{"id":95457,"date":"2018-07-09T18:01:07","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T15:01:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-2030\/"},"modified":"2021-08-03T10:04:36","modified_gmt":"2021-08-03T07:04:36","slug":"wall-2030","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-2030\/","title":{"rendered":"book-Writings-Song of Songs"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"book","wall_id":"2030","book":"Song of Songs","books_group":"Writings","date":"","hide_acf":true,"home_image":false,"home_posts":false,"home_posts_title":"","posts_home":[],"static_cube_title":"Book Summary - The Song of Songs","static_cube_brief":"

The Song of Songs is one of the five scrolls (megillot)<\/em> in the Tanach. The book is a veritable anthology of love songs. The opening of the book seems to assign the book to King Solomon. The couplet – Song of Songs which opens the book and gives it its name, is understood as an outstanding, highly praiseworthy song. The central characters are a man and a woman singing to one another. In the tradition, the Song has been understood allegorically, to be speaking of the love between Israel and God.<\/p>\n

Many have the tradition of reciting the Song on the Shabbat of the week of Pesach. This is because of its context of the flowering of the springtime, and the special connection between Israel and God that began with the Exodus. There are those who recite it at the\u00a0seder<\/em> itself.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","static_cube_color":"","updates_last_update":"28\/06\/2020","date_from":"20210803","date_to":"","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"95875","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"2","name":"Shir ha-Shirim\/Song of Songs: God and Israel, Eros and Exodus ","post_title":"Shir ha-Shirim\/Song of Songs: God and Israel, Eros and Exodus","slug":"shir-ha-shirim-song-of-songs-god-and-israel-eros-and-exodus","old_id":"95875","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":38102,"post_title":"929-English","slug":"929-english","old_id":"38102","first_name":"","last_name":"929-English","description":"","short_description":"","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":38333,"alt":"","title":"\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5.png","width":1513,"height":860,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-300x171.png","medium-width":300,"medium-height":171,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-768x437.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":437,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-1024x582.png","large-width":1024,"large-height":582,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5.png","1536x1536-width":1513,"1536x1536-height":860,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5.png","2048x2048-width":1513,"2048x2048-height":860,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-1200x682.png","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":682,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/\u05dc\u05d5\u05d2\u05d5-739x420.png","home_baner-width":739,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"2030","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/lQNZMqX4amA","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"24 in 24: Video Series on the Books of Tanach","tile_main_caption":"Shir ha-Shirim\/Song of Songs: God and Israel, Eros and Exodus","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"with Ori Weisberg","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/lQNZMqX4amA","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Writings","book":"Song of Songs","chapter":false,"chapter_main_number":false,"date":false,"wall_id":"2030"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":2,"id":"95630","color":"#f6f5de","size":"1","name":"(Re)Discovering The Feminine Author ","post_title":"(Re)Discovering The Feminine Author","slug":"rediscovering-the-feminine-author","old_id":"95630","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34011,"post_title":"Jeremy Benstein","slug":"dr-jeremy-benstein","old_id":"34011","first_name":"Jeremy","last_name":"Benstein","description":"Dr. Jeremy Benstein is the managing editor of 929-English. He is one of the founders of the Heschel Center for Sustainability. He writes the MiliMiliM - Hebrew Corner on the site, and is the author of a book about the Hebrew language, \"Hebrew Roots, Jewish Routes: A Tribal Language in a Global World\" (Behrman House, 2019). ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"short_description":"Dr. Jeremy Benstein is the managing editor of 929-English, and is the author of a book about the Hebrew language, \"Hebrew Roots, Jewish Routes: A Tribal Language in a Global World\" (Behrman House, 2019). ","link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34232,"alt":"","title":"Jeremy Benstein","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1.jpg","width":1280,"height":720,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-300x169.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-768x432.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-1024x576.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":576,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1.jpg","1536x1536-width":1280,"1536x1536-height":720,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1.jpg","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":720,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-1200x675.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":675,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Presentation1-747x420.jpg","home_baner-width":747,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"791","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"One little change - and it all falls into place\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Reading chapter by chapter, book by book, as we do in 929, the transition from the book of Job to the Song of Songs is rather jarring. From tortured theodical grapplings to luxuriant love poetry, from the quest for existential meaning of an isolated individual to the dyadic search for requited love, from agony to ecstasy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Since we have been reading the Song for several millennia, we know what to expect. Or at least we think we do. Among traditional readers, this Song of Songs is of Solomon, and the main dilemma is between the literal\/contextual\/<\/span>p\u2019shat<\/span><\/em> reading of erotic love between people, as opposed to the allegorical\/theological reading that understands the Song as a dialogue of spiritual love and espousal between Israel and God, the divine beloved.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Yet while the language of love might have a certain glamour, it also needs grammar. And the grammar of the opening verses is perplexing:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cThe Song of Songs, that is Solomon\u2019s. Oh, let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, For your love is more delightful than wine. Your ointments yield a sweet fragrance, Your name is like finest oil\u2014 Therefore do maidens love you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The first verse seems to assign authorship - the aforementioned King Solomon. But it then\u00a0 continues with declarations clearly spoken by the female beloved: first to the third person (assuming a dramatic setting, perhaps to an audience), then in the direct second person, which in the Hebrew, addresses a masculine interlocutor. This continues, with the narrator speaking of the king having brought her to his chambers, and in verse 5 we get a full first person feminine narrator (\u201cI am black and comely\u201d), expanded on in 6 and 7.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

So who is singing this Song? Some scholars have proposed a slight textual emendation which makes so much grammatical and emotional sense, that it convincingly sets the whole book in a new light. The first four words in the Hebrew are \u05e9\u05d9\u05e8 \u05d4\u05e9\u05d9\u05e8\u05d9\u05dd \u05d0\u05e9\u05e8 \u05dc\u05e9\u05dc\u05de\u05d4, <\/span>shir hashirim asher l\u2019shlomo<\/span><\/em>. If that third word had the little letter <\/span>yod<\/span><\/em>, i.e., not \u05d0\u05e9\u05e8, <\/span>asher<\/span><\/em>, but \u05d0\u05e9\u05d9\u05e8, <\/span>ashir<\/span><\/em>, <\/span><\/i>it would transform from the relative pronoun (\u201cthat is\u201d) to the verb form, \u201cI shall sing,\u201d making that first line: \u201cThe Song of Songs, I shall sing to Solomon.\u201d And then the feminine voice and her declarations of love flow quite naturally.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

So maybe the Song of Songs is Solomon\u2019s - not because he (or a male historical literary figure like him) wrote it - but because it was sung to him, as a declaration of love in the feminine, by a female author, hiding right there in the Garden, among the lilies, between the lines.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

