Midrash su Cantico dei cantici 7:78

“Return, return, O Shulamite; return, return, and we will gaze upon you. Why will you gaze at the Shulamite like at a dance of two companies?” (Song of Songs 7:1)
“Return, return, O Shulamite,” Rabbi Shmuel bar Ḥiyya bar Yudan [said] in the name of Rabbi Ḥanina: Four times “return,” is written here, corresponding to the four kingdoms that rule over Israel. Israel comes under their control unscathed and emerges unscathed. “The Shulamite,” a nation in whose midst the eternal One who lives in peace [shalom] moves about; that is what is written: “I have moved about in a tent and a Tabernacle” (II Samuel 7:6).¹God rested His presence in the Tabernacle in the midst of Israel. The Tabernacle resided in four places in the Land of Israel: Gilgal, Shilo, Nov, and Givon, corresponding to the four times “return” is written here, as though the word Shulamite is written with each one (Maharzu, Bereshit Rabba 66:2).
Another matter, “the Shulamite,” a nation to whom [a blessing] concluding with peace is [recited] each day, just as it says: “And grant you peace [shalom]” (Numbers 6:26). Alternatively, “the Shulamite,” the nation that I am destined to settle in an abode of peace; that is what is written: “My people will live in a peaceful abode…” (Isaiah 32:18). Another matter, “the Shulamite,” the nation to whom I extend peace; that is what is written: “Behold, I will extend peace toward it” (Isaiah 66:12).
Rabbi Elazar bar Rabbi Maron said: A nation that completes [mashlemet] the stability of the world, both in this world and in the World to Come. Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin said in the name of Rabbi Levi: A nation that all the good of the word comes only due to its merit. That is what is written: “God will give you from the dew of the heavens, and from the fat of the earth” (Genesis 27:28); “you,” the matter is dependent upon you and your merit, as it is written: “The Lord will open for you His good storehouse” (Deuteronomy 28:12), the matter is dependent upon you and your merit.
Rabbi Shmuel bar Tanḥum and Rabbi Ḥanan, the son of Rabbi Berekhya from Botzra, [said] in the name of Rabbi Yirmeya: The nation that made peace between Me and My world, as had they not accepted My Torah, I would have returned My world to emptiness and disorder, as Huna said in the name of Rabbi Aḥa: It is written: “The earth and all its inhabitants melt away” (Psalms 75:4). Had Israel not stood before Mount Sinai and said: “Everything that the Lord has said, we will perform and we will heed” (Exodus 24:7), the world would have begun to disintegrate. Who buttressed the world? It is I [anokhi], as it is stated: “I [anokhi] set its pillars firm, Selah” (Psalms 75:4); by the merit of: “I [anokhi] am the Lord your God” (Exodus 20:2), I set its pillars firm.²God caused the pillars of the world to be firm in the merit of the people of Israel accepting the Ten Commandments, the first of which was “I am the Lord your God” (Etz Yosef).

(Exod. 30:12:) WHEN YOU TAKE A CENSUS (rosh) OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL…. This text is related (to Cant. 7:3 [2]): YOUR NAVEL IS A ROUND BOWL. LET NOT MIXED WINE BE LACKING. <The verse> is speaking of Israel's Sanhedrin, since it was located in the center of the Temple in the Chamber of Hewn Stones, which resembles a navel.¹Tanh., Exod. 9:2; PR 10:2; Numb. R. 1:4; below, Tanh. (Buber), Numb. 1:4 and Deut. 1:3 with the notes there; Ocf. Sanh. 37a; Exod. R. 39:1; below, Numb. 1:4; also Deut. 1:3. As the navel is located in the middle of the body, so was the Sanhedrin located in the middle of the Temple.

“And we will gaze upon you.” The nations of the world say to Israel: Until when will you die for the sake of your God and be devoted to Him? That is what is written: “Therefore the young women love you” (Song of Songs 1:3). And until when will you be killed for His sake? As it is written: “For we are killed for Your sake all day” (Psalms 44:23). And until when will you perform acts of kindness on His behalf, and for Him Himself, while He repays you with harshness? Come over to us and we will appoint you dukes, governors, and generals. “And we will gaze [veneḥezeh] upon you,” you will be the focus [meḥezyatei] of the world. That is what is written: “You shall discern [teḥezeh] from among the entire people [capable men… to be leaders of thousands…]” (Exodus 18:21).
Israel responds to them: “Why will you gaze at the Shulamite like at a dance of two companies?” Have you ever heard that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob engaged in idol worship, such that their descendants would engage in idol worship in their wake? Our ancestors did not engage in idol worship and we, in their wake, will not engage in idol worship. But what can you do for us? [You can perform] a dance like that performed for Jacob our patriarch when he departed from the house of Lavan.³You cannot accord us honor after we become idolators, because that will never happen, but you can accord us honor nonetheless. The reference to dance is due to the conclusion of the verse: “like a dance of two companies.” Rabbi Berekhya said in the name of Rabbi Levi: Six hundred thousand angels were dancing and frolicking before Jacob our patriarch upon his departure from the house of Lavan. The Rabbis say: One million and two hundred thousand; that is what is written: “Jacob said when he saw them: This is the camp [maḥaneh] of God” (Genesis 32:3), this is six hundred thousand;⁴“The camp of God” refers to a camp in which God rests His presence. The model for such a camp is the Israelite camp in the wilderness, in which there were six hundred thousand men, and in which God rested His presence (see Bereshit Rabba 74:17). “he called the name of that place Maḥanayim” (Genesis 32:3),⁵Maḥanayim literally means two camps. this is one million and two hundred thousand.
Or can you perhaps perform for us a dance like that performed for our ancestors at the sea, as it is stated: “The angel of God traveled” (Exodus 14:19). Or can you perhaps perform for us a dance like that performed for Elisha, as it is stated: “The attendant of the man of God arose early and he set out, and behold, an army was surrounding the city, with horse and chariot. His attendant said to him: Alas, my master, what shall we do? (II Kings 6:15). And it is written: “He said: Fear not, as there are more who are with us than who are with them” (II Kings 6:16). Immediately, “Elisha prayed and he said: Lord, please open up his eyes and he will see. The Lord opened the attendant's eyes and he saw, and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and a chariot of fire, surrounding Elisha” (II Kings 6:17).
Or can you perhaps perform for us a dance like that which the Holy One blessed be He is destined to perform for the righteous in the future? Rabbi Berekhya, Rabbi Ḥelbo, Ulla of Birya and Rabbi Elazar said in the name of Rabbi Ḥanina: In the future, the Holy One blessed be He is destined to lead a dance for the righteous, as it is stated: “Pay attention to its ramparts [leḥeila]” (Psalms 48:14); to the dance [leḥola] is written.⁶The word is in fact written leḥeila. See Rabbi David Luria’s commentary to Vayikra Rabba 11:9. And they will point to Him with their finger, as it is stated: “For this is God, our God, for ever and ever, He will guide us beyond death [al mut]” (Psalms 48:15), like young women [alamot], like the dance of the righteous.

Similarly, R. Yehudah expounded (Zechariah 9:1) "A burden (of prophecy) in the land of chadrach and Damascus is its resting place.": This ("chadrach") refers to the Messiah who will be "chad" ("sharp") to the Canaanites, and "rach" ("soft") to Israel" — whereupon R. Yossi b. Dormaskith said to him: Yehudah berebbi, why do you distort the verses for us? I testify by heaven and earth that I am from Damascus and there is a place called Chadrach there. And how do I understand "and Damascus is (its) resting place"? (As meaning) that Jerusalem is destined to extend until Damascus; "(its) resting place" is Jerusalem, as it is written (Psalms 132:19) "This (Jerusalem) is My resting place forever." R. Yehudah: How do you understand (Jeremiah 30:18) "And the city will be built on its foundation"? R. Yossi: (As meaning) that (though) Jerusalem is not destined to move from its place (i.e., from its foundation), it will expand from its sides). How do I understand (Ezekiel 91:7) "And there was an enlarging and a winding about upwards, etc."? Eretz Yisrael is destined to broaden and rise from all of her sides like a fig, which is narrow below and broad above, and the gates of Jerusalem are destined to reach until Damascus. And thus is it written (Song of Songs 7:5) "Your nose is like the tower of Levanon, which looks towards Damascus." And the exiles will come and rest therein, as it is written "and Damascus is His resting place," and (Isaiah 2:2-3) "And it will be in the end of days the mountain of the L-rd's house will be established in the top of the mountains and will be exalted above the hills, and all the nations will flow unto it. And many peoples will go and say: Come, let us go up to the house of the L-rd, to the house of the G-d of Jacob, and He will teach us of His ways and we will walk in His paths. For from Zion will go forth Torah, and the words of the L-rd from Jerusalem."

(Lev. 9:1) “And it came to pass on the eighth day….” This text is related (to Ps. 75:5), “I say to the merrymakers, ‘Do not make merry….’” What is the meaning of [the words], “I say to the merrymakers (rt.: hll), ‘do not make merry (rt.: hll)?’”⁴This root can also mean “act with abandon” and is to be taken in that sense here. For another interpretation of the word, see Lev. R. 20:2. [The verse refers] to whoever sings in a mahanaim dance (mahol),⁵As in Cant. 7:1 [6:13]. In comparing these two words, the midrash assumes that both words come from the root HLL and ignores the fact that in the first case the H is a he while in the second case the H is a het. and so it says (in Jud. 21:21), “to dance (lehol) in the dances.” [Because no happiness endures for a mortal] (Ps. 75:5), “I say to the merrymakers, ‘Do not make merry (rt.: hll).’” Why? The one who is happy today shall not be happy tomorrow; and the one who is depressed today shall not be depressed tomorrow. And so it says (in Eccl. 2:2), “Of laughter I said, ‘It is mad (rt.: hll)….’”⁶Cf. PRK 26:2–3. Are you willing to understand? As behold, even the happiness of the Holy One, blessed be He, did not endure. When? When the Holy One, blessed be He, created His world. He was very happy, as stated (in Ps. 104:31), “the Lord shall be happy in His works.” It also says (in Gen. 1:31), “Then God saw everything which He had made; and behold, it was very good.” [These verses are] to teach you that the Holy One, blessed be He, found pleasure in and took pride in His works. Then He gave the first Adam an easy commandment, but he did not fulfill it. Immediately He rendered him a verdict⁷Gk.: apophasis. [of death], as stated (in Gen. 3:19), “for dust you are, and unto dust you shall return.” So He, as it were, did not remain in His happiness but said, “I created everything only for the human, and now he dies. What pleasure is there for Me? [Now surely if the Holy One, blessed be He,] did not remain [happy], how much the less shall people [remain happy! It is therefore stated (in Ps. 75:5), “I say to the merrymakers, ‘do not make merry.’”] How happy Abraham was! He was blessed in the world, magnified, slew some kings and handed over heaven and earth to the Holy One, blessed be He. Also when the Holy One, blessed be He, gave him a son at age one hundred, he circumcised him and reared him. Then finally he was told (in Gen. 22:2), “Please take your son, your only son…, [and go unto the land of Moriah,] and offer him there as a burnt offering.” So he made a three-day journey, as stated (in Gen. 22:4), “On the third day….” When he returned from Mount Moriah, he buried Sarah. He did not find a place to bury her until he bought one for four hundred silver shekels. Then after that, old age came upon him. Now surely if such was the case with Abraham the righteous, how much the more is it the case with the wicked! Isaac did not remain in his happiness: He escaped from the sword and from the men of Gerar. And [God] informed them about who he was, so that they came to him. Thus it is stated (in Gen. 26:26, 28), “Then Abimelech came unto him from Gerar […. And they said, ‘We have clearly seen that the Lord is with you.’]” But he did not remain in his happiness. Rather (according to Gen. 27:1), “Now it came to pass, that when Isaac was old and his eyes were too weak to see.” So just as [this loss of happiness] happened in the case of Isaac the burnt offering of the Holy One, blessed be He, (according to Gen. 22:2), how much the more does it happen in the case of the wicked! Jacob was the first-born of the Holy One, blessed be He, as stated (in Exod. 4:22), “Israel is My first-born son.” How happy he was! He saw a ladder, and (according to Gen. 28:12-13) “the angels of god were ascending and descending [….] And behold, the Lord stood upon it and said, I am the Lord….” Then he went to Laban, fled from Esau, became Laban's servant for twenty years and in the end became wealthy, sired children and returned in peace. He also met Esau and was saved from him, and paid his vow. But in the end he did not remain in his happiness. Instead (according to Gen. 34:1), “Now Dinah [the daughter whom Leah had borne to Jacob] went out…,” and was raped]. There also came upon him the trouble over Joseph. Now surely if Jacob the righteous – one to whom the Holy One, blessed be He, had said, “In whom I will be glorified,” as stated (in Is. 49:3), “Israel, in whom I will be glorified” – did not remain in his happiness, how much the less will the wicked [so remain! It is therefore stated (in Ps. 75:5), “I say to the merrymakers, ‘Do not make merry.’”] How happy Joshua was! He slew thirty-one kings, gave Israel the land to possess, and distributed it. In addition all Israel gave him a [helping] hand and said (in Josh. 1:18), “Anyone who disobeys your command… [shall be put to death.” Such an honor was] something of which [even] Moses our master did not merit. Still he (i.e., Joshua) did not remain in his happiness, but rather died childless. It is therefore stated (in Ps. 75:5), “I say to the merrymakers, ‘Do not make merry.’” How happy Eli was, when he was king, chief justice, and high priest! It is so stated (in I Sam. 1:9), “now Eli [the priest] was sitting on the throne by the doorpost of the Temple of the Lord.” “Now Eli the priest was sitting on the throne,” because he was king. [He was] “by the doorpost of the Temple of the Lord,” because he was chief justice. Still he did not remain in his happiness. Instead (according to I Sam. 4:18), “And it came to pass that when he (i.e., a messenger) mentioned the ark of God, he (i.e., Eli) fell backward from off the throne….” Moreover, his two sons, Hophni and Phinehas died. So just as this [shift in fortune] happened with Eli the righteous, how much the more [does it happen with] the wicked! You find neither man nor woman who saw joys like Elisheba bat Amminadab, [the wife of Aaron, as stated (in Exod. 6:23), “And Aaron took for a wife Elisheba bat Amminadab”].⁸PRK 26:2; Zev. 102a; Tanh. (Buber), Lev. 6:2. She saw her husband become high priest serving in the high priesthood and [as a] prophet. In addition, Moses, her husband's brother, was king and prophet. Moreover, her sons were deputies [to the high priest] in the priesthood, and her brother Nahshon was head of all of the princes of Israel.⁹According to Numb. 10:13, Nahshon was in command of the troops of Judah, and the troops of Judah headed those of the other tribes. See also Numb. 2:3; I Chron. 2:10. Still she did not remain in her happiness. Rather, when two of her sons went in to offer a sacrifice, (according to Lev. 10:2,) “Fire came forth from before the Lord and consumed them, so that they died before the Lord.” It is therefore stated (in Ps. 75:5), “I say to the merrymakers, ‘Do not make merry.’” And so Solomon said (in Eccl. 2:2), “Of laughter I said, ‘It is mad.’” There is a story about one of the great Babylonian [scholars], who married off his son,¹⁰PRK 26:2; Lev. R. 20:2. and made a great banquet for the sages. He said to his son, “Go up and bring us a jar of such and such a wine from the attic.” He went up to the attic. [There] a snake [from] among the jars bit him, and he died. His father remained with those who were reclining [at his table]. So he delayed and did not come. [Finally,] his father said, “Let me go up and see what my son is doing.” His father went up [and] found him cast down dead among the jars. What did that saint do? He waited by himself until the guests had eaten and drunk sufficiently. When they had finished, he said, “You came to say a bridegrooms' blessing over my son. [But instead] say a mourners' blessing over him. You came to bring my son to the wedding canopy. [Instead] bring him to [his] grave.” They said about R. Zakkay of Kabul and they opened about him (in the words of Eccl. 2:2), “Of laughter I said, ‘It is mad; and what does joy do?’”

“How fair are your feet in sandals, daughter of a nobleman. Your rounded thighs are like ornaments, the handiwork of a master craftsman” (Song of Songs 7:2).
“How fair are your feet in sandals,” Rabbi Yudan said: To praise even an ordinary person with this language would be demeaning to him, and you say: “How fair are your feet”? Rather, it is speaking only about the steps [paamei] of the pilgrimage festivals.⁷This is derived from the fact that the Torah says: “Three times [pe’amim] a year, all your males shall appear before the Lord God” (Exodus 23:17). Thus, the verse here is interpreted as praising Israel for travelling to Jerusalem in celebration of the pilgrimage festivals (Etz Yosef). But are the feet not sometimes bare and sometimes covered? Rather, how fair are your feet in sandals, daughter of my beloved.⁸This is an alternate explanation of the midrash. The verse cannot be taken literally as praising the feet, as they are sometimes covered. Rather, the verse is praising Israel for how they observe mitzvot that have to do with shoes, such as ḥalitza. Israel is referred to as “daughter of my beloved” because Abraham was beloved by God (Matnot Kehuna).
Rabbi Berekhya said: This is what was expounded by two mountains of the world, Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua, who said: “How fair are your feet in sandals [bane’alim].” Your feet were so fair⁹The merit of traveling to Jerusalem for the pilgrimage festivals was so great (Matnot Kehuna). that they would serve as a barrier before all troubles.
There was an incident involving one who forgot to lock the doors of his house and ascended on his way to the pilgrim festival. When he returned, he found a snake entwined in the rings of his doors.¹⁰The snake prevented anyone from entering his house while he was away. There was another incident involving one who forgot to bring his chickens into his house and ascended on his way to the pilgrim festival. When he returned, he found cats torn to pieces before them. There was another incident involving one who forgot to bring a pile of wheat into his house and he ascended on the pilgrim festival. When he returned, he found lions surrounding the wheat.
Rabbi Pinḥas said: There was an incident involving two wealthy brothers from Ashkelon who had wicked neighbors from the nations of the world. [The wicked neighbors] would say: ‘When these Jews ascend to pray in Jerusalem we will enter, plunder their houses, and destroy them.’ The time arrived and they ascended, but the Holy One blessed be He summoned for them angels in their image, who would go in and out of their houses. When they returned from Jerusalem, they distributed what they brought back with them to all their neighbors. The [wicked neighbors] said to them: ‘Where have you been?’ They said to them: ‘In Jerusalem.’ ‘When did you ascend?’ ‘On such and such day.’ ‘When did you return?’ ‘On such and such day.’ They said: ‘Blessed is the God of the Jews, whom they did not forsake, and He did not forsake them. We¹¹The literal translation of the Hebrew is “those men.” It was not uncommon for people to refer to themselves in the third person. had thought: When these Jews ascend to pray in Jerusalem, we will enter, plunder their houses, and destroy them. But their God sent angels in their image who would go in and out of their houses, because they put their trust in Him,’ to fulfill what is stated: “How fair are your feet.”

