Introduction: The Second Chapter of the Zera Shimshon
We are studying the second chapter in the work Zera Shimshon on Shir HaShirim - and here it is important to emphasize: this refers to the second chapter in the order of the book Zera Shimshon, not chapter 2 of Shir HaShirim itself. The entire chapter revolves around one major theme: what is the "fragrance" of which Megillat Shir HaShirim speaks, and why do the verses and Midrashim specifically use the terminology of fragrance when speaking of the mitzvot, the Giving of the Torah, and the reward of the righteous in the World to Come?
"Because of the Fragrance of Your Good Oils" - The Mitzvot of the Patriarchs as Fragrances
לְרֵיחַ שְׁמָנֶיךָ טוֹבִים, שֶׁמֶן תּוּרַק שְׁמֶךָ, עַל כֵּן עֲלָמוֹת אֲהֵבוּךָ. (א, ג) - "Because of the fragrance of your good oils, your name is oil poured forth; therefore maidens love you." (1:3)
The commentary cites Midrash Rabbah on the verse: Rabbi Yannai bar Rabbi Shimon says - all the mitzvot that the Patriarchs performed before You were like fragrances; but as for us, "your name is oil poured forth," 248 positive commandments and 365 negative commandments. That is to say: everything that Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov fulfilled was only in the nature of fragrance, whereas we have already merited the oil itself - not merely the fragrance of the oil, but the oil itself, 248 positive commandments and 365 negative commandments.
And the author asks: an explanation is needed - why did he call the mitzvot performed by the Patriarchs "fragrances," phrasing that implies fragrance without taste? Were the mitzvot of the holy Patriarchs not real mitzvot, but merely fragrance without taste, as it were?
Fragrance Without Taste - Mitzvot Without Torah
The author answers: because the Torah had not yet been given to them. And the Midrash states regarding the verse, "The fruit of a splendid tree" - just as the myrtle has fragrance but lacks taste, so too there are those in Israel who possess mitzvot but lack Torah. Here we have an explicit exposition of Chazal: fragrance without taste means mitzvot without Torah. The myrtle symbolizes one who possesses mitzvot but lacks Torah, whereas the date palm is the opposite - taste without fragrance, one who possesses Torah but lacks mitzvot. Thus we learn that fragrance represents mitzvot, and taste represents Torah.
According to this, it is understandable: the holy Patriarchs possessed fragrance, meaning they had mitzvot. Avraham Avinu's two kidneys became like flowing springs from which he knew to fulfill all the mitzvot. However, they did not receive the Torah. The Torah was given only in the year 2448 from the creation of the world, at the time of the Exodus from Egypt. Therefore, the Patriarchs had fragrance but lacked taste - the Torah was not yet in their possession.
Incidentally, among Yemenite Jews, when they wish to ask someone to share a word of Torah, they say to him: "Give taste." This expression is remarkably precise according to what we have seen - taste refers to Torah, and fragrance refers to mitzvot.
Two Additional Questions
And yet an explanation is still needed, the author says: why indeed are the mitzvot called by the name of fragrance? Furthermore, it is difficult - why is the reward of the righteous in the World to Come described specifically through myrrh and spices, through "mountains of pure persimmon oil"? Thus we find in the Gemara regarding that sage who ascended on high and was brought leaves from Gan Eden; they told him that whoever takes from here forfeits his portion in the World to Come, so he removed them and cast them off - and when he returned here, his garment was saturated with that fragrance of Gan Eden. We see that the manifestation of Gan Eden is fragrance. But why?
Let us begin with a straightforward explanation before examining the words of the commentator. Any allegory given to us is necessarily corporeal, and of all the pleasures known to us, the most spiritual pleasure we can speak of is scent. Would we want to be told that there are steaks in Gan Eden? That would be far too physical. Therefore, we are told of something loftier - a pleasure that even we perceive as spiritual, for when a person smells something, he does not feel anything physical entering him. Although scent molecules physically enter his nose, he does not chew them, and it is not a corporeal pleasure. When Chazal wish to express a pleasure of which we have no conception, they bring it closer through the most spiritual pleasure we know - scent. This is also why the Sefirot are referred to as "lights." Could one imagine that there are literal lights Above? Even light is physical, measured in lumens and quantifiable. Rather, it is the most refined thing we know in this world, so the term "lights" is used. It is all meant to bring these concepts closer to our understanding, and Heaven forbid that one should think there is actual scent or actual light Above.
