Rabotai (my masters), beshem Hashem, na'aseh venatzliach (we will do and succeed). What a great day it is: Erev Shabbat Shuvah (eve of Shabbat Shuvah), Tashpab. We are starting a new project, following the great project of the sefer haftarot (book of haftarot) that, baruch Hashem, we just finished. Some of our members requested that we tackle the most difficult of all the books, but we cannot shy away from it. Eventually, we're going to have to do it anyway. That's the book of Shir HaShirim (Song of Songs).
We said that, beli neder (without a vow), we'll come on Fridays, as we usually do before the zeman (time). Some of our members, Halfon and Haimi, read Shir HaShirim at that time with our great master and teacher, our Rabbi, Hacham Baruch alav hashalom (may he rest in peace), ben Chaim. They have accepted upon themselves to deliver these shiurim (lectures) in his memory. I agree. I think it's proper. Every Friday, we come to the bet midrash (study hall) and hear the Rabbi's voice on tape, singing Shir HaShirim. Now, be'ezrat Hashem (with Hashem's help), we'll try to learn it. It's a hard book. I never taught it, although I read it on Friday nights. We're going to go slowly, one mefaresh (commentator) at a time.
Let's start with the first pasuk (verse). That should take us about three and a half years. “Shir hashirim asher liShelomoh.” Right away, the song is not called shir, “song”; it's called Shir HaShirim, “Song of Songs.” Rashi says right away, “shir shehu me'uleh al kol hashirim” (a song superior to all songs), “asher ne'emru laKadosh Baruch Hu” (that were sung to the Holy One, blessed be He). This is the Song of Songs, which means there are songs, but then there is the choice song ever sung to the Kadosh Baruch Hu, “me'et adato ve'amo Keneset Yisrael” (by His congregation and people, the Assembly of Israel), from Bene Yisrael (Children of Israel). Rashi understands this as a love song between Keneset Yisrael, which is us, and the Kadosh Baruch Hu, and as praise to Him. There hasn't been a song like it.
“Amar Rabbi Akiva, lo hayah ha'olam kedai keyom shenitan bo Shir HaShirim leYisrael” (Rabbi Akiva said: The world was not worthy of the day Shir HaShirim was given to Israel). It's unbelievable. Rabbi Akiva says there was no day in history like the day Shir HaShirim was delivered to the Kadosh Baruch Hu—or the day Shir HaShirim was delivered to Yisrael. “Shekol haketuvim (Scriptures) kodesh (holy)” (all the Scriptures are holy), all the ketuvim that we have, “veShir HaShirim kodesh hakodashim (holy of holies)” (and Shir HaShirim is the holy of holies). It's like all the holidays are kodesh (holy), and Yom Kippur is kodesh kodashim (the holy of holies). In Tanach (Hebrew Bible), the Yom Kippur of Tanach is Shir HaShirim. It is the kodesh kodashim, the holy of holies.
“Amar Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah, lemah hadavar domeh?” (Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah said: What is this like?) “Lemelech shenatan se'ah (measure of volume) chittin (wheat) untenam lenachtom” (It is like a king who gave a measure of wheat to be ground). The king actually gave the baker a se'ah (measure of volume) of chittin (wheat) to make bread. “Amar lo hotze li kach vechach solet (fine flour), vechach vechach subin (bran), vechach vechach mursan (chaff)” (He told him: Take out this much fine flour, this much bran, and this much chaff). Now you have to grind it. The finest of the flour is called solet (fine flour). Then you have subin (bran), and then mursan (chaff). “Vesalat li mitochah gluska (muffin) achat menupah me'ulah” (Make me from it one excellent, sifted loaf). Make me, from this se'ah, one gluska (muffin) of solet, perfect and sifted, with the best flour. That means from a se'ah you get only one muffin that is totally me'ulah.
“Kach kol haketuvim kodesh, however, Shir HaShirim kodesh kodashim.” There is nothing else like it; it's all perfect, all solet nekiah (pure fine flour), the highest-filtered and sifted flour we have. “Shekulo yir'at Shamayim, vekibul ol malchut Shamayim, ol malchuto ve'ahavato” (It is entirely fear of Heaven, acceptance of the yoke of Heaven, His kingship and His love). Fantastic. It's everything we want in life. The whole book is filled with three yesodot (foundations): yir'at Shamayim (fear of Heaven), kibul ol malchuto (acceptance of His kingship)—which is the time we're in now, accepting upon ourselves ol malchut Shamayim (the yoke of Heaven)—and ve'ahavato (and His love), love of God. That's it. Anywhere you put your finger in the book, it's one of these three items, Rashi says.
Fine. Now let's see. Again, we're going to learn it once. We have to go through the chapter a little, just to understand what we're talking about. Let's move on. The pasuk says, “yishakeni mineshikot pihu” (let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth). Somebody is asking for a kiss. It sounds like the bride is asking the chatan (groom): “yishakeni”—he should kiss me—“mineshikot pihu,” with his kisses, “ki tovim dodecha miyayin” (for your love is more precious than wine).
Rashi says, “zeh shir befiha begaluta ube'almenuta” (this is a song on her lips in exile and widowhood). This refers to the song sung when the Jewish people are in exile. “Ube'almenuta,” when we are, chas veshalom (God forbid), like an almanah (widow), as it says in Megilat Eichah (Book of Lamentations), “hayetah ke'almanah” (she was like a widow). We're anticipating and craving. What are we craving? “Veyishakeini hamelech Shelomoh mineshikot pihu kemo me'az” (Let King Solomon kiss me with the kisses of his mouth as in former times).
Throughout the book, Shelomoh is kodesh. Shelomoh does not necessarily mean King Solomon; Shelomoh is mi shehashalom shelo, which is God. That's why the first Rashi says, “shanu raboteinu, kol Shelomoh ha'amurim beShir HaShirim kodesh, melech shehashalom shelo” (our Rabbis taught: Every Shelomoh mentioned in Shir HaShirim is holy, referring to the King to whom peace belongs). The first Rashi gives us the key to understanding Shelomoh. So although the first occurrence can be understood simply—“Shir HaShirim asher liShelomoh,” the song written by King Solomon, who was the author of the book—it can also mean that Shir HaShirim is what we're singing to Hashem, to mi shehashalom shelo. It's a love song that Bene Yisrael sing to God. We say, “Oh, we reminisce about the kisses, the affection You used to give us.”
