We begin our study of the work Zera Shimshon on Shir HaShirim. Following the introductory background regarding the author of the Zera Shimshon and the special spiritual benefits associated with studying his works, we now turn to the text itself. It should be noted at the outset that the author of Zera Shimshon does not intend to interpret Shir HaShirim sequentially like traditional commentators such as Rashi or the Malbim. His approach is entirely different: he selects a single Midrash and delves into it, clarifying its meaning and resolving its difficulties. Thus, this is not a conventional commentary running verse by verse through Shir HaShirim, but an in-depth examination of specific midrashic passages. Because most of the midrashim he addresses are drawn from Shir HaShirim, the work is titled a commentary on Shir HaShirim. His division into chapters does not correspond to the chapters of the biblical book; rather, each detailed exposition of a Midrash is designated as an independent chapter.
יִשָּׁקֵנִי מִנְּשִׁיקוֹת פִּיהוּ כִּי־טוֹבִים דֹּדֶיךָ מִיָּיִן׃ (א, ב) - "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for your love is better than wine." (1:2)
On this verse, Midrash Rabbah (Shir HaShirim 1:15) states: Rabbi Yehudah said, when Israel heard "I am Hashem your God," the study of Torah became firmly fixed in their hearts; they would learn and never forget. But once they approached Moshe and said, "Speak you with us, and we will hear," they reverted to learning and forgetting.
The Midrash teaches that when Israel heard the first commandment, the Torah was engraved directly upon their hearts, and whatever a person learned was never forgotten. However, they were unable to endure the intensity of the Divine voice, so they approached Moshe and said: "Speak you with us, and we will hear" - act as an intermediary, a messenger between us; you hear from Hashem and convey it to us. From that point onward, they reverted to learning and forgetting. There was clearly a claim against them here: Why did you not seek to continue hearing directly from Hashem? Consequently, they lost that extraordinary spiritual level. (Rav Dessler discusses this toward the end of the fifth volume of Michtav Me-Eliyahu, in a letter to his son-in-law Rav Gaenzler, but we will leave that aside for now and focus directly on the words of the Zera Shimshon.)
The author observes: It appears from this Midrash that forgetfulness resulted from the request, "Speak you with us." Yet this seems to contradict the Gemara in Eruvin (54a): Rabbi Eliezer said, had the first Luchot not been broken, Torah would never have been forgotten from Israel. According to the Gemara, what caused the forgetfulness of Torah was the breaking of the Luchot; the second Luchot simply lacked the unique retention granted by the first. Yet according to the Midrash, forgetfulness had already been introduced earlier, during the Giving of the Torah itself, immediately after the first two commandments - forty days before Moshe descended with the Luchot, and certainly before they were broken.
A grammatical point is worth noting here. In rabbinic texts, one sometimes finds the phrasing ilmalei nishtabru and sometimes ilmali lo nishtabru. What does the word mean: "if so" or "if not"? Tosafot in Masechet Megillah explain that it depends on the spelling. When spelled with an alef at the end (אילמלא), it means "if not," and there is no need to add the word lo. When spelled with a yud (אילמלי), it means "if so," and one must add lo: "Had the first Luchot not been broken, Torah would never have been forgotten from Israel." While this distinction is not applied consistently in every printed text, it is the general rule formulated by Tosafot.
The author resolves the contradiction: "It appears we may answer that both stand" - both statements are true. As a general principle, the Maharal taught that there are no fundamental disputes in Aggadah. Even in Halachah, disagreements reflect different facets of the same Torah, and in Aggadah there is certainly no contradiction: when one source states one perspective and another source states another, both are true; they are complementary rather than mutually exclusive. The author applies this principle here as well.
The author cites the work Asarah Ma'amarot (Part 2, Chikur Din, chapter 17): When the Jewish people said to Moshe, "Speak with us yourself, and we will hear," from that time on, in order that they would not forget the Torah, the Torah was given to be inscribed upon stone tablets, to remove the heart of stone. Thus, forgetfulness entered the world because they said to Moshe, "Speak with us yourself"; however, a remedy was provided for them through the Tablets. Later, when Moshe broke the Tablets, forgetfulness remained without any remedy.