"The Jewish People, Anxious Over Mitzvot, Their Bodies Become Heated"
The Gemara in Masechet Shabbat (chapter 9, 86b) is cited: Rav Pappa raised an inquiry - what is the status of semen of a Jew in the womb of a gentile woman? Is it that the Jewish people, who are anxious over mitzvot, their bodies are heated and it spoils, whereas gentiles, who are not anxious over mitzvot, do not?
The explanation is as follows: Semen imparts ritual impurity, but after three days in a woman's womb it no longer imparts impurity, because from that point on it spoils and is no longer fit for conception; even if she emits it, she does not become ritually impure. Rav Pappa asked: What is the ruling regarding semen in the womb of a gentile woman? Seemingly, what difference should there be? The Gemara answers that there is a difference: the Jewish people, who are constantly anxious and zealous concerning the fulfillment of mitzvot - "their bodies become heated" (chavil gufayehu, from the language of heat and vapor) - their bodies are warm, and on account of this it spoils. Gentiles, however, who are free from the burdens of mitzvot, their bodies are not heated, and therefore it does not spoil as quickly.
Two points are worth noting. First, in our text of the Gemara, the word "and spoils" does not appear; it says only "their bodies become heated." Second, even if our text read "and spoils," the simple meaning would refer to the semen, not to the body. Here, however, we follow the commentator's line of explanation, which understands that "spoils" refers to the body of the Jew - that on account of their anxiety over mitzvot, their bodies heat up and emit a foul odor, and the consequence, naturally, is that the semen spoils as well.
Measure for Measure: Scent in Place of Odor
If so, the commentator explains, the mitzvot cause the bodies of the Jewish people to give off a foul odor due to their anxiety over them, unlike the other nations. The Holy One, blessed be He, rewards them measure for measure by having them emit a fragrant scent - which is why they are called "fragrances." This is the meaning: your body gave off an unpleasant odor here in this world for the sake of the mitzvot, and therefore in the World to Come, the reward of the Jewish people in Gan Eden is a pleasant fragrance, in return for the foul odor brought upon us by the mitzvot because we were anxious and zealous regarding them.
The Poor Man's Bird Offering
We find a similar idea regarding the poor man's bird offering, concerning which the Torah writes, "a fire-offering, a pleasing fragrance," even though there is no odor more repulsive than the smell of burning feathers. For the bird offering was burned upon the Altar with its feathers, and the reason was to spare the poor man embarrassment. Had they plucked the feathers of the turtledoves or young pigeons, nothing would have remained but a tiny body the size of a fist. The poor man sees the rich man's ox stepping gracefully to the slaughterhouse - a massive animal - while he brings something the size of a fist; this causes him great shame. Therefore, the Torah instructed that it be burned with its feathers, and even that the kohen "shall split it by its wings without tearing it apart," so that its spread wings enlarge its appearance and give it a semblance of grandeur.
Yet this was not merely for appearance; it also ensured that everyone would know the poor man had brought a sacrifice. The smell of burning feathers is foul, and when the poor man sacrificed, everyone smelled it. Come and see: the poor man gave his very soul, taking his last few copper coins to purchase turtledoves or young pigeons, yet in the end an unpleasant odor rose from his offering. The Holy One, blessed be He, says to him measure for measure: You did something for My honor that entails an unpleasant smell? To Me, it is considered a pleasing fragrance! This is an example of what we explained - the person who is zealous over mitzvot causes his body to spoil, and in return, the Holy One, blessed be He, grants him the fragrance of spices in Gan Eden.
The Fragrances at the Giving of the Torah
This is also the reason why, at the time of the Giving of the Torah, as recorded in Shabbat 88b: Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said, what is the meaning of the verse, "His cheeks are like a bed of spices"? With each and every utterance that came forth from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He, the entire world was filled with spices. The "cheeks" are an expression of speech, for when a person speaks his cheeks move, and with each movement of speech a scent of spices arose, filling the entire world with fragrance.
The question is asked: What is the relevance of spices here? On the surface, this seems completely unnecessary. If a massive gathering were held today to greet one's rebbe, attended by hundreds of thousands, no one would dream of scattering spices there, and no one would see any need for it. Why, then, did the Holy One, blessed be He, see fit at the sublime assembly of the Giving of the Torah for the entire world to be filled with fragrance? What was the purpose of this?