“Yishakeini hamelech Shelomoh mineshikot pihu kemo me'az, lefi sheyeish mekomot shenoshkim al gabei hayad” (Let King Solomon kiss me with the kisses of his mouth as in former times, since there are places where people kiss the hand). Sometimes people kiss al gabei hayad, on the hand. The French kiss on the hand; the Moroccans kiss you on the shoulders, ve'al hakateif. “Ach ani mitaveh veshokekah liheyot noheig imi keminhag harishon” (But I long and yearn for Him to treat me as in the original custom). I want the kiss of God. What is that? “Kechatan el kalah” (like a groom to a bride). Where does the chatan kiss the kalah? Peh el peh (mouth to mouth). That's a real kiss, the greatest affection. Obviously, neshikot (kisses) are a symbol of devekut (cleaving to God), of attachment and closeness. The highest level of affection is neshikot bapeh, kisses on the mouth. So we're saying, “Ah, we miss those days. Yishakeni mineshikot pihu.”
Then it says, “ki tovim dodecha,” “ki tovim li dodecha,” meaning your affection is more precious to me “mikol mishteh yayin” (than any wine banquet), and more than every oneg (pleasure) and simchah (joy). Nothing is more pleasurable to Klal Yisrael (the Jewish people) than the oneg of devekut that they have with the Kadosh Baruch Hu.
“Ulshon Ivri hu liheyot kol se'udat oneg vesimchah nikreit al shem hayayin.” In Hebrew, any meal of pleasure and joy would be called by the name of wine. Anytime they had a se'udah (meal), they would call it mishteh hayayin (wine banquet), as we learned in Megilat Esther (Book of Esther). That doesn't mean they had only wine. They had everything, but they called it a wine party. At the wine party, they didn't serve only wine; they served other things as well. So when we say “ki tovim dodecha miyayin,” we mean a lavish banquet with yayin (wine). “Ke'inyan shene'emar, el beit mishteh hayayin de'Esther, veshema lo yishtu yayin? Vehachinor vehanevel, tof vechalil veyayin mishteihem, zeh be'ur mashma'o.” (As it says, “to the house of the wine banquet” in Esther; and what if they did not drink wine? The harp, lyre, drum, flute, and wine were their banquet.) That's the meaning.
It's an example of God giving them His Torah and speaking with them panim el panim (face to face). Aha! There was a time in history when we felt that affection. When? Rashi says at Matan Torah (Giving of the Torah), when God spoke to us panim el panim, mamash (literally). We heard Anochi (I am) and Lo Yihyeh (There shall not be) from the Kadosh Baruch Hu. “Shenatan lahem Torato vedibeir imahem panim el panim, ve'otam dodim, odam areivim aleihem mikol sha'ashu'a” (He gave them His Torah and spoke to them face to face; those expressions of love were more delightful to them than any pleasure). That moment of Matan Torah, when we heard God directly, is more pleasant to us than any other pleasant thing or amusement.
“Umuvtachim me'ito lehofi'a od aleihem.” (They are promised by Him that He will appear to them again.) Oho! There will come a time when Mashiach (Messiah) comes, Rabotai, and Borei Olam will come and reveal Himself. There's a part of the Torah that has not yet been revealed. That's the sodot (secrets), like we learned this morning, the Sha'ar Nun (Gate of Fifty), the 50th level of binah (understanding). God is going to reveal Himself to us again: “leva'eir lahem sod te'ameha umistarei tzefunoteha” (to explain to them the secrets of its reasons and its hidden mysteries). There will come a time when there is another revelation: “Torah chadashah teitzei me'iti” (A new Torah shall come forth from Me). What's that? Do you mean a new Torah? It means a new understanding of the Torah, and God is going to come and make that revelation. “Umeyachalim panav lekayeim devaro” (They await Him to fulfill His word). We're anticipating God: Enough, fulfill Your word already! “Vezeh yishakeni mineshikot pihu.” So Rashi is understanding this as neshikot of Torah, revelations of a new understanding of what the Torah is.
Continue: “Lerei'ach shemanecha tovim, shemen turak shemecha, al kein alamot ahevucha.” (Your oils have a pleasing fragrance; your name is poured-out oil; therefore the maidens love you.) “Lerei'ach shemanecha tovim” is good-smelling oil. What does Rashi mean? “Lere'ach shemanecha tovim: shem tov nikra al shem shemen tov.” A good name is called by the name of good oil. We say, “tov shem mishemen tov”—a good name is better than good oil. Of course, it's a play on the words.
Now let's see what it means: “Lere'ach shemanecha tovim, sheheri'achu bahem afsei aretz, asher sham'u shim'acha hatov ba'asotecha nora'ot beMitzrayim (Egypt).” Aha! Lere'ach means that God's reputation wafted like good-smelling oil, like balsam oil, when He performed the miracles in Mitzrayim. The whole world heard, “lere'ach shemanecha tovim”—the good name of God, Your good reputation. Why? Because You performed wonders in Mitzrayim.
“Shemen turak shemecha.” What does shemen turak mean? Your name is shemen turak. “Nikra shemecha, lemor alecha, atah shemen asher turak tamid lihyot re'ach arev shelcha yotzei lemerachok, sheken derech shemen arev bechol et shehu bizchuchit chatumah, ein reicho nodef.” Your name is called that to say that You are oil that is poured out, so that Your pleasant fragrance goes far away. When fragrant aromatic oil is locked in a sealed flask, you don't smell anything. When do you smell it? When you pop the cork and start to pour it. What is that called? Shemen turak. Lehorik is to empty out, to pour out. So we say of God, “shemen turak shemecha”: Your name is like oil that is poured out, which means its scent is felt everywhere. “Potchim umerik shamnah lichli acher, reicho nodef.” (They open it and pour the oil into another vessel, and its fragrance spreads.) When you pour it from one vessel to another, what happens? Its fragrance spreads. Do you understand?