There is a very profound insight here: there were distinct stages. In the first stage, during the first two Commandments, the Torah was implanted in their hearts never to be forgotten. Once they said, "Speak with us yourself, and we will hear," they "earned" forgetfulness, for they did not wish to hear directly from the mouth of Hashem. Afterwards, the Holy One, blessed be He, gave the Torah engraved upon stone tablets, which signified that it should be engraved upon their hearts, and forgetfulness was nullified. Finally, when Moshe saw the golden calf and broke the Tablets, forgetfulness returned, and with the second Tablets the Torah was already subject to being forgotten. (And the reader is referred to his further remarks in Parashat Va'etchanan on the verse, "and He gave them to you, the tablets of stone.")
And because forgetfulness had entered the world, the Holy One, blessed be He, needed to add Torah for them, as stated in the Midrash on the verse, "And I looked, and behold, you had sinned against Hashem your God": Moshe began to grieve over having broken the Tablets. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: Do not grieve; in the first ones there were only the Ten Commandments, but in the second ones I am giving Mikra (Scripture) and Mishnah. In the first Tablets there were only the Ten Commandments, but now, following the introduction of forgetfulness, Mikra and Mishnah were given to us as separate entities.
It is explained that all of Nevi'im, Ketuvim, Mishnah, and Gemara were hinted at within the Tablets, and the Torah was written upon the heart of every single individual. This is what is written in Yirmeyahu: "I have placed My Torah within them, and upon their hearts I will write it." They did not need to study the Torah laboriously, for they were all like Avraham Avinu, whose two kidneys became like two rabbis and welled forth wisdom - knowledge from within him, not from the mouth of an external teacher. The Five Books of the Torah were sufficient for them to know all the laws and mitzvot, and they would not be forgotten, and they understood all the hints embedded in the Tablets. "Mikra" in the Midrash does not refer merely to the Torah itself, but also to Nevi'im and Ketuvim, as the author explains.
However, after they sinned, the springs of wisdom were hidden from them, and furthermore the Tablets were broken, and all the hidden and concealed treasure was lost. Moshe therefore began to grieve: Perhaps the Holy One, blessed be He, will no longer reveal to Israel all the mysteries of wisdom that were in the first Tablets, and even if He does reveal them, perhaps Heaven forbid they will be forgotten by them, since forgetfulness has entered the world. And indeed, it is said that what we have received from the sages of earlier generations is like a dog lapping from the sea, like an applicator brush dipped in a tube. Avraham Avinu had four hundred chapters in tractate Avodah Zarah, and how many do we have today? Five chapters. A substantial portion of the Torah was lost as a result of forgetfulness, and this was also the reason for "It is a time to act for Hashem; they have voided Your Torah" and Rebbe's decision to commit the Oral Torah to writing, seeing that hearts were diminishing and people were forgetting the Torah.
The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: Do not grieve, for I will give them Mikra and Mishnah - that is, all the Torah that was hinted at in the first Tablets. And even though it will be forgotten by them, nevertheless they will be able to review and study it, and ultimately it will endure in their possession. They will suffer no other loss, only the exertion of having to review and study again, and for this exertion itself they will receive reward. Therefore, today we have Scripture, Nevi'im, Ketuvim, and Mishnah explicitly written out and explained, and we do not need to derive them from the hints in the Tablets. The Jewish people did not lose what was concealed in the first Tablets; rather, they must now review and rehearse again and again, and for this too they receive reward.
In a footnote, the author cites his own remarks on Parashat Ki Tisa: "And is not all of this for our benefit? For we say in Midrash Kohelet Rabbah: It is for man's benefit that he learns and forgets. For if he did not forget, he would learn for two or three years and then return and occupy himself with his trade, paying no further attention to Torah." Forgetfulness is a great advantage and benefit: were it not for it, a person would study for several years and know the entire Torah like a computer, instantly retrieving the answer to any question you might ask, and then he would say: Why do I need to study any more? After all, I already know everything.
Incidentally, that would not have exempted us from learning. The Vilna Gaon placed paramount importance in Torah study on one who is capable of reviewing his learning, and if he saw that someone was unable to review his studies many times, he would dismiss him from being his disciple. He once remarked about himself that from the greatness of his love and passion for the Torah, he was capable of studying a single Mishnah for his entire life. Today, a person comes to a shiur, they are asked to review a few lines of Gemara, and he insists: "We already learned that, move on." But what happened to diligence? Among the great Torah luminaries, they reviewed Shas hundreds of times! In this did the Vilna Gaon esteem the study of Torah: How beloved is the Torah to you that you are able to study, review, and rehearse it again and again.