Rather, it was certainly to hint to them: even though their bodies will give off an unpleasant odor on account of the mitzvos, the Holy One, blessed be He, says - I am giving you the Torah, and with it, the spices as well, so that you may know that in exchange for that scent, you will receive mountains of spices in the World to Come.
And the Wicked - in Boiling Excrement
And for the wicked who do not observe the mitzvos, the exact opposite will occur: they will have sulfur, fire, and stench in Gehennom, for they will be judged with boiling excrement. And why? Because the wicked person does not observe mitzvos; in his eyes, the mitzvos carry an unpleasant odor, which is not what he seeks - he seeks perfumes and pleasant scents. In contrast to this, Above - Heaven spare us - there is fire, stench, and boiling excrement. One who was willing in this world to be in the state of a "smelly bundle" and foul-smelling for the sake of the mitzvos will receive spices There; while one who sought pleasant scents here and did not fulfill mitzvos will receive boiling excrement There.
On this topic, the Gemara states in Eruvin 21b regarding the verse in Koheles, "and much study is weariness of the flesh": Rav Pappa the son of Rav Acha bar Adda said in the name of Rav Acha bar Ulla: This teaches that whoever scoffs at the words of the Sages is condemned to boiling excrement.
An Insight from the Chasam Sofer
In the citations and sources, a wonderful insight is brought from the Chasam Sofer, delivered in a eulogy for the Gaon Rabbi Wolf Eiger, ztz"l. He explains that just as every food contains waste and excrement, so too in every human discipline of wisdom there is natural waste: a person studies a wisdom, and within it are things that are untrue, imprecise, or not entirely correct - and that is the waste portion. So it is with food: the body absorbs what is needed for its sustenance, and the remainder is excreted as waste.
Words of Torah, however, contain no waste or crookedness whatsoever - they are all clear, the words of the Living God from Him, blessed be He, and there is nothing in them that is considered waste; rather, everything is the Holy of Holies. And one who scoffs at the words of the Sages essentially claims that words of Torah are like all other wisdoms and contain waste. And what is waste? The part expelled from the body, excrement. You believe there is waste in the words of Torah? You will be judged with waste, with boiling excrement.
So too, the holy Zohar states: "There is a place in Gehennom with a level called boiling excrement, and there lies the filth of the souls that defiled themselves with all the defilement of this world" - there is a realm in Gehennom whose level is called boiling excrement, and there is the filth of the souls who defiled themselves in this world with all manner of sins.
We have thus learned: the Jewish people, whose bodies become weary and foul-smelling on account of fulfilling the mitzvos, are the ones who subsequently merit Gan Eden, where there is a pleasant fragrance; whereas the wicked who do not observe mitzvos face the opposite - fire and stench, for they will be judged with boiling excrement.
The Contamination of the Serpent
Another reason is given for why the wicked are judged with boiling excrement: In chapter 22 of tractate Shabbos (daf 147), it is taught - when the serpent came upon Chavah, he injected contamination into her; the Jewish people who stood at Mount Sinai, their contamination ceased. And one who does not observe the mitzvos clings to the contamination of the serpent, and is therefore judged with filth, for from a place of filth he came, and to a place of filth he shall return.
The phrase "from a place of filth it came, and to a place of filth it shall return" is the language of Chazal in the Midrash on the verse: "The sun rises and the sun sets, and glides to its place where it rises; going toward the south and turning toward the north" - and whoever wishes may consult the shiurim on Kohelet, where this verse was explained in several ways. The Midrash says: As for the wicked, as much as their sun rises, it is ultimately destined to set; as much as they grow and prevail, in the end they return to the place of their stench; from a place of filth they came, and to a place of filth they shall go. That is to say: from that defilement cast by the primordial serpent into Chavah, they were never purified, for they do not observe mitzvot, and therefore they return to a place of filth - to the boiling excrement of the judgment of Gehinnom.