Again, “lere'ach shemanecha tovim”—the fragrance of Your shemanecha, Your great fragrance, is good. When was it felt, according to Rashi? “Nora'ot Mitzrayim.” And what? “Shemen turak shemecha.” Your name is known throughout the world, like oil that is poured out. Aromatic oil wafts when you pour it, and its fragrance spreads.
“Al ken alamot ahevucha.” Yitro (Jethro) came when he heard the report and converted. Therefore, so many people love You because of this. Rashi now gives us a list of people who heard about God's wonders and, as a result, came and showed their love for God. What did they do? They converted. Who's the first example? “Ba Yitro lechol hashmu'ah.” He heard about the wonders of Egypt and came and converted. “Af Rachav (Rahab) hazonah.” Remember Rachav? She converted as well. “Amrah ki shama'nu et asher hovish, ve'idach, ki Hashem Elokeichem hu Elokim bashamayim.” (She said, “We have heard how He dried up the waters, and further, that Hashem your God is God in Heaven.”)
Now, what is alamot? Alamot means betulot, virgins. What's that got to do with this? “Lefi hadibur shedimehu lebachur she'ahuvato mechabebato.” They compare the Kadosh Baruch Hu to alamot, like a young man whose beloved cherishes him. According to the analogy, Rashi says, the alamot are the nations—not the Kadosh Baruch Hu—meaning Yitro and Rachav. These young people were drawn after You like a young man is drawn after the one he loves. “Al ken alamot ahevucha” means that just as a young man loves the one for whom he feels affection, so too the goyim (nations). Alamot refers to the goyim, meaning those who came from Beautiful. The flow is like this: According to Rashi, we're praising the Kadosh Baruch Hu for the miracles He performed in Mitzrayim. As a result, they weren't known only in Mitzrayim; the whole world heard about them. So much so that “alamot ahevucha”: the goyim came to show their love. Even goyim came and signed up. Who were they? Yitro and Rachav hazonah.
Okay, let's continue. We have to get our feet wet in Rashi, as we always do in Megilot. Rashi first, just to get something. Otherwise, we're not going to understand anything; we'll go into every pasuk and drown, God forbid. Let's get at least a couple of pesukim under our belt in Rashi.
“Moshcheini acharecha narutzah.” The pasuk says—again, if the bride is speaking to the chatan—“Moshcheini acharecha”: Bride, just pull me a little, “narutzah,” and we'll run toward You. Just give me a little signal. Rashi says, “ani shamati mishluchaicha remez chibah she'amarta le-moshcheini, va'ani amarti acharecha narutzah lihyot lecha le'ishah” (I heard from Your messengers a hint of affection, that You said, “Draw me,” and I said, “After You we will run, to be Your wife”). “I heard already a remez (hint) that you were interested in me.” He says, “Moshcheini.” All I heard was a little remez that you were interested. What was our reaction? “Narutzah.” It's such a lopsided shiduch (match) that we're so lucky the Kadosh Baruch Hu chose us.
Imagine you have a kallah (bride). She's okay, she's not perfect, and there's a guy there who's the best catch on the market. Already he gives a little remez; he asks the shadchan (matchmaker), “Tell me a little about this girl.” Forget it. Once she hears that, she's head over heels. It's the same here. She says, “ani shamati mishluchaicha remez chibah she'amarta le-moshcheini”: I heard that you're interested in drawing me. “Va'ani amarti acharecha narutzah lihyot le'ishah”: I said, “I am going to...” That's how he's understanding the pasuk. “Moshcheini” is God. I heard that Borei Olam is interested, and therefore our reaction was “acharecha narutzah.” There's a comma after “Moshcheini,” as you see from the te'amim: “Moshcheini, acharecha narutzah.” So, “After You we will run. After You, God, I'll run.”
“Hevi'ani hamelech chadarav.” Oho! Then God, the King, brought me into His chamber. We'll see what that chamber is. “Nagilah venismechah bach, nazkirah dodecha miyayin, meisharim aheivucha.” Rashi says, “Hevi'ani hamelech chadarav, vegam hayom hazeh odenah li gilah vesimchah et asher nidbakti bach.” I'm still reminiscing about that time You attached Yourself to me. It could be that this is again when we're almanah. We're reminiscing about the time Hashem was in Mitzrayim and about Matan Torah; we're still talking about that. So we're saying that even today, although I don't have that same connection, “odenah li gilah vesimchah et asher nidbakti bach”: I enjoy the past. When it says “hevi'ani hamelech chadarav,” I remember when Hashem brought me into the inner chamber. Could be that was Matan Torah. And when was that? Right, exactly, when we came out of Mitzrayim.
“Nazkirah dodecha.” Rashi says, “Gam hayom be'almanut chayuti tamid azkir dodecha harishonim bechol mishteh oneg vesimchah. Nazkirah nagilah nazkirah dodecha miyayin.” Even today, in widowhood, I always mention Your former love at every feast of pleasure and joy. Anytime I have a se'udah of simchah, I reminisce about those days we had, the good days when the Kadosh Baruch Hu “lechteich acharai,” as Jacob said, during the 40 years in the midbar together. Mitzrayim—Yetzi'at Mitzrayim—was miraculous; there was Matan Torah, and all of this. So even today, as an almanah, she says, “chayuti tamid azkir dodecha harishonim mikol mishteh oneg,” Your former affection gives me more joy than any simchah. “Nazkirah dodecha miyayin” means it is more than yayin, more than that.
“Meisharim aheivucha.” What does meisharim aheivucha mean? “Et ahavah azah, ahavat mishor.” It was a strong, straight love. Meisharim means straight: it was a straight love, without tricks, “beli akuv u'rechasim,” without ulterior motives. “Asher aheivucha ani va'avotai be'otan hayamim.” It was a straight love, not ulterior motives, not for... It was called “meisharim aheivucha.” Sometimes you love somebody because you're trying to get something out of them. Sometimes you love them because you're afraid of them, or whatever it may be. This was “meisharim aheivucha,” a perfect love. Rashi says, “beli akuv u'rechasim”: there were no hooks. Bedyuk. That's the first four pesukim.