When thou takest the sum of the children of Israel (Exod. 30:12). Scripture states elsewhere in allusion to this verse: Thy navel is like a round goblet, thy belly is like a heap of wheat set about with lilies, wherein no mingled wine is wanting (Song 7:3). Thy navel refers to the Sanhedrin. But why did they call the Sanhedrin a navel? Just as the navel is located in the center of a man’s body, so the Sanhedrin met in a chamber of hewn stone in the center of the Temple. Furthermore, just as the child, whose mouth is closed while within its mother’s womb, is sustained through the navel, so the Israelites were sustained only by virtue of the Sanhedrin. Hence they likened it to a navel. The word round indicates that just as the navel is round, so the Sanhedrin sat in a semicircular room.

(Cant. 7:3 [2], cont.:) YOUR BELLY IS A HEAP OF WHEAT. R. Johanan said: A HEAP OF WHEAT (hittim, sing.: hittah): This is the book of Leviticus, all of which <concerns> sin offerings (hatta'ot, sing.: hatta'ah) and guilt offerings (asamot).⁷Similarly Cant. R. 7:3:2; PR 10:3. It is <the law of> the sin offering (hitta; cf. Lev. 6:18 [25]). It is <the law of> the guilt offering (asham; cf. Lev. 7:1). Moreover, <like the belly in the middle of the body,> it (i.e., Leviticus) is set in the middle of Torah, and all of it <concerns> sin offerings (i.e., the wheat of Cant. 7:3 [2]) and guilt offerings. Ergo (in Cant. 7:3 [2]): YOUR BELLY (i.e., Leviticus) IS A HEAP OF WHEAT (i.e.., sin offerings). Resh Laqish said: Why is it likened to wheat? It is simply that just as all of these wheat grains are reckoned by measure, so all of Israel was reckoned by number (minyan). The elders, the saints, the sages, and all Israel are reckoned by number (minyan).

[(Exod. 27:20:) AND YOU SHALL COMMAND….] This text is related (to Cant. 7:6 [5]): YOUR HEAD UPON YOU IS LIKE CARMEL, <AND THE LOCKS (dallah) OF YOUR HEAD (rosh) ARE LIKE PURPLE>. The poor (dallim) and the needy (rashim) who are among you are as dear to me as Daniel.⁸See Tanh., Exod. 8:6; Lev. R. 31:4; Cant. R. 7:6:1, all of which cite Dan. 5:29: AND THEY CLOTHED DANIEL IN PURPLE. [(Ibid., cont.:) A KING IS CAPTIVATED BY THE TRESSES (rehatim).] The Holy One, as it were, said to them: I am bound <by an oath>⁹The added words appear in all the parallel versions except Yalqut Shim’oni, Cant., 992. to be among you. By virtue of what? By virtue of the races that Abraham ran for me, as stated (in Gen. 18:6–7): ABRAHAM HASTENED TO THE TENT <…> THEN ABRAHAM RAN UNTO THE HERD.¹⁰On the three races of Abraham, see above, Tanh. (Buber), Gen. 4:5, and the note there. Ergo (in Cant. 7:6 [5]): A KING IS CAPTIVATED BY THE TRESSES (rehatim).¹¹The root of rehatim (i.e., RHT) can mean “run.” R. Levi said: By virtue of Jacob, of whom it is written (in Gen. 30:38): < AND HE SET UP THE RODS WHICH HE HAD PEELED> IN THE TROUGHS (rehatim), IN THE WATER RECEPTACLES.

Another matter, “how fair are your feet in sandals [bane’alim],” with two closings [ne’alim].¹²This is a reference to the festivals of Passover and Sukkot; see below. Rabbi Ḥama ben Rabbi Ḥanina said: [This is analogous] to two merchants who entered a province. One of them spoke up and said to his counterpart: ‘If both of us open together in the province, we will bring down prices in the province. Rather, you open for your week and I [will open] for my week.’¹³Similarly, Sukkot, which commemorates God protecting Israel in the wilderness after they left Egypt, should have been observed right after Passover, but in order for the festival to be observed with greater attention and fanfare, the Torah commanded that it be observed months later (Midrash HaMevoar).
Rabbi Ḥananya son of Rabbi Aivi said: It is not written here: How fair are your feet in a sandal [bana’al], but rather “in sandals [bane’alim]”; two closings [ne’alim], a closing on Passover and a closing on the Festival [of Sukkot]. The Holy One blessed be He said to Israel: You close before Me on the Festival [of Sukkot],¹⁴Sukkot is the last of the three annual pilgrimage festivals (Matnot Kehuna). and I close before you on Passover. You close before Me on the Festival [of Sukkot], and I open, blow winds, elevate clouds, cause rain to fall, cause the sun to shine, cause plants to grow, ripen fruit, and set a table for each and every one according to his needs, and [provide] each and every body all that it lacks. I close before you on Passover,¹⁵I close the heavens and stop the rainfall. and you go out, reap, thresh, winnow, and perform all your needs in the field, and you find it filled with blessings.
Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: The assembly [atzeret] of the Festival [of Sukkot]¹⁶This is a reference to Shemini Atzeret. should have been fifty days removed, corresponding to the assembly of Passover,¹⁷This is a reference to Shavuot, which is commonly referred to as Atzeret in Ḥazal (see, e.g., Mishna Rosh Hashana 1:2), and which is observed fifty days after the beginning of Passover. but the assembly of the Festival, because [these days] transition from summer to winter, it would not be feasible for them to go and return at this time.¹⁸It would not be feasible for people to have to return to Jerusalem for another pilgrimage festival fifty days after Sukkot. To what is this matter comparable? It is to a king who had many daughters, some of whom were married [and living] in a nearby place, and some of whom were married [and living] in a distant place. One day they all came to ask after the welfare of their father the king. The king said: ‘Those who are married at a nearby place can go and return any time, but those who are married in a distant place cannot go and return any time. Therefore, while all of them are here with me, we will all make a festival for one day and celebrate with them.’ So too, the assembly of Passover, since [the days] transition from winter to summer, the Holy One blessed be He said it is [feasible] for them to go and return at this time. However, the assembly of the Festival [of Sukkot], because [the days] transition from summer to winter, and the dust on the roads is difficult and the clods of earth are difficult [for travelers]; therefore, it is not fifty days removed. The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘It is not [feasible] for them to go and return at this time. Rather, while all of them are here, we will all make a festival for one day and celebrate.’ Therefore, Moses cautions Israel and says to them: “On the eighth day it shall be an assembly for you” (Numbers 29:35). That is: “How fair are your feet in sandals.”

“Daughter of a nobleman,” the daughter of Abraham who was called noble, just as it says: “The noblemen of the people have assembled, the people of the God of Abraham…” (Psalms 47:10).¹⁹The midrash thus interprets the verse as referring to Israel as daughter of Abraham. “Your rounded thighs,” Rabbi Yoḥanan said: All the luxuries and delicacies in which Israel luxuriates, and enjoys in this world, are by the merit of circumcision, which is between the thighs. Rabbi Ḥiyya said: What did the Sages see that led them to establish healing in the eighth blessing?²⁰Of the Amida prayer. It corresponds to circumcision, which was given [to be performed] on the eighth [day]. That is what is written: “My covenant was with him, life and peace” (Malachi 2:5). “Like ornaments [ḥala’im],” how many illnesses [ḥalayim] result from it, how many babies are circumcised and die as a result.²¹The merit of this mitzva is great because the Jewish people observe it scrupulously despite the danger (Etz Yosef). Rabbi Natan said: There was an incident where I came to the province of Cappadocia and there was a certain woman there who bore male children and they would be circumcised and die. She circumcised the first and he died, the second and he died, the third and he died. She brought the fourth [child] before me, and I saw that its flesh was yellow. I examined him and I did not find the blood of circumcision in him. They said to me: ‘Should we circumcise him?’ I said to them: ‘Wait and leave him until the blood of circumcision comes to him, as we learned there:²²Mishna Shabbat 19:5. A sick child, one does not circumcise him until he heals. They left him [for a while, and then] circumcised him, and he survived, and they named him Natan after me.’ That is “like ornaments.”
Another matter, “like ornaments,” to what were these ornaments similar? Rabbi Ḥonya and the Rabbis, Rabbi Ḥonya said: To a capital of a pillar. The Rabbis say: To the hollow of a pearl. Who crafted it? “The handiwork of a master craftsman,” the handiwork of the Holy One blessed be He in the world. Rabbi Shmuel said: [This is analogous] to a king who had an orchard. He planted rows of nut trees, apple trees, and pomegranate trees and gave them to his son. He said to him: My son, I demand nothing of you, only that when these trees produce fruit, bring me a sample of them and give me a taste so that I may see my handiwork and rejoice in you. So too, the Holy One blessed be He said to Israel, My children, I demand nothing of you, only that when a firstborn son will be born to one of you, he shall consecrate it to My name. That is what is written: “Consecrate every firstborn to Me” (Exodus 13:2). And when you ascend on your way to the pilgrim festivals take him and all your males to appear before Me. Therefore, Moses cautioned Israel: “Three times during the year [all your males shall appear before…the Lord]” (Exodus 23:17).²³Since one who is uncircumcised cannot ascend for the pilgrimage festival (see Yevamot 72a), it is implied that the son has been circumcised.

(Fol. 21a) R. Chisda said that Mari b. Mar expounded: "What is meant by the passage (Jer. 24, 1.) The Lord caused me to see, and behold, there were two baskets of figs, like the figs that ripen first; (Ib. b) and the other basket had very bad figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad, i.e., the good figs represent the truly righteous and the bad figs represent the grossly wicked. You will perhaps say, that their [the grossly wicked] prospect [of returning to God] is gone and their outlook is frustrated, therefore it is said (Songs 7, 14.) The mandrakes give forth their smell, i.e., these and those are destined to give forth a good smell." Rabba expounded: "What is the meaning of the passage (Ib. ib. ib.) The mandrakes give forth (their) smell? This refers to the youth of Israel who have not sinned; And at our doors are all manner of precious fruits, (Ib.) refers to the virgins of Israel who inform their husbands when they approach the period of their menstruation, or, who are very modest and live respectably before their marriage; New and also old; O my friend, these have I laid up for Thee (Ib.), i.e., The Congregation of Israel said before the Holy One, praised be He! 'Sovereign of the universe, many restrictions did I impose upon myself beyond those which Thou hast imposed upon me, and have observed them carefully." R. Chisda said to one of his disciples who reviewed before him the Agada according to its orders: "Hast thou not heard what is meant by the passage (Ib. 7, 14.) New and also old; O my friend, these have I laid up for thee." The disciple answered: "It refers to both kinds of commandments; those that are easy and those that are difficult to observe." Are we to assume that the Torah was given in sections, at different periods [that it refers to new and to old]? "But," said the disciple, "one refers to the Biblical ordinances and the other refers to the Sopharic (Rabbinical) ordinances." Rabba expounded: "What is the meaning of the passage (Ecc. 12, 12.) But more than all this, my son take warning to thyself, the making of many books would have no end? This means: My son, be careful in the observance of the Sopharic ordinances even more than the Biblical; for while the Biblical commandments are merely positive and prohibitive laws [without any special punishment for their transgression], the Sopharic commandments, if neglected, involve capital punishment. One might say perhaps, that if it be true that these are so important, then why were they not put down in writing? The passage therefore says [in answer] (Ib.) The making of many books would have no end."

דבה has the same meaning as the verb of the same root in (Song 7:10) “(דובב) making speak the lips of those that are asleep”.

Raba expounded: "What is meant by the passage (Songs 7, 14.) Come, my friend, let us go forth into the field, etc? Thus said the Congregation of Israel before the Holy One. praised be He! 'Sovereign of the universe, judge me not, like the inhabitants of the large cities who practice amongst them rapine, licentiousness, swearing in vain, and false swearing. But come out into the field, and we shall show Thee many scholars who study the Torah although they are in very poor circumstances'; let us spend the night in the villages; (Ib.) do not read Bakfarim (in the villages), but read it Bakofrim (who disbelieve in Thee). This means 'Come with us and we shall show Thee, the children of Esau upon whom Thou hast showered Thy blessings and who still disbelieve in Thee.' Let us get up early to the vineyards, (Ib.) refers to the houses of prayer and the houses of study; Let us see if the vine has blossomed, (Ib.) refers to those who read the Holy writ; Whether the young grapes have opened, refers to those who study the Mishnah; Whether the pomegranates have budded, refers to those who study the Talmud; There will I give thee my love; i.e., there I shall show Thee my honor and the worthiness of the praise of my sons and daughters [who adhere to Thy religion.]"

(Fol. 16) It once happened that Rabbi ordered that disciples should not study in the public streets, for he expounded the passage (Songs 7, 2) The rounding of thy thighs; just as the thigh is concealed so also should the Torah be studied in a privacy. R. Chiya disregarded the order, and taught to Rab and Rabba b.b. Chama, his two nephews in the public street. When Rabbi heard of it, he became angry. Subsequently R. Chiya appeared before him, and Rabbi said to him: "lyya, see who is calling you outside." R. Chiya understood the hint, and he rebuked himself for thirty days. On the thirtieth day Rabbi sent a message to him to come; and a short while after he sent him another message not to come. What did he think at first and what was his final decision when he revoked the previous order? At first he thought that a part of a day is considered the whole [hence R. Chiya was called on the morning of the thirtieth day ] but his final decision was that a part of a day is not considered the whole and therefore ordered him not to come. R. Chiya finally came. Rabbi then asked him: "Why didst thou come?" "Because," replied R. Chiya, "the master sent for me." "But did I not subsequently send thee not to come?" Rabbi asked him. Whereupon he replied: "The first message I received, but the second one I did not." Rabbi then applied to him the following passage (Prov. 16, 7) When the Lord receiveth in favor a man's ways, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him. "Why did the master transgress my order?" Rabbi asked. "Because," answered R. Chiya, "it is written (Prov. 1, 20) Wisdom cries loudly without." Then Rabbi said to him: "If thou hast read (studied), thou hast not repeated it, and if thou hast repeated it, thou hast not reviewed it a third time, and if thou hast done so, then your teachers did not explain it to you, because the passage, Wisdom cries loudly without, means as Raba explained it; for Raba said: "Who studies the Torah inside (in privacy), him will the Torah proclaim [as a scholar] outside.'" But there is also another passage (Is. 48, 16) Never from the beginning have I spoken in secret?" R. Chiya rejoined. "This refers to lectures," explained Rabbi. But what will R. Chiya do with the above passage. The rounding of the thighs, [which indicates secret study]? R. Chiya explains that the last passage refers to charity and loving kindness.

(Deut. 2:2-4:) “Then the Lord spoke unto me, saying, ‘You have had enough of going about this mountain; turn north. Now charge the people, saying, “You are passing through the territory of your kindred, the children of Esau, who dwell in Seir.”’” This text is related (to Ps. 60:1), “To the director: With a shushan eduth; a mikhtam of David, for instruction.” When? (According to vs. 2,) “When he had struggled with Aram-Naharaim and Aram-Zobah, and Joab returned and smote Edom – [an army] of twelve thousand men – in the Valley of Salt.”⁵See Gen. R. 74:15. Now was it not already stated (in I Kings 11:16), “For Joab and all Israel stayed there six months, until he had annihilated every male in Edom?” And yet it repeats afterwards (here in Ps. 60:2, cont.), “Joab returned and smote Edom – [an army] of twelve thousand men – in the Valley of Salt.” This text is related (to Is. 50:8), “My Vindicator is at hand; who will contend with me; let us stand together […].” The Holy One, blessed be He, gave Torah to Israel, so that through it they would attain vindication before all peoples. You find that Joab was head of the Sanhedrin,⁶Gk.: Synedrion. as stated (in II Sam. 23:8), “These are the names of the warriors whom David had: one who sits in the seat of wisdom.”⁷These words are commonly understood as the proper name, JOSHEB-BASSHEBETH, A TAHCHEMONITE, but this and other citations of the verse in rabbinic literature tend to understand the verse as translated here. See above, Tanh. (Buber), Gen. 4:12, and the note there; also Tanh. (Buber), Numb. 10:9: Cf. MQ 16b, for an interpretation that identifies this sage with David himself. This was Joab. But David was wiser than all, since it is stated (in II Sam. 14:20 with reference to David), “my lord is as wise as the wisdom of an angel of God.” Still, they only acted on something in accord with the Sanhedrin, as stated (in Ps. 60:1), “To the director: with the shushan eduth (i.e., lily of witness).” “Shushan” refers to the Sanhedrin, since it is stated (in Cant. 7:3), “fenced in with the lilies (shoshanim).” “Witness (eduth)” [is mentioned] because of the Torah, which is called a witness.⁸For this interpretation, see William G. Braude, The Midrash on Psalms (“Yale Judaica Series,” 13; New Haven: Yale, 1959), vol. 2, p. 477, n. 2 on Ps. 60, who explains that wheat symbolizes Torah and lilies represent the sages. Thus SHUSHAN EDUTH, “Lily of Witness,” alludes to the sages in the Sanhedrin, who teach from their knowledge of the Witness or Torah. See also above, Tanh. (Buber), Exod 9:1; Numb. 1:4, and the notes there. “Mikhtam” refers to David, who became (a king [melekh]) [humble (makh)] and called himself, poor; innocent (tam), because he walked in innocence with his Creator. When? (According to Ps. 60:2,) “When he had struggled with Aram-Naharaim.” What does that mean? When Joab went to fight with Aram-Naharaim, they came out towards him. They said to him, “You are one of the Children of Jacob, but we are from the Children of Laban. Now here is their confirmed agreement, as written (in Gen. 31:52), ‘This mound is a witness, [and the pillar⁹Matstsebah. Cf. Braude, ibid., n. 1 to Ps. 60, who suggests that the mikhtam of Ps. 60:1 may denote a pillar. is a witness that […] you will not pass beyond this mound and this pillar towards me with evil intent].’” When Joab heard that, he returned to David. He said to him, “What do you say to that? Here is our ancestor Jacob's sworn agreement.” They immediately convened a Sanhedrin, (in the words of Ps. 60:1) “a shushan eduth (i.e., lily of witness) […] [for instruction].” They instructed him and said, “It really was so, but they transgressed it first. Did Balaam the Wicked not say like this (in Numb. 23:7), ‘It is from Aram that Balak has brought me, the king of Moab…?’ Moreover, did not Cushan-Rishathaim (of Aram-Naharaim) enslave us, as stated (in Jud. 3:8), ‘and the children of Israel served Cushan-Rishathaim eight years?’ [Thus] they have committed two wicked acts against us.” When the court had so instructed him, he immediately turned back against them and slew them, as stated (in Ps. 60:2), “When he had struggled with Aram-Naharaim and Aram-Zobah, and Joab returned and smote Edom – [an army] of twelve thousand men – in the Valley of Salt.” But did he not make war with Aram (i.e., Syria)? [So] shat is the meaning of “and smote Edom?” It should have said "and he smote Aram," not “Edom.”¹⁰In Hebrew block letters “Aram” and “Edom” look almost identical. It is simply that when Joab came to fight with Aram, the children of Edom stood up to him and said to him, “Did not the Holy One, blessed be He, say to you (in Deut. 2:5), ‘Do not engage them in battle, for I will not give you of their land so much as a foot can tread on?’ Joab answered them, “Did he not say this to us (in vs. 4), ‘You are passing through the territory of your kindred, the children of Esau?’ Allow us to pass to our land! [But they did not want to do so.] Joab said to [his army], “If we eradicate Edom now, we shall find nothing to eat or drink on our return. Instead let us leave them alone until we have smitten Aram, and then we shall turn back against them.” It is therefore stated (in Ps. 60:2), “[When he had struggled with Aram-Naharaim and Aram-Zobah,] and Joab returned and smote Edom – [an army] of twelve thousand men – in the Valley of Salt.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “What benefit is it for you that you smite Edom little by little?” [As we also find that] Abishai ben Zuriyah killed eighteen thousand, “and (in II Sam. 8:14), all the Edomites became vassals of David.” When the time comes, I will destroy and eradicate it, as stated (in Obad. 1:19-21), “They shall take possession of the Negeb and the Mountain of Esau…. They shall possess the Ephraimite country and the district of Samaria…. And the exiles in this army of the Children of Israel…. For saviors shall go up on Mount Zion to judge the Mountain of Esau.” At that time (ibid., cont.), “the kingdom shall belong to the Lord.”

