Song of Songs 4:12 Jewish Thought: Akeidat Yitzchak, Kol HaTor & Gevurot Hashem

No doubt, as stated by Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai, G-d had planted the garden prior to man's creation (meaning of the word mikedem, "since before") at the hub of the earth, a place where all the positive influences converge and enable the successful growth of all the finest fruit. The concentration of all this excellent fruit would prove to Adam that the whole earth could support such bounty of nature. "Eden” expresses the totality of the earth since ancient times. G-d placed man in the garden, i.e. a miniature of the globe, to make him aware of the nature of the earth, his place and task on it. Since this universe was created for the sake of man, he needed to become aware how he could preserve it. Man's physical parts are really two, as explained in chapter six. (1) G-d created man dust from the earth; (2) He blew a breath of life into his nostrils, completing the process of creating his body. Only then could man become a living creature. Given the matter supplied by G-d, as distinct from the animal kingdom which had been produced by earth, i.e. nature, the life force supplied by mother earth differs materially from the life force supplied by G-d directly. The trees whose function it was to supply man's need for nourishment, were part of the equipment of the garden. All the things necessary for man are mentioned under the heading "pleasant to look at, good to eat," i.e. good as food. G-d made them grow out of the earth since they represented the needs of that part of man that had been fashioned from the dust of the earth. Of the other two trees (tree of life and tree of knowledge), no mention is made as to how they came into existence. They corresponded to man's intellectual and spiritual needs. The tree of life in particular had been designed to assure man's immortality by feeding his intellect so that it could attain independent and enduring existence. Its position in the center of the garden emphasizes that man's entire existence should revolve around what this tree symbolizes. Since matan Torah, the revelation at Mount Sinai, its place has been taken by Torah. Torah is described frequently as our source of life. Next to it was the tree of knowledge, representing practical rather than speculative reason, appealing to expediency, immediate gratification etc. The tree of knowledge was to practical reason what the tree of life was to speculative reason. Its position near the tree of life was to point out that everything it stood for should be placed in the service of the tree of life.

Our Parshah addresses itself to this very problem. The way to salvation is the straight and narrow, whereas the alternative is threefold. "The blessing, that you listen to the commandments of the Lord your G'd." (11,26) However, the curse "you do not listen, you depart from the path- to follow other deities whom you have not known." (11,28) At Sinai we were given three imperatives. " anochi, I am the Lord; lo yihyeh, have no other deities; zachor et yom hashabbat lekadsho, remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. It is these three commandments that remind us that there is a hashgachah peratit, personal Divine Providence that guides our lives here on earth. Ever since Eve had sinned, true freedom has been denied man since the yetzer hara, evil temptation has gained entry into man through her to all subsequent generations, leaving us with less than a fifty-fifty chance to totally defeat the temptation to do evil. But now, after Sinai, that chance had been restored. This is the meaning of Rabbi Eleazar who said that from now on we are the architects of our own evil if we choose the wrong path. Between the time of Eve and Sinai, men were fatalists to whom doing good made no sense, since they were convinced that history was decreed and the future unalterable. As long as the belief existed that all had been pre-ordained, all good and evil emanated from Heaven. Only when the Jewish people were disabused of the idea that all had been pre-ordained, did good and evil, reward and punishment truly become man's choice. The reversal in man's fatalistic outlook on life began with Abraham, of course. In our Parshah, G'd not only offers the choice, but almost makes sure that we make the right choice by telling us to choose life. (chapter 30) All of mankind may be viewed as guests at G'ds table. Because of the special relationship that exists between Israel and G'd, the former is offered a choice portion by having its attention directed towards it without depriving Israel of the ultimate decision of what to opt for. "You shall choose!" (Deut.30,19) The public declaration at Mount Gerizim and Mount Eyvol immediately following the conquest of the land, point to the urgency of assimilating this lesson especially in the land of Israel, which, since it is under the unceasing surveillance of G'd will not long tolerate non observance of the mitzvot. This is in contrast to Egypt, where pursuit of a hedonistic way of life went unpunished for long periods of time. The first task is destruction of all vestiges of idol worship remaining. Therefore, (12,2) "destroy utterly all the places that served as centres of idol worship." Next comes the need to establish a central place of worship, to minimise the opportunities for any deviationist movements within Judaism. At any rate the message is that it is not man who chooses where he wants to worship, but G'd determines where and when He can be successfully prayed to. After that, the Torah limits sacrificial service to the central site of worship, and states that only certain types of animals will be acceptable as potential sacrifices. In this way, many abominations practiced by the pagans were eliminated as a form of worship, foremost among them child sacrifice. Since a great part of the animal offerings were concentrated on the various holy days that involved pilgrimage to the temple by all males, the Torah stresses that on such joyous occasions the less fortunate must not be forgotten, and must be made to share in these expressions of joy. For that reason, the Levite, the stranger, (convert to Judaism), the widow and the orphan are especially mentioned. Since the true measure of acknowledging G'd lies in one's appreciation of G'ds tremendous generosity to man, man can reflect this pious feeling only by extending his own generosity towards the less fortunate in his society. In order to underscore the serious nature of the sin of idol worship, the Torah reminds us once more that the former inhabitants of Canaan were dispossessed and destroyed because they indulged in these abominable practices. Not only was their philosophy faulty, even their deeds were corrupt, involving sacrificing their own children. We are asked not even to investigate their actions or to enquire into the reasons underlying their philosophy. A second danger the Jewish people may be faced with in their new home, is the call of the false prophet to deviate from the path of tradition. Coming as it does from someone who may have acquired the reputation of being a prophet, such danger is very real indeed. The Torah warns that the surfacing of such people advocating practices inimical to normative Judaism is a test of our faith in G'd, our loyalty, and must be reacted to a such. The third danger, and by far the most difficult to combat, is seduction by one's intimate friends and relatives. (13,7) "When your brother, son or daughter tries to seduce you, privately, saying let us worship other deities that you have not known." We are warned to ignore sentiments of protectiveness for the welfare of family in such cases, and to bring such people to justice. We must not corrupt our sense of pity by applying it to the undeserving. Only when we do not abuse feelings of mercy, pity etc. can we in turn expect the Almighty to employ His sense of pity, mercy etc. when we are in need of it. When G'd sees that we deal with cities in which idol worship has become rampant, according to Torah law, then His wrath that such things have been allowed to happen can be assuaged. Actually, display of sympathy for the corrupt few is equivalent to subjecting the majority to their evil machinations. Cruelty,- if such it be- must be reserved for use against unrepentant sinners. G'ds purpose in educating us, is to eliminate negative character traits and elevate us to a level of banim attem tashem elokeychem, you are true children of the Lord your G'd. We would almost cease to be beney adam, "sons of man," and become "sons of G'd" instead. The fact that the Jewish people or G'd are referred to as children, daughter, mother and sister in their reciprocal relationship in various places in the Bible, indicates that the intimacy of such relationship undergoes changes. Psalms 45,11, speaks of "hearken daughter and see!." Song of Songs 3,11, speaks of "the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his wedding." Song of Songs 4,12 speaks of "My sister is like a fenced in garden." The relationship between Israel and its G'd is one that should become progressively more intimate. For these reasons, "do not make incisions on yourselves," is to remind us that the loss of human relatives notwithstanding, the continued presence of G'd, who represents to us all the above listed human relationships, must help us put any personal grief over the loss of dear ones into its proper perspective, and not to "cut ourselves up" over such loss. When members of one's family die,- seeing that theirs was the same relationship with G'd as ours-, He has suffered a loss similar to ours, and it is not fitting therefore for us to disfigure ourselves as a sign of mourning. "Do not make a bald spot on your forehead." (14, 1)This is the true meaning of the verse "for you are a holy nation to the Lord your G'd." (14,2) See our commentary in Parshat Emor. The reason this legislation follows that of the ir hanidachat, the city of idol worshippers that has to be destroyed, is to remind us that inflicting wounds upon one's body in mourning, for people who died as a result of punishment for such sins as idol worship, is just as wrong as treating such people with less than the full force of the law. Finally, to reinforce the holy character of the Jewish people, and to insure their continued adherence to Torah standards, the legislation concerning forbidden foods is appended.

