261 passages in Rabbinic Midrash
Individual passages from Shir HaShirim Rabbah, shown in source order. Page 4 of 6.
Song of Songs, that beautiful, sensual, often enigmatic book of the Bible, gives us a clue. Chapter 8, verse 8, poses a curious question: “We have a little sister, and she has no b...
Shir HaShirim Rabbah turns to Messiah — Moses at the Dawn of Creation. What kind of mountains? Well, sometimes they represent legal hurdles. The text equates "mountains" with court...
Our sages pondered just such a return, a return from exile so profound it would reshape the world. This vision is beautifully captured in Shir HaShirim Rabbah, the commentary on th...
Shir HaShirim Rabbah, the commentary on Song of Songs, offers a fascinating take on Abraham's early days, drawing on the verse "We have a little sister [aḥot]" (Song of Songs 8:8)....
It's a story about perspective, gratitude, and maybe even a missed opportunity to usher in... the Messiah! The passage begins with a verse from Song of Songs, "Look from the peak o...
The book of Shir HaShirim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations of the Song of Songs, explores this very question. It uses vivid imagery and insightful debates to paint ...
What could this possibly mean? Rabbi Yitzchak, as quoted in Shir HaShirim Rabbah, hears the voice of the congregation of Israel in this verse, pleading with God. "Master of the uni...
It’s a story of intimacy, growth, and the need for appropriate boundaries. to a fascinating interpretation of a verse from the Song of Songs, Shir HaShirim, that illuminates this v...
Seems straightforward. But the Rabbis, in Shir HaShirim Rabbah, see layers of meaning here. Specifically, they focus on the Hebrew word libavtini – "you have charmed me." The spell...
How is your beloved more than another beloved, that you administer an oath to us so?" (Song of Songs 5:9-10). Essentially, they're asking, "What makes God so special? What makes Hi...
In Jewish tradition, it's often interpreted as an allegory – a story with a deeper, hidden meaning. And that's where Shir HaShirim Rabbah comes in. This is a collection of rabbinic...
A story from Shir HaShirim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Song of Songs, that tackles just that feeling. It’s a story of courage, conviction, and, The vers...
The verse I am a wall, and my breasts are like towers; then I was in his eyes as one who finds peace." The first reading, it sounds like romantic poetry. But the Rabbis saw somethi...
Comes that loaded line from (Genesis 3:22): "Behold, the man has become like one of us." Like… one of whom, exactly? This question sparked a fiery debate among the rabbis, captured...
Shir HaShirim Rabbah turns to God as a Gazelle Leaping Between the Patriarchs. Think about a gazelle, leaping effortlessly across the landscape. That's how the Holy One, blessed be...
The Torah itself is vast, but then you have the Mishnah, the Talmud. it can feel like an endless ocean. Well, Shir HaShirim Rabbah, a fascinating commentary on the Song of Songs, u...
It’s a central part of how Jewish tradition understands itself, constantly weaving together narratives to find deeper meaning. to a fascinating example from Shir HaShirim Rabbah, a...
The familiar story is this: from Exodus, but the Rabbis in Shir HaShirim Rabbah, the collection of rabbinic commentary on the Song of Songs, really dig into the depths of that betr...
The verse Rabbi Yitzḥak offers a beautiful reading: the congregation of Israel is speaking to God, saying, “Master of the universe, You said to us: Come, come. You come to us first...
Shir HaShirim Rabbah turns to Sixty Righteous Souls Under the Tree of Life in Eden. What's truly astonishing is the sheer scale described. It's taught that the Tree of Life itself ...
Our Rabbis certainly did. They grappled with this very question, especially when comparing the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem. In Shir HaShirim Rabbah, the Rabbis explore th...
The ancient rabbis certainly did. And they found ways to see even the most epic struggles, like the Exodus from Egypt, through a deeply human lens. They weren't just interested in ...
Shir HaShirim Rabbah turns to Sixty Queens and Eighty Concubines - An Exodus Allegory. It doesn't stop there! "And eighty concubines," the verse continues. According to this interp...
The tradition turns to Shir HaShirim Rabbah, the classic rabbinic commentary on the Song of Songs (also known as Song of Solomon). The rabbis, in their infinite wisdom, find layers...