(Deut. 2:2–4:) THEN THE LORD SPOKE UNTO ME, SAYING: YOU HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF GOING ABOUT THIS HILL COUNTRY. <TURN NORTH. > NOW CHARGE THE PEOPLE, SAYING: <YOU ARE PASSING THROUGH THE TERRITORY OF YOUR KINDRED, THE CHILDREN OF ESAU, WHO DWELL IN SEIR. THOUGH THEY WILL BE AFRAID OF YOU, YOU ARE TO BE VERY WARY.> This text is related (to Ps. 60:1): TO THE DIRECTOR: ACCORDING TO SHUSHAN EDUTH; A MIKHTAM OF DAVID; FOR INSTRUCTION. When? (According to vs. 2) WHEN HE HAD STRUGGLED WITH ARAM-NAHARAIM AND ARAM-ZOBAH.³Tanh., Deut. 1:3; see Gen. R. 74:15. Now was it not already stated (in I Kings 11:15–16): [AND HE (Joab) SMOTE EVERY MALE IN EDOM;] FOR JOAB <AND ALL ISRAEL> STAYED THERE SIX MONTHS, <UNTIL HE HAD ANNIHILATED EVERY MALE IN EDOM>? Still it says next (here in Ps. 60:2, cont.): JOAB RETURNED AND SMOTE <TWELVE THOUSAND> EDOMITES IN THE VALLEY OF SALT. This text is related (to Is. 50:8): MY VINDICATOR IS AT HAND. WHO WILL CONTEND WITH ME? LET US STAND TOGETHER…. The Holy One gave Torah to Israel, so that through it they would attain vindication before all peoples. You find that Joab was head of the Sanhedrin,⁴Gk.: Synedrion. as stated (in II Sam. 23:8) {AND} THESE ARE THE NAMES OF THE WARRIORS WHOM DAVID HAD: ONE WHO SITS IN THE SEAT OF WISDOM.⁵These words are commonly understood as the proper name, JOSHEB-BASSHEBETH, A TAHCHEMONITE, but this and other citations of the verse in rabbinic literature tend to understand the verse as translated here. See above, Tanh. (Buber), Gen. 4:12, and the note there; also Tanh. (Buber), Numb. 10:9.: Cf. MQ 16b, for an interpretation that identifies this sage with David himself. This was Joab; but David was wiser than all, since it is stated (in II Sam. 14:20 with reference to David): MY LORD IS AS WISE [AS THE WISDOM OF AN ANGEL OF GOD.] Still, they only acted on something in accord with the Sanhedrin, as stated (in Ps. 60:1): TO THE DIRECTOR: ACCORDING TO SHUSHAN EDUTH (i.e., LILY OF WITNESS); A MIKHTAM OF DAVID. SHUSHAN EDUTH refers to the Sanhedrin, since it is stated (in Cant. 7:3): <YOUR BELLY IS A HEAP OF WHEAT> FENCED IN WITH THE LILIES (shoshanim). WITNESS (EDUTH) <is mentioned> because of the Torah, which is called a witness.⁶For this interpretation, see William G. Braude, The Midrash on Psalms (“Yale Judaica Series,” 13; New Haven: Yale, 1959), vol. 2, p. 477, n. 2 on Ps. 60, who explains that wheat symbolizes Torah and lilies represent the sages. Thus SHUSHAN EDUTH, “Lily of Witness,” alludes to the sages in the Sanhedrin, who teach from their knowledge of the Witness or Torah. See also above, Tanh. (Buber), Exod 9:1; Numb. 1:4, and the notes there. MIKHTAM refers to David, who made himself humble (Makh) and innocent (tam), because he walked in innocence with his Creator. When? (According to Ps. 60:2) WHEN HE HAD STRUGGLED WITH ARAM-NAHARAIM. What does that mean? When Joab went to fight with ARAM-NAHARAIM, they came out toward him. They said to him: You are one of the children of Jacob, but we are from the children of Laban. Now here is their confirmed agreement, as written (in Gen. 31:52): THIS MOUND IS A WITNESS, <AND THE PILLAR⁷Matstsebah. Cf. Braude, ibid., n. 1 to Ps. 60, who suggests that the mikhtam of Ps. 60:1 may denote a pillar. IS A WITNESS THAT I WILL NOT PASS BEYOND THIS MOUND AND THIS PILLAR UNTO YOU WITH EVIL INTENT>. When Joab heard <that>, he returned to David. He said to him: What do you say to that? Here is our ancestor Jacob's sworn agreement. They immediately convened a Sanhedrin, (in the words of Ps. 60:1) A SHUSHAN EDUTH (i.e., LILY OF WITNESS) < … > [FOR INSTRUCTION]. They instructed him and said: It really was so, but they transgressed it first. Why did Balaam the Wicked transgress it? Does it not say so (in Numb. 23:7): IT IS FROM ARAM THAT BALAK HAS BROUGHT ME, THE KING OF MOAB <FROM THE HILLS OF THE EAST> …? Moreover, did not Cushan-rishathaim (of Aram-naharaim) enslave us, as stated (in Jud. 3:8): AND THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL SERVED CUSHAN-RISHATHAIM EIGHT YEARS? <Thus> they have committed two wicked acts against us. When the court had so {thanked} [instructed] him, he immediately turned back against them and slew them, as stated (in Ps. 60:2): WHEN HE HAD STRUGGLED WITH ARAM-NAHARAIM <AND ARAM-ZOBAH, JOAB RETURNED AND SMOTE EDOM, TWELVE THOUSAND, IN THE VALLEY OF SALT>. Did he not make war with Aram (i.e., Syria)? What is the meaning of AND SMOTE EDOM? It should have said "Aram" and not EDOM.⁸In Hebrew block letters “Aram” and “Edom” look almost identical. It is simply that when Joab came to fight with Aram, the children of Edom stood up to him and said to him: Did not the Holy One say to you (in Deut. 2:5): DO NOT ENGAGE THEM IN BATTLE? Joab answered them: Did he not say this to us (in vs. 4): YOU ARE PASSING THROUGH THE TERRITORY OF YOUR KINDRED, THE CHILDREN OF ESAU? Allow us to pass! But they did not want to <do so>. Joab said to them: If we eradicate Edom now, we shall find nothing to eat or drink on our return. Instead let us leave them alone until we have smitten Aram, and then we shall turn back against them. It is therefore stated (in Ps. 60:2 [1]): <WHEN HE HAD STRUGGLED WITH ARAM-NAHARAIM <AND ARAM-ZOBAH,> JOAB RETURNED AND SMOTE EDOM, TWELVE THOUSAND, IN THE VALLEY OF SALT>. The Holy One said: You are to eradicate Edom little by little. When the time comes, I will destroy and eradicate it, as stated (in Obad. vs. 19): {HE SHALL TAKE POSSESSION OF THE NEGEB AND THE MOUNTAIN} [THE NEGEB SHALL TAKE POSSESSION OF THE MOUNTAIN OF] <ESAU>…. It also says (in vs. 20): AND THE EXILES IN THIS ARMY <OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL>…. And it says (in vs. 21): FOR SAVIORS SHALL GO UP ON MOUNT ZION TO JUDGE THE MOUNTAIN OF ESAU. At that time (ibid., cont.): THE KINGDOM SHALL BELONG TO THE LORD.

Your navel is a moon-shaped goblet wherein mixed wine is not lacking; your belly is a pile of wheat hedged with lilies (Song of Songs 7:3).
“Your navel is a moon-shaped goblet.” “Your navel,” these are the Sanhedrin. Just as a baby, as long as it is in its mother’s womb, subsists only through its navel, so too Israel is unable to accomplish anything without their Sanhedrin. “A moon-shaped [hasahar] goblet,” this is the round chamber of admonition.²⁴This is a reference to the seat of the Sanhedrin, from which the Sanhedrin would issue rulings to Israel. The Sanhedrin would sit in a semi-circular structure (see Sanhedrin 36b). Avun bar Ḥisdai said: There are places that call and characterize the moon as sahara. “Wherein mixed wine is not lacking;” the Sanhedrin must not be any fewer than twenty-three.
Another matter, “wherein mixed wine is not lacking,” the Sanhedrin must not be lacking its most distinguished member. Another matter, “wherein mixed wine is not lacking,” the Sanhedrin must not lack the one who determines the halakha for it, like that which we learned there: “Diluted wine is two parts water and one part wine, from the wine of the Sharon” (Nidda 19a).²⁵Just as one would prepare wine for consumption by mixing in the right amount of water, the leader of the Sanhedrin would analyze all the sides of an issue and give direction as to the ruling. Alternatively, “wherein mixed wine is not lacking,” may the Butler of the world not be lacking, just as you say: “The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want” (Psalms 23:1).

A righteous person will flourish like a date palm. No part of the date palm is wasted: Its dates are eaten; its young branches are used for ritual blessing [of the lulav on sukkot]; its fronds cover the Sukkah; its fibers are used to make ropes; its leaves are used for sieves; its planed trunks are used for roof beams. So too there are none worthless in Israel: Some are versed in the Bible; others know Mishnah; some are masters of aggadah [storytelling]; others do good deeds; still others promote social equity.

“Your belly is a pile of wheat,” this is the book of Leviticus. Just as the belly, the heart is on this side and the legs are on the other side and it is in the middle, so is the book of Leviticus, there are two on this side and two on that side and it is in the middle.²⁶Leviticus is the third of the five books of the Pentateuch. “A pile of wheat [ḥitim],” a pile of sins [ḥata’im];²⁷Leviticus details the laws of sin-offerings (Matnot Kehuna). “hedged with lilies,” these are matters of Torah, which are as soft as lilies. How many mitzvot and details are in the book of Leviticus, how many a fortiori inferences, instances of piggul²⁸An offering is disqualified if, 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. Such an offering is called piggul. and instances of notar²⁹This is flesh that is left over after the appointed time for its consumption. there are in the book of Leviticus.
Rabbi Levi said: It is the way of the world that a man might marry a woman at the age of thirty or forty years. After he outlays all his expenditures, he comes to consummate his marriage with her; if she says to him: I saw [a spot] like a red lily,³⁰Menstrual blood. he separates from her immediately. Who caused him not to approach her? What iron wall is between them? What iron pillar is between them? What snake bit him? What scorpion stung him so that he would not approach her? [There is but] the words of the Torah, which are as soft as lilies, in which it is stated: “You shall not approach a woman in her state of menstrual impurity” (Leviticus 18:19).
Likewise, one before whom they brought a tray of pieces [of meat]; if they say to him: [A piece of] forbidden fat fell there, he withdraws his hand and does not taste it. Who caused him to refrain from tasting? What snake bit him so that he would not taste it? What scorpion stung him so that he would not approach and taste it? The words of the Torah, which are as soft as lilies, in which it is written: “You shall not consume any fat or any blood” (Leviticus 3:17).

Another matter, “your belly is a pile of wheat,” but would one of pine cones not be fairer than one of wheat? But it is possible for the world to exist without pine cones, but it is not possible for the world to exist without wheat. Rabbi Idi said: Just as this wheat kernel is cleft, so Israel’s circumcision is cleft.³¹This is a reference to peria, the process in which the membrane under the foreskin is split and pulled back (Maharzu). Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥananya said: Just as wheat absorbs, so too Israel absorbs the property of the nations of the world. That is what is written: “You shall devour all the peoples…” (Deuteronomy 7:16), and it is written: “You will consume the wealth of the nations and in their glory you will revel” (Isaiah 61:6). Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish said: Just as with wheat, its waste is measured with it, so too Israel, “from the hewer of your wood to the drawer of your water” (Deuteronomy 29:10).
Rabbi Yitzḥak said: Just as these wheat kernels, when they go out for sowing go out by measure, and when they enter from the grain pile they enter by measure, so too Israel, when they descended to Egypt they descended by number, as it is stated: “With seventy people, your ancestors descended to Egypt” (Deuteronomy 10:22), and when they ascended, they ascended by number, as it is stated: “some six hundred thousand men on foot” (Exodus 12:37). Rabbi Ḥonya said regarding the statement of Rabbi Yitzḥak: Just as the landowner does not monitor boxes of manure, and not boxes of hay, and not boxes of straw, and not chaff; why? Because they are considered worthless; so too, the Holy One blessed be He does not monitor the nations of the world, why, because they are considered worthless, as it is stated: “All the nations are like nothing before Him…” (Isaiah 40:17). Whom does He monitor? Israel, as it is stated: “When you take a census of the children of Israel…” (Exodus 30:12), “take a census of the entire congregation of Israel” (Numbers 1:2).
Rabbi Neḥemya [said] in the name of Rabbi Avun: The nations of the world have no planting, have no sowing, and have no root, and the three of them are in one verse: “It is as though they were not planted, as though they were not sown, as though their trunk had not taken root in the earth” (Isaiah 40:24). However, Israel has planting, as it is stated: “I will plant them in this land” (Jeremiah 32:41), and it is written “I will plant them upon their land” (Amos 9:15). They have sowing, as it is stated: “I will sow her for Me in the land” (Hosea 2:25). They have root, as it is stated: “It is coming that Jacob will take root” (Isaiah 27:6).
To what is this matter comparable? Hay, chaff, and straw were deliberating with each other. This one said: The land was sown for my sake, and that one said: The field was sown for my sake. The wheat said to them: Wait until the [time for] threshing arrives and we will know for whose sake the field was sown. The time of the threshing arrived, and when they entered the threshing floor, the field owner emerged to winnow it. The chaff went with the wind, he took the hay and cast it to the ground, he took the straw and burned it, and he took the wheat and made it into a pile. People would pass and everyone who saw it would kiss it, just as it says: “Kiss the grain” (Psalms 2:12). So too the nations of the world; these say: We are the true Israel, and the world was created for our sake, and those say: We are the true Israel and the world was created for our sake. Israel said to them: Wait until the day the Holy One blessed be He will arrive and we will know for whose sake the world was created. That is what is written: “For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven [and all the wicked people and all the evildoers will be like straw; and that coming day will burn them]” (Malachi 3:19), and it is written: “You will winnow them and the wind will carry them” (Isaiah 41:16). However, it is stated in Israel’s regard: “But you will rejoice in the Lord, you will be glorified in the Holy One of Israel” (Isaiah 41:16).

R. Simeon the son of Lakish, R. Akiba, and R. Simeon the son of Yohai said: His disciples do not permit him to sleep undisturbed in his grave, as it is said: Moving gently the lips of those that are asleep (Song 7:10). Hence, The satiety of the rich will not suffer him to sleep. Similarly, Moses taught the Torah to the Israelites, trained them in the observance of the law, arranged the order of the chapters of the Torah, and assigned the chapters to be read each Sabbath, on Rosh Hodesh, and on holy days. And they call him to mind as they read each Torah portion.

Said Rabbi Yochanan: Once I was walking on a path and I came across a man who was collecting firewood. I spoke to him but he did not respond to me. Afterwards he approached me and said "Rabbi, I am dead and not alive", I said to him: "If you are dead - why do you need the firewood?". He responded: "Rabbi, listen carefully to what I am saying to you, when I was alive, my friend and I were doing a sin in my palace and when we came here we were sentenced to punishment by fire, when I gather wood they burn my friend, and when my friend gathers wood they burn me". I asked him: "Till when do you have to endure this punishment?" He told me: "When I came here I left my wife pregnant and I know she is pregnant with a son, therefore, please take caution with him and from the time he is born until he is five years old take him to he house of his rabbi to learn biblical verse (mikrah) because when he can say Barchu Et Hashem HaMevorach then I will be saved from the punishment of Gehenna".

