Excerpts from his classic work, Shaarei Orah, on the portions of the Week and festivals of the year. HaRav Bergman is rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Rashbi in Bnei Brak and the son- in-law of Maran HaRav Eliezer Shach zt"l.
Shir Hashirim: Ardent Words of Love
Would that He would kiss me with the kisses of His mouth.Shir HaShirim 1:2.
Where was [the Song of Songs] uttered? Said R. Chinena bar Pappa, "It was uttered at the [Reed] Sea, as it is written, `With My mighty steeds who battled Pharaoh's riders I revealed you as My beloved.'" Ibid, 9.
Said R. Yehuda son of R. Simon, "It was uttered at [Mount] Sinai, as it is written, `The song of songs...' it is the song that was uttered by the singers who sang. In R. Yehuda's view, the term Shir HaShirim, which translates as "The Song of Songs," is homiletically interpreted here as shir hasharim, "The Song of the Singers," as in the verse, "Let the singers begin; next the musicians."" (Tehillim 68:26.)
It has been taught in the name of R. Nosson: The Holy One, in the splendor of His greatness, uttered it, as it is written, "The song of songs, by Shlomoh [liShlomoh]..." Shir HaShirim 1:1; "liShlomoh" is an acronym for laMelech Shehasholom Shelo, — the King to Whom peace is His.
Said R. Gamliel, "It was uttered by the ministering angels, as it is written, `The song of songs' — it is the song that was uttered by the angels above." In R. Gamliel"s view, "Shir HaShirim" is homiletically interpreted here as Shir HaSarim — "The Song of the Angels."
Said R. Yochonon, "It was uttered at [Mount] Sinai, as it is written, `Would that He would kiss me with the kisses of His mouth.'" (Shir HaShirim 1:2.)
Said R. Meir, "It was uttered in the Tabernacle..." (Shir Hashirim Rabbah 1:1)
It is most unlikely that any of the Sages cited above is seriously suggesting that someone other than King Shlomoh composed the Song of Songs. Rather, their discussion revolves around a different question entirely: namely, whom was he quoting therein? (In this sense, Song of Songs resembles the Book of Psalms, which, though composed, and compiled in book form, largely by King David, contains also individual psalms written by various wise men throughout the ages. (See Bovo Basra 14b.)
Also, as is evident from the proofs offered by R. Yehuda son of R. Simon, R. Nosson, and R. Gamliel, which are all drawn from the first verse, the Sages in the midrash were not discussing where specific verses of Song of Songs were uttered, but rather where the composition of the work as a whole took place.
This, however, is perplexing. Without a doubt, certain verses in Song of Songs refer specifically to the revelation at Mount Sinai.See, for instance, v. 3 in ch. 2, "In His shade I delighted and sat," and Rashi there. Others, such as, "With My mighty steeds who battled Pharaoh's riders I revealed that you are My beloved," Shir HaShirim 1:9.> clearly refer to the parting of the Reed Sea. How, then, were the Sages able to deduce from the first verse that the entire book was uttered in any one of these locations, to the exclusion of all others? And why did R. Chinena deem the verse, "With My steeds..." as more conclusive proof than any other of where Song of Songs as a whole was uttered?
We can only conclude that the Sages do not differ about which events the Song of Songs describes. They are obviously aware of the fact that certain verses refer to the Revelation at Mount Sinai, and others to the parting of the Reed Sea. What is more, the bare fact that this Megilla encompasses verses detailing the Revelation at Mount Sinai, as well as other future events, does not preclude, in and of itself, its having been uttered by the shores of the Reed Sea. As the Mechilta tells us, even the lowliest of maidservants attained a level of prophecy surpassing that attained by Yechezkel ben Buzi. As the Divine Presence resided upon them, they could easily have gazed into the future and uttered verses alluding to the Giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai and more distant events.
To achieve an understanding of the issue addressed by the Sages of the Midrash, we must delve deeper into the innermost essence of the Song of Songs. It is considered the Holy of Holies, (See Rashi on Shir HaShirim 1:1) a glimpse, as it were, into that ultimate state of spiritual union and bonding that is effected between the Jewish people and the Holy One. In no other place in Scripture do we encounter a verse such as, "I am my Beloved's and my Beloved is mine,"Shir HaShirim 6:3.> which conveys the most ardent love and devotion between the Jewish people and Hashem. And only in Song of Songs could we possibly find the midrash commenting on the verse, "My beloved...My perfect one": (Ibid., 5:2):
R. Yannai said: "[It is written,] "Tumasi"My perfect one." Do not read "tumasi" but "te'umasi," My twin. It is as though [Hashem] were saying, "I am not greater than she [Israel], nor is she greater than I." (Shir Hashirim Rabbah 5:3)
This, the unique nature of Song of Songs, forms the backdrop for the discussion of the Sages in the midrash. Where, they wished to know, did the Jewish nation merit to arrive at the rarefied heights of spiritual greatness which enabled them to express their love and devotion for G-d in the impassioned terms which appear throughout Song of Songs? According to R. Chinena bar Pappa, it could only have been by the shores of the Reed Sea, when, "with His mighty steeds who battled Pharaoh's riders, G-d revealed them as His beloved."
