Tetzaveh - the Holiest Song

B"H

Full sources here

Sorry for the delay in posting this - unfortunately our flat had a bit of a meningitis scare over the weekend. This week's blog is therefore for the refuah shleima of Rochel bas Naomi.

Sources: 

1) Midrash Tanchuma on Tetzaveh, Chapter 5

ואתה תצוה. זה שאמר הכתוב, הנך יפה רעיתי הנך יפה (שה"ש ד א). אמר רבי עקיבא, לא היה כל העולם כולו כדאי כיום שניתן בו שיר השירים לישראל, שכל הכתובים קדש ושיר השירים קדש קדשים. אמר רבי אליעזר בן עזריה, משל למה הדבר דומה. למלך שנטל סאה של חטים ונתנה לנחתום ואמר לו, הוצא ממנו כך וכך סולת, כך וכך סובין, כך וכך מורסן, וסלית לי מתוכה גלוסקה אחת יפה מנופה ומעולה. כך כל הכתובים קדש ושיר השירים קדש קדשים... עיניך יונים. אמר רבי יצחק, אמר להם הקדוש ברוך הוא, דוגמא שלך דומה ליונה, מי שמבקש ליקח חטים מחברו, הוא אומר לו הראני דוגמתן, אף אתה דוגמא שלך דומה ליונה. כיצד. כשהיה נח בתבה, מה כתיב שם, וישלח את העורב ויצא יצא (ברא' ח ז), ואחר כך שלח את היונה, ותבא אליו היונה וגו' (שם שם יא). אמר הקדוש ברוך הוא, מה היונה הביאה אורה לעולם, אף אתם שנמשלתם כיונה, הביאו שמן זית והדליקו לפני את הנר, שנאמר, ואתה תצוה ויקחו אליך שמן:

2) Shir Hashirim 1:15-16

  הִנָּךְ יָפָה רַעְיָתִי הִנָּךְ יָפָה עֵינַיִךְ יוֹנִים ..

3) Shemot 30:10

י וְכִפֶּר אַהֲרֹן עַל-קַרְנֹתָיו אַחַת בַּשָּׁנָה  מִדַּם חַטַּאת הַכִּפֻּרִים אַחַת בַּשָּׁנָה יְכַפֵּר עָלָיו לְדֹרֹתֵיכֶם קֹדֶשׁ-קָדָשִׁים הוּא לַיהוָה.

Apology number two - due to the late hour, I am unable to do full justice to the above midrash so the intention was to make a couple of quick points al regel achat (although it seems to have grown...). It's therefore worth reading the whole midrash and not just the heavily abridged version above.

The Midrash Tanchuma often starts building a midrash on a verse from e.g. Nevi'im, Ketuvim which is may or may not be unrelated to the relevant parsha, meanders in interesting ways and then finally relates back to the 'hook' pasuk from the parsha on which the midrash is based. This midrash is a good example, whereby the opening statements regarding Shir HaShirim are in fact related to the closing words of parshat Tetzaveh, while the ending in turn links back to the start of the parsha. While this makes for an interesting circularity, it also allows the midrash to teach us several important aspects of our relationship with G-d and our role in the world. 

The midrash starts off with a verse from Shir HaShirim in which the male lover/G-d addresses the female lover/Israel: hinach yafah ra'yati, hinach yafah, einayich yonim (Indeed you are beautiful, my beloved, indeed you are beautiful, your eyes are like doves)* It then goes on to quote Rabbi Akiva's famous saying that while all of Tanakh is kodesh (holy), Shir HaShirim is kodesh kadashim or 'holy of holies', and repeats this statement after bringing another teaching (this time, of Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah) as proof. 

Where else have we heard this phrase kodesh kadashim? Well, as above it in fact forms the closing words of parshat Tetzaveh in describing the special altar for burning incense placed just outside the parochet separating the aron from the rest of the Mishkan's interior. Of course, we are also more familiar with this phrase used to refer to the space enclosed by the parochet itself, which has an even greater level of sanctity than the rest of the Mishkan/Beit haMikdash and which was therefore entered only on Yom Kippur by the Kohen Gadol. 