(Numb. 1:1-2) “Then the Lord spoke unto Moses in the Sinai desert […, ‘Take a census of the whole congregation of the Children of Israel…’].” This text is related (to Cant. 7:3), “Your navel is a round bowl; let not mixed wine be lacking; your belly is a heap of wheat fenced in with lilies.” [And that verse] is speaking about the Sanhedrin¹⁸Gk.: Synedrion. of Israel, which was situated in the chamber of hewn stone and is compared with a navel.¹⁹Numb. R. 1:4; see PR 10:2; above, Exod. 9:1 and the notes there; also below, Deut. 1:3; and perhaps Exod. R. 39:1. And why is it compared with a navel? It is that just as the navel is situated in the middle of the body, so the Sanhedrin of Israel was situated in the middle of the Temple. (Ibid., cont.) “Let not mixed wine be lacking.” What is the meaning of “let not mixed wine be lacking?” That there was never one less than a third of them [present]: “Let not mixed wine be lacking” – whoever mixes it properly mixes a third of a cup of wine with two parts water. Thus the Sanhedrin would sit from [the time of] the morning sacrifice until the afternoon sacrifice. But did not one of them go out for his [bodily] needs? So what did they do when one wanted to leave? He would count. If twenty three were present, he would leave; if not, he would not leave. Why? Because it is written (ibid.), “let not mixed wine be lacking.” Thus there was never less than a third of them [present]. It is therefore written, “let not mixed wine be lacking.” (Ibid., cont.) “Your belly is a heap of wheat.” Why is it compared to wheat?²⁰See PR 10:3. Just as this wheat enters the granary with a count and leaves with a count, so too, here the Holy One, blessed be He, said that they should be numbered all the time. It is therefore stated (ibid.), “your belly is a heap of wheat.” The stubble and the straw, however, are not numbered and not measured. Thus the peoples of the world are compared with stubble and straw, as stated (in Ps. 35:5), “They shall be like chaff before the wind.” And so it says (in Obad. 1:18), “and the house of Esau shall be straw.” Why? Because the Holy One, blessed be He, has no pleasure from them, as stated (in Is. 40:17), “All the nations are as nothing before Him; they are considered by Him as less than nothing and void.” But in the case of Israel, the Holy One, blessed be He, does have pleasure from them. They read the shema', pray, and bless the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, every day and at all times on every single thing; therefore, they are numbered all the time. For that reason they were compared with the wheat, as stated (in Cant. 7:3), “your belly is a heap of wheat.”

Another interpretation (of Numb. 1:1-2): THEN THE LORD SPOKE UNTO MOSES IN THE SINAI DESERT […: TAKE A CENSUS OF THE WHOLE CONGREGATION OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL….] This text is related (to Cant. 7:3 [2]): YOUR NAVEL IS A ROUND BOWL. LET NOT MIXED WINE BE LACKING. YOUR BELLY IS A HEAP OF WHEAT FENCED IN WITH LILIES. <The verse> is speaking about the Sanhedrin²⁸Gk.: Synedrion. of Israel, which was situated in the Chamber of Hewn Stone and is compared with a navel.²⁹Tanh., Numb. 1:4; Numb. R. 1:4; see PR 10:2; above, Exod. 9:1 and the notes there; also below, Deut. 1:3; and perhaps Exod. R. 39:1. And why is it compared with a navel? It is simply that just as the navel is situated in the middle of the body, so the Sanhedrin of Israel was situated in the middle of the Temple. (Ibid., cont.:) LET NOT MIXED WINE BE LACKING. What is the meaning of LET NOT MIXED WINE BE LACKING? That there was never one less than a third of them <present>. LET NOT MIXED WINE BE LACKING. Whoever mixes it properly mixes a third of a cup of wine with two parts water. Thus the Sanhedrin would sit from <the time of> the morning sacrifice until the sacrifice at twilight. But did not one of them turn away for the needs of nature? So what did they do when one wanted to leave? He would count. If twenty three were present, he would leave; if not, he would not leave. Why? Because it is written (ibid.): LET NOT MIXED WINE BE LACKING. Thus there was never less than a third of them <present>. It is therefore written: LET NOT MIXED WINE BE LACKING. (Ibid., cont.:) YOUR BELLY IS A HEAP OF WHEAT. Israel has been compared with a heap of wheat.³⁰See PR 10:3. Just as this wheat enters the granary with a count (minyan) and leaves with a count, so the Holy One said that Israel should be numbered (nimnin) all the time. It is therefore stated (ibid.): YOUR BELLY IS A HEAP OF WHEAT. The stubble and the straw, however, are not numbered. Instead they are measured.³¹Buber’s Spanish MS (described on p. 150 on his “Mavo”) plus the parallel texts read: “Nor are they measured.” Thus the peoples of the world are compared with stubble and straw, as stated (in Ps. 35:5): THEY SHALL BE LIKE CHAFF BEFORE THE WIND WITH THE ANGEL OF THE LORD OVERTHROWING THEM. And so it says (in Obad. 18): AND THE HOUSE OF ESAU SHALL BE STRAW. And why? Because they have³²The parallel texts read: “Because the Holy One has….” no pleasure from them, as stated (in Is. 40:17): ALL THE NATIONS ARE AS NOTHING BEFORE HIM; THEY ARE CONSIDERED BY HIM AS LESS THAN NOTHING AND VOID. But in the case of Israel, the Holy One does have pleasure from them. They read the Shema', pray, and bless the name of the Holy One every day; therefore, they are numbered all the time. For that reason they were compared with the wheat, as stated (in Cant. 7:3) YOUR BELLY IS A HEAP OF WHEAT. For that reason (in Numb. 1:1-2): THEN THE LORD SPOKE UNTO MOSES IN THE SINAI DESERT…: TAKE A CENSUS OF THE WHOLE CONGREGATION OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL….

(Fol. 37) (Songs 7, 3) Thy navel is protected like a round goblet which lacketh not the mixed wine. Navel refers to the Sanhedrin. And why were they called navel? Because they used to sit in the centre (navel) of the world. Is protected — i.e., it protects the whole world. Round goblet — i.e., the Sanhedrin sat in a circle. Which lacketh not the mixed wine — i.e., if one wished to leave, it must be seen that there would remain twenty-three, corresponding to the number of the small Sanhedrin; then he was able to leave. But if there were less, he could not leave. Thy body is like a heap of wheat fenced about with lilies; i.e., just as from a heap of wheat all derive benefit, so all were pleased to hear the reasons given by the Sanhedrin in their discussions. Fenced about with lilies — i.e., even a fence of lilies was not broken by them to go out of it. This is what was said by a certain heretic to R. Cahana: "Your law permits a man to stay alone with his wife during the days of her menstruation. Is it possible that flax and fire should be together and should not burn?" And he answered: "The Torah has testified for us, fenced about with lilies — i.e., even a fence of lilies is sufficient for us — and it will never be broken." Resh Lakish said: "This is inferred from (Ib. 6, 7) Like the half of the pomegranate is the upper part of thy cheek — i.e., even thy lowest are full of meritorious acts — like the pomegranate." R. Zera said: "From (Gen. 27, 27) And he smelled the smell of his garments, etc. Do not read b'gadav (garments), but read bogdav (his transgressors)." There were insolent fellows in the neighborhood of R. Zera, who nevertheless associated with them and showed them respect, so that they should repent. The Rabbis, however, were not satisfied with this. When R. Zera died the insolent fellows said: "Hitherto there was the little man who prayed for us, but now who will do so?" Whereupon they repeated and became righteous.

And they wept. Why did they weep? This may be compared to a situation in which a wolf attacks a ram. The ram gores the wolf with his horns, while the wolf sinks his teeth into the ram’s horn until they both cry out. The wolf cries out because he is unable to do any harm to the ram, and the ram cries out because he is fearful that the wolf might attack him once again and kill him. Esau and Jacob cried out for the same reason. Esau cried because Jacob’s neck had become as hard as marble, and Jacob cried out because he was afraid that Esau might try to bite him again. Scripture says about Jacob: Thy neck is as a ivory tower (Song 7:5), and it describes what happened to Esau: Thou hast broken the teeth of the wicked (Ps. 3:8). The Holy One, blessed be He, told Israel: In this world I cast down those who hate thee, but in the world-to-come I will place men beneath thee (Isa. 43:4).

(Fol. 49b) Raba expounded: "What is the meaning of the passage (Songs 6, 2) How beautiful are thy steps in sandals. It means, How beautiful were the steps of Israel, when they made a pilgrimage to celebrate the festival. The prince's daughter, daughter of Abraham, our father, who was called a prince; as it is said (Ps. 47, 10) The princes of the people are gathered together, the people of the God of Abraham. [Why is] the God of Abraham [mentioned], and "not the God of Isaac or Jacob? The God of Abraham [is mentioned, because Abraham] was the first proselyte." R. Aman lectured: (Songs 7, 2) The rounding of thy thighs are like the links of a chain. "Why are the words of the Law likened unto thighs? Just as the thighs are in a hidden place, so the words of the Law must also be hidden." This was also interpreted by R. Elazar who said: "What is the meaning of the passage (Micah 6, 8) He hath told thee, O man, what is good, and what the Lord doth require of thee: nothing but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with thy God; i.e. To do justice, refers to judgment; to love kindness, refers to loving kindness; and to walk humbly with thy God, refers to dowering the bride and escorting the dead to the grave." Is this conclusion not proved a fortiori? If things usually done publicly are to be done decorously, so much the more should things usually done privately.

When the Lord enlarges your territory (Deuteronomy 12:20): This is what is stated in the verse (Proverbs 18:16), "A man’s gift eases his way." It is a gift so that a person will give from his, that the Holy One, blessed be He, enlarges [what he has]. There is a [relevant] story about Abbun Ramah (probably a nickname, meaning the father of tricking) who lived in Batsra. His rabbis went to there and were seeking sustenance. He sat and did not decide [what he would give] at first, until all the people of the city decided, so that he could decide corresponding to all [the others]. That is why he was called Abbun Ramah, as he would be tricky with all of the commandments. From when he knew how much all of the people of the city had decided, he decided corresponding to all of them. What did our rabbis do? They took him and sat him at the edge next to them, in order to fulfill that which is stated, "A man’s gift eases his way [and places him next to the great]." Another interpretation of "A man’s gift eases his way": This is [referring to] Avraham. When he chased the [four] kings, the king of Sodom came out to greet him. He said to him (Genesis 14:21), "Give me the persons, and take the possessions for yourself." Avraham said [back], "I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High [.... I will not take] so much as a thread or a sandal strap, etc." The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, "You have said, 'a thread [or a sandal strap]." By your life, I will sustain your children with that same expression, 'How lovely are your feet in sandals' (Song of Songs 7:2)." Another interpretation of "A man’s gift eases his way": This is [referring to] Israel. When the Holy One, blessed be He, said to them to bring a freewill offering, what is written there? "These continued to bring freewill offerings to [Moshe] morning after morning" (Exodus 36:3), two mornings. What did they merit [by this]? He enlarged their territory, as stated, "When the Lord enlarges your territory." In the merit of what does He enlarge it, "as he stated to you" (Deuteronomy 12:20)? In the merit of the ten statements (Ten Commandments) that you accepted. Another interpretation: "As he stated," in the merit of your forefathers.

“Your neck is like an ivory tower; your eyes are pools in Ḥeshbon, by the gate of Bat Rabim; your nose is like the tower of Lebanon overlooking Damascus” (Song of Songs 7:5).
“Your neck is like an ivory tower.” It is written: “Esau ran to meet him, embraced him, fell upon his neck, and kissed him [vayishakehu] [and they wept]” (Genesis 33:4). The entire word³²The word vayishakehu is written in the Torah scroll with a dot over each of the letters. is dotted. Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar said: Everywhere that you find the script more numerous than the dots, adopt the script and ignore the dots. If the dots are more numerous than the script, adopt the dots and ignore the script. However, here, neither is the script more numerous than the dots, nor are the dots more numerous than the script, but rather it is dotted above vayishakehu in its entirety. This teaches that he did not come to kiss him, but rather to bite him. Jacob’s neck became as hard as marble and the teeth of that wicked one became dull and melted like wax. Why does the verse state: “And they wept”? This one was crying over his neck, and that one was crying over his teeth.
Rabbi Abahu in the name of Rabbi Elazar cites it from this: “Your neck is like an ivory tower.” It is written: “Pharaoh heard this matter and he sought to kill Moses. Moses fled” (Exodus 2:15). Is there a person who is able to flee from the king? Rather, it teaches that he was standing and was sentenced on that same day, and they condemned him to beheading. Rabbi Evyatar said: The sword glanced off the neck of Moses and sliced the neck of the wicked executioner. That is what is written: “For the God of my father was my help, and He delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh” (Exodus 18:4). He delivered me, but did not deliver the executioner. Rabbi Bon would apply to him the verse: “The righteous is extricated from trouble, and the wicked comes in his place” (Proverbs 11:8). Rabbi Berekhya said: “The wicked is ransom for the righteous” (Proverbs 21:18). Bar Kappara said: It teaches that an angel descended in the guise of Moses, and they apprehended the angel and left Moses, and he fled. Rabbi Abba son of Rav Pappi and Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin [said] in the name of Rabbi Levi: At that moment all of Pharaoh’s advisors, some of them became mute, some of them deaf, some of them blind, and some of them disabled. They said to the mutes: Where is Moses? But they could not speak. To the blind, but they could not see. To the deaf, but they could not hear. To the disabled, but they could not walk, as it is stated: “The Lord said to him: Who gives a mouth to a person, or who renders one mute or deaf, or sighted or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?” (Exodus 4:11). Is it not I who did all these? “Now go and I will send you to Pharaoh” (Exodus 3:10).

“Your eyes are pools in Ḥeshbon.” “Your eyes,” these are the Sanhedrin, who are the eyes of the congregation, just as it says: “It shall be, if from the eyes of the congregation” (Numbers 15:24). There are two hundred and forty-eight limbs in a person and all of them follow the eyes. So too, Israel is unable to do anything without its Sanhedrin. “Pools in Ḥeshbon,” matters of calculation [ḥeshbon]; thirty-six exonerate and thirty-five convict.³³The seventy-one members of the Sanhedrin would vote on a given case. If the majority, thirty-six, would exonerate, the defendant would be acquitted. “By the gate of Bat Rabim,” this is the halakha that emerges from the gatehouse and is disseminated to the multitudes. Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi says: It is attributed to: “Inclining after the majority [rabim]” (Exodus 23:2).

“Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon,” just as the nose is located at the highest part of a person, so the Temple is located at the highest part of the world. Just as the nose has much jewelry suspended from it,³⁴Although people generally do not suspend much jewelry from their nose, it was customary to include one’s most beautiful jewel in a nose ring (Yefei Kol). Alternatively, the term nose [af] in this instance includes the area up to the forehead, from which people would suspend various types of chains and jewelry (Matnot Kehuna). so do priesthood, Levitical status, and kingship descend from Jacob. “Like the tower of Lebanon,”³⁵Many commentaries (see, e.g., Matnot Kehuna) assert that the text should read: “Like the tower of Lebanon,” this is the Temple, as it is stated… as it is stated: “This good mountain and the Lebanon” (Deuteronomy 3:25). Rabbi Tavyomi said: Because it whitens [malbin] the iniquities of Israel like snow, as it is stated: “If your sins will be like scarlet they will become white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18). Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai says: Because all the hearts [levavot] rejoice there, as it is stated: “Beautiful in its view, joy of all the land” (Psalms 48:3). The Rabbis say: [It is so called] because of [what is stated]: “My eyes and My heart [libi] will be there for all days” (I Kings 9:3).
“Overlooking Damascus,” Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Jerusalem is destined to reach until the gates of Damascus, as it is stated: “A prophecy, the word of the Lord: Ḥadrakh [and Damascus]” (Zechariah 9:1). What is Ḥadrakh? Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Neḥamya, Rabbi Yehuda said: There is a place that is called Ḥadrakh. Rabbi Yosei ben Durmaskit said to him: By the Temple service, I am from Damascus and there is a place there named Ḥadrakh. Rabbi Neḥemya said: This is the messianic king who is sharp [ḥad] and gentle [rakh]; sharp to the nations and gentle to Israel.
Another matter, Ḥadrakh, this is the messianic king who is destined to guide [lehadrikh] all mankind in repentance before the Holy One blessed be He. “Damascus is His resting place” (Zechariah 9:1). Is Damascus His resting place? But is His resting place not the Temple, as it is stated: “This is My resting place forever” (Psalms 132:14)? He said to him: Jerusalem is destined to expand on all its sides until it reaches the gates of Damascus, and all the exiles will come and rest under its auspices, to realize what is stated: “Damascus is His resting place,” His resting place will reach Damascus.
How does Rabbi Yoḥanan realize: “The city will be rebuilt on its mound” (Jeremiah 30:18)?³⁶This verse implies that it will be rebuilt upon its original location, but will not expand significantly beyond its original location. Like a fig tree that is narrow below and wide above, so Jerusalem is destined to expand on all its sides, and all the exiles will come and rest under its auspices, to realize what is stated: “For you will spread right and left” (Isaiah 54:3). This is lengthwise; from where is it derived [that it will expand] widthwise? The verse states: “From the Tower of Ḥananel to the winepresses of the king” (Zechariah 14:10). Rabbi Zakkai the Great said: Until the pits of Rifa,³⁷Some assert that the correct reading is “the pits of Jaffa” (see Etz Yosef). In any event, the reference is to a location on the Mediterranean coastline in the land of Israel. until the winepresses that the King of kings, the Holy One blessed be He, dug out;³⁸This is a reference to the oceans. that is lengthwise and widthwise. From where is upward [that it will expand] derived? The verse states: “The side-chambers widened and wound about higher and higher” (Ezekiel 41:7). It is taught: Jerusalem is destined to expand and ascend and reach the Throne of Glory, until you will say: “The place is crowded for me” (Isaiah 49:20).³⁹Even when Jerusalem expands so greatly in all directions, it will still be crowded due to all the exiles who will return there. Rabbi Yosei ben Rabbi Yirmeya said: We have still not learned the praise of Jerusalem. From where do you learn its praise? From its walls, as it is stated: “I will be for it, the utterance of the Lord, a wall of fire all around” (Zechariah 2:9).

And thou shalt command (Exod. 27:20). It is written elsewhere in Scripture: Thy head (roshekh) upon thee is like Carmel, and the hair (dalat) of thy head like the purple; and the king is held captive in the tresses thereof (Song 7:6). The poor (harash) within Israel are equal to Elijah. It is said of him: And Elijah went up to the top (rosh) of Carmel and put his face between his knees (I Kings 18:42). And the hair (dalat) of thy head like the purple signifies that the feeble ones (hadal) in Israel are equal to Daniel, for it is written concerning him: They clothed Daniel with purple (Dan. 5:29). The king is held captive (asur) in the tresses. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel: It is as if I am bound (asur) to you, as though it were possible, by an oath. Because of whose merit am I bound to you? Because of the two times in which Abraham ran before Me, as it is said: And Abraham ran unto the herd (Gen. 18:7), and He ran to meet them from the tent door (ibid., v. 1). Therefore, The king is held captive in the tresses thereof.⁵The King, God, was bound to fulfill His promise because Abraham ran to carry out mitzvot (divine commandments) as the law required.