As Amos Oz, z\u201dl, and his daughter, Fania Oz-Salzberger write in their lovely little book <\/span>Jews and Words<\/span><\/i>, if a woman wrote:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u00a0...the Bible\u2019s most erotic tome, she should surely count as one of the great female poets of the Bible, alongside Miriam and Deborah, and of world literature in general, alongside Sappho and Emily Dickinson.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Note: I first encountered this suggestion in the Oz\u2019s book. They cite scholarly antecedents in\u00a0 S.D. Goitein, Y. N. Epstein and G Kuhn.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: Song of Songs (Cantique des Cantiques) by Gustave Moreau, 1893 \/ wikimedia<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":95631,"alt":"","title":"sos1-feminine - Gustave_Moreau_-_Song_of_Songs","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos1-feminine-Gustave_Moreau_-_Song_of_Songs.jpg","width":319,"height":601,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos1-feminine-Gustave_Moreau_-_Song_of_Songs-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos1-feminine-Gustave_Moreau_-_Song_of_Songs-159x300.jpg","medium-width":159,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos1-feminine-Gustave_Moreau_-_Song_of_Songs.jpg","medium_large-width":319,"medium_large-height":601,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos1-feminine-Gustave_Moreau_-_Song_of_Songs.jpg","large-width":319,"large-height":601,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos1-feminine-Gustave_Moreau_-_Song_of_Songs.jpg","1536x1536-width":319,"1536x1536-height":601,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos1-feminine-Gustave_Moreau_-_Song_of_Songs.jpg","2048x2048-width":319,"2048x2048-height":601,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos1-feminine-Gustave_Moreau_-_Song_of_Songs.jpg","post_full_size-width":319,"post_full_size-height":601,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos1-feminine-Gustave_Moreau_-_Song_of_Songs-223x420.jpg","home_baner-width":223,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"(Re)Discovering The Feminine Author","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"One little change - 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After earning a BA in history from Yale University, he spent five years in the south working as the Jewish Outdoor, Food, and Environmental Education Director at the Louisville, KY JCC and on a number of small farms. He has volunteered with or served in a leadership capacity for nonprofits focused on food justice, reproductive rights, and Jewish communal life. ","short_description":"Michael Fraade is a rabbinical student at Hebrew College. He has a BA in history from Yale University, and has worked with nonprofits focused on food justice, reproductive rights, and Jewish communal life. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":95601,"alt":"","title":"Emma & Jordan","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Michael-Fraade.jpg","width":1105,"height":1412,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Michael-Fraade-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Michael-Fraade-235x300.jpg","medium-width":235,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Michael-Fraade-768x981.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":981,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Michael-Fraade-801x1024.jpg","large-width":801,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Michael-Fraade.jpg","1536x1536-width":1105,"1536x1536-height":1412,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Michael-Fraade.jpg","2048x2048-width":1105,"2048x2048-height":1412,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Michael-Fraade-939x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":939,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Michael-Fraade-329x420.jpg","home_baner-width":329,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"791","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Love happens in the here and now, bound up with our experience of the earth and its bounty\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

The Song of Songs is not only the Bible\u2019s most extensive love poem, it is also the Bible\u2019s most extensive pastoral poem.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Pastoral poetry praises the beauty of the natural world, often focusing especially on rural and agricultural settings. While the Song of Songs does not focus exclusively on nature, a deep love for the sights, sounds, and smells of the earth pervade the entire book. It was written by and for people who had a deep connection to the land, and who could use their experiences of that connection in order to evoke emotions of love and wonder.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In the first chapter, the narrators swing back and forth between the royal court and the rural pasture. There are invocations of kings, royal palaces, and great wealth alongside allusions to shepherds, nomads, and vineyards. Oftentimes it is unclear when Song of Songs speaks about personal experience and when it talks about fantasies and daydreams; the persistent ambiguity about who the lovers are and what their life looks like is part of what makes it so enticing and universal.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Regardless of who wrote the Song of Songs, the majority of people who read it would not have been part of the royal court; it was far more likely to be read, recited, and sung by ancient Israelites who spent their days growing food and herding livestock on a small plot of ancestral land. Such readers would have had an instinctive, personal understanding of the feeling of the sun blazing down on the woman guarding her brothers\u2019 vineyards, or of following the sheep tracks to find the best pasture for their own flocks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Song insists that love happens not only in the realm of royal fantasy, but in the realm of the here and now, bound up with our experience of the earth and its bounty. As we continue to make our way through the Song of Songs, experiences that are accessible to anybody who is deeply in touch with the earth will continue to be mainstays of its poetic allusions, inviting us deeper into an exploration of the ways in which the natural world can be a window into our sense of wonder.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":95627,"alt":"","title":"The-Natural-World-fraade","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/The-Natural-World-fraade.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/The-Natural-World-fraade-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/The-Natural-World-fraade-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/The-Natural-World-fraade-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/The-Natural-World-fraade.jpg","large-width":1000,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/The-Natural-World-fraade.jpg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/The-Natural-World-fraade.jpg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/The-Natural-World-fraade.jpg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/The-Natural-World-fraade-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"The Natural World in Song of Songs","tile_main_caption":"A Paragon Of Pastoral Poetry","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Love happens in the here and now, bound up with our experience of the earth and its bounty","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":95627,"alt":"","title":"The-Natural-World-fraade","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/The-Natural-World-fraade.jpg","width":1000,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/The-Natural-World-fraade-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/The-Natural-World-fraade-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/The-Natural-World-fraade-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/The-Natural-World-fraade.jpg","large-width":1000,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/The-Natural-World-fraade.jpg","1536x1536-width":1000,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/The-Natural-World-fraade.jpg","2048x2048-width":1000,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/The-Natural-World-fraade.jpg","post_full_size-width":1000,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/The-Natural-World-fraade-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Writings","book":"Song of Songs","chapter":"1","chapter_main_number":"791","date":"20280910","wall_id":"791"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":4,"id":"95616","color":"#e0e9ef","size":"1","name":"What Is Beauty? ","post_title":"What Is Beauty?","slug":"what-is-beauty","old_id":"95616","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":49926,"post_title":"Binyamin Cohen","slug":"binyamin-cohen","old_id":"49926","first_name":"Binyamin ","last_name":"Cohen ","description":"Binyamin Cohen is a Jewish Studies teacher at Rochelle Zell Jewish High School in Deerfield, IL. He completed his Master\u2019s in Jewish Education through Pardes Day School Educators Program in conjunction with Hebrew College. He is originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba, and currently lives in Chicago.","short_description":"Binyamin Cohen is a Jewish Studies teacher at Rochelle Zell Jewish High School in Deerfield, IL. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":49927,"alt":"","title":"binyamin cohen","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/binyamin-cohen.jpg","width":800,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/binyamin-cohen-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/binyamin-cohen-240x300.jpg","medium-width":240,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/binyamin-cohen-768x960.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":960,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/binyamin-cohen.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/binyamin-cohen.jpg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/binyamin-cohen.jpg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/binyamin-cohen.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/binyamin-cohen-336x420.jpg","home_baner-width":336,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"791","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Beauty needs no external standards, it is in the experience of love\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

