아가 4:11의 주석

Honey. [Which is] sweet.

Honey and milk: The allusion is to the two modalities of Torah (written and oral) and the fact that the shekhinah is situated between the two cherubim.

Your lips drip. [With] explanations of Torah.

And the scent of your robes: The robe is not an entity distinct from Her. Rather, it is the overflow of Wisdom’s brightness which surrounds her. Our Sages state in Genesis Rabbah [21:5] concerning the verse “I looked and saw a man dressed in linen” [Daniel 10:5]: “He was comparable to a snail whose shell is inseparable from his body.” Since Wisdom’s brightness, encompassing thirty-two paths, surrounds the Glory, as in “Your faithful ones surround You” [Ps. 89:8], it is called “the garment of God,” as it says: “You are garbed in splendor and majesty” [Ps. 104:1].

And the fragrance of your garments. The proper commandments pertaining to your garments; ritual fringes, blue thread, the garments of a kohein, and the prohibition of sha’atnez [=wool and linen].

In order to fulfill the verse “You shall walk in His ways” [Deut. 28:9], Israel were commanded to wrap themselves in the tallit,¹⁰¹Prayer shawl, a rectangular garment bearing fringes at its four corners. which possesses thirty-two fringes. Concerning the tallit it is written: “You shall gaze upon them and remember all of God’s commandments” [Num. 15:39]. Now Wisdom encompasses, is endiademed and crowned¹⁰²Me-‘uteret u-mukhteret. with six hundred and thirteen precious gems. For each of the thirty-two paths within is divisible into two portions: good and evil, the positive and negative commandments. This division finds allusion in the ten divine statements (revealed directly at Sinai) in the words “remember” and “keep” the Sabbath day.¹⁰³The two versions of the decalogue (Exod. 20 and Deut. 5) differ in the wording of the Sabbath command. Exodus says “Remember the Sabbath Day” and Deuteronomy says “keep.” These are taken to refer to positive and prohibitive aspects of Sabbath observance, and then generalized to refer to positive and negative commandments altogether. For kabbalists they also refer to the two sefirot yesod and malkhut. Thus there are sixty-four paths. And as each and every one contains the ten [sefirot], their sum is six hundred and forty. If one deletes the twenty-seven letters of the Torah,¹⁰⁴Twenty-two plus the five final forms. the final sum is six hundred and thirteen. Thus concerning the fringes, Scripture states: “You shall gaze upon them and remember all of God’s commandments” [Num. 15:39]. Therefore our sages said in the tractate Shavuot: “The precept of fringes equals all of the commandments.”¹⁰⁵b. Nedarim 25b.

It is incumbent upon us to engage in a detailed enquiry concerning all of the commandments, to find an allusion pointing to them in the ten divine statements revealed at Sinai. This is comparable to the manner in which the sages of Israel sought an allusion in the Torah for every aspect of fundamental ethics and courtesy which was not included within its commandments. Thus our sages¹⁰⁶In b. Ta‘anit 9a. stated that R. Yohanan encountered a child who was reciting: “A man’s folly subverts his way and his heart rages against the Lord” [Prov. 19:3]. He said: “Does Scripture¹⁰⁷The prophetic and hagiographic sections of the Bible. contain anything which is not already intimated in the Torah? An allusion to this indeed appears in the Torah. Their hearts sank; and, trembling, they turned to one another, saying, ‘What is this that God has done to us?’ [Gen. 42:28]. How much the more so should we say concerning the fundamentals of the Torah and its precepts that there is no doubt that the six hundred and thirteen commandments find their allusion in that divine voice described as ‘a great voice, which went on no more’ [Deut.5:19].”¹⁰⁸And thus everything must be included within it. Alternatively the concluding phrase ve-lo’ yasaf can be understood as “and He added nothing [further].”