(Deut. 29:11 [12]:) TO ENTER INTO THE COVENANT WITH THE LORD YOUR GOD, EVEN THROUGH HIS OATH. Three covenants did the Holy One make with Israel: one when they came out of Egypt, one when they stood before Mount Sinai, {one at Horeb,} and one here.⁷Tanh., Deut. 8:3. But why did he make <a covenant> with them here? Because they had {cooked} [revoked] the one which he had made with them <on Sinai>,⁸This identification appears in the parallel from the traditional Tanhuma. when they said (of the Golden Calf in Exod. 32:4): THIS IS YOUR GOD, O ISRAEL. For that reason he made < another covenant> with them on Horeb⁹The text should probably read: “With them here,” in accord with Codex Vaticanus Ebr. 34. and established a curse over it for whoever would go back on his words. Now the word, ENTER (rt.: 'BR), <can> only be in the sense of one who says to his companion: May this curse come (rt.: 'BR) upon me, if I go back on this word. And so you find that, when they provoked the Holy One, they went into captivity. What did Daniel say (in Dan. 7:11)? AND ALL ISRAEL HAS TRANSGRESSED (rt.: 'BR) YOUR TORAH [….] SO THE CURSE (alah) AND THE OATH ARE POURED DOWN UPON US. Now alah can only be a curse,¹⁰Alah can also mean “oath” and “covenant.” as where it is stated (in Numb. 5:27): AND THE WOMAN SHALL BECOME A CURSE (alah). <This is> to teach you that, just as one imposes an oath on the suspect adulteress, so the Holy One imposed an oath upon Israel. But perhaps you will say: Why all this bother? It is not because I need you? Rather what shall I do to you, when I have already sworn to your ancestors, that I will never change anything for you and your children? It is therefore stated (in Deut. 29:12 [13]): IN ORDER TO ESTABLISH YOU TODAY AS HIS PEOPLE […,] <AS HE SWORE TO YOUR ANCESTORS, TO ABRAHAM, TO ISAAC, AND TO JACOB>. It also says (in Cant. 7:6 [5]): THE KING IS BOUND BY THE TRESSES. Now no one is bound except by an oath. Thus it is stated (in Numb. 30:4 [3]): <WHEN A WOMAN VOWS A VOW TO THE LORD> AND BINDS HERSELF WITH A BOND <….> Therefore, one cannot break his oath.

“Your head is upon you like the Carmel, and the locks of your head are like purple wool; the king is bound in the tresses” (Song of Songs 7:6).
“Your head is upon you like the Carmel,” the Holy One blessed be He said to Israel: “Your head [roshekh] is upon you like the Carmel”—the indigent [rashim] among you are as dear to Me as Elijah who climbed Mount Carmel, as it is stated: “Elijah climbed to the peak of the Carmel and he placed his face between his knees” (I Kings 18:42). Why did he place his face between his knees? He said before the Holy One blessed be He: We have no merit, look to the covenant.⁴⁰He put his head between his knees as an allusion to the covenant of circumcision.
“And the locks [dalat] of your head [roshekh] are like purple wool.” The Holy One blessed be He said: The poor [dalim] and the indigent [rashim] in Israel are as dear to me as David, as it is stated: “The feeble among them will on that day be like David” (Zechariah 12:8). Some say like Daniel, about whom it is written: “They clothed Daniel in purple wool” (Daniel 5:29).
“The king is bound in the tresses,” this is the King of kings, the Holy One blessed be He, in whose regard it is written: “The Lord reigns, He is clothed in grandeur” (Psalms 93:1). “Bound in the tresses [barehatim],” as He bound Himself with an oath that He would rest His Divine Presence in the midst of Israel, in the beams [barehatim] of Jacob our patriarch. By whose merit? Rabbi Abba bar Kahana and Rabbi Levi, one said: By the merit of Abraham our patriarch, as it is stated: “Abraham ran⁴¹The Aramaic translation of “ran” is rahat. to the cattle” (Genesis 18:7). And one said: By the merit of Jacob our patriarch, in whose regard it is written: “He displayed the rods [that he had peeled in the troughs [barehatim]]” (Genesis 30:38).
Rabbi Berekhya said: “King,” this is Moses, as it is stated: “He became king in Yeshurun” (Deuteronomy 33:5). “In the tresses [barehatim],” as it was decreed upon him that he would not enter the Land of Israel.⁴²In that sense Moses was “bound” by the decree against him. For what reason? It was due to the water troughs [barehatim] of the waters of contention. That is what is written: “They are the waters of contention” (Numbers 20:13). Rabbi Neḥemya said: “King,” this is Moses, as it is stated: “He became king in Yeshurun” (Deuteronomy 33:5). The Holy One blessed be He said to Moses: ‘I appointed you king over Israel and it is the way of a king to issue decrees and have others fulfill them. Thus, you shall issue decrees upon Israel and they will fulfill them.’ That is what is written: “Command the children of Israel” (Leviticus 24:2).

“How fair you are and how pleasant you are, love, in delights” (Song of Songs 7:7).
“How fair you are and how pleasant you are,” how fair you are in the mitzvot, how pleasant you are in the performance of acts of kindness. “How fair you are” in positive mitzvot “and how pleasant you are” in prohibitions. “How fair you are” in the mitzvot of the house, in the distribution of teruma and tithes, “and how pleasant you are” in the mitzvot of the field, in gleanings, forgotten sheaves, produce in the corner of the field, the tithe given to the poor, and in renunciation of ownership.⁴³During the Sabbatical year one is required to renounce ownership of the produce of one’s field. “How fair you are” in diverse kinds, “and how pleasant you are” in a garment with ritual fringes.⁴⁴The midrash praises Israel for observing the prohibition of “diverse kinds,” which includes various types of forbidden mixtures, one of which is combining wool and linen in a garment. However, it was permitted to affix ritual fringes, which must include wool strings dyed sky-blue, to a linen garment. “How fair you are” in planting, “and how pleasant you are” in orla.⁴⁵In observing the mitzva that prohibits eating or deriving benefit from the fruit that grows on a tree during the first three years after its planting. “How fair you are” in the produce of the fourth year “and how pleasant you are” in circumcision. “How fair you are” in uncovering⁴⁶This is the completion of the act of circumcision, in which the thin membrane underneath the foreskin is removed. “and how pleasant you are” in prayer. “How fair you are” in the reciting of Shema “and how pleasant you are” in mezuza. “How fair you are” in phylacteries “and how pleasant you are” in sukka. “How fair you are” in lulav “and how pleasant you are” in repentance. “How fair you are” in good deeds “and how pleasant you are” in this world. “How fair you are” in the World to Come “and how pleasant you are” in the messianic era.
“Love, in delights,” this is the love of Abraham our patriarch, who excused himself before the king of Sodom.⁴⁷He refused to receive the goods, or earthly delights, offered by the king of Sodom. That is what is written: “Abram said to the king of Sodom: I have raised my hand to the Lord…if so much as a thread to a shoelace, [or if I will take from anything of yours” (Genesis 14:22–23).
Another matter, “love, in delights,” this is the love of Daniel, who excused himself before Belshatzar, as it is stated: “Let your gifts be for you, and your grants [unvazbeyatakh] give to another” (Daniel 5:17). Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: Nevoz means head. There they would call the governor nevuzbezatakh. Rabbi Berekhya said: Your plunders [bizbuzekha]; you are plunderers sons of plunderers. The parable says: From one who inherited and not from one who plundered.

Rabbi Nehorai said: It is the decree of the King that when Israel sins || and fails to intercalate the year as is becoming, the Holy One, blessed be He, acts in His mercy at the time when the flame of the sun reaches the moon by night at 40 degrees (or ascents), then the Holy One, blessed be He, makes the moon dim and hides one of the Synhedrion. When Israel does the will of the Holy One, blessed be He, in His great mercy He makes the sun dim and He sends forth His anger upon the nations of the world, as it is said, "Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the nations, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven, for the nations are dismayed at them" (Jer. 10:2). Just as the moon's light does not rule over the sun's light by day, nor does the sun's light rule over the moon's light by night, likewise the calculation of the moon does not rule by day nor does the calculation of the sun (obtain) by night, and the one does not trespass on the boundary of the other.

“This, your stature, is likened to a date palm, and your breasts to clusters” (Song of Songs 7:8).
“This, your stature, is likened to a date palm.” Rabbi Ḥonya [said] in the name of Rabbi Dosa bar Tevet: The Holy One blessed be He created two evil inclinations in His world, the inclination of idol worship and the inclination of licentiousness. The inclination of idol worship has already been eradicated, but the inclination of licentiousness exists. The Holy One blessed be He said: ‘Anyone who can overcome the [urge to engage in] licentiousness, I attribute to him credit as though he overcame both of them.’
Rabbi Yehuda said: [This is analogous] to a snake charmer who had snakes. He charmed the large one and left the small one and said: ‘Anyone who can overcome this [small] one, I will ascribe him credit as though he overcame both of them.’ So too, the Holy One blessed be He eradicated the inclination of idol worship and left the one of licentiousness. He said: ‘Anyone who overcomes the inclination of licentiousness, credit is attributed to him as though he overcame both of them.’
When was the inclination of idol worship eradicated? Rabbi Benaya said: [In the days of] Mordekhai and Esther. The Rabbis say: [In the days of] Ḥananya, Mishael, and Azarya. The Rabbis responded to Rabbi Benaya: Was it eradicated by an individual? Rabbi Benaya responded to the Rabbis: Were Mordekhai and Esther individuals? This supports Rabbi Benaya: Rabbi Tanḥuma, Rabbi Meyasha, and Rabbi Yirmeya [said] in the name of Rabbi Shmuel bar Kahana: It is written: “Sackcloth and ashes were arranged for the multitudes” (Esther 4:3); most of that generation was righteous.⁴⁸The fact that many people donned sackcloth and ashes and engaged intensely in prayer indicates that Mordekhai and Esther were not the only righteous individuals.
This supports the Rabbis: Rabbi Pinḥas and Rabbi Ḥilkiya in the name of Rabbi Shmuel: It is written: “Your survivors will remember Me among the nations where they were taken captive” (Ezekiel 6:9). “Your survivors,” these are Ḥananya, Mishael, and Azarya, who were survivors from the fiery furnace. Among the nations where they settled is not written here, but rather, “among the nations where they were taken captive.” The Holy One blessed be He spoke to Israel: “Ephraim: What do I have to do with idols anymore?” (Hosea 14:9).⁴⁹God tells the prophet that Ephraim, representing Israel, will say this. What do I have to do with the inclination of idol worship? “I have responded [aniti]” (Hosea 14:9); I have subdued myself [uneiti] for His sake. “I will gaze upon him [va’ashurenu]” (Hosea 14:9), did I not recite song [shira] before You? That is to say: It is I who subjugated the inclination of idol worship.⁵⁰In this passage, the midrash reads the verse in Hosea to mean that Israel, referred to as Ephraim, claims to have subjugated itself before God and refrained from idolatry. God responds that it was He who eliminated the inclination for idol worship.
If so, why did Israel’s existence become uncertain during the days of Haman? The Rabbis and Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai, the Rabbis say: Because Israel engaged in idol worship. Rabbi Shimon said: Because they ate from the cooked dishes of the gentiles. They said to him: But was it not only the residents of Shushan the capital who partook in the feast? That is what is written: “Upon the completion of those days the king made a banquet for all the people who were present in Shushan the capital” (Esther 1:5). He said to them: But are not all Israel responsible for one another, as it is written: “They will stumble over one another” (Leviticus 26:37), one in the iniquity of his counterpart?
He said to them: If it is according to your opinion, you have brought upon all of Israel liability for elimination, as it is written: “One who sacrifices to gods, [save to the Lord only,] shall be destroyed” (Exodus 22:19). They said to him: Nevertheless, they did not worship it with all their hearts, as it is stated: “For He does not afflict willingly” (Lamentations 3:33).⁵¹Just as they did not worship idols with their hearts, God did not afflict them “willingly [milibo],” or literally, “with His heart” (Yefei Kol). Nevertheless, “and torment the children of men” (Lamentations 3:33); He placed over then an extremely harsh man to subject them to an ordeal, this is Nebuchadnezzar, who arose and made their wound more painful.
Rabbi Berekhya said in the name of Rabbi Levi: In two places, Israel acted with the Holy One blessed be He. At Sinai, they acted with their mouths but did not act with their heart, as it is stated: “But they beguiled Him with their mouth and lied to Him with their tongue…their heart was not steadfast toward Him” (Psalms 78:36–37). In Babylon, they acted with their heart but did not act with their mouth,⁵²When Nebuchadnezzar forced them to bow to his idol, they remained loyal to God in their hearts but not outwardly. as it is stated: “For He does not afflict willingly” (Lamentations 3:33), and nevertheless, “and torment the children of men” (Lamentations 3:33). He placed over them a man, as it is stated: “A man who is an adversary and an enemy. This wicked Haman” (Esther 7:6), and made their wound more painful.
In the opinion of the Rabbis, Israel engaged in idol worship in the days of Nebuchadnezzar. In the opinion of Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai, Israel did not engage in idol worship in the days of Nebuchadnezzar. In the opinion of the Rabbis, Israel engaged in idol worship, how so? Nebuchadnezzar set up an idol and designated twenty-three people from each and every nation and twenty-three from amongst Israel.⁵³These individuals were to bow down to the idol at its inaugural ceremony. Three of those designated from Israel were Ḥananya, Mishael, and Azarya, who did not prostrate themselves, but the other twenty did.
In the opinion of Rabbi Shimon, Israel did not engage in idol worship, how so? Nebuchadnezzar set up an idol and designated three people from each and every nation and three from amongst Israel. Ḥananya, Mishael, and Azarya, who were the three from Israel, arose and asserted themselves and did not engage in idol worship. They went to Daniel and said to him: ‘Daniel our master, Nebuchadnezzar set up an idol and designated three people from each and every nation and designated us from amongst Israel. What do you say, shall we prostrate ourselves to it or not?’ He said to them: ‘Behold, the prophet is before you, go to him.’ They immediately went to Ezekiel. They said to him as they said to Daniel: ‘Shall we prostrate ourselves to it or not?’ He said to them: ‘I have already received a tradition from my teacher Isaiah: “Hide for a brief moment until the fury has passed” (Isaiah 26:20).’⁵⁴Ezekiel advised them to go into hiding until they would be able to escape (Matnot Kehuna).
They said to him: ‘Do you want them to say that all the nations prostrate themselves to this idol?’ He said to them: ‘What do you say?’ They said to him: ‘We want to diminish it, in that we will be there and will not prostrate ourselves to it, so that they will say: All the nations prostrate themselves to this idol other than Israel.’ He said to them: ‘If that is your wish, wait for me until I consult the Omnipotent.’ That is what is written: “Men of the elders of Israel came to seek the Lord and they sat before me” (Ezekiel 20:1). Who were they? They were Ḥananya, Mishael, and Azarya. He said before the Holy One blessed be He: ‘Master of the universe, Ḥananya, Mishael, and Azarya request to give their lives for the sanctity of Your name. Will You stand by them or not?’ He said: ‘I will not stand by them.’ That is what is written: “Son of man, speak to the elders of Israel, and say to them…Do you come to seek Me? (Ezekiel 20:3). After you caused Me to destroy My house, to burn My Sanctuary, and to exile My children among the nations; after that you come to seek Me? “As I live, I will not acquiesce to you” (Ezekiel 20:3).
At that moment, Ezekiel wept, lamented, and wailed to himself: ‘Woe to the enemies of Israel,⁵⁵This is a euphemism for Israel itself, employed when referring to difficult events or situations. the remnant of Judah is lost. Only these remain from Judah, as it is stated: “Among them from the children of Judah were Daniel, Ḥananya, Mishael, and Azarya” (Daniel 1:6),⁵⁶These individuals were selected when Nebuchadnezzar asked for youths from the line of the kings of Judah who were handsome, wise, and knowledgeable. Thus, these were the elite of the remnant of Judah. and this is the answer that they receive?’ He was weeping and walking. When he arrived, they said to him: ‘What did the Holy One blessed be He say to you?’ He said to them: ‘I will not stand by you.’ They said to him: ‘Whether He stands or whether He does not stand, we are giving our lives to sanctify His name.’ Know that it is so, for as long as they had not come before Ezekiel, what did they say to Nebuchadnezzar? “We have no need to reply to you in this matter. Behold our God, whom we worship, exists; He is able to deliver us” (Daniel 3:16–17). After they came to Ezekiel and heard the response, they said to Nebuchadnezzar: “But if not, let it be known to you, king” (Daniel 3:18), whether He delivers or whether He does not deliver, “let it be known to you, king, that we will not worship your gods, and we will not prostrate ourselves to the golden image that you have erected” (Daniel 3:18).
When they went out from before Ezekiel, the Holy One blessed be He revealed Himself and said: ‘Ezekiel, what do you think, that I will not stand by them? I will certainly stand by them.’ That is what is written: “So said the Lord God: Concerning this too, I will acquiesce to the house of Israel” (Ezekiel 36:37). ‘But leave them and do not say anything to them. I will leave them to proceed unsuspecting.’ That is what is written: “He who walks innocently will walk securely” (Proverbs 10:9).
What did they do? They went and dispersed themselves among the populace and said, ‘Even if He does not deliver, “let it be known to you…”’⁵⁷They dispersed themselves among the crowd so that everyone would hear them refuse to prostrate themselves. That is why people take oaths and say: ‘To the One who established the world on three pillars.’ Some say that these are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and some say that these are Ḥananya, Mishael, and Azarya.
“This, your stature, is likened to a date palm [tamar]” (Song of Songs 7:8), just as it was decreed that Tamar be burned, yet she was not burned,⁵⁸See Genesis 38:24–26. so too, it was degreed that they be burned yet, they were not burned. Into what was the fire transformed? Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Shmuel bar Neḥemya, Rabbi Elazar said: It became like a planet. Rabbi Shmuel bar Neḥemya said: It became like the radiance of the heavens.