The author observes: If a person remembered everything immediately, who would ever review? It is our good fortune that a person learns and forgets. At the end of a volume of Gemara there is an additional page upon which is written, "Recite this, and it will be effective against forgetfulness." Someone once remarked in jest: A person learns a daf of Gemara - when does he forget it? When he turns to the next page. When he reaches the very last daf, he faces a problem: there is no next page! So they provided him with one more page: "Recite this, and it will be effective against forgetfulness" - let him recite that as well, and he will forget the last daf too, and he is all set!
The Chofetz Chaim shares a wonderful insight: the entire concept of forgetfulness holds sway over a person only in this world, but in the World of Truth, forgetfulness has no dominion. Therefore, a person must never despair over learning and not remembering, for in the World to Come, his Torah will be engraved upon his heart. Everything you learned here will be yours there. However, it is written in the holy books that in the Heavenly Realm they do not teach new things: if you learned the entire Shas here, they will teach you the entire Shas; if you learned only one tractate, they will not teach you the rest. Therefore, a person must encompass as much of the holy Torah as possible, and whatever he does not remember here, in Heaven he will remember completely.
It turns out, as Midrash Kohelet Rabbah states, that forgetfulness is for our benefit, for had a person remembered everything, he would never review his studies. And because he forgets, "he does not budge, does not move, and does not turn away from it" (the word mezi'a comes from movement), and for every session of study and every single reading, the Holy One, blessed be He, designates a reward for us. The Rav of Kiryat Ata once related that he saw someone walking about in rabbinic garb. He asked him: Who is your honor? The man replied: So-and-so, Rabbi So-and-so. The Rav asked him: And where does your honor study? He answered: Study?! I just told you that I am already a rabbi! He thought it was like a university student who finished his degree and was done. Regarding this it is said, "There is also straw, also much (rav) provender" - perhaps this is an eirev rav (mixed multitude), not yet a true Rav! Certainly, a person must constantly and regularly review his learning, and through forgetfulness we merit the fulfillment of "let them always be in your eyes as new," where a person approaches a sugya as if he were learning it for the very first time.
We thus learn that the primary root of forgetfulness entered the world because they said to Moshe, "Speak you with us, and we will hear," and this occurred on the day the Torah was given, on Atzeret (Shavuot). And on account of this forgetfulness, the Holy One, blessed be He, had to give us the Torah, the Prophets (Nevi'im), and the Writings (Ketuvim), and to add the Mishnah for us - all of which were alluded to in the first Luchot that were broken, whereas now we needed to receive each part separately.
With this, the Rav explains, the intent of Rav Yosef in the sixth chapter of Pesachim becomes clear. Rabbi Elazar said: All agree that on Atzeret we also require [a component of] "for yourselves" (lachem); what is the reason? It is the day on which the Torah was given. The Gemara there discusses the festivals: on the one hand it is written that the festival is "for Hashem," and on the other hand that it is "for yourselves." "For yourselves" means physical enjoyment, meat and wine; "for Hashem" means Torah, mitzvot, and pure spirituality. One view holds that it is either entirely for yourselves or entirely for Hashem, without mixing them - either eating and drinking or sitting and reviewing one's learning - and another view holds that it is split, half for yourselves and half for Hashem. But on one holiday all agree that there must also be a portion "for yourselves," and that is the festival of Shavuot, because it is the day on which the Torah was given. Many ask: On the contrary, on the day the Torah was given, it should have been fitting to make it entirely sacred! There are many explanations for this, which were already discussed in the Shavuot lessons; the straightforward reason is that the day the Torah was given is so joyous that Hashem wants us to rejoice on it and feast.
The Gemara continues: On the day of Atzeret, Rav Yosef would prepare for himself an egla tilta - a prime, third-born calf, which is the choicest and most select - and say: "Were it not for this day that caused it, how many Yosefs are there in the marketplace?" - were it not for this day that brought about my greatness in Torah and made me "Rav Yosef," I would just be another Yosef in the marketplace.