The Song of Songs opens with a kiss. Core to this chapter is the male lover\u2019s use of the root \u05d9\u05e4\u05d4, yafah,\u00a0<\/em>beauty. The chapter starts with the female lover discussing the aforementioned kiss, focusing on the richness, the flavor (v.2-3).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

She then shifts her focus to her own appearance: the darkness of her skin (v.5-6), her extended sun exposure (v.6). She\u2019s worried that these factors will make her unlovely to her shepherd; it seems that even her own family has bullied her for skin tone (v.6). She is anxious: she needs to track him down, to be with him, to feel loved by him (v.7).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In verse 8 the voice switches to the male, and he immediately responds to her anxiety by calling her the \u201cfairest of women\u201d, \u201c\u05d4\u05b7\u05d9\u05bc\u05b8\u05e4\u05b8\u05d4 \u05d1\u05bc\u05b7\u05e0\u05bc\u05b8\u05e9\u05c1\u05b4\u05d9\u05dd\u201d hayafah banashim<\/em>. This is the first appearance of the root \u05d9\u05e4\u05d4. His descriptions of her beauty mirror in their richness the shepherdess\u2019s words: he compares her to a royal chariot-horse (v.9); he seeks to drape her in wreaths and jewels (v.10), gold and silver (v.11), and priceless perfumes (v.12-14).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This peaks with him exclaiming about her beauty once again (v.15-16): \u201cAh, you are fair, my darling, Ah, you are fair, With your dove-like eyes! And you, my beloved, are handsome, Beautiful indeed! Our couch is in a bower.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

What does the man mean by this repeated root \u05d9\u05e4\u05d4? Why does he employ it so much, and how does it relate to the woman\u2019s anxiety about her appearance? On a simple level, it means physical beauty, the kind that is nice to look at. He\u2019s saying to the shepherdess, \u201cyou may be concerned about it, but I like the way you look\u201d. It may seem superficial, but we all need people to tell us we\u2019re beautiful sometimes. Feeling at home in one\u2019s own body and skin is important, and when those we care about and who we love help us feel that way, it is powerful.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

A deeper understanding of \u05d9\u05e4\u05d4 can be seen in the ways that beauty is described and contextualized. While the shepherdess is worried about how she came to look this way, the man is enamored of the many forms of her beauty and the contexts in which it shines. He sees in her the power, grace, and strength of a chariot horse. He sees in her the regality of gold and silver and jewels. He feels in her the preciousness, intimacy, and sensuality of perfumes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Finally, he closes out the chapter by describing a place (v.16-17): a wooden-beamed house, which he describes as <\/span>ra\u2019anana<\/span><\/i>, \u201cverdant\u201d (JPS: \u201cbower\u201d). This move, from descriptions of her beauty to the place of their love, shows us what the man thinks beauty truly is: it is <\/span>ra\u2019anana<\/span><\/i>, luxuriantly natural; it is what they have and what they are; it needs no external standards of beauty, it does not matter what others think of it. The beauty is in the experience of love.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: Aquarelle painting by Aharon April \"Song of Songs-Last,\" 2005 \/ wikimedia<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":95617,"alt":"","title":"sos1-love beauty-Aharon_April_Song_of_Songs","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos1-love-beauty-Aharon_April_Song_of_Songs.jpg","width":800,"height":597,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos1-love-beauty-Aharon_April_Song_of_Songs-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos1-love-beauty-Aharon_April_Song_of_Songs-300x224.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":224,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos1-love-beauty-Aharon_April_Song_of_Songs-768x573.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":573,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos1-love-beauty-Aharon_April_Song_of_Songs.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":597,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos1-love-beauty-Aharon_April_Song_of_Songs.jpg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":597,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos1-love-beauty-Aharon_April_Song_of_Songs.jpg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":597,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos1-love-beauty-Aharon_April_Song_of_Songs.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":597,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos1-love-beauty-Aharon_April_Song_of_Songs-563x420.jpg","home_baner-width":563,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"What Is Beauty?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Beauty needs no external standards, it is in the experience of love","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":95617,"alt":"","title":"sos1-love beauty-Aharon_April_Song_of_Songs","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos1-love-beauty-Aharon_April_Song_of_Songs.jpg","width":800,"height":597,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos1-love-beauty-Aharon_April_Song_of_Songs-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos1-love-beauty-Aharon_April_Song_of_Songs-300x224.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":224,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos1-love-beauty-Aharon_April_Song_of_Songs-768x573.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":573,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos1-love-beauty-Aharon_April_Song_of_Songs.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":597,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos1-love-beauty-Aharon_April_Song_of_Songs.jpg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":597,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos1-love-beauty-Aharon_April_Song_of_Songs.jpg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":597,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos1-love-beauty-Aharon_April_Song_of_Songs.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":597,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos1-love-beauty-Aharon_April_Song_of_Songs-563x420.jpg","home_baner-width":563,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Writings","book":"Song of Songs","chapter":"1","chapter_main_number":"791","date":"20280910","wall_id":"791"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":5,"id":"95604","color":"#e6f5f3","size":"1","name":"First: Wash Your hands! ","post_title":"First: Wash Your hands!","slug":"first-wash-your-hands","old_id":"95604","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34243,"post_title":"Moshe Sokolow","slug":"moshe-sokolow","old_id":"34243","first_name":"Moshe","last_name":"Sokolow","description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University, and teaches a weekly class in parashat hashavu`a at Lincoln Square Synagogue. He is the author of TANAKH: An Owner\u2019s Manual (Jerusalem: Urim\/Ktav, 2015).\r\n\r\n","short_description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34244,"alt":"","title":"sokolow","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","width":302,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-300x298.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":298,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","medium_large-width":302,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","large-width":302,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","1536x1536-width":302,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","2048x2048-width":302,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","post_full_size-width":302,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","home_baner-width":302,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"791","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"How did this love poetry get into the Tanach in the first place?\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

While hygienic hand washing has proliferated over the past year as a precaution against COVID, ritual handwashing (<\/span>n\u2019tilat yadayim<\/span><\/em>) is an established institution. Hands are washed upon rising from bed in the morning, being in proximity to a corpse, before eating bread, and, for some, before reciting the Grace after Meals. According to a Mishnaic prescription, hand washing should be performed prior to reading Song of Songs. To wit:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

