Chasidut על משלי 9:14

Come and see! This is the way of the Torah. At first, when it begins to reveal itself to man, it signals to him with a hint. If he understands the hint, it is well. And if he doesn’t, he lets the Torah know that he does not understand, and the Torah calls him a simpleton. The Torah then says to the one who does not understand, “come close, and we will talk.” This is as it is written (Mishlei, 9:14), “(calling out to the passersby …) whoever is simple, let him turn here, and as for the one who lacks understanding …” The man comes close to her, and she starts to talk with him things according to his understanding from behind the curtain that conceals her, until he begins to understand a little more. This is called (the exegetic level of) “drush.”¹²⁰There are four levels of exegesis. “Pshat,” is the plain, simple meaning. “Remez,” is a hint of a deeper meaning. This is the signal or hint in the parable that the woman (the Torah) sends to the man. “Drush,” is a homily, a “fleshed out” exposition based on a series of hints. And the deepest level is “Sod,” or the mystery. The Zohar clearly implies that Aggadah as the body of writings that employs the exegetic method of Drush. Afterwards, the Torah speaks of enigmas from behind a thin dress.¹²¹The Zohar uses the word, “Shushifa,” which the Aruch translates as a dress. This is called, “aggadah.” After he becomes more accustomed to her, she reveals herself unto him face to face, revealing her deeper hidden mysteries and all of the hidden ways that have been concealed in her heart from ancient days. (This is the Kabbalah and the mysteries of the Torah.) A man who reaches such a level is indeed a complete man, expert in the Torah and the master of the house. For certainly all of the secrets of the Torah are revealed to him. Nothing is far from him or concealed from him. She says to him, “look at the hint I once gave you. See all of the mysteries that are contained in it!” In this way we see that not even a letter can be added or taken away from the Torah. In this way we see how a man needs to be so careful to run after the Torah and to be a lover of the Torah, as was said.