׁהָיְתָה מְבַקֶּשֶׁת לִנָּשֵׂא לְאַחֵר הָיָה אוֹמֵר לָהּ הֵיכָן גִּטֵּךְ, וְכָל זְמַן שֶׁהָיְתָה תּוֹבַעַת מְזוֹנוֹתֶיהָ הָיָה אוֹמֵר לָהּ וְלֹא כְבָר גֵּרַשְׁתִּיךְ, כָּךְ כָּל זְמַן שֶׁיִּשְׂרָאֵל מְבַקְּשִׁים לַעֲבֹד עֲבוֹדַת כּוֹכָבִים הָיָה אוֹמֵר לָהֶם הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא (ישעיה נ, א): אֵי זֶה סֵפֶר כְּרִיתוּת אִמְּכֶם, וְכָל זְמַן שֶׁמְּבַקְּשִׁים לַעֲשׂוֹת לָהֶם נִסִּים כְּבַתְּחִלָּה, אוֹמֵר לָהֶם הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא כְּבָר גֵּרַשְׁתִּי אֶתְכֶם, הֲדָא הוּא דִכְתִיב (ירמיה ג, ח): שִׁלַּחְתִּיהָ וָאֶתֵּן אֶת סֵפֶר כְּרִיתֻתֶיהָ אֵלֶיהָ.
“She has become like a widow.” “A widow” is not written here, but rather, “like a widow”—like a woman whose husband went to a country overseas and plans to return to her. “He drew His bow like an enemy” (Lamentations 2:4), “enemy” is not written here, but rather, “like an enemy.” “The Lord was like an enemy” (Lamentations 2:5), “enemy” is not written here, but rather, “like an enemy.”Another matter, “she has become like a widow.” Rabbi Ḥama bar Ukeva and the Rabbis, Rabbi Ḥama bar Ukeva said: [This is analogous] to a widow who was demanding her sustenance but was not demanding her marriage contract. The Rabbis said: [This is analogous] to a king who grew angry at the queen and wrote her a bill of divorce and then snatched it from her. Any time that she sought to marry another, he would say to her: ‘Where is your bill of divorce?’ Any time she would demand her sustenance, he would say to her: ‘Have I not already divorced you?’ So too, any time Israel would seek to engage in idol worship, the Holy One blessed be He would say to them: “Where is your mother’s bill of divorce?” (Isaiah 50:1). Any time they request that He perform miracles on their behalf, the Holy One blessed be He says to them: ‘I have already divorced you.’ That is what is written: “I sent her away and gave her bill of divorce to her” (Jeremiah 3:8).
זֹאת אָשִׁיב אֶל לִבִּי עַל כֵּן אוֹחִיל. רַבִּי אַבָּא בַּר כַּהֲנָא בְּשֵׁם רַבִּי יוֹחָנָן אָמַר מָשָׁל לְמָה הַדָּבָר דּוֹמֶה, לְמֶלֶךְ שֶׁנָּשָׂא מַטְרוֹנָה וְכָתַב לָהּ כְּתֻבָּה מְרֻבָּה, וְאָמַר לָהּ כָּךְ וְכָךְ חֻפּוֹת אֲנִי עוֹשֶׂה לִיךְ, כָּךְ וְכָךְ אַרְגְּוָנוֹת טוֹבוֹת אֲנִי נוֹתֵן לִיךְ. הִנִּיחָהּ הַמֶּלֶךְ וְהָלַךְ לוֹ לִמְדִינַת הַיָּם וְאֵחֵר לְשָׁם. נִכְנְסוּ שְׁכֵנוֹתֶיהָ אֶצְלָה וְהָיוּ מַקְנִיטוֹת אוֹתָהּ וְאוֹמְרוֹת לָהּ הִנִּיחֵךְ הַמֶּלֶךְ וְהָלַךְ לוֹ לִמְדִינַת הַיָּם, וְשׁוּב אֵינוֹ חוֹזֵר עָלַיִךְ, וְהָיְתָה בּוֹכָה וּמִתְאַנַּחַת, וְכֵיוָן שֶׁנִּכְנְסָה לְתוֹךְ בֵּיתָהּ פּוֹתַחַת וּמוֹצִיאָה כְּתֻבָּתָהּ וְקוֹרֵאת, וְרוֹאָה בִּכְתֻבָּתָהּ כָּךְ וְכָךְ חֻפּוֹת אֲנִי עוֹשֶׂה, כָּךְ וְכָךְ אַרְגְּוָנוֹת טוֹבוֹת אֲנִי נוֹתֵן לִיךְ, מִיָּד הָיְתָה מִתְנַחֶמֶת. לְיָמִים בָּא הַמֶּלֶךְ, אָמַר לָהּ בִּתִּי אֲנִי תָּמֵהַּ אֵיךְ הִמְתַּנְתְּ לִי כָּל אוֹתָן הַשָּׁנִים, אָמְרָה לוֹ אֲדוֹנִי הַמֶּלֶךְ אִלְמָלֵא כְּתֻבָּה מְרֻבָּה שֶׁכָּתַבְתָּ וְנָתַתָּ לִי כְּבָר אִבְּדוּנִי שְׁכֵנוֹתַי. כָּךְ עוֹבְדֵי כּוֹכָבִים מוֹנִין אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאוֹמְרִין לָהֶם, אֱלֹהֵיכֶם הִסְתִּיר פָּנָיו מִכֶּם וְסִלֵּק שְׁכִינָתוֹ מִכֶּם, עוֹד אֵינוֹ חוֹזֵר עֲלֵיכֶם, וְהֵן בּוֹכִין וּמִתְאַנְחִין, וְכֵיוָן שֶׁנִּכְנָסִין לְבָתֵּי כְנֵסִיּוֹת וּלְבָתֵּי מִדְרָשׁוֹת וְקוֹרִין בַּתּוֹרָה וּמוֹצְאִין שֶׁכָּתוּב (ויקרא כו, ט): וּפָנִיתִי אֲלֵיכֶם וְהִפְרֵיתִי אֶתְכֶם וְנָתַתִּי מִשְׁכָּנִי בְּתוֹכְכֶם וְהִתְהַלַּכְתִּי בְּתוֹכְכֶם, וְהֵן מִתְנַחֲמִין. לְמָחָר כְּשֶׁיָּבוֹא קֵץ הַגְּאֻלָּה אוֹמֵר לָהֶם הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לְיִשְׂרָאֵל בָּנַי אֲנִי תָּמֵהַּ מִכֶּם הֵיאַךְ הִמְתַּנְתֶּם לִי כָּל אוֹתָן הַשָּׁנִים, וְהֵן אוֹמְרִים לְפָנָיו רִבּוֹנוֹ שֶׁל עוֹלָם אִלּוּלֵי תּוֹרָתְךָ שֶׁנָּתַתָּ לָנוּ כְּבָר אִבְּדוּנוּ הָאֻמּוֹת. לְכָךְ נֶאֱמַר: זֹאת אָשִׁיב אֶל לִבִּי, וְאֵין זֹאת אֶלָּא תּוֹרָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (דברים ד, מד): וְזֹאת הַתּוֹרָה. וְכֵן דָּוִד אָמַר (תהלים קיט, צב): לוּלֵי תוֹרָתְךָ שַׁעֲשֻׁעָי אָז אָבַדְתִּי בְעָנְיִי.