Okay, let's stop now. Now that we have a little context of what's going on, let's go back and say something I once saw from the Ben Ish Chai on “Shir HaShirim asher liShelomoh.” Shelomoh HaMelech wrote two books. One of them, as we know, was Shir HaShirim, and then he wrote Kohelet (Ecclesiastes). Kohelet has a very different beginning from Shir HaShirim. Kohelet starts, “Divrei Kohelet ben David melech biYerushalayim” (The words of Kohelet, son of David, king in Jerusalem). It gives his whole resume. These are the words of Kohelet. Who is Kohelet? He's the ben David. What was his job? He was the melech. Where? In Yerushalayim (Jerusalem). Here, “Shir HaShirim asher liShelomoh.” Who is Shelomoh? Where did he come from? What was his job?
The Ben Ish Chai says that Kohelet is a book of musar (ethical instruction). When it comes to musar, people aren't interested in hearing it from just anybody. Who are you to tell me musar? Go tell it to your own family. Kohelet is basically going to tell you, “havel havalim hakol havel” (vanity of vanities, all is vanity): What are you doing? Everything's a waste of time. So Shelomoh HaMelech has to give his credentials and explain why he's suited to give the musar. First of all, “I'm Kohelet.” I used to give shiurim to kehilot (communities); thousands of people used to hear me. If a man can gather thousands of people, he must be saying something that attracts them. So don't discount what I'm saying. “I'm Kohelet. And I have zechut avot (merit of the fathers).” Who is the man? A ba'al teshuvah (penitent)? No, ben David. My father was David.
You might come along and say, “Okay, but he's sour grapes. He didn't have any money, so he says, ‘These guys who drive Mercedes shouldn't drive Mercedes.’” Of course, because you're driving an Oldsmobile, you're angry at all the guys driving Mercedes. That's called sour grapes. So he says, “No, melech. I was a king. I was a king and I had everything.” Maybe you'll tell me, “Okay, you were king in Swaziland.” No, king in Yerushalayim. Yerushalayim is the most beautiful city. So those are my credentials.
Now, “havel havalim amar Kohelet.” The Ben Ish Chai says that's not the case when you're telling somebody how much you love them and praising them. Nobody asks who you are. “Shir HaShirim asher liShelomoh”—finished! This is a love song. When you're praising someone and there's no rebuke, nobody asks who you are. To compliment someone, you don't have to show me your credentials. If somebody says, “You're a great guy,” you don't say, “Who are you to tell me that?” You say, “You're a great guy.” Don't ask questions. Todah rabah, you say amen, vechen lemar. But if a guy criticizes you, you say, “Who do you think you are?” It's the same thing here with Shelomoh HaMelech. That's that, that's the way explains the Reuveni. “Shir HaShirim asher liShelomoh.” Period.
Now let's look at the Chida. The Chida gives an amazing rashei tevot (initial letters) on the first pasuk: “Shir HaShirim asher liShelomoh,” rashei tevot. “Chomat Anach” (commentary by the Chida). Chomat Anach is the Chida, yes. “Shir,” rashei tevot, “Shelomo yihyeh rosh.” Okay, Shelomo was going to be the king. “HaShirim,” “haMelech Shelomo yihyeh rash, yachzor melech.” You know the story of Shelomo. He was the king, then he became poor, and then he came back. There was a point in Shelomo's life when the wheel turned on him and he became poor. That's how he understands “HaShirim”: rashei tevot for “haMelech Shelomo yihyeh rash, yachzor melech.”
“Asher: El Shaddai (God Almighty) ro'eh,” God sees; “liShelomoh, libo shalem livnot Mikdash Elyon (upper Sanctuary).” God sees that his heart was fit, leshem Shamayim, to build the first Beit HaMikdash (Holy Temple). He attributes this to Rabbi Menachem Azaryah miFano, in the work Me'ah Kesitah, where he elaborated on deep secrets and matters.
Next: “asher liShelomoh,” the Razal (the Sages) say, “kol Shelomo ha'amur beShir HaShirim, Melech shehashalom shelo, umishum hachi lo ketiv ben David.” Every Shelomo mentioned in Shir HaShirim means the King to whom peace belongs, and therefore it doesn't say “ben David.” Ah, you got it; he answers the question. Why? Remember I just asked why it doesn't say “ben David” here. I just taught you the rule: every time it says Shelomo in Shir HaShirim, it's really referring to the Kadosh Baruch Hu. In Kohelet it refers to Shelomoh, but here, in Shir HaShirim, it does not. Ask 99% of people, and they don't know; they think Shelomo means Shelomo HaMelech. No, Shelomo is mi shehashalom shelo. That's why it doesn't say “ben David.”
Now let's look at the commentary on the first pasuk. We have to do the Malbim. The Malbim starts like this: “Shir HaShirim asher liShelomoh. Shir zeh nechlak lachamishah shirim.” So actually, Shir HaShirim is five songs, five different songs. “Ki haMelech Shelomo retzono lomar haYetzer veko'ach hamit'orer shel guf Shelomo ahav ra'yah achat bat shamayim, hi nishmato haruchanit.” The Malbim understands the story of Shir HaShirim as the story of the guf (body) and its relationship with the neshamah (soul). Shelomo is the guf, and he loves the neshamah, which is the ruchniyut haElohit (divine spirituality) that is enclosed in his gviyah (body). The neshamah is inside the guf. “Mekom malchut haYetzer umemshalto.” But what is there? The Yetzer hara (evil inclination); that's the kingdom of the Yetzer hara. “Vayasem benot Yerushalayim hen kochot hachomriyot.” The Malbim is setting up the whole book. He's telling you it's a story about a guf with a neshamah, and therefore there's a relationship between them. In the guf there's a king. Who is the king? The Yetzer hara, the kochot (forces). Then you have benot Yerushalayim (daughters of Jerusalem). Benot Yerushalayim are the ta'avot (desires), the girls. They are the ta'avot of the Yetzer hara.