“I said: I will climb the date palm, I will grasp its branches; and may your breasts now be like clusters of the vine, and the fragrance of your face like apples” (Song of Songs 7:9).
“I said: I will climb the date palm,” I said I would be exalted by the entire nation, but I was exalted only by you.⁵⁹God was exalted only by Ḥananya, Mishael, and Azarya. “I will grasp its branches [sansinav],” its palm branches [sansinaya]. The date palm, even when it does not produce any [fruit], it produces no fewer than three palm branches.⁶⁰Similarly, although the rest of the nation was not prepared to sanctify God’s name by not bowing to the idol, Ḥananya, Mishael, and Azarya were. Avun bar Ḥisdi said: There are places that call palm branches sansinaya.⁶¹This confirms that the unusual term sansinav in the verse means palm branches. That is what is written: “Then these men were bound in cloaks [sarbaleihon]” (Daniel 3:21).⁶²This is another expression of the commitment of Ḥananya, Mishael, and Azarya to sanctifying the name of God – they did so in their special garments of state in order to create more of an impression on the crowd. Rabbi Yudan and Rabbi Huna, Rabbi Yudan said: In their cloaks. Rabbi Huna said: In their garments of state.⁶³Rabbi Yudan and Rabbi Huna disagree about the meaning of the term sarbaleihon.
Rabbi Avdimi of Haifa said: miracles were performed on that day: The furnace rose to the surface;⁶⁴It was originally built into the ground, but it rose so that everyone could see what was happening. the furnace broke; members of four kingdoms were burned; Nebuchadnezzar became half burned; the wind toppled the idol; and Ezekiel revived the dead in the Dura Valley.
From where is it derived that the furnace rose to the surface? Rabbi Yitzḥak said: It is from this verse: “Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose in haste, and spoke, saying…I see four unbound men walking in the fire, and no harm comes to them, and the fourth resembles a son of the gods” (Daniel 3:24–25). Rabbi Pinḥas said in the name of Rabbi Reuven: At that moment Mikhael the angel descended and struck him on his mouth. He said to him, ‘Wicked one [produced] from a putrid drop, does [God] have a son? Take back your words.’ He took back his words: “Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying: Blessed is their God…” (Daniel 3:28), “who sent His son” is not written here, but rather, who sent His angel, and saved His servants, who trusted in Him” (Daniel 3:28). Rabbi Reuven said: They were His servants.⁶⁵Nebuchadnezzar admitted that Ḥananya, Mishael, and Azarya were loyal servants of God. Alternatively, he admitted that the angel was a servant of God rather than a son of God.
From where is it derived that the furnace broke? As it is written: “Then Nebuchadnezzar approached the gate of the burning fiery furnace; he spoke, saying: Shadrakh, Meshakh, and Aved Nego, servants of God Most High” (Daniel 3:26) “burst through and come” is not written here, but rather, “emerge and come” (Daniel 3:26); from here [it is derived] that the furnace broke.
From where is it derived that members of four kingdoms were burned? Rabbi Yitzḥak said: It is written: “King Nebuchadnezzar sent to assemble the satraps, the prefects, the governors, adargezaraya, gedavraya, detavraya, tiftaye” (Daniel 3:2); adargezaraya – treasurers, gedavraya – commanders, detavraya – scholars. Why does he call them detavraya? It is because they break down the matters.⁶⁶Tavar means break in Aramaic. The scholars analyze a topic at hand and arrive at a conclusion. Tiftaye – jesters, why does he call them tiftaye? It is because they arouse [mefatin] the evil inclination of licentiousness. I have ascertained only these; from where is it derived to include ministers, agents, and princes? The verse states: “And all the rulers of the provinces” (Daniel 3:2).
I have ascertained only that these were there when they descended;⁶⁷They were present when Shadrakh, Meshakh, and Aved Nego (Ḥananya, Mishael, and Azarya) descended into the fiery furnace. from where is it derived [that these officials were all present] when they ascended? As it is written: “Aḥashdarpenaya, signaya, upaḥvata, vehadavrei malka assembled” (Daniel 3:27). Aḥashdarpenaya, Rabbi Aḥa and the Rabbis, Rabbi Aḥa said: These are the judges who are suspected [neḥshadim] of perverting [ufonin] justice in favor of any of the parties. The Rabbis say: They favor one party [mehadrin panim] and pervert [ufonin] justice; signaya – scholars; upaḥvata – treasurers, vehadavrei malka – elders and astrologers. “And saw these men” (Daniel 3:27).
From where is it derived that Nebuchadnezzar became half burned? Rabbi Yitzḥak said: From what he said with his own mouth: “It is pleasing for me to relate the signs and the wonders that God Most High has performed with me” (Daniel 3:32). “Performed with me,” performed with my body.
From where is it derived that the wind toppled the idol? Rabbi Yitzḥak said: From this verse: “Bel bows, Nevo collapses” (Isaiah 46:1).
From where is it derived that Ezekiel revived the dead? Rabbi Yitzḥak said: From this verse: “From the four directions, come, wind” (Ezekiel 37:9). Rabbi Pinḥas said: The very wind that toppled the idol was the wind that revived the dead. Rabbi Elazar said: That day was Shabbat and Yom Kippur.
The Rabbis say: Nebuchadnezzar was enticing Daniel very much and saying to him: ‘Will you not prostrate yourself to the idol that is dominant and real?’ He said to him: ‘Come see what it can do, and you will prostrate yourself to it of your own volition.’ What did that wicked one do? He took the frontplate of the High Priest and placed it in its mouth. He assembled all kinds of musicians and they were playing hymns before it, and [the idol] was saying: ‘I am the Lord your God.’ When Daniel saw this, he said to him: ‘Do you not give me permission to ascend and kiss your idol on its mouth?’ He said: ‘Why on its mouth?’ He said to him: ‘Because it is speaking sensible matters.’ Immediately, he granted him permission and he climbed. He adjured the frontplate, saying to it: ‘I am flesh and blood and I am an emissary of the Holy One blessed be He. Make certain that the Name of Heaven will not be desecrated through you. I decree upon you that you follow me.’ He came to kiss [the idol] and took what it had swallowed from its mouth.⁶⁸He took out the High Priest’s frontplate. After he descended, all the types of musicians reassembled and played hymns before it, but it would not do anything. At that moment, the wind toppled the idol. When the nations of the world saw the miracles and the mighty deeds that the Holy One blessed be He had performed on behalf of Ḥananya and his cohorts,⁶⁹Mishael, Azarya, Daniel, and Ezekiel. they took their idols and smashed them and crafted them into bells that they hung on their dogs and on their donkeys. They would ring them and say: ‘Come and see to what we were prostrating ourselves,’ to fulfill what is stated: “Bel kneels, Nevo collapses; their idols were for the beast and for the animal” (Isaiah 46:1).
“And may your breasts now be like clusters of the vine,” this is Peretz and Zeraḥ. Just as it was decreed that Peretz and Zeraḥ would be burned, but they were not burned, so, too, these,⁷⁰Ḥananya, Mishael, and Azarya. it was degreed that they be burned but they were not burned. “And the fragrance of your face like apples,” Rabbi Elazar said: Since it wrote in their regard: “The odor of fire did not cover them,” and it says “and the fragrance of your face like apples,” to what was their odor comparable? To an apple orchard. ⁷¹Rabbi Elazar understands the verse in Daniel to indicate that Ḥananya, Mishael, and Azarya smelled when they emerged from the furnace, but they did not smell like fire. On the basis of the verse here in Song of Songs, he concludes that they emerged smelling like an apple orchard.

“The king said to her: What troubles you, Queen Esther, and what is your request… Esther said: If it pleases the king, let the king and Haman come today to the banquet… The king said: Hasten Haman…The king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared…Haman emerged on that day joyful and glad of heart, but upon Haman’s seeing Mordekhai at the king’s gate, and he did not stand, and he did not move on his account, Haman became filled with fury…Haman restrained himself…and brought his supporters and Zeresh his wife, etc.” (Esther 5:3–5; 8–10).
Among all of them, there was no one capable of giving counsel like Zeresh his wife. He [Haman] had three hundred and sixty-five advisers, corresponding to the days of the solar year. His wife said to him: The person [Mordekhai] about whom you are asking, “If he is of the progeny of the Jews…you will not prevail against him” (Esther 6:13) – unless you approach him with cleverness, with [a strategy] that has never been attempted against members of his nation. If you drop him into a fiery furnace, Ḥananya and his cohorts have already been rescued [from it]; if [you place him in] the lions’ den, Daniel already emerged from it. If you incarcerate him in prison, Joseph already emerged from it. If you ignite a fire in a vat beneath him, Menashe [king of Judah] already pleaded, and the Holy One blessed be He acceded to his plea and he emerged from it. If you exile him to the wilderness, his ancestors already procreated in the wilderness, and they were confronted with numerous ordeals and passed them all and were rescued. If you blind his eyes, Samson took numerous Philistine lives when he was blind. Rather, hang him on a gibbet, as no member of his people has survived it.
Immediately, “the matter was pleasing to Haman and he prepared the gibbet” (Esther 5:14). From what tree was that gibbet crafted? The Rabbis said: When he came to prepare it, the Holy One blessed be He called to all the trees of Creation: ‘Who will give [of its wood] so this wicked one [Haman] will be hanged on it?’
The fig said: ‘I will give of myself, as Israel brings first fruits from me. Moreover, Israel was likened to the first fruits [of a fig]; that is what is written: “Like a first fruit on a fig tree in its first season”’ (Hosea 9:10).
The grapevine said: ‘I will give of myself, as Israel was analogized to me; that is what is written: “You transported a vine from Egypt”’ (Psalms 80:9).
The pomegranate said: ‘I will give of myself, as Israel was analogized to me; as it is stated: “Your temple is like a pomegranate slice”’ (Song of Songs 4:3).
The nut said: ‘I will give of myself, as Israel was likened to me; that is what is written: “I have descended to the nut garden”’ (Song of Songs 6:11).
The citron said: ‘I will give of myself, as Israel takes from me for a mitzva; that is what is written: “You shall take for you on the first day the fruit of a pleasant tree…”’¹This verse refers to the mitzva to take the four species on Sukkot. Rabbinic tradition identifies the “pleasant tree” as the citron. (Leviticus 23:40).
The myrtle said: ‘I will give of myself, as Israel was analogized to me; as it is stated: “And he was standing among the myrtles”’ (Zechariah 1:8).
The olive said: ‘I will give of myself, as Israel was analogized to me; as it is stated: “The Lord called your name a flourishing olive-tree, fair of fruit and form”’ (Jeremiah 11:16).
The apple said: ‘I will give of myself, as Israel was analogized to me; as it is stated: “Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the boys” (Song of Songs 2:3), and as it is written: “And the fragrance of your face like apples”’ (Song of Songs 7:9).
The palm said: ‘I will give of myself, as Israel was analogized to me; that is what is written: “This, your stature, is likened to a palm”’ (Song of Songs 7:8).
Acacia trees and cypress trees said: ‘We will give of ourselves, as the Sanctuary was crafted and the Temple was constructed from us.’
The cedar and the date said: ‘We will give of ourselves, as we are analogized to the righteous, as it is stated: “The righteous man flourishes like a palm tree; like a cedar in Lebanon he grows tall”’ (Psalms 92:13).
The willow says: ‘I will give of myself, as Israel was analogized to me, as it is stated: “Like willows by streams of water” (Isaiah 44:4); and they take from me for the mitzva of the four species in the lulav.’
At that moment, the thorn said before the Holy One blessed be He: ‘Master of the universe, I, who have nothing to ascribe [litlot] to myself, I will give of myself, and that impure one will be hanged [veyitaleh]. My name is thorn, and he [Haman] is a painful thorn; it is appropriate for a thorn to be hanged on a thorn.’ They found [suitable wood from a thorn] and erected [the gibbet].
When they brought it before Haman, he prepared it at the entrance to his house and measured himself on it to show his servants how Mordekhai should be hanged on it. A divine voice replied to him: ‘The tree is suitable for you; this tree has been prepared for you since the six days of Creation.’ The Rabbis there [i.e. Babylonia] say: Where in the Torah is there [an allusion] to Haman? It is, as it is stated: “Was it from the tree [hamin haetz]” (Genesis 3:11), which is expounded to read: Haman haetz.
Another matter: “it was on the third day” (Esther 5:1). Israel is never subject to trouble for more than three days, as in Abraham’s regard it is written: “On the third day, Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place from a distance” (Genesis 22:4). The tribes, “he gathered them into custody for three days” (Genesis 42:17). Jonah, as it is stated: “Jonah was in the innards of the fish three days and three nights” (Jonah 2:1). And the dead will live only after three days, as it is stated: “On the third day He will raise us” (Hosea 6:2).²At the resurrection of the dead, all will be revived for the day of judgement, when some will be granted “eternal life,” and others will receive “reproaches and everlasting abhorrence” (Daniel 12:2). The midrash here is stating that the righteous will experience the anxiety of the impending judgement for three days before they are granted eternal life. This miracle, too, transpired after three days of their fasting; that is what is written: “It was on the third day, that Esther donned royalty” (Esther 5:1). She sent and invited Haman to a banquet with the king on the fifteenth of Nisan. Once they ate and drank, Haman said: ‘The king promotes me, his wife honors me, and there is no one in the kingdom greater than I am,’ and his heart was overjoyed; that is what is written: “Haman emerged on that day joyful and glad of heart” (Esther 5:9).

“The king said to her: What troubles you, Queen Esther, and what is your request… Esther said: If it pleases the king, let the king and Haman come today to the banquet… The king said: Hasten Haman…The king and Haman came to the banquet that Esther had prepared…Haman emerged on that day joyful and glad of heart, but upon Haman’s seeing Mordekhai at the king’s gate, and he did not stand, and he did not move on his account, Haman became filled with fury…Haman restrained himself…and brought his supporters and Zeresh his wife, etc.” (Esther 5:3–5; 8–10).
Among all of them, there was no one capable of giving counsel like Zeresh his wife. He [Haman] had three hundred and sixty-five advisers, corresponding to the days of the solar year. His wife said to him: The person [Mordekhai] about whom you are asking, “If he is of the progeny of the Jews…you will not prevail against him” (Esther 6:13) – unless you approach him with cleverness, with [a strategy] that has never been attempted against members of his nation. If you drop him into a fiery furnace, Ḥananya and his cohorts have already been rescued [from it]; if [you place him in] the lions’ den, Daniel already emerged from it. If you incarcerate him in prison, Joseph already emerged from it. If you ignite a fire in a vat beneath him, Menashe [king of Judah] already pleaded, and the Holy One blessed be He acceded to his plea and he emerged from it. If you exile him to the wilderness, his ancestors already procreated in the wilderness, and they were confronted with numerous ordeals and passed them all and were rescued. If you blind his eyes, Samson took numerous Philistine lives when he was blind. Rather, hang him on a gibbet, as no member of his people has survived it.
Immediately, “the matter was pleasing to Haman and he prepared the gibbet” (Esther 5:14). From what tree was that gibbet crafted? The Rabbis said: When he came to prepare it, the Holy One blessed be He called to all the trees of Creation: ‘Who will give [of its wood] so this wicked one [Haman] will be hanged on it?’
The fig said: ‘I will give of myself, as Israel brings first fruits from me. Moreover, Israel was likened to the first fruits [of a fig]; that is what is written: “Like a first fruit on a fig tree in its first season”’ (Hosea 9:10).
The grapevine said: ‘I will give of myself, as Israel was analogized to me; that is what is written: “You transported a vine from Egypt”’ (Psalms 80:9).
The pomegranate said: ‘I will give of myself, as Israel was analogized to me; as it is stated: “Your temple is like a pomegranate slice”’ (Song of Songs 4:3).
The nut said: ‘I will give of myself, as Israel was likened to me; that is what is written: “I have descended to the nut garden”’ (Song of Songs 6:11).
The citron said: ‘I will give of myself, as Israel takes from me for a mitzva; that is what is written: “You shall take for you on the first day the fruit of a pleasant tree…”’¹This verse refers to the mitzva to take the four species on Sukkot. Rabbinic tradition identifies the “pleasant tree” as the citron. (Leviticus 23:40).
The myrtle said: ‘I will give of myself, as Israel was analogized to me; as it is stated: “And he was standing among the myrtles”’ (Zechariah 1:8).
The olive said: ‘I will give of myself, as Israel was analogized to me; as it is stated: “The Lord called your name a flourishing olive-tree, fair of fruit and form”’ (Jeremiah 11:16).
The apple said: ‘I will give of myself, as Israel was analogized to me; as it is stated: “Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the boys” (Song of Songs 2:3), and as it is written: “And the fragrance of your face like apples”’ (Song of Songs 7:9).
The palm said: ‘I will give of myself, as Israel was analogized to me; that is what is written: “This, your stature, is likened to a palm”’ (Song of Songs 7:8).
Acacia trees and cypress trees said: ‘We will give of ourselves, as the Sanctuary was crafted and the Temple was constructed from us.’
The cedar and the date said: ‘We will give of ourselves, as we are analogized to the righteous, as it is stated: “The righteous man flourishes like a palm tree; like a cedar in Lebanon he grows tall”’ (Psalms 92:13).
The willow says: ‘I will give of myself, as Israel was analogized to me, as it is stated: “Like willows by streams of water” (Isaiah 44:4); and they take from me for the mitzva of the four species in the lulav.’
At that moment, the thorn said before the Holy One blessed be He: ‘Master of the universe, I, who have nothing to ascribe [litlot] to myself, I will give of myself, and that impure one will be hanged [veyitaleh]. My name is thorn, and he [Haman] is a painful thorn; it is appropriate for a thorn to be hanged on a thorn.’ They found [suitable wood from a thorn] and erected [the gibbet].
When they brought it before Haman, he prepared it at the entrance to his house and measured himself on it to show his servants how Mordekhai should be hanged on it. A divine voice replied to him: ‘The tree is suitable for you; this tree has been prepared for you since the six days of Creation.’ The Rabbis there [i.e. Babylonia] say: Where in the Torah is there [an allusion] to Haman? It is, as it is stated: “Was it from the tree [hamin haetz]” (Genesis 3:11), which is expounded to read: Haman haetz.
Another matter: “it was on the third day” (Esther 5:1). Israel is never subject to trouble for more than three days, as in Abraham’s regard it is written: “On the third day, Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place from a distance” (Genesis 22:4). The tribes, “he gathered them into custody for three days” (Genesis 42:17). Jonah, as it is stated: “Jonah was in the innards of the fish three days and three nights” (Jonah 2:1). And the dead will live only after three days, as it is stated: “On the third day He will raise us” (Hosea 6:2).²At the resurrection of the dead, all will be revived for the day of judgement, when some will be granted “eternal life,” and others will receive “reproaches and everlasting abhorrence” (Daniel 12:2). The midrash here is stating that the righteous will experience the anxiety of the impending judgement for three days before they are granted eternal life. This miracle, too, transpired after three days of their fasting; that is what is written: “It was on the third day, that Esther donned royalty” (Esther 5:1). She sent and invited Haman to a banquet with the king on the fifteenth of Nisan. Once they ate and drank, Haman said: ‘The king promotes me, his wife honors me, and there is no one in the kingdom greater than I am,’ and his heart was overjoyed; that is what is written: “Haman emerged on that day joyful and glad of heart” (Esther 5:9).

