The Crown of Solomon and Israel Called God's Mother

"In the crown with which his mother crowned him" (Song of Songs 3:11). Rabbi Isaac said: I went through the whole of Scripture in its entirety, and I did not find that Bathsheba made a crown for Solomon her son, yet it says, "In the crown with which his mother crowned him." Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai asked Rabbi Eleazar bar Yose. He said to him: Is it possible that you heard from your father what is the meaning of "In the crown with which his mother crowned him"? He said to him: Thus said Abba (my father): A parable of a king who had an only daughter, and he loved her exceedingly. He did not cease showing her affection until he called her ["my sister; he did not cease showing her affection until he called her] my mother." So too the Holy One, blessed be He, showed affection to Israel and called them "my daughter," as it is said, "Hear, O daughter, and see" (Psalms 45:11). And He did not cease until He called them "my sister," as it is said, "My sister, my beloved" (Song of Songs 5:2). He did not cease until He called them "my mother," "Hearken to Me, My people, and My nation [u-le'umi]" (Isaiah 51:4) — and "my mother" [u-le'imi] is what is written. Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai arose and kissed him upon his head and said: Had I come into the world for nothing other than to hear this teaching, it would have been enough for me.