Why the Lily Survives Esau's Shadow and Messiah Leaps the Mountains

Shir HaShirim Rabbah, the classical Midrash on Song of Songs, holds two passages on how Israel endures into redemption through specific structural images. One passage records Rabbi Avun on the lily that withers under the scorching wind and blooms again under the dew, with Hosea 14:6's I will be like dew to Israel, the lily retaining value through fragrance like Israel through mitzvot, the lily existing for its fragrance like the righteous existing for Israel's redemption, the lily gracing the table of kings like Israel in both worlds, the lily conspicuous among grasses like Israel among nations per Isaiah 61:9, the lily designated for Sabbath like Israel for future redemption, and Rabbi Berekhya's reminder that Israel must remain a lily among thorns in both Egypt and Canaan per Leviticus 18:3. The other passage reads Song of Songs 2:8 about He leaps over the mountains as Moses telling Israel of redemption in Nisan with the mountains as their idol worship and Hosea 4:13's mountaintops where they slaughter, and as the Messiah dismissing Israel's objection that they were not subjugated to seventy nations by counting Rome's universal levies.

Both passages share one structural claim. Israel endures into redemption through specific structural mechanisms that the midrash documents.

What it means for the lily to bloom under the dew

Shir HaShirim Rabbah's account of the lily opens with Rabbi Avun's portrait. When a scorching wind blows, the lily withers. When the gentle dew arrives, it bursts back into bloom. The Midrash Rabbah tradition connects this directly to the experience of the Jewish people. As long as the shadow of Esau looms large, Israel seems diminished, shriveled in the world. When that shadow finally passes, Israel will blossom and flourish. Hosea 14:6: I will be like dew to Israel, it will blossom like a lily.

What sustains this potential for renewal? Rabbi Avun continues. Just as a lily retains its value through its fragrance, even when not in full bloom, so too does Israel endure through mitzvot and good deeds. It is not about outward appearances. It is about the inner essence, the moral and spiritual core that remains constant. The perfume of tikkun olam keeps the structural endurance operational.

How the lily's six structural traits map onto Israel's standing

Rabbi Avun states that just as the lily exists only for its fragrance, so too the righteous were created only for the redemption of Israel. Even small acts of kindness and justice contribute to a larger purpose. Just as the lily graces the table of kings from the beginning to the end of the meal, so Israel exists both in this world and in the World to Come. The structural continuity from this world into the World to Come is operational.

The lily also stands out, conspicuous among the grasses. Israel is meant to be conspicuous among the nations, a light unto the nations. Isaiah 61:9: all who see them will recognize them. The lily is designated for Shabbatot and festivals. Israel is designated for the future redemption. Rabbi Berekhya adds that the Holy Blessed One said to Moses, go say to Israel, when you were in Egypt you were like a lily among the thorns. Now that you are entering Canaan, be like a lily among the thorns. Leviticus 18:3: you shall not emulate the practices of the land of Egypt in which you lived, and you shall not emulate the practices of the land of Canaan. The structural challenge persists across both exile and return.

What it means for God to leap over the mountains of sin

Shir HaShirim Rabbah's account of the leaping takes up the parallel structural picture. Song of Songs 2:8: He leaps over the mountains and bounds over the hills. The verse is not taken literally. The mountains become metaphors. They represent legal hurdles, referencing Yiftach's daughter in Judges 11:37 seeking to descend upon the mountains for a court to annul her father's vow. The leaping can mean overcoming legal obstacles.

The mountains can also represent failings. The Rabbis connect this verse to the coming of Moses. When Moses told the Israelites they would be redeemed in Nisan per Exodus 12:2, they were skeptical. How could they be redeemed when all of Egypt was contaminated with their idol worship? Their sins felt like insurmountable mountains. Moses assures them that God leaps over the mountains. The mountains are the idol worship, echoing Hosea 4:13: on the mountaintops they slaughter and on the hills they burn incense. Because God desires their redemption, He does not dwell on their past mistakes.

How the Messiah dismisses the seventy-nation requirement through Rome's universal reach

Shir HaShirim Rabbah also connects this verse to the coming of the Messiah. Rabbi Yudan and Rabbi Hunya, citing Rabbi Eliezer son of Rabbi Yosei HaGelili and Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov, see the verse as a prophecy. When the Messiah tells Israel, this month you will be redeemed, they will raise a similar objection. How can we be redeemed? Did not God swear to subjugate us to seventy nations? They worry they have not fulfilled the prophecy.

The Messiah offers two answers. First, he suggests that even if only some of them were exiled to distant lands like Barbary or Smatrya, it is as though all of them were exiled there. Second, he points to the Roman Empire, which imposes levies on the entire world. If even a Cuthean or Barbarian employed by Rome exerts authority over them, it is as though they were subjugated to the entire nation, and thus as though they were subjugated to seventy nations. The condition has been met. Redemption is possible. Again, God leaps over the mountains. The structural mechanism of the leaping is operational across both Moses's Nisan and the Messiah's future.

How lily-blooming and mountain-leaping share one structural principle

The two passages converge on the same kind of structural endurance into redemption. Israel endures through specific operational mechanisms. The lily blooming after Esau's shadow encodes the structural endurance through fragrance, value among kings, conspicuousness among nations, and designation for redemption. God leaping over mountains encodes the structural overcoming of legal hurdles, idolatry, and the seventy-nation requirement. Both situations show that the cosmic system encodes Israel's endurance into redemption through structural mechanisms.

The Shir HaShirim Rabbah tradition teaches the reader that they participate in both structural mechanisms. The two passages close with a composite image. A lily withering under Esau's scorching shadow and blooming again under the dew while retaining fragrance, gracing the table of kings, standing conspicuous among grasses, and being designated for Sabbath. A God leaping over mountains of idol worship for Moses's Nisan and over the seventy-nation requirement for the Messiah's redemption through Rome's universal reach. A reader, situated within their own endurance and their own redemption, recognizing that the cosmic system tracks both with the operational precision the midrash documents.