All the Holy Scriptures (<\/span>kitvei kodesh<\/span><\/em>) defile the hands\u2026 Rabbi Akiba said: Far be it! No man in Israel disputed that Song of Songs defiles the hands. For the whole world is not as worthy as the day on which Song of Songs was given to Israel; for all the writings are holy but Song of Songs is the holy of holies. (Yadayim 3:5)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Scriptures were said to \u201cdefile the hands\u201d in order to ensure that they would be cared for properly. Rashi (Shabbat 13b) surmised that the practice of storing Scriptures alongside <\/span>t\u2019rumah<\/span><\/em>\u2014reasoning that both were holy\u2014invited mice to devour the books along with the grain, hence, the assertion that Scriptures impart impurity kept them separate, and thus required ritual handwashing before handling.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Rabbi Akiva\u2019s view on Song of Songs carried the day because he was an authority on love. On the mundane level, he demonstrated his love for his devoted wife, Rachel. On an ethereal level, he died sanctifying the name of God, succumbing to his fatal injuries just as he pronounced the verse, \u201cLove the Lord your God with all\u2026 your soul.\u201d In that capacity, he understood that the book would not have been canonized if its sole purpose were to relate the quotidian relationship between King Solomon and his \u201clily of the valleys.\u201d Even if his estimation of its value (\u201choly of holies\u201d) is somewhat exaggerated, his insistence on its status as an integral part of Tanakh was surely meant to caution us against underestimating it.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Indeed, the Aramaic Targum on v.1 employed its own brand of hyperbole, stipulating: \u201cTen songs were sung in this world,\u201d ranging from Adam\u2019s ode to the Sabbath day (Psalms 92) to the song that Israel will sing on the occasion of its ultimate deliverance (Isaiah 30:29), \u201cand this song is the most praiseworthy of them all.\u201d<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":95605,"alt":"","title":"sos1-wash hands faucet","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos1-wash-hands-faucet.jpg","width":1920,"height":1355,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos1-wash-hands-faucet-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos1-wash-hands-faucet-300x212.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":212,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos1-wash-hands-faucet-768x542.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":542,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos1-wash-hands-faucet-1024x723.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":723,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos1-wash-hands-faucet.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1084,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos1-wash-hands-faucet.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1355,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos1-wash-hands-faucet-1200x847.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":847,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos1-wash-hands-faucet-595x420.jpg","home_baner-width":595,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"First: Wash Your hands!","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"How did this love poetry get into the Tanach in the first place?","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":95605,"alt":"","title":"sos1-wash hands faucet","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos1-wash-hands-faucet.jpg","width":1920,"height":1355,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos1-wash-hands-faucet-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos1-wash-hands-faucet-300x212.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":212,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos1-wash-hands-faucet-768x542.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":542,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos1-wash-hands-faucet-1024x723.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":723,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos1-wash-hands-faucet.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1084,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos1-wash-hands-faucet.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1355,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos1-wash-hands-faucet-1200x847.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":847,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos1-wash-hands-faucet-595x420.jpg","home_baner-width":595,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Writings","book":"Song of Songs","chapter":"1","chapter_main_number":"791","date":"20280910","wall_id":"791"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":6,"id":"95669","color":"#f7f7f5","size":"1","name":"The Rose Of Sharon And The Lily Among Thorns ","post_title":"The Rose Of Sharon And The Lily Among Thorns","slug":"the-rose-of-sharon-and-the-lily-among-thorns","old_id":"95669","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33877,"post_title":"Marc Bregman","slug":"marc-bregman","old_id":"33877","first_name":"Marc","last_name":"Bregman","description":"Marc Bregman received his Ph.D. from The Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 1991. He taught at the Hebrew Union College (Jerusalem), The Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the Schechter Institute for Judaic Studies in Jerusalem, and at the Ben-Gurion University in Beer Sheba, Israel. During 1993 he was Visiting Associate Professor at Yale University, and during 1996 he was the Stroum Professor of Jewish Studies and Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Washington in Seattle. During 2005, Bregman served as the Harry Starr Fellow in Judaica at Harvard University and was awarded a Teaching Fellowship at the Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He also has served as Forchheimer Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Humanities at The Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He is the author of The Tanhuma-Yelammedenu Literature: Studies in the Evolution of the Versions (Gorgias Press, 2003). In 2006, Bregman was appointed the Herman and Zelda Bernard Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro, where he also headed the program in Jewish Studies, until 2013. Bregman retired from UNCG as of July 31, 2017. He has now returned to Jerusalem where he is continuing his research and teaching activities.","credit":"","image_url":"","short_description":"Marc Bregman is the Herman and Zelda Bernard Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies emeritus, at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro.","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33878,"alt":"Marc Bregman","title":"Marc Bregman","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","width":361,"height":488,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-222x300.jpg","medium-width":222,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","medium_large-width":361,"medium_large-height":488,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","large-width":361,"large-height":488,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","1536x1536-width":361,"1536x1536-height":488,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","2048x2048-width":361,"2048x2048-height":488,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","post_full_size-width":361,"post_full_size-height":488,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-311x420.jpg","home_baner-width":311,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"792","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"More allegories and parables\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Our<\/span> chapter<\/span><\/a> begins with a characterization of the speakers as flowers: \u201cI am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys. Like a lily among thorns, so is my darling among the maidens\u201d. Biblical scholars have debated the botanical identity of the so-called \u201cRose of Sharon \u2013 <\/span>Havatzelet Ha-Sharon<\/span><\/em>\u201d, while the \u201cLily of the Valleys\u201d shoshanat ha'amakim,\u00a0<\/em>is specifically<\/span> identified<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The extensive interpretation of Song of Songs in<\/span> Shir Ha-Shirim Rabbah<\/span><\/a>, noting that the speaker identifies herself as both a \u201cRose \u2013 <\/span>Havatzelet<\/span><\/em>\u201d and as a \u201cLily \u2013 <\/span>Shoshanah<\/span><\/em>\u201d, comments that these are simply two names for the same flower, called a \u201crose\u201d when it is young, but a \u201clily\u201d when it matures.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This midrashic text goes on to interpret the Scriptural image of the beloved as being \u201cLike a lily among the thorns.\u201d Just as a \"lily among the thorns\" is difficult to find and pick, so the redemption of Israel from among the idolatrous Egyptians was difficult for the Holy One.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The image of the \u201clily among the thorns\u201d is then interpreted by means of a parable. This may be compared to a king who had an orchard planted with one row of fig trees, one of vines, one of pomegranates, and one of apples. He entrusted the orchard to a tenant and went away. After a time, the king came and looked in at the orchard to see what it had yielded. He found it full of \"thorns\". So, he brought woodcutters to uproot the orchard. But when he looked more closely at the thorns, he noticed among them a single \"lily\u201d and his spirits calmed down. The king saved the whole orchard for the sake of this one lily.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Similarly, God created the whole world only for the sake of the Torah. But, after 26 generations, by the time of the<\/span> Generation of the Flood<\/span><\/a>, He found His world full of idolaters and He thought to destroy the world by a great deluge. But, God saw a single \"lily\u201d -- Israel. So, God offered them the Ten Commandments. He relented from destroying the world when Israel said:<\/span> \"We will do and we will hear\"<\/span><\/a> (Exodus 24:7)\". In effect, God said that the orchard of the world shall be saved on account of this one flower -- Israel. For the sake of the Torah and for the sake of Israel the world shall be saved.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Midrash Tanhuma Vayechi 7<\/span><\/a> states that the prayer leader (<\/span>sheliach tzibbur<\/span><\/em>) should not respond \u201cAmen\u201d to the priests reciting the Priestly Blessing to avoid his becoming confused and having difficulty in returning to finish leading the Prayer (see<\/span> see Talmud Bavli Berakhot 34a<\/span><\/a>). That the Prayer Leader is not subordinated even to the Priests also demonstrates how precious the one who leads the congregation in prayer is to God.\u00a0 Rabbi Hanan adds that when a <\/span>minyan<\/span><\/i> of ten enters a synagogue, the one who leads them in reciting the blessings leading up to the <\/span>Shema<\/span><\/em> is called \u201ca lily among the thorns.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: \u201cLily Among The Thorns\u201d by Paula Tobenfeld, courtesy of the artist<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":95655,"alt":"","title":"SoS2-Paula Tobenfeld - lily among the thorns","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/SoS2-Paula-Tobenfeld-lily-among-the-thorns.jpg","width":823,"height":1134,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/SoS2-Paula-Tobenfeld-lily-among-the-thorns-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/SoS2-Paula-Tobenfeld-lily-among-the-thorns-218x300.jpg","medium-width":218,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/SoS2-Paula-Tobenfeld-lily-among-the-thorns-743x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":743,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/SoS2-Paula-Tobenfeld-lily-among-the-thorns-743x1024.jpg","large-width":743,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/SoS2-Paula-Tobenfeld-lily-among-the-thorns.jpg","1536x1536-width":823,"1536x1536-height":1134,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/SoS2-Paula-Tobenfeld-lily-among-the-thorns.jpg","2048x2048-width":823,"2048x2048-height":1134,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/SoS2-Paula-Tobenfeld-lily-among-the-thorns.jpg","post_full_size-width":823,"post_full_size-height":1134,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/SoS2-Paula-Tobenfeld-lily-among-the-thorns-305x420.jpg","home_baner-width":305,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"The Rose Of Sharon And The Lily Among Thorns","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"More allegories and parables","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":95655,"alt":"","title":"SoS2-Paula Tobenfeld - lily among the thorns","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/SoS2-Paula-Tobenfeld-lily-among-the-thorns.jpg","width":823,"height":1134,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/SoS2-Paula-Tobenfeld-lily-among-the-thorns-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/SoS2-Paula-Tobenfeld-lily-among-the-thorns-218x300.jpg","medium-width":218,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/SoS2-Paula-Tobenfeld-lily-among-the-thorns-743x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":743,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/SoS2-Paula-Tobenfeld-lily-among-the-thorns-743x1024.jpg","large-width":743,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/SoS2-Paula-Tobenfeld-lily-among-the-thorns.jpg","1536x1536-width":823,"1536x1536-height":1134,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/SoS2-Paula-Tobenfeld-lily-among-the-thorns.jpg","2048x2048-width":823,"2048x2048-height":1134,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/SoS2-Paula-Tobenfeld-lily-among-the-thorns.jpg","post_full_size-width":823,"post_full_size-height":1134,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/SoS2-Paula-Tobenfeld-lily-among-the-thorns-305x420.jpg","home_baner-width":305,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Writings","book":"Song of Songs","chapter":"2","chapter_main_number":"792","date":"20280911","wall_id":"792"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":7,"id":"95660","color":"#e8ecf6","size":"1","name":"The Four Oaths Of Jewish History ","post_title":"The Four Oaths Of Jewish History","slug":"the-four-oaths-of-jewish-history","old_id":"95660","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":62571,"post_title":"Yaakov Bieler","slug":"yaakov-bieler","old_id":"62571","first_name":"Yaakov ","last_name":"Bieler ","description":"Rabbi Yaakov Bieler has been involved in Jewish education and the synagogue Rabbinate in New York, NY and Silver Spring, MD since being ordained by Yeshiva University in 1974. He has lectured and written extensively on Modern Orthodoxy, and blogs daily at https:\/\/yaakovbieler.wordpress.com ","short_description":"Rabbi Yaakov Bieler has been involved in Jewish education and the synagogue Rabbinate in New York, NY and Silver Spring, MD since being ordained by Yeshiva University. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":62572,"alt":"","title":"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","width":141,"height":180,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler-141x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":141,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","medium-width":141,"medium-height":180,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","medium_large-width":141,"medium_large-height":180,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","large-width":141,"large-height":180,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","1536x1536-width":141,"1536x1536-height":180,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","2048x2048-width":141,"2048x2048-height":180,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","post_full_size-width":141,"post_full_size-height":180,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","home_baner-width":141,"home_baner-height":180}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"792","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"I adjure you, O maidens of Jerusalem!\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

