In this lesson, based on the teachings of the Zera Shimshon (Chapter 12), we will examine a verse in Shir HaShirim that portrays the nation rising and shining forth. Through it, we will explore the nature of the future redemption, and the way our Sages explain Hashem's love for Israel through the language of physical love.
מִי־זֹאת הַנִּשְׁקָפָה כְּמוֹ־שָׁחַר יָפָה כַלְּבָנָה בָּרָה כַּחַמָּה אֲיֻמָּה כַּנִּדְגָּלוֹת׃ (ו, י) - "Who is this that looks forth like the dawn, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, awesome as bannered hosts?" (6:10)
Rashi explains: "Who is this that looks forth" - upon us. Looking from a high place down to a low place is called hashkafah (gazing downward), and such is the Beit HaMikdash, which is higher than all lands. "Like the dawn" - growing gradually brighter, bit by bit. So it was with Israel during the Second Temple: at first Zerubavel was governor of Judah, and ultimately the sons of the Chashmonaim became kings.
The term hashkafah always denotes gazing from a high place down to a low place, and here the high place is the Beit HaMikdash, which is higher than all lands. One must understand that this does not refer to geographical elevation: if the measure is altitude above sea level, there are certainly higher places, and Mount Everest is far higher. When our Sages say that the Beit HaMikdash is higher than all lands, that Jerusalem is high, and that Eretz Yisrael is high - the intent is spiritual height. This is why one always "goes up" (makes aliyah) to Eretz Yisrael, even if arriving from a geographically higher place, for it is a spiritual ascent.
Even if we speak in physical terms, this concept can be appreciated. The earth is a sphere, and if one were to ask which place is closest to "up" - there is ostensibly no single answer, since every point on the globe has its own "up." For someone in Australia, what appears downward to us is their "up," while for us, the sky above us is "up." How then can one determine what is truly up and what is down? Scientifically, this cannot be determined, but from a spiritual perspective, it certainly can: it is written that the heavenly Jerusalem is aligned directly opposite the earthly Jerusalem. If you want to know where the ultimate ceiling is, it is above Jerusalem - that is where the heavenly Jerusalem resides. If so, no matter how the earth rotates, the true "up" is always above Jerusalem. Who then is closest to "up," and what is highest? Jerusalem and the Beit HaMikdash, relative to that "up" which is the heavenly Jerusalem. Both explanations are true, and let us return to our subject.
From within the Beit HaMikdash, which is higher than all lands, she "looks forth like the dawn" - the light shines little by little. Come and see how the rise of Israel during the Second Temple era was gradual: at first Zerubavel was "the governor of Judah" - a pechah, meaning a provincial governor rather than a king; a rank akin to a minister or prefect. Ultimately, however, the Chashmonaite descendants, Hyrcanus and Aristobulus, became full-fledged kings. Incidentally, this did not end well for them, for because of the principle "The scepter shall not depart from Judah," as the Ramban explains, they were punished and utterly wiped out - "Whoever says 'I am from the house of the Chashmonaim' is a slave" - Herod annihilated them all because they assumed the monarchy unlawfully.
The commentator explains: even though Rashi interpreted this verse solely regarding the Second Temple era, Shir HaShirim is Holy of Holies and contains a primary allusion to the future redemption. This was even evident in the structure of the Temple itself: at first the Second Temple was quite modest, and later Herod came, expanded and enlarged it, and made it an extraordinary wonder. Therefore, the explanation applies equally to the future Beit HaMikdash, when the glory of Hashem will endure forever and Hashem will rejoice in His works; that redemption will likewise unfold like the dawn that brightens little by little.
This is what the Gemara expounds regarding the "morning star" (Ayelet HaShachar): just as the dawn breaks little by little, so the future redemption will not occur all at once, but rather bit by bit. It will not be like the Exodus from Egypt, about which it is written, "and the night shines like the day" - there the night turned into daylight in an instant, "for the night shone like the solstice of Tammuz," as stated in the Zohar (Parashat Bo, folio 38, and Parashat Vayishlach, folio 170). For our future redemption, however, the light will gradually gleam brighter and brighter until it is fully revealed.