“Lemineihem shomrim seviva.” They're hovering around, the benot Yerushalayim. “Lehashki'a otah bachomer,” to bring the neshamah down into physicality, “ulemoshchah el retzono lihyot lo lepilegesh” (to draw her to his will, to be his concubine). The Yetzer hara and the ta'avot don't like that the guf is married to the neshamah. They're jealous, so they want to become the pilegesh (concubine) of the guf. They try to seduce the guf: “Why are you paying so much attention to your neshamah? There are other people out there who can give you pleasure.” So when a person goes after his ta'avot, he's basically cheating on his neshamah. To the neshamah, you're married to the neshamah! The neshamah gives you life, gives you everything. What do you do to it? You cheat. “What did you go to that girl for over there?” “Well, you know, could have, could have, but this is a pilegesh.”
“Aval hi haytah keshurah bemosrot ahavah el dodah bashamayim.” But the guf in this story was loyal to its neshamah; it loves the neshamah. “Haroeh bashoshanim, arugot habosem, veyatz'ah chamishah pe'amim min hagviyah sheyichlah haYetzer la'amod shamah, vehitchabrah im dodah asher ba'aravot mishmei kedem. Uve'arba'ah pe'amim harishonim hitpashtah min hagviyah be'od Shelomo chai.” He's saying that the neshamah left the gviyah, left the guf, four times in Shelomo's life, because a divine spirit came upon it in four visions from God. It seems that he had four different visions. So, if you understand the four visions, that's the neshamah leaving the body for a moment, an out-of-body experience. “Veshavah bechol pa'am el hagviyah,” and then it returned each time, “besod hamar'eh.” When the benot Yerushalayim, the physical forces, woke up, it returned. And the fifth time it left the gviyah, it remained away until Shelomo, I guess, passed away, “vene'esaf Shelomo el amav, vedavkah b'Eloheha.”
Now we start the first song from the Malbim. “Nimshech ad kol dodi dofek.” “Mesaper eich hitpashtah hara'yah hashmeimit min hagviyah bapa'am harishonah.” The first time Shelomo had an out-of-body experience, his neshamah left his body. This was the first time he had hitpashtut hageshmiyut (separation from physicality). When was it? “Asher nir'ah Hashem el Shelomo bachalom halaylah.” Where was that dream? In Giv'on (Gibeon). What was the first vision Shelomo HaMelech had? In Giv'on. It's on page 7, at the bottom of the Malbim. We're reading Shirei HaNefesh (Songs of the Soul), the Malbim's interpretation of Shir HaShirim. It says, “Vayesaper be'eizeh ofen hayah hachezyon hazeh, ve'eich nitchabrah im kodesh venachah aleha ruach, ve'eich shavah el hagviyah.” (He will explain how this vision occurred, how it connected with the holy, how a spirit rested upon her, and how it returned to the body.) And as it says, “Vayikatz Shelomo vehineh chalom.” So according to the Malbim, all these songs refer to Shelomo and his relationship with the neshamah when it left him and returned.
Now let's read what he says. We'll follow it one at a time. “Yishakeni.” See “yishakeni”? Where? No, page 11. “Yishakeni, hadod ha'elyon. Hadod ha'elyon, that's the neshamah or God, mashgi'ach al ra'yato, hi nefesh Shelomo.” The upper Beloved is the neshamah or God, overseeing Shelomo's nefesh (soul) and standing behind the wall, watching. “Ki hakir shehu hachomer vehagviyah mavdil bein hara'yah haElokit uvein dodah vere'ah.” The wall, which is the physical matter and the body, separates the divine beloved from her beloved and companion. “Vehi margeshet bo al yedei shemen turak vereicho hatov, umevakeshet, yishakeni mineshikot pihu.” She senses Him through the poured-out oil and its pleasant fragrance, and asks, “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth.”
His point is that the nefesh can attain this in two ways. “Mah shetasig hanefesh al yedei hasechel vehabinah.” There are two ways to come close to God. Number one is intellectually. “She'az lo tasig et atzmo, vegam lo tasig mitzad atzmo, rak mitzad simanei chochmah.” You don't attain Him Himself, and you don't attain Him from His own perspective; you attain Him through signs of wisdom. You have to open the books and read, or, for example, study creation. “Vezeh nimshal bemeshal harei'ach, shehagam shehadavar hamorach hu bimkom seter bilti nir'eh.” This is compared to the fragrance: although the thing giving off the smell is hidden and unseen, “uvchol zot noda beverur sheyeshno bimtzi'ut al yedei harei'ach hatov shehegi'a lechotem chush harei'ach.” Nevertheless, its existence is clearly known through the good fragrance that reaches the sense of smell. When you smell something, you know something is there. You don't see it, but you know something is there.
Likewise, God's spirituality is sensed by the wise through its fragrance. When you see the way Hashem runs the world, even though you don't see Hashem, you know something must be there. It can't just happen by itself. “Hamurak mechochmato”: you see God's wisdom poured out into the world. When you see God's wisdom poured out into the world, even though you don't see Hashem directly, it's like smelling good oil. You don't have to see the oil, but you know it's there. Imagine someone comes along and you smell beautiful oil, and he says, “No, it's coming from nowhere.” Impossible; it has to have an origin. It's shemen turak. So one way of coming close to Hashem is to look at creation. Creation is shemen turak; God's wisdom is poured out everywhere. Even though you don't see Hashem with your eyes, you know there has to be a source. Where is the wisdom coming from?
“Hachlal hametzi'ut vereichotam mazkir yir'at Hashem, uchmo she'amru baMidrash bechol et shehayu Yisrael mabitim be'atrot ashan ve'ananei chavod.” (The whole reality and its fragrances recall fear of Hashem, as they said in the Midrash, whenever Yisrael looked at the crowns of smoke and clouds of glory.) Fine. Then he says there's a second one: “yesh hasagah gedolah mizot.” What is that? “Asher tidmeh kinshikah.” There's another type of connection to God, a higher connection, called the connection of neshikah. What is it? “Shehi hitkarev hachoshekim panim betshukah nifla'ah.” It's coming close, face to face, with extraordinary longing. They have tremendous love and ecstasy, a passion for God. “Vehi et yishpoch Hashem et rucho al hanefashot asher huchnu vehitkadshu el hanevuah.” That's a time of prophecy.