“Your palate is like fine wine that goes pleasantly for my beloved, moving the lips of the sleeping” (Song of Songs 7:10).
“Your palate is like fine wine.” Rabbi Yoḥanan said: At that moment, the Holy One blessed be He called the ministering angels, all of them, and He said to them: ‘Go down and kiss the lips of the ancestors of these; just as they took action before Me in fire, ⁷²Abraham was thrown into a fiery furnace for having smashed his father’s idols (see Bereshit Rabba 38:13) and Isaac was willingly bound on the altar, where he thought he would be slaughtered and burned. so too, their descendants took action before Me in fire.’
Rabbi Azarya [said] in the name of Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Simon: At that moment, the Holy One blessed be He called the ministering angels and said to them: ‘Go down and kiss their lips, for had they not accepted My Torah and My dominion at Sinai,⁷³They did so by uttering with their lips that they would not prostrate themselves to an idol, an act which is proscribed by the second of the Ten Commandments. I would have become the enemy of those who sleep in the Cave of Makhpela.’ “Moving the lips of the sleeping,” Rabbi Yoḥanan ben Toreta said: Even though one is dead, his lips move for him in the grave. What is the source? “Moving the lips of the sleeping.” Shmuel said: It is like a basket of grapes whose liquid flows on its own. Rabbi Ḥanina bar Pappa and Rabbi Simon, one said: Like one who drinks spiced wine, and one said: Like one who drinks aged wine. Even though he drank it already, its taste and its fragrance remains in his mouth.⁷⁴Similarly, even after someone dies, the Torah he studied still impacts his mouth, which moves even in the grave.

(Fol. 96 b) R. Elazar went and expounded the Halacha in the college and did not say it in the name of R. Jochanan. Upon being informed, R. Jochanan became angry, whereupon R. Ami and R. Assi went to [appease] him. They said to him: "Did it not so happen in the Congregation of Tiberi when there was a dispute between R. Elazar and R. Jassi concerning a doorbolt which had on its top a [movable] fastening contrivance [which may occasionally be used as a pestle,] until they tore a scroll of the Torah in their anger. (How can you possibly think that they tore it? But say that it was torn through their anger.) R. Josi b. Kisma, who was then present, remarked: 'I wonder if that synagogue will become a house of idolatry! And so it did happen. [Hence anger is a very evil passion."] Whereupon R. Jochanan became still more angered and said: "They call me his associate!" He was again visited by R. Jacob b. Idi, who said to him: "It is written (Josh. 11, 15) As the Lord had commanded Moses, His servant, so did Moses command Joshua; and so did Joshua; he left nothing undone of all that the Lord had commanded Moses. How is it possible that Joshua should have said on every little thing: 'Thus said to me Moses?' We must therefore say that Joshua sat and lectured anonymously, yet everybody knew that his Torah was that of Moses. So also is it with R. Elazar thy disciple. Although he sits and lectures anonymously, yet everybody knows that the Torah is [that which he learned] from you." "Why don't you know how to appease in the way Ben Idi our comrade does?" remarked R. Jochanan. But why did R. Jochanan become angry at all? Because R. Juda said in the name of Rab: "What does the passage (Ps. 61, 5) Let me sojourn in thy tent in the worlds (i.e., both worlds) mean? How can a man live in both worlds? We must therefore say that David said thus before the Holy One, praised be He! 'Sovereign of the Universe, may it be Thy will (Fol. 97) that a traditional law should be taught in my name in this world'. And R. Jochanan said in the name of Simon b. Jochai, 'Every [deceased] scholar whose traditional law is repeated in his name in this world, [causes] his lips to move in the grave.' " R. Isaac b. Zeiri, and according to others R. Simon Nezira, said: "Where is the passage to prove this? (Songs 7, 10) And thy palate like the best wine, that glideth down smoothly for my beloved, moving gently the lips of those that are asleep. This means like the mass of heated grapes; just as the mass of heated grapes begins to drip as soon as one puts his finger on it, so also is a scholar. When they [his disciples] repeat a traditional law in his name in this world, his lips begin to move in his grave."

(Numb. 2:2:) “Each with his standard, under the banners [for their fathers' houses….]” This text is related (to Cant. 6:10), “Who is this woman that shines through like the dawn, as beautiful as the moon.” Holy and grand was Israel by her standards!⁵¹Numb. R. 2:4. So all the nations were looking at them, as they said in astonishment (ibid), “Who is this woman that shines through?” The nations said to them (in Cant. 7:1), “Return, return, O Shulammite (i.e., O Israel). Cling to us and come to us; then we will make you sultans, generals,⁵²Lat.: duces. and commanders,”⁵³Gk.: hegemones. [as stated] (in ibid., cont.), “Return, return that we may look upon you.” Now “we may look (rt.: hzh)” can only [refer to giving] authority, for so Jethro said to Moses (in Exod. 18:21), “You shall also seek out (rt.: hzh) [able men].” Then Israel said to them (in Cant. 7:1, cont.), “What will you see (rt.: hzh) in the Shulammite?” And what grandeur are you giving to us? [It is] perhaps (ibid., cont.) “like a dance of the camps?”⁵⁴MHNYM. The voweling of the Masoretic text understands MHNYM as a dual, i.e., as TWO CAMPS; but the context here assumes more than two. Can you possibly give us anything like the grandeur which the Lord our God gave us in the desert? [There he gave us] the standard of the camp of Judah, the standard of the camp of Reuben, the standard of the camp of Ephraim, the standard of the camp of Dan. Are you able to do so for us? (Cant. 7:1), “What will you see (rt.: hzh) in the Shulammite? It is perhaps (ibid., cont.) “like a dance (meholat) of the camps”; [in] that when we sin, He pardons (mohel) us and says to us (in Deut. 23:15 [14]), “and your camp shall be holy?” So also Balaam the wicked beheld them and his eyes popped out as he faced them, because he could not touch them; as stated (in Numb. 24:2), “Then Balaam raised his eyes and saw Israel dwelling tribe by tribe.” He began to say, “Who can touch these people, when each and every one dwells by his standard.”

“I am my beloved's, and his desire is for me” (Song of Songs 7:11).
“I am my beloved's, and his desire is for me.” There are three desires. The desire of Israel is only for their Father in Heaven, as it is stated: “I am my beloved's, and his desire is for me.” The desire of a woman in only for her husband, as it is stated: “Your desire shall be for your husband” (Genesis 3:16). The desire of the evil inclination is only for Cain and his ilk, as it is stated: “Its desire is for you” (Genesis 4:7).
Rabbi Yehoshua [said] in the name of Rabbi Aḥa: The desire of rain is only for the earth, as it is stated: “You remember the earth and fulfill its desire, enriching it [tasherena] with abundance” (Psalms 65:10). If you merit it, [He] will enrich it [ta’ashirena], if you do not merit it, [He] will tithe [te’asrena] it, it will produce for you only one-tenth. Another matter, “and his desire [teshukato] is for me,” we are exhausted [tashim], but even though we are exhausted we anticipate and hope for the salvation of the Holy One blessed be He each and every day, and we proclaim the unity of His name twice as we recite: “Hear Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one.” (Deuteronomy 6:4).

GEMARA: Why such a punishment [to him who says that the resurrection is not intimated in the Torah]? It was taught in a Baraitha: He denied resurrection, therefore as punishment he will not have a share in it; for all retributions of the Holy One, praised be He! are commensurate with man's doings." And R. Samuel b. Nachmeni said in the name of R. Jochanan: "Whence do we know that all the retributions of the Holy One, praised be He! are commensurate with man's doings?' It is said (II Kings 7, 1-2) Then Elisha said, Hear ye the word of the Lord; Thus hath said the Lord, About this time tomorrow a s'ah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two s'ahs of barley for a shekel, in the gate of Samaria. Then a lord on whose hand the king leaned, answered the man of God, and said, Behold, will the Lord make windows in heaven, that this thing shall be? And he said, Behold, thou shalt see it with thine eyes, but thereof shalt thou not eat. (Ib. b) And further it is written, And it happened unto him so; for the people trod him down in the gate and he died." But perhaps this was because Elisha cursed him? As R. Juda, in the name of Rab, said: "If a sage curses anyone, even for no cause, it nevertheless comes to pass?" If this were the cause, it should read: And the people trod on him and he died. Why "in the gate"? Because of [his protest which he made at] the gate. R. Jochanan said: "Where is the resurrection of the dead intimated in the Torah?" It is said (Num. 18, 28) And ye shall give thereof the heave-offering (T'rumah) of the Lord to Aaron the priest. Would then Aaron remain alive forever that Israel should give him heave-offerings? Infer from this that he will come to life again and Israel will give him heave-offerings. Hence here is an intimation in the Torah of the resurrection. The school of R. Ismael, however, explained the above passage in this manner: 'To Aaron,' means priests who are similar to him — viz., scholars as he was. And from this it is inferred that no T'rumah should be given to an ignorant priest. R. Samuel b. Nachmeni said: "Whence do we know that one must not give the heaveoffering to a priest who is an ignoramus? It is said (I Chron. 31, 4) To give the portion of the priests, and the Levites, in order that they might hold firmly to the law of the Lord. Hence the priest who knows how to hold firmly to the law has a portion, but not he who is ignorant of the law." R. Acha b. Ada said in the name of R. Juda: "Whoever gives T'rumah to an ignorant priest acts as if he threw it before a lion; just as in throwing it before a lion there is a doubt whether it shall be trodden upon and eaten or not, so is it doubtful whether the priest will eat it in Levitical cleanliness or uncleanliness." R. Jochanan said: "He may even cause death to the ignorant priest [by doing so] as it is said (Lev. 22, 9) That they may not bear sin through it, and die therefor, if they profane it." At the college of R. Eliezer b. Jacob it was taught that (Ib. ib. 16) also applies to him who gives heaveoffering to an ignoramus. There is a Baraitha: R. Simi said: "Whence is the Biblical intimation of the resurrection of the dead? It is said (Ex. 6, 4) And as I did also establish my covenant with them, to give unto them the land of Canaan." It does not read to you (lachem), but (lahem) to them — hence this is an intimation of the resurrection. The Sadducees questioned Rabban Gamaliel: "Whence do you infer that the Holy One, praised be He! would restore the dead to life?" And he answered: "From the Pentateuch, Prophets, and Hagiographa." However, they did not accept it. From the Pentateuch, — it is written (Deut. 31, 16) And the Lord said unto Moses, Thou shalt sleep with thy fathers (v-kam) and arise. And they answered: "Perhaps the word v-kam is connected with its succeeding words, and the people will go astray." From the Prophets, — it is written (Is. 26, 19) Thy dead shall live, my dead bodies shall arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust; for a dew on herbs is thy dew, and the earth shall cast out the departed. [They also rejected this explanation, saying] "Perhaps this refers to those dead who were revivified by Ezekiel (Ez. 36)." From the Hagiographa: — It is written, (Son. 7, 10) And thy palate like the best wine, that glided down for my friend, gently exciting the lips of those that are asleep. And they answered: "Perhaps only their lips moved [in the graves], as R. Jochanan said; for R. Jochanan said in the name of R. Simon b. Jehozadak: "Whoever reports a traditional law in the name of its author, [causes] his [the author's] lips to move in the grave, as it is said, Exciting the lips of those that are asleep." Thereafter, when Rabban Gamaliel mentioned to them (Deut. 11, 9) And the Lord hath sworn unto your fathers to give unto them, which does not read to you, but to them — hence it is an intimation for resurrection from the Torah — his explanation was accepted. According to others, he inferred from this passage (Deut. 4, 4) But ye that did cleave unto the Lord your God are alive every one of you this day, i.e., just as this day you are all alive, so also will you be alive in the world to come. The Romans questioned R. Joshua b. Chananiah: "Whence do you know that the Holy One, praised be He! will restore the dead to life and that it is revealed before Him all that will happen in the future?" And he answered: "Both things are inferred from the following passage (Deut. 31, 16) And the Lord said unto Moses, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers (v'kam) and arise." "Perhaps the word v'kam belongs to its succeeding words, And the people will go astray?" He rejoined: "Accept at least the explanation of the [half] of your question, that it is revealed before Him all that will happen in the future." The same was taught also by R. Jochanan in the name of R. Simon b. Jochai: "Whence do we infer that the Holy One, praised be He! will restore the dead to life and that it is revealed before Him all that will happen in the future? It is said, Thou shalt sleep with thy parents and (v'kam) arise."

R. Tanchum b. Chanilai said: "When Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah came out of the furnace, the nations came and slapped Israel in the face, saying: 'Ye have such a God, and ye bowed yourselves to the images!' They (Israel) immediately confessed, saying (Ib. 9, 7) Thine, O Lord, is the righteousness, but unto us belongeth confusion of faces, as it is this day." R. Samuel b. Nachmeni, in the name of R. Jochanan, said: "What does the passage (Songs 7, 9) I thought, I wish to climb up the palm-tree, I wish to take hold of its boughs, mean? The Holy One, praised be He! said, 'I will take hold of the whole tree, (Israel) but now I claim only one branch — that of Chananyah, Mishael and Azaryah'." R. Jochanan said: "What does the passage (Zech. 1, 8) I saw this night, and behold there was a man (ish) riding upon a red horse, etc., mean? This night, i.e., the Lord intended to turn the entire world into night. Behold there was a man (ish), — this refers to the Holy One, praised be He! as it is said (Ex. 15, 3) The Eternal is a man (ish) of war. Upon a red horse — i.e., the Holy One, praised be He! intended to plunge the entire world into blood, but after looking upon Chananyah, Mishael and Azaryah, he felt satisfied (cooled off), as it is said, And he was standing among the myrtle-trees (hadasim). And myrtle-trees refers to the upright, as it is said (Esth. 2, 7) And he brought up Hadassah. And deep valley refers to Babylon, as it is said (Is. 44, 27) That saith to the deep, Be dry, and thy rivers will I dry up; immediately the red which were filled with anger became pale, and the red became white." R. Papa said: "Infer from this that if one sees a white horse in his dream, it is a good sign." But what became of Chananyah, Mishael, and Azaryah after they came out of the furnace [as there is no further mention of them]? Rab said: "They died from an evil eye"; and Samuel said: "They were drowned in the spittle [caused by the nations when they slapped Israel in the face, mentioned above.]" R. Jochanan, however, said: "They returned to Palestine, married, and begat children." Concerning the same the Tannaim of the following Baraitha differ: R. Eliezer says: "They died from an evil eye." R . Joshua says: "They were drowned in the spittle," and the sages say: "They returned to Palestine, married aud begat children," as it is said (Zech. 3, 8) Do but hear, O Joshua the high-priest, thou and thy fellows that sit before thee, for men of wonder are they, i.e., who were the men to whom wonder was done? We must say, Chananyah, Mishael and Azaryah. But where was Daniel at the time that they were thrown into the kiln? Rab said: "He went to dig a river in the city of Tiberius." And Samuel said: "He was sent by Nebuchadnezzar to bring a certain kind of grass [from Palestine, to be planted in Babylon]." And R. Jochanan said: "He was sent to bring swine from Alexandria of Egypt." But was it not said above by Tudus the physician that no swine left Alexandria without having its womb first removed so that they should not multiply in other countries? He brought little ones, and the Egyptians were not aware [that he took them that they should multiply in Babylon].

“Come, my beloved, let us go out to the field; let us stay the night in the villages” (Song of Songs 7:12).
“Come, my beloved, let us go out to the field.” The Divine spirit is shouting and saying: Let us go and stroll in the expanses of the world. “Let us stay the night in the villages [bakefarim],” with those who deny [bakoferim] Him, these are the cities of the nations of the world who denied the existence of the Holy One blessed be He.⁷⁵Let us analyze the tranquility of those heretics. Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: Nevertheless, it is only temporary.

“Let us arise early to the vineyards; let us see whether the vine has blossomed, the grape bud has sprouted, the pomegranates have bloomed; there I will give my love to you” (Song of Songs 7:13).
“Let us arise early to the vineyards,” these are Israel, as it is stated: “For the house of Israel is the vineyard of the Lord of hosts” (Isaiah 5:7). “Let us see whether the vine has blossomed,” this is the reciting of Shema; “the grape bud has sprouted,” these are the synagogues and the study halls; “the pomegranates have bloomed,” these are the children who sit and engage in Torah study. “There I will give my love,” there I will develop the righteous men and women, and the prophets and prophetesses who emerge from them.

The Holy One, blessed be He, declared unto him: Inasmuch as you have said: “I will not take a thread,” I shall absolve your sons of the sins they commit at the altar around which a crimson thread will be encircled. As we have learned, the altar was encircled with a crimson thread. Furthermore, in reward for declaring: “I will not take a thread,” I will give your sons the precept of the purple fringes (on their prayer shawls). And since you said: “Nor a shoe-latchet,” I will give thy children the precepts of yebamah and halitzah: And loose his shoe from off his foot (Deut. 25:9).²²Yebamah is the law requiring a brother to marry his deceased brother’s wife when there has been no issue. Halitzah is the ceremony of throwing a shoe at the brother-in-law which releases him from marrying the widow. In reward for saying: “Nor a shoe-latchet,” I will issue your sons the decree to eat the paschal lamb, of which it is written: And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet … it is the Lord’s passover (Exod. 12:11). Furthermore, I will exact retribution from Esau through it, as it is said: Upon Edom do I cast my shoe (Ps. 60:10). Likewise, I shall praise your children with that word, as it is said: How beautiful are thy steps in shoes (Song 7:2). Since you rejected the reward sought by ordinary men, your reward shall be multiplied in this world and in the world-to-come.

13) (Vayikra 18:5) "and he shall live in them": and not die in them. R. Yishmael was wont to say: Whence is it derived that if one is told in private to serve idolatry or be killed, he should transgress and not be killed? From "and he shall live in them," and not die in them. — But perhaps even in public he should accede. It is, therefore, written (Vayikra 22:32) "And you shall not desecrate My holy name, and I shall be sanctified in the midst of the children of Israel." If you sanctify My name, I, too, will sanctify My name through you. For just as Chananiah, Mishael, and Azaryah, when all the peoples of the world were prostrated before the idol, stood (straight) as palms — as related of them in the tradition (Shir Hashirim 7:8) "This, your stature, is like a palm" — (Ibid. 9) "I said: 'I shall rise on the palm, I shall grasp its branches'" — This day I shall rise through them in the eyes of the peoples of the world, the deniers of Torah. This day I shall exact punishment for them of their foes — This day I shall resurrect their dead. "I am the L–rd," the Judge, to exact punishment, and trusted to reward.