The reason for the difference between them is this: regarding the Exodus from Egypt, it is written, "For in haste you departed from the land of Egypt," whereas regarding the future it is written quite the opposite, "For you shall not depart in haste." What is the difference? At the Exodus from Egypt, they needed to be redeemed in haste because they were steeped in impurity and idolatry and had not yet been purified. It was necessary to shine a great light upon them so that the destructive forces and the accusers would flee - this is the aspect of "night shines like the day," to drive away the accusers and adversaries, as it is written: "When the sun rises, they gather" - and who gathers? "All the beasts of the forest," which are the forces of impurity and the *kelipah*. After the first day of Yom Tov, after they departed, that great light was concealed and the impurity returned to its place, as is known from the writings of the Arizal, *Pri Etz Chaim*, *Sha'ar Chag HaMatzot*, chapter 1.
The Arizal teaches that on the night of Pesach there is a tremendous, immense illumination, and this illumination is subsequently concealed. Then there is the service from Pesach until Atzeret, the festival of Shavuot, to receive that same illumination gradually. That same intensity which we received through a mighty downpouring of influence on the night of Pesach - *Pesach* being an expression of leaping, spiritual attainments achieved by leaps and bounds, not by slow, gradual walking and pacing, but in a single moment, "and Hashem will pass over [*u-fasach*] the doorway" - they merited tremendous illuminations on that night. But afterward the light was hidden away, and in order to attain it, one has fifty days of gradual inner work, until reaching the fiftieth day and reattaining those very illuminations.
Therefore, in the future, when there will be an everlasting redemption, it will be like the dawn that brightens bit by bit, until they are completely purified and the verse is fulfilled in them: "And Hashem shall be an everlasting light for you." On the night of Pesach, the light arrived all at once to rescue them from the destructive forces, and the redemption was in haste so as to take them out quickly lest they remain attached to the damaging forces of Egypt. In the future, however, this will not be the case, and therefore the sunrise will unfold gradually, like the morning star.
To explain the continuation of the verse, "fair as the moon, bright as the sun, awesome as bannered hosts," and to what these correspond, the commentary introduces a Midrash on the verse, "And Chamor spoke with them, saying": With three expressions of endearment the Holy One, blessed be He, endeared Israel - through cleaving (*deveikah*), longing (*chashikah*), and delight (*chafitzah*). Cleaving: "And you who cleave"; longing: "Not because you were more numerous than all peoples did Hashem set His longing upon you"; and delight: "And all the nations shall call you blessed, for you shall be a land of delight." And we learn this from the passage of this wicked man: cleaving - "and his soul cleaved to Dinah"; longing - "my son Shechem longs for your daughter"; and delight - "because he took delight in Jacob's daughter."
The Midrash learns from the episode of Shechem son of Chamor, where we find three expressions of connection, longing, and delight, and draws a parallel to the sublime love with which the Holy One, blessed be He, loves us, since these very expressions are applied to us. Incidentally, it is worth noting that with cleaving the wording is slightly different: regarding longing it says, "Hashem set His longing upon you," whereas regarding cleaving it says, "And you who cleave" - not that He cleaves to you. In truth, however, it is one and the same, for whoever allows another to cleave to him makes the attachment mutual: if I attach A to B and glue them together, B is just as firmly attached to A. And if the Holy One, blessed be He, granted us the opportunity of "And you who cleave to Hashem your God," then by the same measure He cleaves to us, and this reveals His desire for us. For if you want someone to stay away, you tell them, "Do not cling to me" - a person who is not interested keeps you at a distance. Here, on the contrary, "who cleave to Hashem" reflects a mutual attachment; if you are cleaved to Hashem, it is a sign that Hashem cleaves to you.
There, the *Yefe To'ar* raises a difficulty: Why do we need to learn this from here? Do we not know what cleaving, longing, and delight mean when written regarding Israel, that we need to derive them from Shechem? In other words, when you say, "Come and see, just like with Shechem," you are bringing proof - but if you did not give examples from Shechem, would I not understand what longing, delight, and attachment are? These concepts are inherently understood, and there is no need to bring proof for something that is self-evident. This is especially true since the proof adds nothing: you mentioned longing, "Hashem set His longing upon you," and cited "my son Shechem longs"; what did this add? You provided no underlying reason and no explanation, but merely showed that the very same expressions appear regarding him as well.
He further challenged: What connection is there between Hashem's holy love and this vile lust from which we derive it? "Who can produce pure from impure?" What justification is there for linking a lustful, contaminated desire like that of Shechem son of Chamor - "he is a donkey, and the deeds of a donkey are with him" - to the most exalted and sublime concept, the delight and longing of the Holy One, blessed be He, for us? Even if we granted that proofs were necessary, one does not bring proof from something so depraved to something lofty, sublime, holy, and pure. "Who can produce pure from impure" is a verse in Iyov, cited here metaphorically: who seeks to learn something pure from something impure? That is an impure reality, so how can you derive from it a lesson about closeness to Hashem, which is the purest reality?
