잠언 30:18의 미드라쉬

(Lev. 23:40:) “And you shall take for yourselves on the first day.” After all the wisdom which is ascribed to Solomon (since according to I Kings 5:11), “He was the wisest of all people,”⁹³See PRK 4:3; PR 14:9. he left everything and sat wondering about these four species.⁹⁴Lev. R. 30:15. This is related (to Prov. 30:18), “Three things are too difficult for me; and four I do not understand.” These are the four species which are in the lulav, which he sought to understand. Now if you say that (in Lev. 23:40) the “beautiful tree fruit” is an ethrog, all trees bear fruit. (Ibid., cont.:) “Branches of palm trees.” One needs to take two branches and their hearts, but one only takes the heart of the palm, i.e., the lulav. (Ibid., cont.:) “Boughs of dense trees.” Who says to you that it is the myrtle, since it is written in another place (i.e., in Neh. 8:15), “Go out to the mountain and bring leafy branches of olive trees, leafy branches of oil-giving trees, leafy branches of myrtle, leafy branches of palms, and leafy branches of dense trees to make the sukkot (huts), as is written.” (Lev. 23:40, cont.:) “And willows of the brook”; [yet] all the trees grow in the water. (Prov. 30:18:) “And four I do not understand.” But in another place it says (i.e., in Prov. 30:29), “Three things have a stately stride, and four have a stately walk.” These are the four species which are in the lulav, for each and every person from Israel goes running to buy one of them for himself in order to give praise to the Lord, so that he be acceptable to Him and make atonement for all his sins. “A stately walk.” The one who sees these same four species, disparages them, and [yet] they loom large before the Holy One, blessed be He. (Prov. 30:24:) “Four things are tiny on earth.” They are these four species. (Ibid., cont.:) “But they are the wisest of the wise,” because they deal wisely, when they plead merit and wisdom before the One who spoke and the world came into being. Another interpretation (of Prov. 30:24), “But they are the wisest of the wise”: And who gave us the interpretation that these four species are ethrog, lulav, myrtle, and willow? The rabbinic sages (hakhamim), “but they are the wisest (hakhamim) of the wise.”

(Lev. 23:40:) AND YOU SHALL TAKE FOR YOURSELVES. After all the wisdom which is ascribed to Solomon (in I Kings 5:10–11 [4:31–32]): [AND SOLOMON'S WISDOM WAS GREATER < THAN THE WISDOM OF ALL THE CHILDREN OF THE EAST >…. ] FOR HE WAS THE WISEST OF ALL PEOPLE; he forsook all these things (i.e., astrology, ornithomancy, and the other elements of eastern wisdom)¹⁰⁵See PRK 4:3; PR 14:9. and sat wondering about these four species.¹⁰⁶Tanh., Lev. 8:20; Lev. R. 30:15. This text is related (to Prov. 30:18): THREE THINGS ARE TOO DIFFICULT FOR ME, [< i.e., > Paschal lamb, unleavened bread, and bitter herbs; AND FOUR I DO NOT UNDERSTAND.] These are the four species which are in the lulav, which {he was unable} [he sought] to understand. Now (in Lev. 23:40) if you say that the BEAUTIFUL TREE FRUIT is an ethrog, all trees bear fruit. (Ibid., cont.:) BRANCHES OF PALM TREES. One needs to take two branches [and offer praise with them], but one only takes the heart of the palm, i.e., the lulav. (Ibid., cont.:) BOUGHS OF DENSE TREES. Who says to you that it is the myrtle, since it is written in another place (i.e., in Neh. 8:15): GO OUT TO THE MOUNTAIN AND BRING LEAFY BRANCHES OF OLIVE TREES, [LEAFY BRANCHES OF OIL-GIVING TREES, LEAFY BRANCHES OF MYRTLE, LEAFY BRANCHES OF PALMS, AND LEAFY BRANCHES OF DENSE TREES]? (Lev. 23:40, cont.:) AND WILLOWS OF THE BROOK; < yet > all the trees grow in the water. (Prov. 30:18:) AND FOUR I DO NOT UNDERSTAND. It also says in another place (i.e., in Prov. 30:29): THREE THINGS HAVE A STATELY STRIDE, AND FOUR HAVE A STATELY WALK. These are the four species which are in the lulav, for each and every person from Israel goes running to buy one of them for himself in order to give praise to the Lord. < Doing so > is acceptable to him and makes atonement to him for all one's sins. A STATELY WALK: The one who sees these same four species, rejoices over them, and they loom large before the Holy One.¹⁰⁷Cf. the parallel in Lev. R. 30:15, which expands the final clause with the following: “And although they seem small in human eyes, they loom large before the Holy One.” (Prov. 30:24:) FOUR THINGS ARE TINY ON EARTH. They are these four species. (Ibid., cont.:) BUT THEY ARE THE WISEST OF THE WISE, [because¹⁰⁸The section marked by Buber’s outer brackets extends to the end of the next paragraph. they deal wisely, when they plead merit {and wisdom} [and love] before the one who spoke, and the world came into being.

Another explanation: "And you shall take for yourselves on the first day" - in spite of all of that wisdom that is written about Shlomo (II Chronicles 2:1), "wisdom and knowledge are granted to you;" (I Kings 5:10-11) "And the wisdom of Shlomo grew... And Shlomo was wiser than all men," these four species were perplexing to him, as it is stated (Proverbs 30:18), "Three are there that are wondrous beyond me" - these three are the Pesach sacrifice, matsa and marror (bitter herbs) - "and four which I did not know" - these four are the four species of the lulav, that he sought to understand: "The fruit of a beautiful tree" - who will tell me that it is a citron (etrog)? All of the trees make beautiful fruit (and are hence called beautiful trees). "The branches of a date palm" - the Torah said, "take two palm branches (as 'branches' is in the plural) to praise with" and he only takes a [singular] lulav, which is the heart of the date palm. "And a branch of a braided tree (a myrtle)" - who will tell me that it is a myrtle? Behold, in another place it says (Nechemiah 8:15), "Go out to the mountain and bring olive branches, etc" (the verse continues to list several species and mentions myrtles alongside branches of a braided tree, seemingly indicating that they are two different species). "And brook willows" - all trees grow in the water! [Hence,] "and four which I did not know." He came back and mentioned them a different time, as it is stated (Proverbs 30:29), "There are three that are good, etc." - these are the four species, that each and every one in Israel goes and runs and takes from them for himself, to praise the Holy One, blessed be He. And [the four species] appear small in the eyes of man but they are great in front of the Holy One, blessed be He. And who explained to Israel that they were these four species, which are the citron, the palm branch, the myrtle, the willow? The Sages; as it is stated (Ibid., verse 24), "they are very wise sages."