None of our members has ever had prophecy or Ruach HaKodesh (Divine inspiration), but the books say that when it comes, it's ecstasy, a tremendous pleasure, unlike anything else, because the spirit of God comes upon the person. That's another way to reach closeness, but it's called “yishakeni mineshikot.” The Malbim says there are two levels. Number one is shemen turak: you smell the beauty of creation and see God's wisdom everywhere. You say, “Hashem, it's unbelievable; there has to be a God.” Then there's the close-up: “yishakeni mineshikot pihu.” That's Ruach HaKodesh. That's when you feel the surge of Hashem coming into you.
The tzaddikim talk about this burning love; they call it cheshek (passion), ta'avah of kedushah (holy desire) that they have for... Those who taste it and experience it have no craving for anything else. Once a person craves and tastes this, it's probably that we don't know these ta'avot are out there. We think ginger ale is the greatest ta'avah in the world. “Give me a ginger ale, I'm happy. That's it.” Then someone tells you there's something better than that. “Impossible!” But there is something better, and it takes work to get it. That's why a navi (prophet) has to prepare. There's a lot of avodah (service) of self-deprivation in order to get this hana'ah (pleasure). For most people, it's not worth it: “I have to give up all my pleasures for what? To get a pleasure I don't even know what it tastes like?” But he says, “she'az tetzei hanefesh me'admatah.” The nefesh leaves this world. It's an out-of-body experience.
It's like Rabbi Menachem Azaryah miFano, we said, used to give the shiur, and his soul would leave his body. In the middle of the shiur, they had to touch him to keep his soul grounded; otherwise his body was going to—his neshamah was going to leave, like Nadav va'Avihu, as the Or HaChaim says. It was a chashikah, chashikut, devekut—all those different words of affection. “Vetidbak basechel hanifla, uvKodesh HaKodashim.” (And it cleaves to the wondrous intellect and to the Holy of Holies.)
In Mechilta deRabbi Shimon bar Yochai, Mishpatim, look at that, the Zohar the Malbim is quoting: “uvegin kach, neshikah befeh.” What is neshikah befeh? “Deha puma apikuta umekora derucha.” That's Ruach HaKodesh. It's like the spirit comes into the person. “Ve'al da neshikin befuma bidvikuta, mitdabkin rucha berucha.” That's mouth to mouth, spirit to spirit. “Dela mitparshan da min da.” They do not separate from one another. “Ve'al da man denafik nishmateih beneshikah.” When a person's neshamah leaves through a kiss, like the tzaddikim, how do they die? Beneshikah. What does that mean? Bidvekot. What's the pshat (meaning) of bidvekot? When a tzaddik dies, it's like a magnet: his neshamah is drawn and cleaves. So it's not a miserable or painful death. It's just that it can't—
It's a miracle that the tzaddik can stay alive. Exactly. “I can't...” Like Ben Ben Azzai, when they went up to Shamayim (Heaven), the arba'ah nichnasu le-Pardes (four entered the Orchard). That's it. The miracle is that Rabbi Akiva came back, that he was able to pull himself away from that and return to this world.
“Mitdabek berucha achra, veda sheparashat Terumah (portion of the Torah), deleit rechimu.” Here there is no love of cleaving spirit to spirit except through neshikah, and neshikah befeh, which is the source of the spirit. “Ve'al zeh bikshah, mi yiten yishakeni.” That's what the neshamah, the Ruach HaKodesh, is asking: “Mineshikot pihu.” These neshikot have many levels, of course. “Vechamah mechitzot shebahem yiru veyasigu hachozim kefi rov hakiruv vehacheyshek vehadibuk shebeino uvein hanefesh.” There are many barriers through which the visionaries can see and attain, according to the degree of closeness, passion, and attachment between them and the nefesh.
You're trying to attach to God. There was, by the way, a school in the olden days that the nevi'im used to attend, benei hanevi'im. In the olden days, you sent your kid to yeshiva. What did he become? “I'm studying to become a prophet.” There are methods for working your brain in meditation, for thinking, controlling your thoughts, and concentrating. It's a system, a learned skill, besides the kedushah you have to have. You have to learn how to train your—If a guy can't pray three minutes of Amidah (standing prayer) with kavanah (concentration), he'll never graduate to become a prophet. It takes tremendous concentration. You have to keep thinking about it until you break through; it's devekut.
But that's what “yishakeni mineshikot pihu” means: the highest level. “Ve'atah tasev devorah el hador ha'omed eytzel kir geviyatah.” Then you have the lower level. There you have the kir, the body, as a deflector. It says to Him, “dodecha tovim miyayin.” “Retzono lomar, ki hayayin yagbi'ah kochot hanefesh.” When a person drinks wine, what happens? He gets excited. His body gets excited. “Yalhiv hacham hativ'i. Veyisamach ruach ha'adam.” Wine heats up a person's natural temperament and makes his spirit rejoice. There's no question that wine changes a person's feelings.
But this excitement is eish zarah (foreign fire). It's synthetic. When a person drinks, he gets heated up, but that's synthetic. Drinking is a synthetic high. You're trying to replicate the feeling you get from Ruach. You can't do it, so what do you do? You take a drink, and you get high. What are you doing? It's eish zarah. “Ki ba mimatah lema'alah.” That comes from below, from the earth. The arousal comes from a physical thing, and you're trying to get high, like on Purim. But the arousal we're talking about, “yishakeni mineshikot pihu,” comes from above, “min hagoof el hanefesh.” It's true that when a person drinks on Purim, he gets excited and talks about Hashem a little. But that's not the real devekut, because it comes from the earth, even if you're connecting. The other one comes from Shamayim.
“Ve'al ken hi eish zarah, simchah shel chol.” It's not really true simchah (joy). “Lo chen hitlahavut hanefesh al yedei chalut haRuach HaKodesh vehanevuah.” When Ruach HaKodesh and prophecy come upon a person, “hi chedvat Hashem vesimchah shel kedushah haba'ah mima'alah lematah, eish halohet banefesh uvagoof ad she'amudei hageviyah yitpalatzun.” That's the joy of Hashem and holy joy that comes from above to below, a consuming fire in the soul and body, until the body's pillars tremble. The body can't even stand in front of it. That's why we tell those people who drink, “dodecha tovim miyayin.” “Ki tovim dodecha miyayin.” What are you taking, the yayin? That's fake. The main thing is the love of Hashem, if you can experience that.