The verse Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥanina equates this to the offspring of a hind. But where is this fawn, this fragile new life? "Behold, he is standing behind our wall," the text says, "b...
In Shir HaShirim Rabbah (Song of Songs Rabbah), a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Song of Songs, we find a verse being unpacked with layers of meaning. The verse spea...
Shir HaShirim Rabbah 9, a section of the rabbinic commentary on the Song of Songs, and it’s not always what you’d expect. The verse under discussion is "I have likened you, my love...
Take the verse, “Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments, your neck with beads” (Song of Songs 1:10). Simple enough. But as Shir HaShirim Rabbah, the Midrashic (rabbinic interpretive...
The mystics of old certainly did. And they found echoes of that very quest in the most unexpected places, even in the sensuous poetry of the Song of Songs. (Song of Songs 3:10). So...
The rabbis of old saw something truly profound in this verse. Rabbi Berekhya and Rabbi Ḥelbo, quoting Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman, point out that the word "bride" appears no less than ...
Our ancestors certainly did. And they found a beautiful way to confront that tension, a way that still resonates today. It all starts with a verse from the Song of Songs (6:10): “W...
Some verses in the Song of Songs sound almost too tender for angels. And then the midrash shows you that angels were exactly who they were meant for. Take (Song of Songs 7:10): "Yo...
Shir HaShirim Rabbah turns Solomon's vineyard at Baal Hamon into a symbol for Israel, Torah, and divine peace. What does this seemingly simple verse really mean? The rabbis, master...
Sometimes, the answer can be found in the most unexpected places, like in the ancient commentaries on the Song of Songs, or Shir HaShirim in Hebrew. Specifically, we can look at Sh...
Rabbi Yuda ben Rabbi Ilai, a sage of the 2nd century, offers a beautiful analogy. He interprets the verse in Song of Songs (3:9), "Palanquin," as referring to the Ark. Now, what's ...
A beautiful analogy, connecting the "vineyard" mentioned in Song of Songs to the Sanhedrin, the ancient Jewish high court. Why a vineyard? Because, as we learned in Mishna Eduyot, ...
That, my friends, is a glimpse into the mystical world of Torah study as described in Shir HaShirim Rabbah, a beautiful, poetic exploration of the Song of Songs. It starts with the...
The Song of Songs, a beautiful and often enigmatic book, offers some tantalizing clues, and the Midrash (rabbinic interpretive commentary), specifically Shir HaShirim Rabbah, ampli...
The ancient rabbis did, and they found clues in the most unexpected places, even in the love poetry of the Song of Songs! It speaks of a "palanquin" made by King Solomon. But this ...
The verse Now, The first reading, that sounds lovely. But the rabbis, masters of drash (interpretation), see layers of meaning. First, it's connected to the Exodus story. "We will ...
They saw echoes of that very struggle in the beautiful, often enigmatic, Song of Songs – Shir HaShirim in Hebrew. Specifically, they found a powerful metaphor in the verse, "For, b...
We start with a verse: “Emerge, daughters of Zion, and gaze at King Solomon, at the crown with which his mother crowned him on the day of his wedding, and on the day of the rejoici...
Like any great poem, it's been interpreted in countless ways. one particularly fascinating interpretation from Shir HaShirim Rabbah, a rabbinic commentary on the Song of Songs. We'...
The verse we’re unpacking is (Song of Songs 5:11): "His head is the finest gold; his locks are curls, black as a raven." Seems straightforward. But in the world of Jewish interpret...
The verse in question is (Song of Songs 6:11): “I went down to the nut garden to look at the budding of the valley, to see if the vine had blossomed and the pomegranates were in bl...
What does that desire really mean? Shir HaShirim Rabbah, a collection of rabbinic interpretations on the Song of Songs, dives deep into that very question. It suggests that there a...
Shir HaShirim Rabbah turns to Nebuchadnezzar and Creation of Fall. Rabbi Ḥiyya offers a compelling interpretation. Imagine a king, angry with his son, entrusting him to a servant. ...
Shir HaShirim Rabbah opens the verse about a crown, "At the crown with which his mother crowned him" (Song of Songs 3:11), and turns it into a portrait of God's love for Israel. Ra...