The words of the Song of Songs are full of ambiguity and symbolism, as befits a poem, which the Netziv (R. Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin; \"Introduction to Genesis\") describes as<\/span><\/p>\r\n

not as clear as a prose story, and it therefore is necessary to attach comments, i.e., this verse is referring to a particular story, and that verse is referring to that one. This is not homiletics, but rather the very nature of a poem, even when composed by an ordinary individual\u2026<\/span><\/p>\r\n

While such an approach would be appropriate for virtually each of the verses of the Song of Songs, one verb in particular is repeated four times throughout the book, and consequently invites extra scrutiny: \u201c<\/span>Hishbati etchem<\/span><\/em>\u201d \u201cI adjure you,\u201d O maidens of Jerusalem\u2026\u201d (2:7; 3:5; 5:8; 8:4).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In the Midrash (Pesikta Zutrata on Song of Songs 2:7,) R Chelbo states that there are four oaths alluded to here - four different points regarding Jewish history down through the ages are being made:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    \r\n\t
  1. That the Jews will not rebel against God\u2019s Kingship;<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  2. That the Jews will not attempt to bring on the \u201cRedemption\u201d before the its time;<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  3. That the non-Jewish nations they will not unduly cause hardship to the Jews (<\/span>for<\/span> if they do, they will be causing the \u201cRedemption\u201d of the Jews to take place prematurely since God has repeatedly pledged never to abandon His People<\/span><\/em>); and<\/span><\/li>\r\n\t
  4. That the Jews will not reveal their \u201csecrets\u201d to the nations of the world.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n

