“A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me, lying between my breasts” (Song of Songs 1:13). “A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me.” What is “a bundle of myrrh”? Rabbi Azarya in the name of Rabbi Yehuda interpreted the verse regarding Abraham our patriarch.
Just as this myrrh is the first of all the kinds of spices,281See Exodus 30:23. so too, Abraham was the first of all the righteous. Just as this myrrh, its fragrance diffuses only through fire, so too Abraham, his actions became known only after he was cast into the fiery furnace. Just as this myrrh, anyone who gathers it his hands become bitter, so too Abraham would embitter himself and torment himself with suffering.282He suffered deprivation in order to focus his energies on serving God, and due to his opposition to the idolatrous notions of the time.
“Lying between my breasts,” as he is positioned between the Divine Presence and an angel, as it is stated: “He saw and he ran toward them” (Genesis 18:2). “He saw,” the Divine Presence; “he ran,” to the angel.