It was taught in a baraita that Rabbi Yosei said: I was once walking along the road when I entered the ruins of an abandoned building, among the ruins of Jerusalem, in order to pray. Elijah the Prophet, of blessed memory, came and guarded the entrance for me and waited at the entrance until I finished my prayer. When I finished praying, Elijah said to me: Shalom aleicha -- greetings to you, my rabbi. I answered him: Shalom aleicha -- greetings to you, my rabbi, my teacher. And Elijah said to me: My son, why did you enter this ruin? I said to him: In order to pray. And Elijah said to me: You should have prayed on the road. And I said to him:I was afraid that I might be interrupted by travelers. ...

And Elijah said to me: My son, what voice did you hear in that ruin? I responded: I heard a Heavenly voice (a bat-kol) that was cooing like a dove and saying: Woe to the children, due to whose sins I destroyed My house, burned My Temple, and exiled them among the nations of the world. And Elijah said to me: By your life and by your head, not only did that voice cry out in that moment, but it cries out three times each and every day.