    While R. Chelbo attempts to clarify the meaning of these verses in the Song of Songs, he does so in an eminently ambiguous manner. What constitutes \u201crebelling against God\u2019s Kingdom\u201d? How are the Jews to avoid \u201cspeeding up\u201d their \u201cRedemption\u201d? What is \u201cundue hardship\u201d? And which \u201cmysteries\u201d are not to be shared with non-Jews?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    In an attempt to further explain R. Chelbo\u2019s ideas, some have posited that these verses have Zionist implications, with the Jewish people being initially required to accept their Exile from the Jewish homeland as a Divine Punishment; however, a condition for this acquiescence is that the nations among whom they settle are expected not to \u201coverly\u201d oppress them. The timing of the establishment of the State of Israel shortly after the European Holocaust, is interpreted by some that since oath #3 was blatantly violated, oaths #1 and 2 became abrogated as well.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Relying on the Bible to provide a gloss on current events, (<\/span>see Ketubot 111a<\/span><\/i>) is both reassuring and disconcerting. The fact that the Bible is a text that contains truisms for all times reinforces the high esteem with which it has been held in Western history. Yet, recognizing that at least some of these derivations are drawn from statements extremely lacking in clarity, implies that virtually whatever one wishes to demonstrate, proof-texts can be cited from the Bible.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Image: The Beloved ('The Bride') 1865-6 Dante Gabriel Rossetti 1828-1882 \/ wikimedia<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":95661,"alt":"","title":"sos2-benot yerushalayim - Dante Rossetti","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos2-benot-yerushalayim-Dante-Rossetti.jpg","width":800,"height":934,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos2-benot-yerushalayim-Dante-Rossetti-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos2-benot-yerushalayim-Dante-Rossetti-257x300.jpg","medium-width":257,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos2-benot-yerushalayim-Dante-Rossetti-768x897.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":897,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos2-benot-yerushalayim-Dante-Rossetti.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":934,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos2-benot-yerushalayim-Dante-Rossetti.jpg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":934,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos2-benot-yerushalayim-Dante-Rossetti.jpg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":934,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos2-benot-yerushalayim-Dante-Rossetti.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":934,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos2-benot-yerushalayim-Dante-Rossetti-360x420.jpg","home_baner-width":360,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"The Four Oaths Of Jewish History","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"I adjure you, O maidens of Jerusalem!","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":95661,"alt":"","title":"sos2-benot yerushalayim - Dante Rossetti","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos2-benot-yerushalayim-Dante-Rossetti.jpg","width":800,"height":934,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos2-benot-yerushalayim-Dante-Rossetti-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos2-benot-yerushalayim-Dante-Rossetti-257x300.jpg","medium-width":257,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos2-benot-yerushalayim-Dante-Rossetti-768x897.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":897,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos2-benot-yerushalayim-Dante-Rossetti.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":934,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos2-benot-yerushalayim-Dante-Rossetti.jpg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":934,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos2-benot-yerushalayim-Dante-Rossetti.jpg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":934,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos2-benot-yerushalayim-Dante-Rossetti.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":934,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/sos2-benot-yerushalayim-Dante-Rossetti-360x420.jpg","home_baner-width":360,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Writings","book":"Song of Songs","chapter":"2","chapter_main_number":"792","date":"20280911","wall_id":"792"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":8,"id":"95657","color":"#effaea","size":"1","name":"Peeking Through The Lattice ","post_title":"Peeking Through The Lattice","slug":"peeking-through-the-lattice","old_id":"95657","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":46656,"post_title":"Molly Morris","slug":"molly-morris","old_id":"46656","first_name":"Molly ","last_name":"Morris ","description":"Molly Morris holds a Masters degree in Leadership and Community Engagement. Her particular area of interest is biblical leadership. Molly participates in the 929 initiative with a dedicated group from the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto congregation. \r\n\r\n","short_description":"Molly Morris holds a Masters degree in Leadership and Community Engagement. Molly participates in the 929 initiative with a dedicated group from the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto congregation. \r\n\r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":92561,"alt":"","title":"molly morris","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris.jpg","width":2192,"height":2488,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-264x300.jpg","medium-width":264,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-768x872.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":872,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-902x1024.jpg","large-width":902,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris.jpg","1536x1536-width":1353,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris.jpg","2048x2048-width":1804,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-1057x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1057,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/molly-morris-370x420.jpg","home_baner-width":370,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"792","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"God is watching, like a loving parent, ready to come forward\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

    One of the things I loved to do when my children were little was surreptitiously watch them when they didn\u2019t realize I was looking. Occasionally I might catch them doing something they thought they\u2019d get away with if no one saw, but more often those covert glimpses filled my heart with joy and occasionally provided a new insight into their character.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    There is a beautiful passage in the Song of Songs, 2:9, that evoked that memory for me. \u201cI thought I was alone, but He (God) was standing behind our wall, looking through the windows, peering through the lattice.\u201d Similar imagery appears in Deuteronomy 4:29: \u201cIf from there you seek your God you shall find Him. He looks through the windows.\u201d And in Psalms 14:2: \u201cHe gazes from the lattices of heaven to see if there is one who seeks God.\u201d\u00a0 Our sages comment that this imagery is not so much about God spying on us, as it is a description of the close relationship between God and His people. God is always watching. Though He largely remains behind the window, He is ready to come forward when we seek Him out.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Rabbi Daniel Travis, Rosh Kollel of Kollel Toras Chaim writes on torah.org that the word used for \u201cthe windows\u201d in this passage \u2013 <\/span>ha\u2019chalonot<\/em> <\/span>\u2013 could also be translated as \u201cfive windows\u201d if we take the prefix \u201c<\/span>hey<\/span><\/em>\u201d not as \u201cthe\u201d but as it\u2019s numerical value of \u201cfive.\u201d The five windows referred to here correspond to the spaces between the fingers of the kohanim \u2013 the priests - when they bless a congregation. The Midrash draws on this same idea, rendering \u201cbehind our wall\u201d to mean the walls of synagogues and study-houses; \u201cthe windows\u201d to be the space between the shoulders of the kohanim as they stand together to bless the congregation; and \u201cthrough the lattices\u201d to be the space between the outspread fingers of the kohanim as they recite the priestly blessing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    In the verse following the reference to looking through windows, we read, \u201cmy Beloved (God) called out to me.\u201d Although the text provides the specific call \u2013 \u201cArise My love, My fair one, and go forth.\u201d, the Midrash suggests that God\u2019s call continued with the passage beginning in Numbers 6:24, the same words that continue to form the priestly blessing today. \u201cMay God bless you and safeguard you \u2013 <\/span>Yivarechecha Hashem v\u2019Yishmerecha<\/span><\/em>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Whether the Song of Songs is understood as a love song between two lovers or a love song between the Jewish people and God, the idea that the partner who loves you the most is ever-present, waiting to be with you, to safeguard you, and to be needed by you resonates powerfully with our relationship ideals.\u00a0 And the image of God peeking through the windows inspires me to make those glimpses as joyous as my children did for me.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Image: Egon Tschirch, \u201cSong of Songs no 10,\u201d 1923 \/ wikimedia<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":95658,"alt":"","title":"sos2-lattice 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After spending her gap year in Migdal Oz, she will attend Barnard College. ","short_description":"Hannah Vorchheimer is a senior at SAR High School. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":54991,"alt":"","title":"Hannah Vorchheimer","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Hannah-Vorchheimer.jpeg","width":480,"height":480,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Hannah-Vorchheimer-150x150.jpeg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Hannah-Vorchheimer-300x300.jpeg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Hannah-Vorchheimer.jpeg","medium_large-width":480,"medium_large-height":480,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Hannah-Vorchheimer.jpeg","large-width":480,"large-height":480,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Hannah-Vorchheimer.jpeg","1536x1536-width":480,"1536x1536-height":480,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Hannah-Vorchheimer.jpeg","2048x2048-width":480,"2048x2048-height":480,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Hannah-Vorchheimer.jpeg","post_full_size-width":480,"post_full_size-height":480,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Hannah-Vorchheimer-420x420.jpeg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"794","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Sophisticated wordplay connecting the erotic and religious readings\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

