A closer look at the Kinnot.
Podcast Host(s): Rabbi Jay Kelman
Listen to Three Weeks of Poetry: A Closer Look at the Kinnot on Spotify
Podcast Episodes
When Your Own People Become Your Worst Enemy
What happens when corruption spreads from the inside? When the leaders who should speak truth start lying, and unity fractures under siege? This kinah asks the question that still haunts us: are we destroying ourselves?
When God Stops Listening
What if your cries became so unbearable that God had to turn His face away? This kinah is a conversation between a grieving people and a God who finally responds, but not how they hoped
How Could you Forget Your Own Promise
Every stanza is the same heartbreaking question: God, how could you do this? How could you forget the covenant, the miracles, the people you chose? This kinah is a masterclass in grief, not acceptance, but raw, defiant questioning.
Why Rabbi Akiva Laughed at the Ruins
The Temple is destroyed. Foxes are walking through the holy of holies. And then one rabbi starts laughing. This kinah tells you why, and what it means to choose hope when everything is broken.
1. Introduction to the Kinnot
Please join Rabbi Kelman for Three Weeks of Poetry a daily podcast from 17 Tammuz through 9 Av. In each episode (generally between 20–25 minutes) we will explore one of the kinnot for Tisha B’av; its literary style, themes, historical context, the meaning of and behind the words.
On Today's episode we introduce some of the goals of the Kinnot.