“This I will reply to my heart; therefore I have hope” (Lamentations 3:21).
R. Abba b. Kahana in the name of R. Yoḥanan said: A parable—to what does this bear a resemblance? To a king who married a lady and wrote her an extravagant marriage contract, saying ‘I will make such-and-so-many bridal chambers for you, I will give such-and-so-many ne purple dresses to you.’ The king left her, went o to sea-country and stayed there awhile. Her neighbors would come by to bother her and say, ‘The king has abandoned you, gone o to sea country, and will never return to you,’ and she would cry and groan. When she would return home, she would take out and open her marriage contract, reading and seeing there ‘I will make such-and-so-many bridal chambers for you, ‘I will give such-and-so-many ne purple dresses to you.’ Immediately, she would be comforted. In time, the king returned. He said to her, ‘My daughter, I cannot understand how you waited for me all those years.’ She said to him, ‘My master, the king, without the extravagant marriage contract you wrote and gave to me, my neighbors would have already ruined me.’ [This photograph is my proof.]
So too, the idolaters ridicule Israel and say to them, ‘Your god has hidden his face from you, and removed his presence from within you; he is never going to return to you,’ And they cry and moan. When they enter the synagogues and study-halls, reading the Torah and finding written there, I will turn favorably toward you, and make you fruitful... and I will place my dwelling in your midst... and I will walk among you (Leviticus 26:9-12), they are comforted. Tomorrow, when the period of redemption arrives, the Holy Blessed One says to Israel, ‘My children, I cannot understand how you waited for me all those years.’ And they say before him, ‘Master of the World, without your Torah that you gave us, the nations would have already ruined us.' Therefore it says, This I call to mind, and ‘this’ is nothing other than Torah as it is said, And this is the Torah (Deuteronomy 4:44). Similarly, David said, If your Torah had not been my delight, I would have perished in my misery (Psalms 119:92).
Out Beyond the Sea: A Theology of Divine Absence
Akiva Mattenson
The divine absence described by these texts in the image of medinat ha-yam is one that cannot be endured indifferently or objectively, one that cannot be easily overcome by opening our eyes and learning to see the world differently, and one that always involves an implicit reference to the possibility of an irrevocable loss of God, which would leave us with the hard work of grief and mourning. If I have been stressing the tragic side of this theological imagery, it is only because we deserve theologies that are forthright and honest about the difficulty, tragedy, and uncertainty bound up with being in relationship with God here and now. Our theologies ought to make space and give voice to those moments of profound resignation to the irrevocable loss of God, enabling us to claim those raw emotions as part of our religious lives and the complicated story of our life with God. Yet theological honesty and forthrightness also demand that we take stock of the hope, however fragile, that continues to linger on. For somewhere, out beyond the sea, God may still be there. Indeed, who knows? Once again, in a little while, God may be coming and close to returning. We can only hope.
The Helmsman
H.D.
O be swift—
we have always known you wanted us.
We fled inland with our flocks.
We pastured them in hollows,
cut off from the wind
and the salt track of the marsh.
We worshipped inland—
we stepped past wood-flowers,
we forgot your tang,
we brushed wood-grass.
We wandered from pine-hills
through oak and scrub-oak tangles,
we broke hyssop and bramble,
we caught flower and new bramble-fruit
in our hair: we laughed
as each branch whipped back,
we tore our feet in half-buried rocks
and knotted roots and acorn-cups.
We forgot—we worshipped,
we parted green from green,
we sought further thickets,
we dipped our ankles
through leaf-mould and earth,
and wood and wood-bank enchanted us—
and the feel of the clefts in the bark,
and the slope between tree and tree—
and a slender path strung field to field
and wood to wood
and hill to hill
and the forest after it.
We forgot—for a moment
tree-resin, tree-bark,
sweat of a torn branch
were sweet to taste.
We were enchanted with the fields,
the tufts of coarse grass—
in the shorter grass—
we loved all this.
But now, our boat climbs—hesitates—drops—
climbs—hesitates—crawls back—
climbs—hesitates—
O, be swift— we have always known you wanted us.