In this lesson, we will focus on one verse from chapter 7 of Shir HaShirim, in light of the teachings of the author of the Zera Shimshon (Shir HaShirim, Essay 14, page 167). It is a brief essay, yet within it lies a profound principle in the service of Hashem: what is the thing that truly finds favor in the eyes of the Holy One, Blessed is He.
"How Beautiful Are Your Steps in Shoes" - The Beauty of the Pilgrims
מַה־יָּפוּ פְעָמַיִךְ בַּנְּעָלִים בַּת־נָדִיב, חַמּוּקֵי יְרֵכַיִךְ כְּמוֹ חֲלָאִים, מַעֲשֵׂה יְדֵי אָמָּן׃ (ז, ב) - "How beautiful are your steps in shoes, O daughter of nobles! The curves of your thighs are like ornaments, the work of a master craftsman." (7:2)
The Gemara in Sukkah (49b) expounds this verse: "'How beautiful are your steps in shoes, O daughter of nobles' - how beautiful are the steps of Israel when they make the festival pilgrimage (*aliyah laregel*)." "Pa'amayich" is an expression of footsteps, as in "pa'amei Mashiach", which means the footsteps of Mashiach. That is to say, the special splendor of Knesses Yisrael is revealed specifically in the footsteps of the Jewish people ascending for the pilgrimage, and they are called "daughter of nobles" (*bat nadiv*) - the daughter of Avraham Avinu, as Chazal expound.
A Proof from the Laws of Erev Pesach and Chol HaMoed
The author of the Zera Shimshon brings a proof to this matter from the Gemara in the fourth chapter of Pesachim: Rabbi Yose bar Yehudah says, "even the leatherworkers." We have a halachic rule that work is not performed on Erev Pesach, yet three types of craftsmen were granted, as it were, a "work permit" even on Erev Pesach, and one of them is leatherworkers - the cobblers who make straps and shoes. And why? Because in those days, people made the pilgrimage literally on foot: there were no cars or buses, but they walked on their feet wearing their shoes, and the shoes would tear and require repair. Therefore, leatherworkers were permitted to work even on the eve of the festival, in order to repair the footwear of the pilgrims.
And so the Bartenura explains, that since pilgrims repair their footwear on Chol HaMoed - they permitted them to work on Erev Yom Tov, and they permitted them to work even on Chol HaMoed.
The Novel Insight of the Verse
For this reason, says the Zera Shimshon, Scripture comes and states: even though when you make the pilgrimage you are forced to do work on Chol HaMoed to repair your shoes - this is the novel insight (*chiddush*). For one might have thought: if the pilgrimage entails the necessity of work, as a result of which the labor of leatherworkers is permitted on the eve of the festival and on Chol HaMoed, perhaps this pilgrimage is not considered so praiseworthy. To this, Scripture says: despite all this - "How beautiful are your steps." Know that the steps of Israel ascending for the pilgrimage are beautiful, and even though it necessitates the work of the leatherworkers, there is a special splendor in the pilgrimage itself.
What Is Truly Precious in the Eyes of Hashem - The Words of Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach
Having mentioned this verse, let us mention what is related in the name of Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach. Once, a person came to him and shared the difficulties and struggles he was facing, expressing how much he wished all his difficulties would be removed so that he could serve Hashem in ease and tranquility. The Rav cited to him the verse, "How beautiful are your steps in shoes, O daughter of nobles" - how beautiful are the steps of Israel when they make the festival pilgrimage. And he asked him: if we were asked what the pinnacle moment of the pilgrimage is, what would we say?
We would say: behold, they are standing in the Beis HaMikdash, standing crowded together yet prostrating with ample room; hearing the ineffable Name of Hashem emanating from the mouth of the Kohen Gadol after he sanctified himself in awe; seeing the Lechem HaPanim that the Kohanim bring out to show them that it is as fresh and warm on the day it is removed as on the day it was baked; standing in the Beis HaMikdash and perceiving the Shechinah; and seeing the crimson thread that turned white. There is so much to see in the Beis HaMikdash to attain tremendous spiritual elevation and thereby merit great endearment in the eyes of Hashem, may He be blessed.
And nevertheless, when the Holy One, blessed be He, expresses wonder at the beauty of Israel, He does not say, "How beautiful is your gathering in the Beit HaMikdash." Rather, He says: "How beautiful are your steps in sandals." What is precious and valued in the eyes of Hashem is specifically the rugged path, the efforts, and the toil - the fact that a person wore out his shoes on his way to make the pilgrimage. That is the "how beautiful," and that is what finds favor in the eyes of Hashem, may He be blessed.
And from here lies the answer to that questioner: You ask that the Holy One, blessed be He, remove some of your hardships so that you can serve Hashem in peace and tranquility? Yet this is precisely what finds favor in His eyes - the toil, the exertion, and the effort you made for the honor of the Creator, may He be blessed. What is beautiful and pleasing in the eyes of Hashem is "your steps" - the strides and the efforts you invested to arrive, not merely the fact that you arrived and are already basking in the radiance of the Shechinah. "Your steps in sandals" - the effort you put forth to reach the Beit HaMikdash is what is most precious in the eyes of the Creator, may He be blessed.
In summary: "How beautiful are your steps in sandals, O noble daughter" is expounded as referring to the beauty of Israel when they make the pilgrimage. The author of the Zera Shimshon teaches, from the law permitting cobblers to work on Erev Pesach and during Chol HaMoed to repair the pilgrims' shoes, that even though the pilgrimage entails labor and exertion, this is no flaw - on the contrary, "how beautiful are your steps." From this emerges a great principle: The Holy One, blessed be He, does not praise the moment of arrival and standing in the Beit HaMikdash, but rather the footsteps and the torn shoes - the toil, exertion, and effort a person invests for the honor of his Creator. It is precisely grappling with difficulties that constitutes the true beauty in the service of Hashem.