The Midrash quoted at the outset of this chapter, listing a variety of comparisons for the Israel/G-d relationship, refers to the various temples. The first example, the shepherd and his dwelling, refers to the tabernacle in the desert. G-d’s function in the desert was to provide all the needs of the people directly. (Manna-water-meat) Solomon's temple,-since it did not endure-, was referred to as a hut, the need of the guardian to keep manning his observation post. Israel was referred to as the vineyard during that epoch. (Compare Isaiah chapter five or Song of Songs chapters one and eight) In the first chapter of Isaiah we find that after the destruction of Solomon's temple, Israel is described as having been abandoned like a hut in a vineyard. These various prophecies envisage the rebuilding of something permanent. None of the prophecies concerning rebuilding can be matched to historic events that have already occurred. A temple that lacked the holy ark, to mention but one of the many items missing in the second temple, and one that had been built at the direction of, or at least with the consent of a gentile government to which Israel owed allegiance, cannot possibly be something that manifests G-d’s reign on earth. Chaggai and Ezekiel clearly refer to the temple of the future. If it is an honour for the father to be surrounded by his children as the Midrash says, the small number of Jews that returned to Israel during the reign of Cyrus etc., surely cannot confer much honour on the father. This latter condition will only come about as we read in Psalms 126, "when the Lord returns to Zion we shall be as dreamers," during an era of which we can truly say "then our mouth will be full of laughter and our tongue will be filled with jubilation." That the expanded temple in the days of Herod- a slave of the Hasmoneans-, his hands bloodstained by much Jewish blood, could not be the temple envisaged by our prophets, goes without saying. One must therefore view the entire relationship between Israel and G-d as that between groom and betrothed. The proper husband/wife relationship is to be consummated when the permanent temple will be built. An alternate view of the opening Midrash would be that it refers to parts of the tabernacle. The inner sanctuary would be referred to as the house, the sanctuary proper, heychal, as the hut, and the courtyard as the enclosure, the pen. In the latter event, "enclosure," G-d has a claim on us because He provides food and shelter. In the case of "hut, He can demand more, since He has also given us the Torah. In the case of "house," since He is prepared to act as our father, providing All, He can expect that we prepare His abode accordingly. The author clearly refers the first approach.