We should interpret each and every commandment in accord with our path, determining from which sefirah it derives and finding allusion to all of the reasons for the commandments which are not explicitly stated in the Torah. The reasons of many precepts are indeed explicated, an example being the law concerning the first born: “When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the Lord slew every first-born in the land of Egypt, the first-born of man and beast. Therefore I sacrifice to the Lord every first male issue of the womb, but redeem every first-born among my sons” [Exod. 13:15]. A similar case is that of tithes: “You shall consume the tithes of your new grain … before the Lord” which concludes “so that you might learn to revere the Lord your God forever” [Deut. 14:23]. Like these are many other commandments whose meaning is explained. But there are many whose purpose are not explicated, such as the reason for sacrifice, the Sabbatical year and Jubilee, circumcision, the blowing of the ram’s horn at New Year’s, forbidden acts of sexual union, oaths, vows and phylacteries, ritual fringes, Naziriteship, the palmfrond and citron, the ban on the consumption of the produce of fruit-bearing trees during their first three harvest years, the mixing of seeds in a field, the sacrifice of the red heifer, and many others, excluding those whose meaning is hinted at where they are mentioned.

You should realize that all of the precepts depend upon two fundamental principles: the positive and negative commandments. The positive commandments are born of the quality of remembrance [zakhor]; the negative commandments of the quality of observance [shamor]. It is also well known that remembrance and observance correspond to two of the attributes of the Holy One, blessed be He. Consequently, an individual who performs the command of his master and fulfills it, does so as a consequence of the quality of love. This constitutes the highest degree [of service] and the most excellent virtue, and corresponds to the category of positive commandments. An individual who desists from performing a deed out of fear of his master, does so as a consequence of the quality of awe. This stands on a lower rung than the quality of love, just as negative commandments occupy a gradation lower than the positive. For the person who fulfills the command of his master with his body and his possessions is not to be likened to one who is scrupulous about desisting from evil out of fear of him. Thus our Sages say: “Concerning what situation were these matters related? Concerning negative commandments. That is to say that the transgressor is smitten with forty lashes. However, with respect to positive commandments, such as the case when they instruct him to construct a Sukkah but he does not build it, or take a palm frond but he does not do so, they smite him until his soul departs his body.”¹⁰⁹b. Ketubot 86a. The two examples given refer to the commandments of the Sukkot festival, but could be any positive commandments of the Torah.

All of the above derives from the principles of “remembrance” and “observance,” for the quality of remembrance occupies a gradation higher than that of observance and the branches which derive from it are in its likeness. Since Abraham our father took divine love as his portion, corresponding to remembrance, and he knew God’s name with a true and real knowledge, the Omnipresent One called him “My lover.” Nor is the [attainment of the] quality of love possible save through perfect knowledge. Thus one finds that many principles of the negative commandments are derived from the positive. For the quality of love exists within the quality of awe, since awe derives from love and is thus included within it.

You should know that a human being, by nature and the process of generation, contains and is impressed with the stamp of these two qualities, that is to say the essential force of the positive and negative commandments, that is water and fire, the former at his right hand, the latter at his left. This is as our sages said: “Two angels escort an individual, one good and one evil.”¹¹⁰Shabbat 119b. And as that wise man said: “A wise man’s heart tends towards the right hand, a fool’s to the left” [Eccles. 10:2]. It is the truth that right conduct and the inclination to good are on the right while evil behavior and the inclination towards wickedness are on the left, as is the Accuser. Concerning this David said: “I am ever mindful of the Lord’s presence; He is at my right hand, I shall never be shaken” [Ps. 16:8]. “I shall not be shaken”: I shall never neglect, even for an instant, that inclination towards the good that stands at my right hand.

