There is a correspondence, then, between ash or dust and the experience of deep sorrow which makes these a fitting sign of sorrow. One feels undone, stripped of everything, stripped down to one’s very core. And this is how one feels when one experiences deep sorrow. And himself in the dust lay outstretched…”īut why is ash, or dust, such a fitting symbol for expressing sorrow? This may be because each is matter unadorned, matter without any pretension. In the Iliad (xviii, 23), when he learned of the death of Patroclus, Achilles “took the dark dust and strewed it over his head and defiled his fair face, and on his fragrant tunic the black ashes fell. Job (Job 16:16), his friends (Job 2:12), and the Ninevites (Jon 3:6) – who are mentioned in the fourth prayer blessing the Ashes on Ash Wednesday – all gentiles, had similar rituals. This custom, moreover, was not confined to the Hebrews.
The Prophet Ezekiel also makes reference to this practice (Eze 27:30). The Prophet Jeremiah directs that the people should mourn in this manner (Jer 6:26). Scripture tells us that Joshua and the leaders of the Tribes did so (Jos 7:6). There are numerous examples of this in the Old Testament. From time immemorial, the strewing of ashes or dust on oneself was a sign of sorrow.
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