The Rav cites a Midrash: Because the first Luchot were given publicly and with great fanfare, as it is written, "And it came to pass on the third day when it was morning, that there were thunders and lightnings," the evil eye held sway over them, and they were broken. The entire world trembled and shook before Him, blessed be He, and anything done publicly is vulnerable to challenge. For those who still remember, not long ago there were two towers in Manhattan that no one who visited could fail to see and marvel at, true twins, yet the eye held sway over them and they were destroyed. We see that even something immense and magnificent can suffer damage if the evil eye affects it, and this is true even of the holy Torah. This was not the case with the second Luchot, which were given modestly and in private, and we did not find that the entire world trembled at their reception.
And in the ninth chapter of Berachot it is stated that Rav Yosef was called "Sinai," which Rashi explains as meaning that he was expert in the Mishnayot and the Baraitot, knowing them as pristine as when they were given at Mount Sinai. There the Gemara also mentions Rabbah, who was an "uprooter of mountains," meaning he possessed great depth and analytical sharpness. It was determined that a "Sinai" takes precedence over an "uprooter of mountains," for an uprooter of mountains needs mountains to uproot, and if he has no mountains, what will he uproot? Whereas a "Sinai" is needed by everyone, as he transmits the Baraita, the Mishnah, and the teachings, from which one can learn and analyze. Nevertheless, it is said that in later generations an uprooter of mountains takes precedence, because today everything is written in books, and each of us is a kind of "Sinai," even if only a small Sinai; the primary virtue lies in understanding what is written, in the one who analyzes and delves deeply.
Therefore, the Zera Shimshon explains, on the day of Atzeret they prepared a third-born calf (egla tilta) for Rav Yosef, alluding to the Torah, Nevi'im, and Ketuvim - "tilta," threefold, the threefold Torah - which were added with the second Luchot along with the Mishnah. And he said: Were it not for this day that caused forgetfulness to enter the world - when they said to Moshe, "Speak you with us, and we will hear," which was provoked by the giving of the Torah on this day with thunder and lightning - what distinction would there have been between Rav Yosef and the other Sages? Here an additional insight emerges: the thunder, the lightning, and the public spectacle led to the evil eye gaining hold and the breaking of the Luchot, and the breaking caused forgetfulness. Now that forgetfulness exists in the world, the strength and stature of Rav Yosef in his mastery of Mishnayot and Baraitot became renowned - everyone else forgets, while he remembers. Had there been no forgetfulness in the world, his greatness would not have stood out, for all would have been equal in wisdom and knowledge. Therefore, Rav Yosef specifically celebrated in this manner and rejoiced on this day.
The Zera Shimshon adds a second explanation, since the first explanation has a slight drawback - it sounds as if Rav Yosef rejoiced over the deficiency of others. Therefore, he says: "Alternatively, one can say here as well that Rav Yosef was not, Heaven forbid, rejoicing that forgetfulness came into the world." Rather, his intention was this: certainly the finalization of the decree of forgetfulness - meaning its culmination and ultimate solidification - occurred at the breaking of the Tablets. And once forgetfulness was decreed, logic would dictate that it is no longer possible for anyone in the world to remember all his learning.
However, the Torah was given on this day, and on that day, the decree of forgetfulness did not yet exist in the world. It is a fundamental principle that whatever exists in the root produces its effects in the branches as well. Since in the root there was a time without forgetfulness, that special quality remained in the world: whoever toils diligently will have his Torah endure in his memory, and forgetfulness was decreed only upon one who does not labor in it adequately. And this is why he said, "Were it not for this day" - were it not for that special day on which forgetfulness held no sway - "how many Yosefs would there be in the marketplace!" and there would be no way that by the power of my labor I would remember the Torah. Thus, there is no joy here over the shortcomings of others, but rather joy that there was a single day on which the Torah existed in a reality free of forgetfulness, and through its power, anyone who immerses himself in the labor of Torah is privileged not to forget.
Now he moves to an additional point: "However, the words of Rabbi Elazar mentioned above still require examination, that all agree that on Atzeret we also require 'for yourselves.' For how can we require 'for yourselves' on Atzeret because the Torah was given on it? On the contrary: on the day they received the Torah, which belongs entirely to the World to Come - for the reward of mitzvot does not exist in this world - it would be proper for that entire day to be dedicated exclusively to Heaven!" The Giving of the Torah represents holiness, detachment from physical materiality and attachment to spirituality, a hidden treasure that preceded the creation of the world, reward in the World to Come - so how is it that precisely on such a day we say that one must also eat and delight the physical body?
