Midras Amos 6:11: Shir HaShirim Rabbah, Kohelet Rabbah & Vayikra Rabbah

“Nard [nerd] and saffron [karkom], fragrant cane [kaneh] and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh [mor] and aloe [vaahalot], with all the finest spices” (Song of Songs 4:14).
“Nerd and karkom” – nerd is nard oil, karkom in its plain meaning;¹⁵⁶Saffron was commonly called karkom when the midrash was written. “kaneh” – this is fragrant cane, as it is stated: “And fragrant cane [keneh bosem]” (Exodus 30:23). “And cinnamon” – Rabbi Huna says in the name of Rabbi Yosei: Cinnamon would grow in the Land of Israel, and goats and gazelles would eat from it. “Mor” is myrrh oil. “Vaahalot” – Rabbi Yesa said: It is balsam oil. Why is it called ahalot? Rabbi Abba bar Yudan said in the name of Rabbi Yehuda: It is because it grows under tents [ohalim].¹⁵⁷Protected from sun and rain. The Rabbis say: It is because it spreads like a tent.
From where did the daughters of Israel ornament themselves and bring joy to their husbands all the forty years that Israel spent in the wilderness? Rabbi Yoḥanan said: From the well. That is what is written: “A garden spring, a well of fresh water” (Song of Songs 4:15). Rabbi Abbahu said: From the manna; that is what is written: “Myrrh, aloes, and cassia were on all your garments [as you went from ivory [shen] halls]” (Psalms 45:9) – from what is placed under the tooth [shen],¹⁵⁸This is a reference to the manna. This is consistent with the statement of the Midrash (Shemot Rabba 21:10) that spices and gems were provided to the Israelites along with the manna. from that would the chaste and upright daughters of Israel ornament themselves and bring joy to their husbands all the forty years that Israel spent in the wilderness. It is written: “For, behold, the Lord commands, and He will strike the great house into splinters [and the small house into chips]” (Amos 6:11). Splintering is not the same as chipping; there are shards from splintering, but there are no shards from chipping.¹⁵⁹Some suggest that this passage is out of place here (Matnot Kehuna).

“With slothfulness the ceiling sags and with idleness of the hands the house leaks” (Ecclesiastes 10:18).
“With slothfulness the ceiling sags” – because the Israelites were slothful from encamping at Mount Sinai in dispute,⁷⁸Although the Israelites had engaged in disputes in their other encampments, when they encamped at Sinai they did so peacefully. “the ceiling sags” – it is written: “He bent the heavens and descended” (Psalms 18:10).⁷⁹God descended to them and rested His presence in their midst. “And with idleness [uvshiflut] of the hands the house leaks” – because the Israelites humbled themselves [nishtapelu] [and refrained] from encamping in dispute at Mount Sinai, “the house leaks” – “the clouds, too, dripped water” (Judges 5:4).
Another matter: “With slothfulness the ceiling sags” – because the Israelites were slothful in repenting in the days of Jeremiah, “the ceiling sags,” – “He uncovered the covering of Judah” (Isaiah 22:8), he removed its covering.⁸⁰The roof of the Temple. “And with idleness [uvshiflut] of the hands the house leaks” – because the Israelites abased themselves [nishtapelu] from repenting in the days of Jeremiah, “the house leaks,” it is written: “For behold, the Lord commands, and He will shatter the great house⁸¹The ten tribes of the kingdom of Israel. into smithereens and the small house⁸²The two tribes of the kingdom of Judah. into fragments” (Amos 6:11). Rabbi Huna said: This shattering into smithereens is unlike the shattering into fragments. This shattering into fragments, there are no remnants from it, while the shattering into smithereens, there are remnants from it.⁸³When something is shattered into smithereens the tiny slivers cannot possibly be reconstructed into a whole. When something is broken into fragments the pieces are large enough to be usable and reconstructed (Etz Yosef).
Another matter: “With slothfulness the ceiling sags” – Rabbi Kohen interpreted [it] regarding a woman: Because a woman is slothful in examining herself at her appropriate time, she suffers, as it is stated, “and of she who suffers in her menstruation” (Leviticus 15:33). “And with idleness [uvshiflut] of the hands…” – because she abases herself [mishtapelet] [and refrains] from examining herself, she becomes a zava,⁸⁴A zava is a woman who experiences a discharge of blood when it is not the time for her menstruation. See Leviticus 15:25–30. as it is stated: “And a woman, if her bloody discharge shall flow [many days, not at the time of her menstruation]” (Leviticus 15:25).

Rabbi Kohen began: “Through slothfulness the ceiling sags [and through idleness of the hands the house leaks]” (Ecclesiastes 10:18). Because Israel was slothful from encamping before Mount Sinai in dispute,²²Although the Israelites had engaged in disputes in their other encampments, when they encamped at Sinai they did so peacefully. “the ceiling sags,” – “the Lord descended upon Mount Sinai” (Exodus 19:20); “He bent the heavens and descended” (Psalms 18:10).²³God descended to them and rested His presence in their midst. “And through idleness of the hands,” because Israel was idle from encamping in dispute, “the house leaks,” “the clouds, too, dripped water” (Judges 5:4).
Another matter, “through slothfulness the ceiling sags,” because Israel was slothful in repenting during the days of Jeremiah, “the ceiling sags” – “He uncovered the covering of Judah” (Isaiah 22:8); He exposed what was concealed. “And through idleness of the hands,” because they were idle from repenting during the days of Jeremiah, “the house leaks” – “for, behold, the Lord commands, and He will shatter the great house²⁴The ten tribes of the kingdom of Israel. into smithereens and the small house²⁵The two tribes of the kingdom of Judah. into fragments” (Amos 6:11). This shattering into smithereens is unlike the shattering into fragments. This shattering into smithereens, there are slivers from it, while the shattering into fragments, there are no slivers from it.²⁶When something is shattered into smithereens the tiny slivers cannot possibly be reconstructed into a whole. When something is broken into fragments the pieces are large enough to be usable and reconstructed (Etz Yosef). They are not identical.
Another matter, “through slothfulness the ceiling sags” – because a person is too slothful to cover his head properly, “the ceiling sags,” he becomes congested with a head cold. “And through idleness of the hands,” because a person is idle and does not dry his body properly, “the house leaks,” he develops infections.
Rabbi Abahu interpreted the verse regarding a woman. Because a woman is too slothful to cover herself properly, “the ceiling sags,” that is what is written: “And he uncovered her nakedness, he has probed her source and she has exposed the source of her blood” (Leviticus 20:18). “And through idleness of the hands,” because a woman is idle and does not examine herself at her proper time, “the house leaks,” she will be inundated with blood. That is what is written: “And a woman, if her bloody discharge will flow many days.”
Tavita, the maidservant of Rabban Gamliel, was examining barrels [of wine]. When she had a sensation,²⁷She sensed that she was experiencing menstrual bleeding. she sat. He said to her: ‘Are they sour?’ She said to him: ‘No.’ When he understood, he said: ‘Alas, the wine is lost!’²⁸He was assuming that she had impurified all the barrels due to her status as a menstruating woman, and bemoaning the fact that he would be unable to partake of the wine in ritual purity. She said to him: ‘For each and every barrel I would examine myself, and I had a sensation only with this one.’ He said to her: ‘May the tranquility of your soul be given to you, just as you gave the tranquility of my soul to me.’