R. Yochonon, on the other hand, ascribes the Song of Songs to the Giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. His proof is the verse, "Would that He would kiss me with the kisses of His mouth," (Shir HaShirim 1:2) which Chazal (Niddah 70b) tell us alludes to G- d's giving the Torah to the Jewish people in as direct and intense a fashion as is conceivable — a state of affairs allegorically described by Rashi in his commentary to this verse:
Would that He would kiss me with the kisses of His mouth! (Shir HaShirim 1:2) "for in some places it is customary to kiss the back of the hand or the shoulder. But I [i.e., Yisrael] crave and desire that He relate to me at the most intimate of levels, mouth upon mouth.
Such a state of union between Yisrael and Hashem took place during the Giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai when, as Chazal say in reference to the verse, "My soul departed from me as He spoke," (Ibid., 5:6): The souls of the Jewish people left their bodies with every word that emerged from G-d's mouth. (Shabbos 88b.)
R. Yochonon thus argues that the Jewish people could only have uttered the ardent words of love that appear in the Song of Songs at Mount Sinai. This would also seem to be the basis for Rashi's comment stating that King Shlomoh composed Song of Songs in the latter part of his life (See Rashi on Bava Basra 14b), "even someone on King Shlomoh's spiritual level could not possibly have relived and then articulated the love for Hashem which the Jewish people experienced at the Reed Sea or at Mount Sinai before achieving old age himself. This is in line with the dictum, "With regard to elder Torah scholars, as they grow older, their knowledge becomes more complete." (See Kinim 3:6; Shabbos 152a)
An Absolute Bond
"You have caught My attention, My sister, O bride, with one of your eyes, with one coil of your necklace. (Shir HaShirim 4:9)
The Holy One, blessed be He, in essence said, "You were of one heart in Egypt, and now you have presented Me with two hearts.... "You have caught My attention with one of your eyes," by way of the blood of the Pesach-offering and the blood of circumcision....
"You were of one heart at the Reed Sea, and now you have presented Me with two hearts... "You have caught My attention with one of your eyes, when you stood before Me at Mount Sinai and declared, "We will do and hear everything that G-d has spoken!"
"You were of one heart in the desert and now you have presented Me with two hearts.... "You have caught my attention with one of your eyes" when you constructed the Tabernacle...." (Shir Hashirim Rabbah 4:9)
The commentators interpret the term "you were of one heart" as representing service of G-d with the good inclination only, while the term, "you have presented Me with two hearts," signifies serving Him with the evil inclination as well. This is consonant with Chazal's interpretation of the word "levavecha," your heart, in Krias Shema: "You shall love Hashem your G-d with both your hearts..." "With both your hearts," they say, symbolizes man's obligation to love G-d to the utmost of his ability, with both the good and the evil inclination. (Devorim 6:5 and Sifrei ad loc) None of the commentators explain, however, the meaning of the phrase, "You have caught My attention with one of your eyes."
To understand the deeper meaning of this phrase, we must first consider the words of the Midrash on the verse, "Let Me in, My sister...."Shir HaShirim 5:2)
My sister — [the Jewish people] bonded themselves to Me in Egypt through two mitzvos: the blood of the Pesach-offering, and the blood of circumcision.
This is the meaning of the verse, "I passed by you and saw you wallowing in your blood, and I said to you, "Live on the merit of your blood; live on the merit of your blood!" (Yechezkel 16:6) [The first occurrence of the phrase] "live on the merit of your blood" alludes to the Pesach-offering, [while the second occurrence of the phrase] "live on the merit of your blood" alludes to the blood of circumcision. (Shir Hashirim Rabbah 5:3)
The inference, explains R. Eliezer Moshe Horowitz of Pinsk, (In his glosses to Brochos 19b) is that these two mitzvos, sacrificing the Pesach-offering and circumcision, are particularly conducive to fostering the bond between HaKadosh Boruch Hu and the Jewish nation. Indeed, R. Horowitz continues, this is why a person who willfully refrains from performing either of these mitzvos incurs the penalty of koreis: his soul is cut off from its eternal Source. Unlike someone who engages in certain incestuous relationships or partakes of specific forbidden foods (chelev, for instance), for which the respective penalties are clearly punishments for his wayward deeds, this is something else entirely. Owing to his shortcomings in fulfilling these keynote obligations, he lacks the basic building blocks for forging a relationship with his Creator. Lacking as he does the wherewithal to cleave to his eternal Source, his soul is relegated, as a matter of course, to spiritual oblivion, or "cut off."
This perhaps is the concept behind our midrash as well. In Aggadic literature, the eye, too, denotes this type of absolute bonding. (See, for instance, (Brochos 56b) Thus, the midrash is enumerating the means through which the Jewish people became bonded to G-d "eye to eye," as it were. According to the first viewpoint of the midrash, it was precipitated by fulfilling the mitzvos of bringing the Pesach-offering and circumcising themselves. The second viewpoint attributes it to the Revelation at Mount Sinai, and the third, to the construction of the Tabernacle.
