God Leaping Like a Gazelle From Egypt to the Sea to Sinai

"My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag" and so forth (Song of Songs 2:9). "My beloved is like a gazelle" - Rabbi Yitzhak said: you say to us, "Come, come to us," if you would come to us first. Rabbi Yitzhak said: just as this gazelle leaps and bounds from tree to tree, from booth to booth, from fence to fence, so the Holy One, blessed be He, leaps from Egypt to the sea, and from the sea to Sinai. In Egypt they saw Him, "and I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night" (Exodus 12:12). At the sea they saw Him, "and Israel saw the great hand" (Exodus 14:31). At Sinai they saw Him, "and he said, the LORD came from Sinai and shone forth from Seir to them" (Deuteronomy 33:2). "Or a young stag" (Song of Songs 2:9) - Rabbi Yose son of Rabbi Hanina said: like the young of a hind. "Behold, he stands behind our wall" (ibid.) - "for on the third day the LORD will come down before the eyes of all the people" and so forth (Exodus 19:11). "Looking through the windows" (Song of Songs ibid.) - "and the LORD came down" and so forth (Exodus 19:20). "Peering through the lattices" (ibid.) - at the moment He said, "I am the LORD your God" (Exodus 20:2). "My beloved answered and said to me" (Song of Songs 2:10) - what did He say to me? "I am the LORD your God" (Exodus ibid.). Another interpretation: "My beloved is like a gazelle" (Song of Songs 2:9). Rabbi Yitzhak said: just as this gazelle leaps over the mountains and bounds from tree to tree, from booth to booth, from fence to fence, so the Holy One, blessed be He, leaps from this synagogue to that synagogue, from this house of study to that house of study. For what purpose? In order to bless Israel. By whose merit? By the merit of the one who sat in the oaks of Mamre, as it is written, "and the LORD appeared to him in the oaks of Mamre" and so forth (Genesis 18:1). Rabbi Berekhiah in the name of Rabbi Levi: it is written "sitting" [the spelling reads yoshev]. When the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed Himself to him, our father Abraham sought to stand. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, "Sit," and our father Abraham sat. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, "Abraham, whenever your children enter synagogues and houses of study they will sit while My glory stands." And what is the reason? "God stands in the assembly of God" (Psalms 82:1). Rabbi Haggai in the name of Rabbi Yitzhak: it does not say "God stands" but "God stations Himself," ready. Rabbi Shemuel bar Hiyya bar Yehudah in the name of Rabbi Hanina: every single praise that Israel offers to the Holy One, blessed be He, His glory sits among them. And what is the reason? "And You are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel" (Psalms 22:4). "Or a young stag" (Song of Songs ibid.) - Rabbi Yose son of Rabbi Hanina said: like the young of a hind. "Behold, he stands behind our wall" (ibid.) - behind the walls of synagogues and houses of study. "Looking through the windows" (ibid.) - from between the shoulders of the priests. "Peering through the lattices" (ibid.) - from between the fingers of the priests. "My beloved answered and said to me" (ibid.) - what did He say to me? "May the LORD bless you and keep you" (Numbers 6:24). Another interpretation: "My beloved is like a gazelle" (Song of Songs 2:9). Rabbi Yitzhak said: just as this gazelle is seen and then hides again, so the first redeemer was revealed to them and then hid from them. How long did he hide from them? Rabbi Judah son of Rabbi said three months, as it is written, "and they met Moses and Aaron standing to meet them" and so forth (Exodus 5:20). "Or a young stag" (Song of Songs ibid.) - Rabbi Yose son of Rabbi Hanina said: like the young of a hind. "Behold, he stands behind our wall" (ibid.) - behind the Western Wall of the Temple, which will never be destroyed. "Looking through the windows" (ibid.) - by the merit of the fathers. "Peering through the lattices" (ibid.) - by the merit of the mothers, to teach you that just as there is a difference between a window and a lattice, so there is a difference between the merit of the fathers and the merit of the mothers. Rabbi Berekhiah in the name of Rabbi Levi: as the first redeemer, so the last redeemer. Just as the first redeemer was revealed to them and then hid from them, so the last redeemer will be revealed to them and then hide from them. How long will he hide from them? Rabbi Tanhuma in the name of Rabbi Hama son of Rabbi Hoshaya, and Rabbi Menahem in the name of Rabbi Hama son of Rabbi Hanina, said forty-five days, as it is written, "and from the time the continual offering is removed and the desolating abomination set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days. Happy is the one who waits and reaches the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days" (Daniel 12:11-12). What are these extra days here? They are the forty-five days during which the Messiah will be revealed to them and then hide from them. To where will he lead them? Some say to the wilderness of Judah, and some say to the wilderness of Sihon and Og, as it is written, "therefore behold, I will entice her and lead her into the wilderness" and so forth (Hosea 2:16). Whoever believes in him will eat saltwort and the roots of broom shrubs and live, as it is written, "who pluck saltwort beside the bushes, and the roots of the broom for their food" (Job 30:4). And whoever does not believe in him and goes off to the nations of the world, they will kill him. Rabbi Yitzhak bar Maryon said: at the end of forty-five days the Holy One, blessed be He, will be revealed to them and bring down the manna for them. Why? Because "there is nothing new under the sun" (Ecclesiastes 1:9). And what is the reason? "And I am the LORD your God from the land of Egypt; I will again make you dwell in tents as in the days of the appointed time" (Hosea 12:10).