"While the King Is at His Table, My Spikenard Yielded Its Fragrance"
עַד שֶׁהַמֶּלֶךְ בִּמְסִבּוֹ, נִרְדִּי נָתַן רֵיחוֹ. (א, יב) - "While the king was at his table, my spikenard yielded its fragrance." (1:12)
With this, we can understand what Chazal said in Shabbat 88b: "Shameful is the bride who commits adultery within her canopy, as it is stated: 'While the king was at his table, my spikenard yielded its fragrance.'" "While the king was at his table" means that the bride is still beneath her wedding canopy - we were still within the forty days of receiving the Torah, and the fire was still burning on the mountain all that time - and already Israel went and made the Golden Calf for themselves. "Nard" is a type of fragrant plant, and "yielded its fragrance" means it gave off a foul odor. And Rav said: Yet love remains with us, for it is written "yielded" and not "stank." That is, Scripture spared us and treated us with kid gloves: it did not say "my spikenard stank," but rather "my spikenard yielded its fragrance." And Rashi explains: "yielded" means abandoned - Israel had a sweet fragrance, having merited to receive the Torah, and they abandoned the fragrance and it departed.
Two Questions of the Rav
The Rav poses a difficulty: Perhaps this was indeed the reality - that it did not stink at all, but rather the nard simply lost its fragrance and no longer possesses a sweet scent, yet indeed it has no foul odor either! Why would one think that it should have said "it stank," when perhaps it did not stink at all? This is a powerful question: What leads you to assume that in truth there was a stench here, and Scripture merely spared us? Perhaps before Heaven there was only the departure of the pleasant fragrance and nothing more?
And if one asks how such a thing could be said, there are several points of defense. Moshe Rabbeinu, when he came down after the sin of the Golden Calf, pleaded for them, and ascended to Heaven, said: "Atone for Your people Israel whom You brought out of Egypt." And what is the significance of "whom You brought out of Egypt"? Moshe said: Master of the Universe, there is a great point in their defense - this people was in Egypt for two hundred and ten years and learned from their idolatrous practices, and to eradicate that from them in a single day is immensely difficult. Similarly, when Moshe speaks to Aharon, it says: "This people has sinned a great sin" - it does not say avon (iniquity) or pesha (willful rebellion), but chet (sin), which implies an unwitting error. A great error, but an error nonetheless. Thus, there is room to view the matter as an improper deed without being forced to say "it stank."
Furthermore, the Rav asks: Why does the Gemara say, "Yet love remains with us (gavan)"? It should have said "with them (gavayehu)!" You say that Scripture showed affection by phrasing it as "yielded its fragrance" rather than "stank" - but to whom is this directed? It should have said, "Yet love remains with them," referring to that generation that sinned with the Golden Calf, whom Scripture did not describe as having stunk.
The First Resolution: The Foul Odor Was Present from the Start
The answer, says the Rav, is that Israel already possessed defilement, and when they stood at Mount Sinai, their defilement ceased, because the spikenard gave off so much sweet fragrance that it overwhelmed the defilement. When the spikenard lost its sweet fragrance, the defilement naturally returned to its place, and Scripture could have rightly said "it stank"; it is therefore certain that love remains with us.
This is truly magnificent. When we asked, "From where do we know there was a stench; perhaps they merely lost the good fragrance?", the Rav answers: You must understand that the foul odor existed from the outset. For the serpent cast defilement into Chavah, which means the foul odor is built into us from the start. And what did the Holy One, blessed be He, do when He brought spices at the Giving of the Torah? He added a sweet fragrance that nullified the foul odor, causing that foul odor to be neither noticeable nor felt. Consequently, the moment "my spikenard yielded its fragrance" - meaning the sweet fragrance departed - the inevitable result was that a foul odor remained. This was not a newly created stench; we were born with this foul odor, stemming from that defilement cast by the serpent. We received the Torah and a sweet fragrance was bestowed upon us; we made the Golden Calf and the sweet fragrance was removed - and inevitably, the foul odor returned. Why then was it not written "my spikenard stank"? Because the Holy One, blessed be He, as it were, spared us and used gentle language, writing only that it abandoned its sweet fragrance. This is the meaning of "love remains with us."
What Returned and What Did Not Return
The Rav continues: Rather, it is certainly an expression of affection toward us (chavivuta hi gavan), for even though the spikenard gave up its scent - meaning that the evil inclination and mortality returned to their place, since through the sin of the Golden Calf they lost the freedom they originally possessed - nevertheless, the spiritual pollution (zohama) did not return to its original place.