Since these two qualities, the inclination to the good and the inclination to evil, which correspond to the positive and negative commandments, are impressed upon human nature, the Torah was given with positive and negative commandments to direct an individual and habituate him towards positive qualities. The inclination towards evil would be drawn after the good and annihilated within it. Concerning this our sages said: “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart’ [Deut. 6:5]—with your two inclinations, towards good and evil.”¹¹¹b. Berakhot 54a. This is the purpose of the commandments, the acts of worship, prayers, and fasting. They serve to subjugate the evil inclination so that it might be rendered subordinate to the impulse towards good. Thus the body, whose foundation is dust and nature evil and which descends below, will be drawn after the faculty of the soul, whose foundation is life, whose nature is wholly for the good and ascends upwards. Give careful heed and listen to my wondrous words, let them always be present before your eyes, for they are pleasant and should be stored inside you.

[There ensues a listing of the six hundred and thirteen commandments, as derived from the ten. See Chavel’s edition of the Hebrew text in Kitvey RaMBaN II, pp. 521–48. The concluding summary of that discussion follows.]

These¹¹²The following, down to the resumption of the commentary with 4:12, is found on p. 548 of Chavel’s Hebrew edition. are the six hundred and thirteen commandments, positive and negative, derived from the ten commandments as “Remember” and “Observe.” Of this our rabbis said: “‘Remember’ and ‘Observe’ were proclaimed in a single utterance, something no mouth could speak nor any ear hear.”¹¹³b. Rosh Hashanah 27a. No one voice could simultaneously speak two things, opposite to one another, positive and negative; such is beyond the capacity of the human mouth or ear. He explained the two hundred forty-eight positive commandments guiding the human limbs,¹¹⁴Also said to number 248, according to a Talmudic source (Makkot 23b). which number two hundred forty-eight, in a goodly and upright path, thus purifying, cleansing, and sanctifying the person that he might resemble his Maker. The remaining three hundred sixty-five commandments guide the sinews, which are of that number, in a goodly and upright way, keeping the person from evil paths and ugly qualities. Thus body and soul will be on a single path in harmony with one another.

You should know that the Torah is entirely clear, spoken by the divine dynamis,¹¹⁵Or: from the mouth of gevurah, the God of power. containing not a single letter or vowel point that is not needed. All of it is a divine structure, hewn out in the name¹¹⁶Perhaps should read: “hewn out of”; mi-shemo rather than bi-shemo. of the blessed Holy One. There is no difference between “Timna was the concubine of Eliphaz” [Gen. 36:12] or “the chieftain of Magdiel, the chieftan of Eram” [Gen. 36:43] and the ten commandments or “Hear O Israel” [Deut. 6:4]. Whoever deletes a single letter is like one who deletes God’s whole name and a whole world. Therefore it was necessary that the letters and words be counted, that plene and lene¹¹⁷“Full” and “lacking,” two ways of spelling Hebrew words. spellings be recorded, forms written but not pronounced, as well as forms pronounced but not written, open and closed beginnings of sections [i.e., paragraph divisions], larger and smaller letters. Let this be implanted in your heart and inscribed within you. Take care for your soul and lend no ear to [those who] say that Ezra the Scribe added things of his own accord as he copied it, such as “The Canaanites were then in the land” [Gen. 13:6] or “Behold his bed, a bed of iron” [Deut. 3:11].¹¹⁸These passages seem to indicate a later narrative voice, as was already noted by several medieval authors. See commentary of Abraham Ibn Ezra to Deut. 1:2. This is total heresy, that of which the rabbis spoke in the chapter called “A Portion,” on the verse “For he has despised the word of the Lord” [Num. 15:31]: “This refers to one who says ‘Torah is not from heaven.’ Even one who says that all of Torah is from heaven except for a single verse that Moses spoke on his own: such a person ‘despises the word of the Lord.’”¹¹⁹b. Sanhedrin 99a.

Because the commandments are the very body of purity and holiness, and the one concerned with them becomes purified and holy, Scripture said the fragrance of your garments is like that of Lebanon,¹²⁰Deriving “Lebanon” from libbun, “cleansing.” for that fragrance is the life of both worlds.