He explains: since the ministering angels craved the Torah, and because they cannot perform the mitzvot physically and in action, Moshe merited to prevail over them, as our Sages of blessed memory taught. When Moshe ascended to receive the Torah, the angels immediately asked, "What is one born of woman doing among us?" and refused to let him have the Torah. Moshe was terrified by the breath of their mouths, but the Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: "Hold fast to the Throne of My Glory and give them an answer." Moshe said to them: "Do you have eating and drinking among you? Do you have a father and mother? Did you go down to Egypt? Come and see what is written in the Torah, and you will see that the Torah speaks to human beings!"
It turns out that by virtue of the eating and drinking that we have and they do not, Moshe prevailed over the angels and the Torah was given to us. For this very reason, the Jewish people are obligated to eat on this day. After all, if they did not engage in eating, even the Torah would not have been suitable for them, for many prohibitions were stated in the Torah forbidding the consumption of numerous things, and by this argument alone Moshe defeated the angels. It is forbidden to eat from the produce of the field before separating terumot and ma'asrot; orlah is forbidden; Shemittah produce is restricted; meat with milk is forbidden; and many prohibitions were stated regarding meat. It emerges that matters of food are the very catalyst through which we received the Torah, and therefore we eat on the festival of Shavuot.
With this, he explains the verse: "This is the law of the animal and the bird, and every living creature that moves in the waters, and every creature that swarms on the earth, to distinguish between the unclean and the clean, and between the animal that may be eaten and the animal that may not be eaten." Scripture is telling them: You merited the Torah because eating exists among you, and you can fulfill this distinction. "This is the law [Torah]" - by virtue of what did you merit the Torah? By virtue of the fact that the reality of eating exists for you, and you can distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between forbidden fowl and permitted fowl. For one who does not eat at all, what is there to distinguish? But for one who does eat, distinction is applicable. And most prohibitions in the Torah regarding food concern meat: forbidden fats (chelev) and blood, carcasses (neveilah) and torn animals (treifah), unclean and clean species, ritual slaughter (shechitah), salting, the sciatic nerve (gid hanasheh), slaughtering a mother and its offspring on the same day (oto ve'et beno), sacrificial offerings, and the like.
Before continuing, it is worth noting a principle in the author's writings: one of the things that makes understanding his words challenging is that he - to use modern parlance - changes lanes without signaling. He moves on to another matter without announcing, "And now I come to offer an additional answer," or "And it is further possible to resolve," but rather opens immediately with the explanation, and one must analyze the text carefully to see where he has transitioned.
We began with the study of the Zera Shimshon on Shir HaShirim, whose approach is to delve into Midrashim rather than interpret verse by verse. We examined the Midrash on "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth," that upon hearing "I am [the Lord your God]," the study of Torah became firmly implanted in their hearts and they did not forget, but when they said, "Speak with us yourself," they returned to forgetting. The author resolved the contradiction with the Gemara in Eruvin in the manner of "both statements are true": forgetfulness arrived at "Speak with us yourself," was remedied by the engraved Tablets, and returned with their breaking. Because of forgetfulness, we were given explicit Scripture and Mishnah instead of their being merely hinted at in the Tablets, and through this also came the reward for toil and review. We saw that forgetfulness itself is for our benefit, for through it a person reviews and does not stray from the Torah, so that words of Torah "shall always be in your eyes as new." Through this, Rav Yosef's preparing a third-born calf on Atzeret was explained: in one interpretation, because in a world with forgetfulness, the greatness of "Sinai" is evident; and in the second interpretation, because on the day the Torah was given, forgetfulness did not yet hold sway, and from that root there remained the special quality that whoever toils in Torah will retain it. Finally, we learned why on Atzeret "we also require 'for yourselves'": for it was precisely through the power of eating and drinking that Moshe triumphed over the angels and we merited the Torah, and this is "This is the law of the animal and the bird" - you merited the Torah because eating exists among you, giving you the means to distinguish between the unclean and the clean.