We have spoken of this several times: when the Jewish people arrived to receive the Torah, their state was like that of Adam HaRishon before the sin. They became more spiritual, gaining freedom from the evil inclination - as the Sages taught on the phrase "engraved upon the tablets" (charut al haluchot), "Do not read charut (engraved), but rather cheirut (freedom)" - and they were not even destined to die, for they had returned to the state of Adam HaRishon in Gan Eden, where death did not exist. This is what is written, "I said, you are godlike beings, and all of you sons of the Most High" - like angels; but after the sin of the Calf, "Yet like Adam you shall die, and fall like one of the princes": like Adam HaRishon you shall die, for mortality returned to you just as it entered him; "and fall like one of the princes" - from the lofty height at which you stood, you fell back down to your previous, lower stature.
This is also what we explained: when Satan came to entice them, the Midrash says he was outside of them, showing them Moshe's bier floating in the air. Why outside of them? Because such was the reality of Adam HaRishon in Gan Eden: he was so refined that Satan was external to him, coming to him as a distinct entity to incite him to sin. Today, however, there is no need for that - the yetzer hara is built into every single person. For the Tree of Knowledge is called "the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil" - and da'at (knowledge) signifies connection and blending. Through that tree, good and evil became fused within man himself, so that every human action is a mixture of good and evil, and it is exceedingly difficult for a person to perform an entirely pure act. Once Israel received the Torah, that internal evil departed, and once again Satan could only approach from without, as with Adam HaRishon. But after the sin of the Calf, they lost the freedom they had initially gained, and the yetzer hara and death regained dominion over them.
And even so, says the Rav, the spiritual pollution did not return to its original place - meaning, not to the same degree as before. In simple terms: there was a severe pollution, and what remained was a mild pollution. The primordial serpent's pollution was immense; at the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai it ceased entirely; and after the Calf it returned only partially. On the question itself of whether their pollution returned or not, there is an extensive discussion, and various opinions are cited in the sources - yet according to the Rav's understanding, the pollution did not return to its prior severity.
"Toward Us" and Not "Toward Them"
Here the Rav resolves the second question: it is an expression of affection toward us (gavan) and not toward them (gavayeihu), for they were the ones who sinned, and by right the pollution should have returned to them as before. Toward them there is no special affection here, since they personally made the Calf and it was fitting that their pollution should return to its original state. Rather, because all the souls of Israel were present at Mount Sinai, as well as the souls of all future converts, as our Sages of blessed memory taught, the pollution ceased from all of them - and subsequent generations did not sin with the Calf during those forty days, and therefore it did not return to them at all. This is why the Holy One, blessed be He, desired that the world be filled with fragrant spices at the giving of the Torah, for His intention was to nullify the serpent's pollution entirely.
Regarding the souls of converts that were present at Mount Sinai, the Vilna Gaon (Gra) explains: when the Holy One, blessed be He, offered the Torah to the nations of the world, there were undoubtedly individuals among the nations who did agree to accept it, even though the nations as a whole asked, "What is written in it?" and refused. Those unique individuals are the souls of converts who were present at Mount Sinai, whom the Holy One, blessed be He, joined to Israel, and throughout the generations they come forward and convert.
Thus we find: specifically to them, the perpetrators of the sin who made the Calf, their pollution returned as before; but to us it did not return at all, and therefore "it is an expression of affection toward us" (chavivuta hi gavan). With this, the Rav resolves both questions: both the purpose of the spices at Mount Sinai - to remove the pollution from us - and why the Gemara specifies "toward us" (gavan) - because only from us was it permanently removed, whereas to the sinners themselves it returned.
Another Resolution: Its Scent Is Vinegar and Its Taste Is Wine
The Rav further explains in another way why the verse does not say "it gave off a foul odor" (hisri'ach). For after all, "disgraceful is a bride who is unfaithful under her bridal canopy," and according to what we have explained, it truly did reek - if so, why should it not be written that way? And what did we gain by it not saying "it gave off a foul odor," when in truth they corrupted themselves and the main result was a foul stench?
