Between the Narrow Places
Grief, rupture, and the work of repair — a study of Meggialh Eikhah and accompanying texts
This is a study for Tisha B'Av of Eikhah — Lamentations — built on the Jewish calendar's own architecture for collective mourning. The arc follows Bein HaMetzarim, the Three Weeks between the seventeenth of Tammuz and the ninth of Av: three weeks of descent, a single concentrated day of rupture at Tisha B'Av, and seven weeks of comfort that follow.
The course draws a direct line from ancient catastrophe to the grief many of us are carrying now — including, unavoidably, the devastation in Gaza and the long reckoning many Jews are doing with political Zionism — without collapsing any of it into the other, and without rushing toward hope the text hasn't earned yet.
Descent
Three Weeks — Eikha (Lamentations), Sinat Chinam, the Nine Days
Rupture
Tisha B'Av — the full reading of Eikha (Lamentations), sitting low
Comfort
Seven Weeks — the haftarot of consolation, Nachamu through Sos Asis
How the live sessions map to the Jewish calendar
| Session | Falls within | Covers |
|---|---|---|
| Parts 1 & 2 | Early in the Three Weeks, shortly after 17 Tammuz | Week 1 — Eikha |
| Parts 3 & 4 | Mid‑Three Weeks | Week 2 — Sinat Chinam |
| Part 5 | During the Nine Days (Rosh Chodesh Av onward) | Week 3 — The Nine Days |
| Full Reading | Tisha B'Av itself | The complete text, ideally sunset to sunset |
This guide runs on the Hebrew calendar, so the Gregorian dates shift every year. Check this year's Tisha B'Av date and count backward to set the live sessions. The Seven Weeks of Comfort that follow (Weeks 4–10) are self-guided using this companion.
Primary texts
- Megillat Eikha (Lamentations), in Ketuvim
- Eikha Rabbah — the classical Talmudic-era midrash on Lamentations, compiled in Israel
- Mishnah Ta'anit, chapter 4 — the five calamities and the fast's halakhic structure
- Talmud Bavli: Gittin 55b–58a and Yoma 9b — the destruction narratives
- The seven haftarot of consolation: Isaiah 40, 49, 51, 54 (twice), 60, 61
In conversation with
- Martin Prechtel and Francis Weller, on grief as initiation — held as resonance, not foundation
- Christina Sharpe, In the Wake — on catastrophe as ongoing rather than a discrete past event
- Robin Wall Kimmerer, Mahmoud Darwish, Aurora Levins Morales — on memory, erasure, and repair
Use this. Make it yours.
Please use them. Adapt them, bring them into your own communities, make them yours. That's what they're for.
And if something here was useful to you — I'd love to hear about it. Tell me what you tried, what it opened up, what you'd change. If you share it further, attribute it back to me. And if you're able, pay what you can. These take real time and real care to make, and your support is what lets me keep making them.
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About Alison
Alison Avigayil Ramer is a rabbinical student, spiritual guide, coach and consultant. She has spent over twenty years working alongside activists — including more than fifteen years living and working with Palestinian communities in Israel and Palestine. After October 7th her focus has been on supporting the creation of liberatory spiritual spaces. This includes co-founding the Social Change Sanctuary, Shomeret Shalom, and the Jewish Diaspora Movement.
Book a coaching or consulting session with Alison, or subscribe to her newsletter, Hodaya, for ongoing reflection and practice. You can read more about her work here.