Midrash as Filter
砖讬专 讛砖讬专讬诐 讗:讘
讬执砖指旨讈拽值谞执讬 诪执谞职旨砖执讈讬拽讜止转 驻执旨讬讛讜旨, 讻执旨讬-讟讜止讘执讬诐 讚止旨讚侄讬讱指 诪执讬指旨讬执谉.
砖讬专 讛砖讬专讬诐 专讘讛 (讜讬诇谞讗) 驻专砖讛 讗 讚”讛 讘 讚”讗 讬砖拽谞讬
讘 讚”讗 讬砖拽谞讬 诪谞砖讬拽讜转 驻讬讛讜 讗诪专 专讘讬 讬讜讞谞谉 诪诇讗讱 讛讬讛 诪讜爪讬讗 讛讚讬讘讜专 诪诇驻谞讬 讛拽讚讜砖 讘专讜讱 讛讜讗, 注诇 讻诇 讚讬讘讜专 讜讚讬讘讜专, 讜诪讞讝讬专讜 注诇 讻诇 讗讞讚 讜讗讞讚 诪讬砖专讗诇 讜讗讜诪专 诇讜 诪拽讘诇 讗转讛 注诇讬讱 讗转 讛讚讬讘讜专 讛讝讛, 讻讱 讜讻讱 讚讬谞讬谉 讬砖 讘讜 讻讱 讜讻讱 注讜谞砖讬谉 讬砖 讘讜 讻讱 讜讻讱 讙讝专讜转 讬砖 讘讜 讜讻讱 诪爪讜转 讜讻讱 拽诇讬诐 讜讞诪讜专讬诐 讬砖 讘讜, 讻讱 讜讻讱 诪转谉 砖讻专 讬砖 讘讜, 讜讛讬讛 讗讜诪专 诇讜 讬砖专讗诇 讛谉 讜讞讜讝专 讜讗讜诪专 诇讜 诪拽讘诇 讗转 讗诇讛讜转讜 砖诇 讛拽讘”讛 讜讛讜讗 讗讜诪专 诇讜 讛谉 讜讛谉, 诪讬讚 讛讬讛 谞讜砖拽讜 注诇 驻讬讜, 讛讛”讚 +讚讘专讬诐 讚’+ 讗转讛 讛专讗转 诇讚注转 注诇 讬讚讬 砖诇讬讞,
Song of Songs 1:2
Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for your love is better than wine.
Song of Songs Rabbah 1:2:2
Rabbi Yohanan said: An angel carried the utterances [at Mount Sinai] from before the Holy One, blessed be He, each one in turn, and brought it to each of the Israelites and said to him, “Do you take upon yourself this commandment? So-and-so many rules are attached to it, so-and-so many penalties are attached to it, so many precepts and so many lenient and strict applications are attached to it; such-and-such a reward is attached to it.” The Israelite would answer him, “Yes.” He then said, “Do you accept the divinity of the Holy One, blessed be He?” and he answered, “Yes, yes.” Thereupon he kissed him on the mouth; hence it says, “It has been clearly demonstrated to you that the Lord alone is God” (Deuteronomy 4:35), namely, by an [angelic] messenger.
From sensual poetry to rules and penalties: how did that happen?
The distance between the peshat, or literary meaning of the text, and derash, its interpretation, is nowhere more obvious than in the rabbinic interpretation of the biblical book Song of Songs. Read in synagogue on the Shabbat of Hol Hamo’ed Pesah, the book is a sensuous collection of lovers’ words, moving from courtship to consummation.
That such a text is not explicitly religious did not seem to bother the Rabbis, or at least did not seem to present an insurmountable problem. Declaring the book to be the work of none other than King Solomon, the Rabbis read it as an allegory of the love between God and Israel. (In fact, this claim arises from the book’s opening verse, arguably the only one in the entire book the Rabbis take literally.) The midrash cited here is a prime example: lest you think the verse is really about a lover’s kiss, know that it’s really about the kiss an angel gave to your Israelite ancestor when he accepted the yoke of God’s mitzvot, in full knowledge of the complete halakhic system.
What a wonderfully rich tradition to have inherited. Here at our spring festival, we read this most romantic book with two sets of lenses. We read it with the flowers blooming and with “love in the air,” appreciating it as the love poetry it is. But we also read it midrashically, relating it to the Exodus story, a courtship that will be consummated with the receiving of the Law at Sinai at the end of the Omer period, which we have just begun. Our religious lives are filled with as much yearning as our love lives, both of which can be “sealed with a kiss,” and our tradition relishes all sorts of words and images in igniting the imaginations of both layers of our inner lives.