It appears that we learn in chapter five of Avodah Zarah: if its scent is vinegar and its taste is wine - Abaye says it is considered vinegar, and Rava says it is considered wine. The Gemara discusses wine that begins to turn sour: there is a stage where the smell changes, and a stage where the taste changes as well. The Gemara debates how we define wine whose aroma is like vinegar, but whose taste is still wine. This has practical halachic ramifications wherever wine is required, such as for the blessing of Borei Pri HaGafen. Abaye maintains that we follow the smell, and since its scent is vinegar, it is considered vinegar; Rava maintains that the primary factor is the taste, and since its taste is wine, it is considered wine. Tosafot write there that the halachah follows Rava, that we follow the taste; and regarding wine whose scent is vinegar and whose taste is wine, they cite in the name of Rabbeinu Tam that one may even recite Kiddush over it.
Based on this principle, the Rav explains: we hold that Israel was fundamentally not fit for that deed, and they sinned only to provide a path of repentance for the many. Thus, they are described as "its scent is vinegar" - having made the Calf, "but its taste is wine" - for at their core, they were not fit for that sin. And according to Rava, whose view is the accepted halachah, it is considered wine.
How wondrous this is: Chazal say that the Jewish people were not fit for that deed (the Golden Calf), and they only did it to show a path of teshuvah for the multitude - so that all would see that just as a multitude sinned and their repentance was accepted, so too if a multitude sins in the future and repents, their repentance will be accepted. It turns out that outwardly there was sin and iniquity here, but inwardly there was a good intention. And how do we define this? "Its smell is vinegar and its taste is wine": outwardly it exudes the smell of vinegar and looks terrible - making a calf; but when you taste it inwardly, it is wine. (We will not delve here into the question of whether it is permissible to commit a sin in order to teach the path of teshuvah, or whether this implies that Dovid HaMelech sinned willfully in order to instruct an individual in teshuvah - this has been discussed at length in Rav Dessler's Michtav M'Eliyahu, and whoever wishes may consult it there.)
According to this, it is well understood why Scripture spared them and did not say "stank": because they did not spoil in their taste, but only in their smell. The taste did not spoil - the taste was still wine, and only the smell was negative. Indeed, Scripture could have written "stank" on account of the smell, but since the inwardness was good, it did not write so. Moreover, as explained, smell has no essential legal substance - this is a known principle in the laws of mixtures, "reiḥa lav milta hi" (an aroma is of no legal consequence). Consequently, what matters to us is what matters according to Halachah, which is the taste - and the taste of Israel was the taste of wine.
And regarding this the verse says "gave forth" (natan), since they did it only to teach teshuvah to the future generations, and therefore it is an expression of affection toward us ("chavivuta hi gavan"). Thus, the future generations are beloved before the Holy One, Blessed be He, and He therefore credited favorably the intention of the generation of the wilderness to teach the multitude the path of teshuvah. That is to say: since our stature is so precious in Hashem's eyes, the Holy One, Blessed be He, saw a meritorious deed in the actions of the people of the Golden Calf who acted in order to teach us teshuvah - for we are important enough that it was worthwhile to teach us, worthwhile to undertake actions so that we might learn the ways of repentance. This is "chavivuta hi gavan": that for our sake, the Holy One, Blessed be He, was willing to accept the claim that the Jewish people committed the sin in order to teach us the path of teshuvah - and this in itself demonstrates our stature.
In summary:
We have learned in this chapter that smell is an expression of mitzvot and taste is an expression of Torah, which is why the mitzvot of the Patriarchs were called "fragrances" - mitzvot without Torah. Israel, who toil in the mitzvot, have their bodies worn and malodorous, and in return the Holy One, Blessed be He, rewards them measure for measure with the sweet fragrance of Gan Eden and the mountains of pure persimmon balsam, just as the bird offering of the poor person, whose burning feathers emit a repulsive smell, is nonetheless called "a fire-offering, an aroma pleasing to Hashem." And the wicked, who pursued pleasant aromas in this world and did not fulfill mitzvot, are judged with foul stench and boiling excrement, which is the waste that they attributed to the words of Torah, and it is the contamination of the serpent that was never removed from them. And this is why the world was filled with spices at the Giving of the Torah - to eradicate the serpent's contamination completely. Therefore, "my spikenard gave forth its fragrance" and not "stank": both because among us, the subsequent generations, that contamination never returned at all, and also because only their scent was foul while their taste remained wine, for they were not fit for that deed and only did it to teach the multitude the path of teshuvah - "and it is still an expression of affection toward us."