Now he says, this is good, good, good Mishnah here: “lere'ach shemanecha tovim.” We're following the Malbim's derech now. “Beva'arah devareha, madua tachshok el haneshikot ha'eleh? Veleyayin haruchani hamesame'ach hanefesh veharuach.” Why should you crave these neshikot? Why not the spiritual wine that makes the soul and spirit rejoice? He calls it hayayin haruchani, spiritual wine. Why should you crave these neshikot we're talking about? “Ki kevar hirgishah bo hi veha'alamot re'oteha, shehem kinui el chochmah uvinah vada'at, mitzad hahaskalah bafe'ulot hanidrashot mimenu, hagam shelo hekiru atzmuto panim bifanim.” We have already felt it at the lower levels. Remember, the Malbim told us the lower level is using your chochmah (wisdom); you can connect to God. So we've already tasted it, and now we have a craving. We want to experience it more. We already felt the Kadosh Baruch Hu through shemen turak, through the smell. But the smell isn't the kiss. The smell comes from seeing Hashem's wonders in this world and knowing that He must exist. Because we tasted Hashem through the chochmah of the Torah, through learning and all that, we now want to taste it on a higher level. “Hagam shelo hikiru atzmut panim bepanim.” Even though we didn't reach the level of panim bepanim, “vezeh she'amar, lere'ach shemanecha tovim.” That's the fragrance we talked about.
“Shemen turak shemecha, deha mehai shemen negidin birchon al yeda dekahana, vesham ki misham mekor chayim, da shemen ila'ah denagid velo pasik le'alma, lere'ach shemanecha tovim, begin devehai reicha itkayam chulsha denafsha beheimanuta, ve'itnahagat birchon le'eila vetata.” Parashat Shemini. Fine.
“Shemen turak shemecha” means that Hashem doesn't have a name in Himself. But God's only known from His middot. “Ki eincha nikar venoda rak mitzad harakat hashem vehashefa haruchaniyut hamurak al klal haberi'ah.” You're known only through the movement of Your name and the spiritual influence poured over all creation. “Al ken alamot hen kochot hasichliyim hamesharatot et hanefesh, ahevucha.” Alamot refers to the sechel (intellect), according to the Malbim. They love You because they recognized Your honor and greatness through the fragrance, which is a sign of chochmah. Through studying creation and Torah, “alamot ahevucha”: the sechel comes to love You, and Your ways are seen in Your actions, until they recognize You through intellect and study. Even though we haven't attained nevuah, that's the first step, by the way. The first step is that you want to taste Hashem through the chochmah of creation and through Torah. It's not the real nevuah yet, but it's a start.
“Yes, sechel zeh sechel hatavu'a bachomer,” because again, it's still chomer (physical matter). When you're studying, you're still connected to your body, “asher hu hamasach hamavdil.” Bottom line: your body separates between you and—What does a prophet basically do? He's able to remove the kir, the wall. He's able to remove the interference, and then there's no—It's a—It's direct. Our problem is, the Ramban writes, tikun hanefesh bechurban haguf (rectification of the soul through destruction of the body). The only way to rectify the nefesh is to break the body and get it out of the way. However, tikun haguf bechurban hanefesh (rectification of the body through destruction of the soul) is the opposite. You want to rectify the guf, fine, but at the expense of the nefesh. You can't have both. You can't have the guf and the nefesh on the same level. “Keshezeh oleh zeh yored” (when one rises, the other falls).
So when the tzaddikim deprive themselves, that's why on Kippur, why does it say Kippur with mal'achim (angels)? The body has no connection; there's no physicality whatsoever. That's why it's our highest day, because we're able to connect like mal'achim to the Kadosh Baruch Hu. Of course, we can't live like that in a normal world, but the prophet can reach those levels. Could you imagine Moshe Rabbeinu (Moses our teacher) holding onto those levels bechol et uvechol sha'ah, at every moment? You can't understand Moshe. Moshe Rabbeinu didn't have to prepare for nevuah. He was always ready; at any moment he could pick up the phone. Don't misunderstand; don't think that because he had access, this access didn't have to be earned. Anybody can pick up the phone, but there won't be anybody responding on the other side.
The fact that Moshe Rabbeinu is “bechol beiti ne'eman hu,” “peh el peh adaber bo” (in all My house he is trusted; I speak with him mouth to mouth), means he's ready for prophecy at all moments. His devekut must be unbroken. Even when he's talking to somebody, it looks like he's talking, but he's connected to—Even the tzaddikim today can do that. When they're talking to you, it looks like they're talking to you, having a conversation, but if you could go into their brain, they're talking to you here, while their brain is in a—Even the words they use with you are chosen as words of devekut; they're thinking of different kavanot while they're talking. You heard a story, and they heard devekut. That's a high level, where the connection is unbroken. That's the tzaddikim.
“Uva'asher gilah ki lo yasig kevod Hashem keromemuto, lachen avakesh.” Since he revealed that one cannot attain the glory of Hashem in His exaltedness, that's why he says, “I'm going to ask.” “Moshcheini.” What is he asking? This is Shelomo HaMelech asking. “Vehotzi'eni min hamasger hazeh shehu min hachomer.” “Moshcheini”: pull me out of my body. Pull me out; the neshamah is asking to be taken out of this body so it won't separate me from the source, “hasochech beini uvein mar'ot Elokim.” I want to see the visions, the revelations.
But the body, as we say in the tefillah (prayer) of Kippur, “va'ani... ki... ha'ocher... se'or sheba'isah me'akev.” It's the se'or sheba'isah (leaven in the dough), the piece of dough that holds us back. “Vehu al yedei shetachul alai hashefa hanevu'it, she'az beno'ach haru'ach uchal lehipared min hagviyah, shehi chadrei Shelomoh.” Chadrei Shelomoh refers to the guf, Shelomo's inner parts, the body. I want to leave Shelomo's chamber. I want to attach myself to nevuah, “ki timshecheni mimenah ledibuk haruchani.” Then what? “Acharecha narutzah.” Then it's off to the races. “Ani veha'alamot re'otai shehem kochot hasichliyot narutz acharei Hashem.” I and the maidens who see me, the intellectual forces, will run after Hashem. So “acharecha narutzah” means that with the sechel and all that, we're going to run.
