Midrash su Ecclesiaste 1:7
כָּל־הַנְּחָלִים֙ הֹלְכִ֣ים אֶל־הַיָּ֔ם וְהַיָּ֖ם אֵינֶ֣נּוּ מָלֵ֑א אֶל־מְק֗וֹם שֶׁ֤הַנְּחָלִים֙ הֹֽלְכִ֔ים שָׁ֛ם הֵ֥ם שָׁבִ֖ים לָלָֽכֶת׃
Tutti i fiumi scorrono nel mare, tuttavia il mare non è pieno; Nel luogo dove vanno i fiumi, dove vanno di nuovo.
Shir HaShirim Rabbah
Ḥananya, the nephew of Rabbi Yehoshua, said: Between each commandment and [the next] commandment the portions and the details of the Torah were inscribed. Rabbi Yoḥanan, when he was explaining verses and would arrive at this verse: “Set with beryl,” would say: The nephew of Rabbi Yehoshua taught me well. Just as regarding waves [galim],72This is expounded from the phrase “rods of [gelilei] gold.” between one large wave and another large wave there are small waves, so too, between each commandment and [the next] commandment, the portions and the details of the Torah were inscribed. “Set with beryl [tarshish]” – this is the Talmud, which is like the Great Sea, just as it says: “To Tarshish” (Jonah 1:3),73Jonah attempted to flee to Tarshish, which was a significant sea voyage away. just as it says: “All the streams go to the sea” (Ecclesiastes 1:7).74All the other disciplines of Torah flow into the sea of Talmud.
“His belly is a slab of ivory” – this is the book of Leviticus. Just as regarding the belly, the heart is on this side and the legs are on the other side and it is in the middle, so too the book of Leviticus, there are two [books] on this side and two on that side and it is in the middle. “A slab of ivory” – just as a slab of ivory, you can craft from it several pegs and javelins, so too the book of Leviticus contains several mitzvot, several details, several a fortiori inferences, several instances of pigul,75Pigul refers to an offering disqualified by the fact that in the course of the four sacrificial rites one has the intent to sprinkle the blood or eat the flesh of the offering beyond its appointed time. and several instances of notar76This is an offering that is left over after the appointed time for its consumption. written in the book of Leviticus.
“His belly is a slab of ivory” – this is the book of Leviticus. Just as regarding the belly, the heart is on this side and the legs are on the other side and it is in the middle, so too the book of Leviticus, there are two [books] on this side and two on that side and it is in the middle. “A slab of ivory” – just as a slab of ivory, you can craft from it several pegs and javelins, so too the book of Leviticus contains several mitzvot, several details, several a fortiori inferences, several instances of pigul,75Pigul refers to an offering disqualified by the fact that in the course of the four sacrificial rites one has the intent to sprinkle the blood or eat the flesh of the offering beyond its appointed time. and several instances of notar76This is an offering that is left over after the appointed time for its consumption. written in the book of Leviticus.
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