The *Yefe To'ar* explains the Midrash by citing a teaching that it is impossible to conceptualize spiritual love except by analogy to physical love. Therefore, in order to grasp what Hashem's love for Israel is, it is compared to the love of an upright lover for his beloved: at first he desires her slightly, then he desires her exclusively to the exclusion of all others, and finally he cleaves to her completely, and she is his very life. So it is between us and Hashem. This is why King Solomon, peace be upon him, in Shir HaShirim, compared Israel to the passion of a lover for his beloved. Yet this does not fully resolve the formidable difficulty we raised.
This is, in fact, the foundation of all of Shir HaShirim. Why does Shir HaShirim speak in terms of the love between a beloved and his bride? Because in order to understand the nature of the love that must exist between us and Hashem, examples must be drawn from the realm of physical love. And this stands to reason: when we say of someone that he "loves" - for instance, that a person loves cola or loves burekas - could that possibly represent the love of Hashem? Certainly not. When someone loves cola or burekas, does he "be always intoxicated with its love"? Does he dream day and night of a burekas, singing to it and writing songs in its honor? Such a thing does not exist in love for any mere physical object.
It is not found even in the love of parents for their children. Where do we find a love where a person is practically driven mad by it, an all-consuming love, where love brings him to a state where he could die - as Chazal describe regarding that man about whom it was suggested that he speak with her from behind a fence or else he would die, and Chazal said, "Let him die, but let this not be done"? Only in the love between a man and a woman. The love between man and woman serves as the parable and model for the love and devotion that must exist between us and Hashem, Blessed be He: just as a person is constantly captivated by the love of a woman to whom his heart is devoted, so must be the love between us and Hashem, Blessed be He.
This is what was said: it is impossible to gauge spiritual love except through the physical. There is no way to convey an understanding of what spiritual love is other than through examples from the reality you know in this world, which is the physical love between a lover and his beloved. Notice that it is not even the parable of a father to his son or a mother to her daughter, for even there the love does not involve "butterflies in the heart," nor does one write songs for them or think of them day and night. Of course there is genuine concern and a sincere desire for the children to succeed, but that is not comparable to the love where a person could literally die from lovesickness. This love, this union, was intended to provide us with an example of the love Above.
And for those who know, this is also an allegory for the union of Ze'eir Anpin and Nukva - the aspects of male and female. Ze'eir Anpin represents, as we have mentioned several times, the six extremities, the VAK: Chesed, Gevurah, Tiferet, Netzach, Hod, Yesod; and its union with Nukva represents Malchut, which is the channel of influence, the Shechinah, the divine flow down here below. All acts of love below awaken love Above: when there is an aspect of lower union here, a higher union is aroused Above.
And when there is a higher union, "union" means the pouring out of divine flow - that the shefa descends from the higher realms to the lower realms through a union. The unions of the higher attributes mean connection and transmission from one attribute to another in order to channel the flow down here below. This is the inner dimension of the matter: What has the Holy One, Blessed be He, been doing since He created the world? Matching unions (mezaveg zivugim). The simple understanding is that He arranges marriages; and the deeper, inner understanding, the kabbalists explain, is the union of the higher attributes, the spiritual emanations of the attributes, channeling the shefa from one attribute to another: from Abba to Imma, and from Imma to Ze'eir Anpin, with the union itself being that of Ze'eir Anpin and Nukva. In short, the pathway of union is the pathway through which the flow is poured out, and that is why the concept of union was chosen as a parable to give us insight into these lofty, supernal matters.
"Who is this who looks forth like the dawn" - the looking forth is from the Beit HaMikdash, which is higher than all lands, a spiritual height from which "Above" is measured, for the Heavenly Jerusalem corresponds to the earthly Jerusalem. "Like the dawn" - just as during the Second Temple period the Jewish people ascended gradually, from Zerubavel governor of Judah until the reign of the Hasmoneans, so too will the future redemption be like the break of dawn, step by step and not in haste. At the Exodus from Egypt, a great light was required all at once in order to banish the accusers, and afterwards that light was hidden and impurity returned to its place; but in the future, the light will shine and sparkle until they are completely purified, fulfilling the verse, "and Hashem shall be an everlasting light unto you." And in order for us to be able to grasp at all what the love of Hashem for Israel is, King Solomon depicted it through the love of a groom and bride, for spiritual love cannot be conceived except through the physical - and all acts of love below awaken the union and supernal flow Above.