    An abundance of comparisons to natural phenomena graces Song of Songs, from the descriptions of the luscious landscape of Israel, to the flora and fauna found there. While comparing the female lover to a number of natural phenomena, the male beloved exclaims, \u201cyour breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle\u201d (4:5). The context of the word <\/span>tzviyah<\/span><\/em> (gazelle)<\/span> here is unabashedly erotic.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    The plural form of the word <\/span>tzviyah<\/span>, <\/span>tzva'ot<\/span><\/em>, is a recurring motif throughout Song of Songs, whereby on two occasions the lover declares, \u201cI adjure you, O maidens of Jerusalem, By gazelles or by hinds of the field: Do not wake or rouse Love until it please!\u201d (2;7, 3:5). Rabbi Adin Steinzaltz explains that the plural form, <\/span>tzva'ot<\/span><\/em>,<\/span><\/i> is also employed in the Bible as a sacred name of God, \u201c<\/span>Hashem Tzevaot<\/span><\/em>''<\/span><\/i>, (\"hosts\") bringing an unmistakable wordplay that lends itself to a religious undertone within Song of Songs. The two uses of <\/span>tzviyah\/tzva\u2019ot<\/span><\/em> in Song of Songs highlights the tension in having two conflicting themes, both erotic and religious within the same book. The complexity that is part and parcel of the Song is harnessed in the wordplay, allowing the reader to fully immerse themselves in this tension.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

     <\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":92232,"alt":"","title":"pro5-gazelle goat","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro5-gazelle-goat.jpg","width":6170,"height":4035,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro5-gazelle-goat-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro5-gazelle-goat-300x196.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":196,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro5-gazelle-goat-768x502.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":502,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro5-gazelle-goat-1024x670.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":670,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro5-gazelle-goat.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1004,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro5-gazelle-goat.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1339,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro5-gazelle-goat-1200x785.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":785,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro5-gazelle-goat-642x420.jpg","home_baner-width":642,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"God\u2019s Gazelles","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Sophisticated wordplay connecting the erotic and religious readings","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":92232,"alt":"","title":"pro5-gazelle goat","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro5-gazelle-goat.jpg","width":6170,"height":4035,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro5-gazelle-goat-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro5-gazelle-goat-300x196.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":196,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro5-gazelle-goat-768x502.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":502,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro5-gazelle-goat-1024x670.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":670,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro5-gazelle-goat.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1004,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro5-gazelle-goat.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1339,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro5-gazelle-goat-1200x785.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":785,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pro5-gazelle-goat-642x420.jpg","home_baner-width":642,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Writings","book":"Song of Songs","chapter":"4","chapter_main_number":"794","date":"20280913","wall_id":"794"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":10,"id":"95826","color":"#faeed8","size":"1","name":"The Jewish Tightrope ","post_title":"The Jewish Tightrope","slug":"the-jewish-tightrope","old_id":"95826","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":62571,"post_title":"Yaakov Bieler","slug":"yaakov-bieler","old_id":"62571","first_name":"Yaakov ","last_name":"Bieler ","description":"Rabbi Yaakov Bieler has been involved in Jewish education and the synagogue Rabbinate in New York, NY and Silver Spring, MD since being ordained by Yeshiva University in 1974. He has lectured and written extensively on Modern Orthodoxy, and blogs daily at https:\/\/yaakovbieler.wordpress.com ","short_description":"Rabbi Yaakov Bieler has been involved in Jewish education and the synagogue Rabbinate in New York, NY and Silver Spring, MD since being ordained by Yeshiva University. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":62572,"alt":"","title":"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","width":141,"height":180,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler-141x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":141,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","medium-width":141,"medium-height":180,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","medium_large-width":141,"medium_large-height":180,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","large-width":141,"large-height":180,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","1536x1536-width":141,"1536x1536-height":180,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","2048x2048-width":141,"2048x2048-height":180,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","post_full_size-width":141,"post_full_size-height":180,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/yaakov-bieler.jpg","home_baner-width":141,"home_baner-height":180}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"797","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Balancing between eroticism and prudishness\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

