Schir haSchirim 1:11 Kommentar: Rashi & Ezra ben Solomon

Circlets of gold we will make for you. I and My tribunal decided before Pharaoh’s arrival that I should entice him and harden his heart to pursue you with all the best of his hidden treasures; so that we should make circlets of golden ornaments for you.

We will add wreaths of gold to your points⁵³ Points or studs (nekudot). The term is used as well to designate the vowel signs that are placed above and below the consonants of the Hebrew alphabet and look very much like points (nekudot). R. Ezra will construct an elaborate exegetic pun upon the multiple meanings of the term in which the studs (nekudot) of silver—the teachings of written Torah—will serve as the animating force of the wreaths of gold—oral Torah—just as the vowels (nekudot) transform inert consonants into pliable words and living discourse. of silver. The parable conveys that both written and oral Torah are conveyed by the shekhinah. The two are compared to gold and silver: “I prefer the teaching You proclaimed to thousands of gold and silver pieces” [Ps. 119:72]. Similarly, they are compared to wine and milk, and honey and milk, as in “All who are thirsty, come for water … buy … wine and milk without cost” [Isa. 55:1]. And “Sweetness drops from your lips O bride; honey and milk are under your tongue” [Song of Songs 4:11]. That is to say that they are all the image and appearance: water from wind and fire from water. Because redness is closer to us, the verse gives precedence to the red. But the Holy One gives precedence to the white, as it says: “Mine is silver and mine is gold” [Hag. 2:8].⁵⁴“Wine,” “red,” and “gold” are symbols of the left side, while “white,” “milk,” and “silver” symbolize the right. Isa. 55:1, referring to human access, mentions wine before milk. The Haggai verse, referring to God, reverses the symbolic order: God prefers silver (ḥesed) to gold (din).

With spangles of silver. That were already in your possession, that you took out of Egypt; for the plunder at the sea⁴⁵Symbolized by gold. (Sifsei Chachomim) was greater than the plunder in Egypt.⁴⁶Symbolized by silver. (Sifsei Chachomim)