Shir HaShirim Rabbah turns to He Brought Me to the Wine House and His Banner Is Love.
The first reading, this sounds pretty romantic. But the Rabbis, as they often do, find layers and layers of meaning beneath the surface. Rabbi Meir takes a rather… pessimistic approach. He suggests that the "wine house" represents the intoxicating power of the yetzer hara, the evil inclination. He argues that Israel, drunk on this inclination, stumbled and proclaimed the Golden Calf as their god. Wine, after all, can confuse us, make us do things we regret.
Rabbi Yehuda isn't having it. "Enough, Meir!" he exclaims, basically saying you can't interpret the Song of Songs in a negative light. This book, he insists, is all about praising Israel. So, what's the real meaning of "He brought me to the wine house"?
In Rabbi Yehuda, the "wine house" is Sinai. It's the place where God brought the Israelites to receive the Torah. And that "banner of love"? That's the Torah, the mitzvot (commandments), and the good deeds that Israel accepted with open hearts.
Rabbi Abba, quoting Rabbi Yitzchak, elaborates on this idea. He says that at Sinai, God gave Israel the Torah, which can be analyzed with "forty-nine approaches for purity and with forty-nine approaches for impurity.” And get this, the numerical value of the Hebrew phrase "vediglo" – "his banner" – is also 49! (Vav is 6, dalet is 4, gimmel is 3, lamed is 30, and vav is 6). It’s a beautiful connection, showing how deeply the Torah and God's love are intertwined.
But here’s where it gets really interesting. The text goes on to explore the idea that even our mistakes, our imperfections, can be seen with love. Rabbi Yona says that when two colleagues are debating a point of halakha (Jewish law), and one can’t quite remember the source… God still sees their efforts with love. Even an incomplete attempt at understanding Torah is cherished.
Rabbi Acha takes it further. What about someone who makes a mistake in pronunciation, confusing "love" (ve'ahavta) with "hate" (ve'ayavta)? God sees even that mistake with love!
And it continues! Rabbi Yisakhar talks about a child mispronouncing names like Moshe (Moses) or Aharon (Aaron). Rabbi Hunia describes someone accidentally touching God’s name in a text. The Rabbis even suggest a child skipping over God’s name while reading. In all these instances, God's response is… love.
Rabbi Berekhya even brings up Jacob's deception of his father, Isaac, when he wore goatskins to trick Isaac into giving him Esau's blessing (Genesis 27:16). Even that act of "subterfuge" (digulin), Rabbi Berekhya says, is met with God’s Divine Presence.
What are we to make of all this? Are we being given a license to mess up? Absolutely not. But I think there's something profoundly comforting in the idea that God’s love isn’t conditional on perfect performance. It embraces our efforts, our struggles, even our stumbles. It’s a love that sees the intention, the yearning, behind the imperfection.
Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin, quoting Rabbi Levi, brings us back to Sinai. He envisions the Israelites seeing the angels, Michael and Gabriel, with their banners. Inspired by these heavenly rites, they yearned for banners of their own. And God granted their wish, instructing Moses that each tribe should encamp with its own banner (Numbers 2:2).
So, what’s the takeaway? Maybe it’s this: God isn't looking for perfection. God is looking for connection. God is looking for us to show up, to try, to engage, even when we fall short. And in those moments of imperfection, we might just find that God's banner over us is, indeed, love.
“He brought me to the wine house, and his banner over me is love” (Song of Songs 2:4). “He brought me to the wine house,” Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Yehuda, Rabbi Meir says: The congregation of Israel said: ‘The evil inclination gained control over me like wine, and I said of the calf: “This is your god, Israel”’ (Exodus 32:4). When wine enters a person, it confuses him. Rabbi Yehuda said to him: Enough, Meir, one does not expound Song of Songs disparagingly, but rather, favorably, as Song of Songs was given only in praise of Israel. What, then, is “he brought me to the wine house”? The congregation of Israel said: The Holy One blessed be He brought me to a large wine cellar, this is Sinai. He gave me there banners of Torah, mitzvot, and good deeds, and I accepted them with great love. Rabbi Abba said in the name of Rabbi Yitzḥak: The congregation of Israel said: The Holy One blessed be He brought me to a large wine cellar, this is Sinai. He gave me there the Torah, which is expounded with forty-nine approaches for purity and with forty-nine approaches for impurity, the numerical value of “his banner [vediglo].47Vav is equivalent to 6, dalet to 4, gimmel to 3, lamed–to 30, and vav to 6, which together equal 49. I accepted it with great love, as it is stated: “And his banner over me is love.” Rabbi Yona said: Two colleagues who engage in a matter of halakha, this one says the source of the halakha, and that one does not say the source of the halakha, the Holy One blessed be He says: “His banner [vediglo] over me is love.”48Although he cannot provide a source for his ruling, and therefore his conclusion is inaccurate, his efforts in Torah study are nonetheless beloved in the eyes of God. The word diglo is interpreted as referring to his incomplete [dilugo] studies (Maharzu). Rabbi Aḥa said: An ignoramus who calls love hate, e.g. [instead of] “you shall love” [ve’ahavta], [he says] “you shall hate” [ve’ayavta], the Holy One blessed be He says: His mistake [dilugo] is beloved to Me. Rabbi Yisakhar said: A child who calls Moshe Masheh, Aharon Aharan, Efron Efran, the Holy One blessed be He says: His ridicule [liglugo]49The letters lamed and dalet are both lingual letters so liglugo replaces dilugo. is beloved to Me. Rabbi Ḥunya said: In the past, if a person would point to the image [of a king] with his finger, he would be punished.50It was considered a lack of respect to point at a picture or statue of the king. Now, a person places his hand on a mention of God’s name and he is not harmed. Moreover, the Holy One blessed be He says: His thumb [gudalo] over Me is love. The Rabbis say: Even if a child skips the mention of God’s name several times he is not harmed. Moreover, the Holy One blessed be He says: His omission [dilugo] is beloved to Me. Rabbi Berekhya said: Even all the subterfuge [digulin] that Jacob employed regarding his father, just as it says: “And the hides of the goat kids, she placed on his hands” (Genesis 27:16), the Holy One blessed be He says: ‘I rest My Divine Presence over them.’ That is what is written: “You shall make sheets of goats’ hair” (Exodus 26:7). Moreover, the Holy One blessed be He said to him: “His banner [vediglo] over me is love,” his subterfuge [vedigulo] over me is love. Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin [said] in the name of Rabbi Levi: The congregation of Israel said: ‘The Holy One blessed be He brought me to a large wine cellar, this is Sinai. There, I saw Mikhael and his banner, Gavriel and his banner, and my eyes saw heavenly rites and I loved them.’ At that time the Holy One blessed be He said to Moses: ‘Since the desire of My children is for banners, they will encamp with banners.’ That is what is written: “Each at his banner according to the insignia” (Numbers 2:2).