    The explicit eroticism of some of the passages in the Song, as exemplified in 7:2-10, strengthened those who wished to keep this book out of the biblical canon (<\/span>see Mishna Yadayim 3:5<\/span><\/i>). What did R. Akiva think about such passages, when he famously opined: \u201c\u2026For the whole world is not as worthy as the day on which the Song of Songs was given to Israel; for all the writings are holy but the Song of Songs is the holy of holies\u2026\u201d (ibid.).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    While he certainly considered such verses as allegory, describing the mutual infatuation of God and Israel for one another, he was far from a \u201cprude\u201d in his personal life, expressing his emotions uninhibitedly, as demonstrated by the following Talmudic anecdote:\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    \u00a0\u2026And Rabbi Akiva too, when he saw the wife of the wicked Turnus Rufus, spat, laughed, and cried. He spat, as she was created from a putrid drop; he laughed, as he foresaw that she was destined to convert and he would marry her; he cried, as this beauty would ultimately be consumed by dirt\u2026 (Avoda Zara 20a).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Akiva apparently appreciated physical beauty, but he also understood that such qualities are merely temporal, and will eventually be obliterated by old age. Judaism is not an ascetic religion: but it is dedicated to avoiding the production of a \u201c<\/span>naval bereshut hatorah<\/em>,<\/span><\/i>\u201d as Nachmanides (on Lev. 19:2) famously put it. That is to say, an abominable individual who is under the impression that he is acting in accordance with Jewish law.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Jews aspire to maintain a healthy balance between sensuality and holiness, a \u201ctightrope\u201d that is not always easy to walk. The Rabbis analogize this particular sort of challenge posed by antithetical opposites in the following source:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    \u2026They likened this to a highway passing between two roads, one of fire, the other of snow. If one inclines this way, he is burnt with fire; (<\/span>while<\/span><\/em>) if he inclines the other way, he is hurt by the snow. What must he do? He must walk in the middle, taking care not to incline this way or that (Tosefta Chagiga 2:5).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    In addition to human beauty, the allure of various flora indigenous to the land of Israel is advanced in the latter verses of Chapter 7 (12-14.) The attractive qualities of the plants and flowers listed are: 1) henna shrubs, 2) vineyards, 3) pomegranates, and 4) mandrakes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    In his commentary on the verse in 7:14, the Netziv (Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin) notes that while mandrakes themselves are inedible, cooking them during the harvest season, releases a powerful aphrodisiac, making the inhalation of the plant\u2019s special perfume comparable to the joy of performing <\/span>mitzvot<\/span><\/i>, that confers upon its practitioners the readiness to receive the Divine Inspiration that continually rains down from Heaven.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":95827,"alt":"","title":"sos7-tightrope","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/sos7-tightrope.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/sos7-tightrope-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/sos7-tightrope-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/sos7-tightrope-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/sos7-tightrope-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/sos7-tightrope.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/sos7-tightrope.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/sos7-tightrope-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/sos7-tightrope-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"The Jewish Tightrope","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Balancing between eroticism and prudishness","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":95827,"alt":"","title":"sos7-tightrope","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/sos7-tightrope.jpg","width":1920,"height":1280,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/sos7-tightrope-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/sos7-tightrope-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/sos7-tightrope-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/sos7-tightrope-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/sos7-tightrope.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/sos7-tightrope.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1280,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/sos7-tightrope-1200x800.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":800,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/sos7-tightrope-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Writings","book":"Song of Songs","chapter":"7","chapter_main_number":"797","date":"20280918","wall_id":"797"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":11,"id":"95854","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"Gardens, Gardens ","post_title":"Gardens, Gardens","slug":"gardens-gardens","old_id":"95854","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":78133,"post_title":"Josh Blechner","slug":"josh-blechner","old_id":"78133","first_name":"Josh ","last_name":"Blechner ","description":"Josh first finished the Tanach during Yeshiva in Mevaseret Zion. He and his daughter studied the Tanach again for her bat mitzvah. Josh has taught many classes on Tanach throughout the years and currently in the New Rochelle 929 group. When not studying for 929, Josh works as an in-house lawyer in New Jersey.","short_description":"Josh has taught many classes on Tanach throughout the years and currently in the New Rochelle 929 group, and is an in-house attorney in New Jersey. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":78134,"alt":"","title":"josh blechner","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","width":276,"height":351,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner-236x300.jpg","medium-width":236,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","medium_large-width":276,"medium_large-height":351,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","large-width":276,"large-height":351,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","1536x1536-width":276,"1536x1536-height":351,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","2048x2048-width":276,"2048x2048-height":351,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","post_full_size-width":276,"post_full_size-height":351,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/josh-blechner.jpg","home_baner-width":276,"home_baner-height":351}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"798","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Watered with love\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

    The book ends with references to the guarded gardens of Solomon. The lovers were also compared to locked and secret gardens in chapter 4. Gardens appear frequently in the Bible. The most famous garden is, of course, the Garden of Eden mentioned in the beginning of Genesis.\u00a0 The major prophets often refer to Gardens as places of beauty that are lost, often referencing the garden of Eden:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    \"Before them the land was like the Garden of Eden, Behind them, a desolate waste: Nothing has escaped them.\" (Joel 2:3)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    \"You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your adornment: Carnelian, chrysolite, and amethyst; Beryl, lapis lazuli, and jasper; Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald; And gold beautifully wrought for you, Mined for you, prepared the day you were created.\" (Ezekiel 28:13)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    \"The LORD will guide you always; He will slake your thirst in parched places And give strength to your bones. You shall be like a watered garden, Like a spring whose waters do not fail.\" (Isaiah 58:11).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    Gardens are also found next to palaces. Ahab famously desires the garden of his neighbor Naboth in I Kings 21, and Queen Jezebel murders Naboth so that Ahab can take ownership. King Manasseh is buried in the palace gardens, and Jeremiah relates that King Zedekiah tried to escape through a royal garden that had a secret passageway, but was eventually captured (Jeremiah 52:7).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

    It is clear from all of these images that in a desert land, the idea of having a garden was something that was unique and special. A place that is saved for the wealthy and royalty. Solomon's frequent reference to gardens in the Song of Songs suggest that the subjects of this epic poem are the equivalent of royalty.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":70685,"alt":"","title":"Jer24-Thomas_Cole_The_Garden_of_Eden","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Jer24-Thomas_Cole_The_Garden_of_Eden.jpg","width":1855,"height":1331,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Jer24-Thomas_Cole_The_Garden_of_Eden-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Jer24-Thomas_Cole_The_Garden_of_Eden-300x215.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":215,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Jer24-Thomas_Cole_The_Garden_of_Eden-768x551.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":551,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Jer24-Thomas_Cole_The_Garden_of_Eden-1024x735.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":735,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Jer24-Thomas_Cole_The_Garden_of_Eden.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1102,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Jer24-Thomas_Cole_The_Garden_of_Eden.jpg","2048x2048-width":1855,"2048x2048-height":1331,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Jer24-Thomas_Cole_The_Garden_of_Eden-1200x861.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":861,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Jer24-Thomas_Cole_The_Garden_of_Eden-585x420.jpg","home_baner-width":585,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Gardens, Gardens","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Watered with love","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":70685,"alt":"","title":"Jer24-Thomas_Cole_The_Garden_of_Eden","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Jer24-Thomas_Cole_The_Garden_of_Eden.jpg","width":1855,"height":1331,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Jer24-Thomas_Cole_The_Garden_of_Eden-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Jer24-Thomas_Cole_The_Garden_of_Eden-300x215.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":215,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Jer24-Thomas_Cole_The_Garden_of_Eden-768x551.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":551,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Jer24-Thomas_Cole_The_Garden_of_Eden-1024x735.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":735,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Jer24-Thomas_Cole_The_Garden_of_Eden.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1102,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Jer24-Thomas_Cole_The_Garden_of_Eden.jpg","2048x2048-width":1855,"2048x2048-height":1331,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Jer24-Thomas_Cole_The_Garden_of_Eden-1200x861.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":861,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Jer24-Thomas_Cole_The_Garden_of_Eden-585x420.jpg","home_baner-width":585,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Writings","book":"Song of Songs","chapter":"8","chapter_main_number":"798","date":"20280919","wall_id":"798"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false}]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall\/95457"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wall"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/wall"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95457"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}