Rashi, on Lam 3:41

“Nun. Let us lift up our hearts with our hands to the Lord in the heavens.”

“Let us lift up our hearts to our hands When we lift up our hands to heaven, let us also lift up our hearts with them, to return, to bring back our hearts before the Omnipresent, blessed be He. (Lam. Rabbah ms.). Another explanation: to our hands to the clouds, to the heavens, as Scripture states (I Kings 18:44): “There is a cloud as small as a man’s palm, rising.” And similarly, (Job 36:32): “Over the clouds (כַּפַּיִם) He covers the rain.” And [according to] the Midrash of our Sages: Let us lift up our hands sincerely to the Holy One, blessed be He, like one who washes his hands with cleanliness, who casts from his hands all contamination, for “he who confesses [his sins] and abandons [them] will obtain mercy, but he who confesses [his sins] but does not abandon [them] is like one who immerses himself while holding a [dead] reptile in his hand.””

Hebrew and Aramaic words are the commentator’s citations of the sacred text; the English translation that follows each is the translator’s.

Imported from an open dataset — not yet checked against the printed edition.