By describing Shir HaShirim as kodesh kadashim, Rabbi Akiva is therefore making a bold statement about the importance of Shir HaShirim as a sefer, implicitly elevating it above even the 5 seforim of the Torah itself! However, if we bear in mind the traditional understanding that Shir HaShirim is essentially a love song between G-d and Israel, then not only is Rabbi Akiva's statement more understandable but it also lends a new level of meaning to the Mishkan's status. If Shir HaShirim is the sefer which is kodesh kadashim, then conversely we should also see that part of the Mishkan which is kodesh kadashim as an expression of the special bond between G-d and Israel.**

Let's hold onto that thought while we turn elsewhere...

After giving several different interpretations of the above pasuk from Shir HaShirim***, the midrash culminates with the interpretation of Rabbi Yitzhak who compares Israel to the dove dispatched by Noach following the Flood to test how far the waters had retreated from the earth. Rabbi Yitzhak uses this comparision to interpret the phrase einayich yonim from Shir HaShirim - however the midrash makes a further interpretative link by connecting the olive leaf brought back to Noach by the dove and the olive oil which G-d commands Israel (through the Kohanim) to light the Menorah with in the Mishkan. Crucially, it does so by declaring that, just as the dove 'brought light to the world', so too Israel is commanded to bring light through the Menorah. If we bear in mind the role that the dove plays in parshat Noach by providing a sign of hope and rebirth following the destruction of the previous wicked generations, this teaches us an important lesson about the role Israel is supposed to play in a world slowly progressing towards perfection.

This midrash therefore ties together the parsha and Shir HaShirim in a way which sheds a new light (;-)) on both texts. The status given to Shir HaShirim as the kodesh kadashim reminds us not only that the relationship between G-d and Israel is as close as that between lovers, but that - despite our difficulty in relating to this today - the intricate layout and rituals surrounding the Mishkan and the Kohanim is in fact a manifestation of this deep bond. Yet we are also reminded that this relationship is not just inwards-looking, but that as Jews we are also to follow the path of the dove be a source of 'light' and redemption to the wider world. 

Shavua tov and Purim sameach!

RPT

* A word about Shir HaShirim and allegory/translations. With any literary text (especially verse), there is always a fundamental problem in translation - how does one balance accurately translating the individual words while maintaining the style/verse structure etc. which is an integral part of the original text's literary value? 

Most translations end up compromising between these two opposing forces by not using a 100% literal translation. However, with Shir HaShirim there is a third aspect to this dilemma, which is that even in the original Hebrew the p'shat or 'plain' meaning of the text, while being incredibly beautiful in its own right, is also only a 'surface' beneath which one must dive to understand the deeper allegorical meanings. While a translator of Shir HaShirim has to balance content with form, both the translator and the reader must always be aware that there is more to the text than initially meets the eye. 

Reading Shir HaShirim (whether in Hebrew or English) is therefore inevitably an exercise in interpretation of the p'shat text (which is one reason why I have a massive problem with ArtScroll's 'translation' of Shir HaShirim, but will save that rant for another time....;-) As you can see here, I am reading Shir HaShirim according to the traditional interpretation that this sefer is describing the relationship between G-d and Israel. However, I am resolutely sticking to the Metsudah translation for now...

** It is also worth bearing in mind that, if all of Israel is a goy kadosh, then the Kohanim who have a special status within said goy kadosh could be said to be kodesh kadashim. The Kohanim and the incense service/the Kohen Gadol's special service on Yom Kippur can then be seen as a further manifestation of the G-d/Israel relationship as described in Shir HaShirim. Just a thought...

***which is another danger behind the ArtScroll 'allegorical translation' approach, as it ends up only providing one possible interpretation out of many. But I think you've got the message by now ;-).

**** This takes on even more significance if we bear in mind the opinions that the commandments concerning the Mishkan were given after the sin of the Golden Calf, even though they are recorded in the Torah beforehand.