“Zehu omer ki atah behasagat hasechel be'odo shaku'a bachomer yelchu kochot hasechel behasagatam, belat uve'itiyut gadol, ki afar hichbid aleihem vehagashem ye'akev tenu'atam.” When a person is studying, as long as he's in the physical body, he's limited in how fast he can study. I'll give you an example. How long does it take you to study a language? It takes a long time. Yosef Hatzaddik (Joseph the righteous) was in prison, and the night before he went to speak to Par'oh (Pharaoh), it says the angel came down and taught him 70 languages in one night. How do you learn 70 languages in one night? We're not on that speed. We're moving at the speed of gashmiyut (physicality), so it takes seven years to learn a language and three years to learn algebra. We have a very slow process because the body and brain slow everything down; the body is physical. But if you can raise yourself up from the physical, then the attainments come.
The Ari z"l (of blessed memory), one time when he woke up, had Rav Chayim Vital there. Rav Chayim Vital said he saw the Ari's lips moving in his sleep. He asked him, “What was the Rabbi—?” The Ari said, “I was in the upper olamot, and they were learning chiddushim (novel insights) on one of the parashiyot, maybe Korach, whatever the parashah was.” Rav Chayim said, “Teach it to me.” He said, “What I just learned in these five minutes of sleep would take me 80 years to teach you in this world.” That means in five years of sleep. In the upper world everything moves like today, very fast. Today you can appreciate what a computer is, how quickly everything moves. So knowledge moves quickly today. When you leave the body, knowledge starts to—
So it says, “moshcheini acharecha,” and then “narutzah.” Narutzah means that what took me a long time to accomplish in the chomer with the sichliyut (intellectual faculties), I'll now be able to understand. That's why the tzaddikim—remember we learned this Gemara Berachot—it says they prayed nine hours a day. So when did they learn? The little time they had to learn was enough for them to amass a lot, because they were moving much faster than the regular, slow body.
Let's just finish this Ralbag here. He says, “ki hasagah bederech ha'iyun,” when you're studying rationally with your brain, “telech mimadregah lemadregah,” it proceeds step by step, “umimuskal lemuskal, mehekesh lehekesh.” It goes from one concept to another and from one inference to another. “Lo chen hasagah nevu'it.” Prophetic attainment isn't like that. “Behipared ananei hageshem, yasigu hakol hasagah peshutah bizrizut gadol umerutzah.” When the clouds of physicality separate, they attain everything simply, with great speed and swiftness.
That's a big esek (matter). Think for a second: How is it possible that a baby in the mother's womb can learn the whole Torah in nine months? You can't learn the whole Torah in nine months. Once you're born, it takes you a hundred years and you still don't learn the whole Torah. And the baby learns it in nine months? Because at that point it's a different limud (study). The baby gets it, and they say he forgets it. They don't say the baby doesn't understand it; the baby understands it, gets it, and then forgets it. That means it's possible to learn things in a—
You have to pray to the Kadosh Baruch Hu, even in our physical lives, that there's a way for wisdom to go in quickly. There's a way to have a berachah (blessing) in your learning so it doesn't have to be as slow as it is. You can amass—You see some people have a berachah in their learning. They come, they do this, this, this, this, in one year. How do you have the time? You saw these great tzaddikim: learned a chapter a day, learned 18 mishnayot, perakim (chapters), and 10 dappim (pages) and 14 perakim Rambam. How did this guy do all that? How did the Chida give you a daily schedule? It's impossible! You ate, you slept, yes; he said sleep eight hours and work eight hours, do all that too. You're not giving up any of that, and still you do these things. How do you do it? Ela, they were on a different level, with such speed and berachah in their learning.
That's what he's saying here: “Moshcheini.” If You draw us to this level of nevuah, “acharecha narutzah,” then—So that's why it's impossible forever—
Now you understand, finally, what yeridat hadorot (decline of the generations) means. There's no way you can—It's very simple. We have cars today. Let's take an oven as a mashal (parable). We have a car, let's say, and then you have a jet. The car, no matter what you do to it, even if you soup it up, will never outspeed the jet. Finished! It can't. It's not metzi'ut (reality) possible. Somebody comes along and says, “No, I think the cars are faster.” You're a tipesh; it's impossible. It's the same thing: the earlier generations—you can't be—they were jets. You're a horse and buggy. How could a horse and buggy go as fast as a jet? It's metzi'ut impossible. You don't know something simple. They were working on a much more spiritual level. The less gashmiyut interference, the faster the attainments come in. Understand?
Now, of course, when we go sham, kosher Chinese, finished, kosher Chinese. They don't have kosher Chinese. Kosher Persian food. Whatever that—pat bemelach (bread with salt). Limited gashmiyut, and it comes in quicker. So there is definitely a concept of yeridat hadorot. That explains why the old tzaddikim were able to accomplish so much, because the chomer was so... And tumat ha'olam (impurity of the world) also wasn't as prevailing as it is today. As a result, the guf didn't have too much hefsek (interruption), and then it comes in quickly.
God is a good teacher. When you have a good teacher, people say, “Oh, he's a great teacher. He taught thirty daf—thirty blatt—he gave the class this year. He's a good teacher; he knows how to teach quickly.” Ribono shel Olam (Master of the universe) is a good teacher, “haMelamed Torah le'amo Yisrael” (Who teaches Torah to His people Israel). What's the problem? The student. I could teach you in one second; I could teach you everything. But what? You're not coming with your pen and paper; you're not coming prepared. So the chisaron (shortcoming) is in the student, not in the melamed (teacher). “HaMelamed Torah le'amo Yisrael.” God is an unbelievable melamed, the best melamed. The chisaron is in the talmid (student). That's what Shelomo is saying here: Please give me the level where I can be on the Ruach HaKodesh madregot, where I can start seeing. “Moshcheini.” I can do it. Okay, let's stop here.