ירמיהו, פרק כ׳, פסוק י״ז

Deep despair can sometimes push a person to wish they had never entered the world at all. Overwhelmed by suffering, the prophet expresses a dark and painful desire, continuing his bitter curse against the day of his birth and the messenger who announced it. He longs for an alternate reality where his life would have ended in the womb, long before he ever saw the light of day [מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

In his anguish, he wishes that he had been killed while still in the place of his formation [מצודת ציון]. The cry is brief and does not explicitly name who should have ended his life [רש"י]. There are a few ways to understand who the prophet is addressing. Some suggest he is speaking of the Angel of Death [רש"י]. Others explain that he is directing his complaint toward God, who holds the ultimate power over life and death [מצודת דוד, רד"ק]. Another approach suggests his anger is aimed at the very man who brought the news of his birth, questioning why that messenger did not strike him down while he was still in the womb [רד"ק].

Had he perished before taking his first breath, his mother would have become his grave [רד"ק]. Building on this tragic image, he wishes for a state of perpetual pregnancy, imagining a reality where he remained trapped inside forever [רש"י, ביאור שטיינזלץ]. Although the word for womb is typically masculine in Hebrew, the phrasing here shifts to the feminine to focus on the mother herself, envisioning her carrying him endlessly [רד"ק]. On a practical level, if a lifeless infant were delivered, the mother would eventually be able to conceive again. However, the prophet's wish is so absolute that he desires to remain inside her forever. By doing so, he would effectively prevent her from ever experiencing another pregnancy for the rest of her life [מצודת דוד, מלבי"ם].