“The mandrakes have emitted fragrance, and at our entrance are all types of delicacies, new and old; I have them in store for you, my beloved” (Song of Songs 7:14).
“The mandrakes have emitted fragrance,” these are the lads of Israel who have not tasted the taste of sin. “And at our entrance are all types of delicacies,” these are the daughters of Israel who have cleaved to their husbands and do not know another man.
Another matter, “the mandrakes have emitted fragrance,” Rabbi Yudan and Rabbi Levi, Rabbi Yudan said: Come and see how beloved are the mandrakes before He who spoke and the world came into being, as, in the reward of these mandrakes, two great, excellent tribes emerged, and they are the tribe of Issachar and the tribe of Zebulun, as it is stated: “Jacob came from the field in the evening, [and Leah went out to meet him and said: You must come in to me for I have hired you with my son’s mandrakes]” (Genesis 30:16). Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman, Rabbi Elazar says: This one lost and that one lost, this one was rewarded and that one was rewarded. Leah lost the mandrakes but was rewarded with tribes and burial.⁷⁶Because she displayed her fondness for lying beside Jacob, she was privileged to be buried beside him in the Cave of Makhpela. Rachel was rewarded with the mandrakes but lost tribes and burial. This one lost and that one lost, this one was rewarded and that one was rewarded. Leah lost the mandrakes, was rewarded with tribes, and lost the birthright.⁷⁷Ultimately, Joseph supplanted Reuben as the firstborn, as he received the double portion, with his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, each becoming independent tribes. Rachel was rewarded with mandrakes, was rewarded with the birthright, and lost tribes.
Rabbi Levi said: It is written: “The Lord showed me and behold two baskets [duda’ei] of figs…the one basket was of very good figs” (Jeremiah 24:1–2), this is the exile of Yekhonya. “And the one basket of very bad figs” (Jeremiah 24:2), this is the exile of Zedekiah. If you say that the exile of Yekhonya repented and the exile of Zedekiah did not repent, the verse states: “The mandrakes [haduda’im] have emitted fragrance,” both duda’im, the good and the bad, emitted fragrance.
“And at our entrance are all types of delicacies,” the school of Rabbi Sheila and the Rabbis, the school of Rabbi Sheila say: [This is analogous] to an upright woman whose husband left for her few items and little money for expenditures. When her husband returned, she said to him: ‘Look what you left for me and what I preserved for you, and what I added to them for you.’
The Rabbis say: [This is analogous] to a king who had an orchard and he entrusted it to a sharecropper. What did that sharecropper do? He filled fig baskets with the fruit of that orchard and he placed them at the entrance to the orchard. When the king would pass, he would see all that goodness. He said: ‘If there is all that goodness at the entrance to the orchard, in the entire orchard, all the more so.’ So, in the early generations,⁷⁸This corresponds to the fruit at the entrance to the orchard. there were the members of the Great Assembly, Hillel and Shammai, and Rabban Gamliel the elder. In the later generations⁷⁹This corresponds to the fruit in the entire orchard. there were Rabban Yoḥanan ben Zakai, Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Yehoshua, Rabbi Meir, and Rabbi Akiva, and their students all the more so. In their regard it says: “new and old.”
“I have them in store for you, my beloved.” Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said: The Holy One blessed be He said to Israel: ‘You have in store for Me and I have in store for you. You keep mitzvoth and good deeds, and I keep for you in full storehouses more than all the goodness in the world.’ Rabbi Abba bar Kahana bar Yudan said: His are more plentiful than ours. That is what is written: “How great is the goodness You have in store for those who fear You, which You have created for those taking refuge in You” (Psalms 31:20).

“My beloved is mine, and I am his, who herds among the lilies” (Song of Songs 2:16).
“My beloved is mine, and I am his,” He is God for me, and I am a nation for Him. He is God for me, “I am the Lord your God” (Exodus 20:2). I am a people and a nation for Him, as it is stated: “Pay attention to Me, My people, and listen to Me, My nation” (Isaiah 51:4). He is a father to me, and I am a son to Him. He is a father to me, “For You are our Father” (Isaiah 63:16). I am a son to Him, “My son, My firstborn, Israel” (Exodus 4:22). He is a shepherd to me, “Shepherd of Israel, listen” (Psalms 80:2). I am His flock, “you, My flock, flock of My pasture” (Ezekiel 34:31). He is my guardian, “Behold, the Guardian of Israel does not slumber and does not sleep” (Psalms 121:4). I am His vineyard, as it is stated: “For the house of Israel is the vineyard of the Lord of hosts” (Isaiah 5:7).
He is for me against those who provoke me, and I am for Him against those who anger Him. He is for me against those who provoke me, as He smote the firstborn of Egypt, as it is stated: “I will pass in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 12:12); “it was at midnight and the Lord smote every firstborn” (Exodus 12:29). I am for Him against those who anger Him, as I slaughtered the gods of Egypt, and likewise, “against all the gods of Egypt I will administer punishment” (Exodus 12:12), and I slaughtered them to Him, as it is stated: “Behold, will we slaughter the abomination of Egypt before their eyes, and they will not stone us?” (Exodus 8:22). Likewise, “they shall each take for them a lamb for each patrilineal home” (Exodus 12:3).
He said to me: ‘Let the proportion [hamazeg] not be skewed,’ as it is stated: “Your navel is a moon-shaped goblet, may it not lack mixed wine [hamazeg]” (Song of Songs 7:3). I said to Him: ‘You are my good beloved, if only Your goodness will never be lacking from me,’ just as it says: “The Lord is my Shepherd, I will not lack” (Psalms 23:1).
Rabbi Yehuda bar Rabbi Ilai said: He sang to me and I sang to Him; He lauded me and I lauded Him. He called me: “My sister, My love, My faultless dove” (Song of Songs 5:2), and I said to Him: “This is my beloved and this is my companion” (Song of Songs 5:16). He said to me: “Behold you are fair my love” (Song of Songs 4:1), and I said to Him: “Behold, you are fair, my beloved, pleasant too” (Song of Songs 1:16). He said to me: “Happy are you Israel, who is like you?” (Deuteronomy 33:29). I said to Him: “Who is like You among the powers, Lord?” (Exodus 15:11). He said to me: “Who is like Your people Israel, one nation in the land” (I Chronicles 17:21). I declare the unity of His name twice daily: “Hear Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4). When I require something, I seek it only from His hand, as it is stated: “It was during those many days, that the king of Egypt died; [the children of Israel sighed due to the bondage, and they cried out, and their plea rose to God due to the bondage.] God heard their groaning…God saw the children of Israel” (Exodus 2:23–25). When He requires something, he seeks it only from me and from my hand, as it is stated: “Speak to the entire congregation of Israel, saying: [In the tenth day of this month they shall take for themselves every man a lamb]” (Exodus 12:3). When I require something, I seek it only from His hand, as it is stated: “Pharaoh approached and the children of Israel raised [their eyes and…the Egyptians were traveling after them… the children of Israel cried out to the Lord]” (Exodus 14:10). When He requires something, He seeks it only from me, as it is stated: “Speak to the children of Israel and let them take a gift for Me” (Exodus 25:2). When I had trouble, I sought [salvation] only from Him: “The Children of Israel cried out to the Lord, as he had nine hundred iron chariots, and he oppressed the Children of Israel forcefully…” (Judges 4:3). What is forcefully? It was with cursing and blaspheming. When He required something, He sought it only from me, as it is stated: “They shall make a sanctuary for Me” (Exodus 25:8).

Rabbi Berekhya said two, one in the name of Kahana and one in the name of Rabbi Levi. One in the name of Kahana: She⁹⁸The congregation of Israel lauded Him and He lauded her. She lauded Him from top to bottom, and He lauded her from bottom to top. She lauded him from top to bottom, because He was On High and rested His Divine Presence on earth. He lauded her from bottom to top, as she is on the lowest level and He is destined to elevate her, as it is stated: “The Lord your God will set you on high” (Deuteronomy 28:1).
One in the name of Rabbi Levi: [This is analogous] to a king who betrothed a noblewoman and said: I request to see her. When he saw her, he began to praise her and to laud her. That is what is written: “This, your stature, is likened to a date palm” (Song of Songs 7:8). She too said, I wish to see him. When she saw him, she began with lauding, as she lauded him: “His palate is sweet and all of him is delightful.”

OR A SANDAL STRAP. The Holy One said: By virtue of this I am giving your children the commandment of Passover, as stated (in Exod. 12:11): AND THUS SHALL YOU EAT IT: WITH YOUR LOINS GIRDED, YOUR SANDALS < ON YOUR FEET >….

Another interpretation of "Command the Children of Israel" (Leviticus 24:2): Bar Kapparah opened [his discourse]: "It is You who light my lamp" (Psalms 18:29) - the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Adam, "Your light is in My hands and My light is in your hands." Your light is in My hands, as it is stated (Proverbs 20:27), "The lamp of the Lord is the soul of man"; and My light is in your hands, as it is stated (Leviticus 24:2), "to light a continual lamp." Rather, the Holy One, blessed be He, said, "If you light My lamp, I will certainly light your lamp." This is [the understanding of] "Command the Children of Israel" (Leviticus 24:2). This is [the understanding of] that which is written (Song of Songs 7:6), "Your head (roshekha) upon you is like crimson wool (karmel), the locks of your head are like purple" - the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Israel, "The poor (rashim) among you are as beloved to Me as Eliyahu, when he went up to [Mount] Carmel." This is [the understanding of] "and Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel, crouched on the ground, and put his face between his knees." And why did he put his face between his knees? He said, "Master of the world, if we do not have any merit, look to the covenant of circumcision." "The locks (dalat) of your head are like purple" (Song of Songs 7:6) - the Holy One, blessed be He, said, "The indigent (dalim) among you are beloved to me like David, as it is stated (Zechariah 12:8), 'and the feeblest of them shall be in that day like David.'" And some say, "Like Daniel, as it is stated (Daniel 5:29), 'they clothed Daniel in purple.'" "A king is held captive in the tresses (rehatim)" (Song of Songs 7:6) - the Holy One, blessed be He, bound Himself with an oath that he has His Divine Presence dwell within the boards (rehitin) of Yaakov our father. In whose merit? Rabbi Abba bar Kahana said, "In the merit of Avraham our father, as it is written (Genesis 30:38), 'And Avraham ran (which in Aramaic is rahat) to the cattle.'" Rabbi Levi said, "In the merit of Yaakov, as it is written (Geneis 30:38), 'The rods that he had peeled he set up in the troughs (rehatim).'" Rabbi Berakhiah said, "'A king is held captive in the tresses'" - that is [referring to] Moshe. For about him is it written (Deuteronomy 33:5), 'And he was a king in Yeshurun'; 'in the tresses (rehatim),' as the Holy One, blessed be He, decreed upon him that he would not enter the land. Because of [what]? Because of the troughs of the Waters of Merivah. This is [the understanding of] that which is written (Numbers 20:13) 'These are the waters of Meribah upon which the Children of Israel quarreled.'" Rabbi Yehudah [said], "They compared this to a parable: To what is this thing similar? To a king that made a decree and said, 'Anyone who plucks and eats fruits of the seventh-year [that are forbidden] will be placed upon the [town] platform.' A women of noble lineage came and plucked and ate from fruits of the seventh-year. [So] they began to place her on the platform. She was [then] yelling out, 'I plead with you, my master the king, hang these unripe figs from my neck so that the creatures do not say, "It appears to us that there is a matter of licentiousness or a matter of sorcery with her." Rather from that which they see the unripe figs on my neck, they will know that I am placed [here] on account of them.' So did Moshe say in front of the Holy One, blessed be He. 'Master of the world, write in Your Torah why I am not entering the Land, so that Israel will not say, "It appears to us that Moshe forged the Torah or said something that he was not commanded."' The Holy One, blessed be He, said, 'By your life, I shall write that it was only for the water.'" This is [the understanding of] that which is written (Numbers 27:14), "as you rebelled against My [word] in the Wilderness of Tsin." Rabbi Shimon [said], "They compared this to a parable: To what is this thing similar? To a king, when the king was on the road and his son was with him in a carriage. When they reached a narrow place, the carriage overturned on his son. His eye was blinded, his hand was cut off [and] his foot was broken. When the king would reach that place, he would remember and say, 'His eye was blinded here; his hand was cut off here, his foot was broken here.' So [too] the Holy One, blessed be He, mentions the Waters of Merivah three times in His Torah, meaning to say, 'I killed Moshe here; I killled Aharon here; I killed Miriam here.'" This is [the understanding of] that which is written (Psalms 141: 6), "May their judges slip on the rock, but let my words be heard, for they are sweet." Rav Nachman said, "'A king' - that is [referring to] Moshe, as it is written (Deuteronomy 33:5), 'And he was a king in Yeshurun.' The Holy One, blessed be He, said 'I have appointed you king over Israel. The way of a king is to decree and others observe [his decree]. So [too] shall you decree and Israel observe [it].'" This is [the understanding of] that which is written, "Command the Children of Israel" (Leviticus 24:2).

... Teach us o teacher: toward where should one who prays orient his heart? This is what our Rabbis taught: one should orient his heart toward the place of the Holy of Holies (Berachot 4:5). R’ Eliezer ben Yaakov says: if one is praying outside of the land, he should orient his heart to the land of Israel. If one is praying within the land of Israel, he should orient his heart to Jerusalem. If one is praying in Jerusalem, he should orient his heart to the Holy Temple. If one is praying in the Holy Temple, he should orient his heart to the Holy of Holies. R’ Avin the Levi said: “our neck is like the Tower of David, built as a model (talpiyot)…” (Song of Songs 4:4) What does talpiyot mean? The hill (tel) toward which all turns (peniyot) are directed. And after all this praise, it is written “Open your doors, O Lebanon, and let the fire consume your cedars.” (Zechariah 11:1) And so too they said “He has hurled fire into my bones…” (Lamentations 1:13) Israel said to Him: Master of the World! How long will it be like this? Did You not write in Your Torah “…the one who ignited the fire shall surely pay” (Exodus 22:5)? And You are the one who ignited the fire, as it says “From above He has hurled fire into my bones…” (Lamentations 1:13) You need to rebuild it and to console us, not at the hands of an angel but You in Your glory. The Holy One said to them: by your life, so I will do! As it says “The Lord is the builder of Jerusalem; He will gather the outcasts of Israel.” (Psalms 147:2) And I am the one who consoles you. From where do we learn this? From that which they read in the prophets “I, yea I am He Who consoles you…” (Isaiah 51:12)

... Teach us o teacher: toward where should one who prays orient his heart? This is what our Rabbis taught: one should orient his heart toward the place of the Holy of Holies (Berachot 4:5). R’ Eliezer ben Yaakov says: if one is praying outside of the land, he should orient his heart to the land of Israel. If one is praying within the land of Israel, he should orient his heart to Jerusalem. If one is praying in Jerusalem, he should orient his heart to the Holy Temple. If one is praying in the Holy Temple, he should orient his heart to the Holy of Holies. R’ Avin the Levi said: “our neck is like the Tower of David, built as a model (talpiyot)…” (Song of Songs 4:4) What does talpiyot mean? The hill (tel) toward which all turns (peniyot) are directed. And after all this praise, it is written “Open your doors, O Lebanon, and let the fire consume your cedars.” (Zechariah 11:1) And so too they said “He has hurled fire into my bones…” (Lamentations 1:13) Israel said to Him: Master of the World! How long will it be like this? Did You not write in Your Torah “…the one who ignited the fire shall surely pay” (Exodus 22:5)? And You are the one who ignited the fire, as it says “From above He has hurled fire into my bones…” (Lamentations 1:13) You need to rebuild it and to console us, not at the hands of an angel but You in Your glory. The Holy One said to them: by your life, so I will do! As it says “The Lord is the builder of Jerusalem; He will gather the outcasts of Israel.” (Psalms 147:2) And I am the one who consoles you. From where do we learn this? From that which they read in the prophets “I, yea I am He Who consoles you…” (Isaiah 51:12)

A sighted person and a blind person were walking together. The sighted person said, "Come and I will be your guide"; which enabled the blind person to walk. When they entered the house, the sighted person said to the blind person, "Go and light the candle for me, and provide me with light, so that you should no longer feel obliged to me for having accompanied you; therefore I said to you to light [the candle]."

When Jacob passed to come into the land of Canaan, Esau came to him from Mount Seir in violent anger, contriving to slay him, as it is said, "The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth" (Ps. 37:12). Esau said: I will not slay Jacob with bow and arrows, but with my mouth and with my teeth will I slay him, and suck his blood, as it is said, "And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him; and they wept" (Gen. 33:4). Do not read vayishakêhu (and he kissed him), but (read) vayishkêhu (and he bit him). But Jacob's neck became like ivory, and concerning him the Scripture says, "Thy neck is like the tower of ivory" (Cant. 7:5). The wicked (Esau's) teeth became blunt, and when the wicked one saw that the desire of his heart was not realized he began to be angry, and to gnash with his teeth, as it is said, "The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away" (Ps. 112:10).

When Jacob passed to come into the land of Canaan, Esau came to him from Mount Seir in violent anger, contriving to slay him, as it is said, "The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth upon him with his teeth" (Ps. 37:12). Esau said: I will not slay Jacob with bow and arrows, but with my mouth and with my teeth will I slay him, and suck his blood, as it is said, "And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him; and they wept" (Gen. 33:4). Do not read vayishakêhu (and he kissed him), but (read) vayishkêhu (and he bit him). But Jacob's neck became like ivory, and concerning him the Scripture says, "Thy neck is like the tower of ivory" (Cant. 7:5). The wicked (Esau's) teeth became blunt, and when the wicked one saw that the desire of his heart was not realized he began to be angry, and to gnash with his teeth, as it is said, "The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away" (Ps. 112:10).

And thus is it written (Song of Songs 7:5) "Your eyes are like the pools in Cheshbon by the gate of Bath-rabbim":

Esav ran to greet him. [He embraced Yaakov and, falling on his neck,] he kissed him; [and they wept.] (Gen. 33:4). [The word] 'kissed' is dotted [above each letter in the Torah's writing]. Rabbi Shimeon ben Elazar said in every place that you find a lot of text with few dots on top, you need to interpret the dots; when you find a lot of dots on top of a few words you interpret the words. Here neither is the case, rather it teaches that [Esav] was overcome with compassion in that moment and kissed [Yaakov] with all his heart. Rabbi Yannai said to him: If so, why is ['kissed'] dotted? On the contrary, it teaches that [Esav] came not to kiss [Yaakov] but to bite him, but our ancestor Yaakov's neck became like marble and that wicked man's teeth were blunted. Hence, 'and they wept' teaches that [Yaakov] wept because of his neck and [Esau] wept because of his teeth. Rabbi Abahu, in the name of Rabbi Yochanan teaches that from here: "your neck is like the tower of ivory" (Songs 7:5)

(Devarim 16:15) "Three times in the year": "times" signifies "festivals," as it is written (Isaiah 26:6) "the times" (i.e., festivals) of the poor," and (Song of Songs 7:3) "How beautiful are your (festival) times (of "steps" [to Jerusalem]) in sandals!"