That feeling, that sting of inner circle treachery, echoes through the ancient words of Shir HaShirim Rabbah, the collection of Rabbinic teachings on the Song of Songs.
Today, we're diving into Shir HaShirim Rabbah 6, where the verse "My mother’s sons were incensed at me" becomes a lens through which the Rabbis examine moments of national failure and internal conflict in Jewish history. It's a verse packed with accusation, regret, and a deep sense of lost potential.
Rabbi Meir, for example, interprets "my mother’s sons" (benei imi) as "the members of my nation" (benei umati), and specifically points a finger at Datan and Aviram. Remember them? They're the ones who, according to tradition, informed Pharaoh that Moses had killed an Egyptian, causing Moses to flee to Midian (as we see in Shemot Rabba 1:29). Rabbi Meir argues that Datan and Aviram "assailed me [nitgaru bi]" and "filled the Judge with enflamed wrath against me," ultimately prolonging the Israelites' enslavement in Egypt. Because of them, represented here by Moses settling a dispute involving the daughters of Yitro, Israel couldn't settle the dispute between itself and its brethren in Egypt. It's a potent image of internal discord delaying redemption. "I did not guard my own vineyard," the verse laments.
Rabbi Yosei offers another interpretation: the "mother’s sons" are the scouts who brought back a discouraging report about the Promised Land. Their negativity, their lack of faith, caused the Israelites to wander in the wilderness for forty years. Again, "I did not guard my own vineyard."
But the interpretations don't stop there. The text goes on to identify other "incensed" brothers: Yerovam ben Nevat, who led the northern kingdom of Israel astray with his golden calves. The Rabbis saw this as a failure to maintain the priestly and Levite watches, another example of a vineyard left unguarded.
Then comes a fascinating digression. Rabbi Levi tells a story about the day Solomon married the daughter of Pharaoh Nekho. On that day, the angel Mikhael supposedly caused a reed to create land in the sea, which became the location of Rome. The text continues, adding that on the day Yerovam established the golden calves, two towers were built in Rome, and they kept collapsing until water from the Euphrates was used in their mortar. The story introduces Abba Kolon, a wine merchant who secretly transported the water. According to the text, "Any province where there is no Abba Kolon cannot be called a province." This "Babylonian Rome," as it's called, is a subtle commentary on the interconnectedness of Jewish history and the rise of other empires.
The litany of betrayals continues. We hear about Ahab, who favored false prophets over the true prophet Mikhaihu, and Jezebel, who persecuted Elijah. Finally, there's King Zedekiah, who pampered false prophets while the true prophet Jeremiah was given only coarse bread, as we read in (Jeremiah 37:21). Each figure represents a failure to "guard my own vineyard," a failure to protect what was most precious: truth, justice, and the relationship with God.
What are we to make of this relentless chain of accusations? Is it simply a historical blame game? Perhaps. But it’s also a powerful reminder of the fragility of community and the constant need for self-reflection. The "mother's sons" are always with us, those internal voices and external forces that threaten to lead us astray. The question, then, isn't just who betrayed us, but how can we better guard our own vineyard in the future? How can we create a community where truth and justice flourish, and where the voices of true prophets are heard and heeded? That, perhaps, is the enduring challenge of Shir HaShirim Rabbah 6.
“My mother’s sons were incensed at me.” Rabbi Meir and Rabbi Yosei. Rabbi Meir says: “My mother’s sons [benei imi]”—the members of my nation [benei umati]; these are Datan and Aviram, “were incensed at me [niḥaru bi]”—they assailed me [nitgaru bi], they filled the Judge with enflamed wrath against me.207They caused Israel’s enslavement in Egypt to be extended longer than it would have otherwise been. This midrash is presented as though stated by Israel. “They placed me as guard of the vineyards”—because [they caused Moses] to settle the dispute between the daughters of Yitro,208The dispute between the daughters of Yitro and the Midyanite shepherds (see Exodus 2:16–17). Datan and Aviram are identified as the individuals who told Pharaoh that Moses had killed an Egyptian taskmaster, and thereby caused Moses to flee to Midyan (see Exodus 2:13–15; Shemot Rabba 1:29). he could not settle the dispute between me and my brethren who were in Egypt. That is: “I did not guard my own vineyard.” Rabbi Yosei says: “My mother’s sons were incensed at me”—the members of my nation, these are the scouts. “Were incensed at me”—they assailed me; they filled the Judge with enflamed wrath against me. “They placed me as guard of the vineyards.” Because I tarried in the wilderness for forty-two journeys, I was not able to enter the Land of Israel. That is: “I did not guard my own vineyard.” Another matter, “my mother’s sons were incensed at me”—the members of my nation, this is Yerovam ben Nevat. “Were incensed at me”—they assailed me; they filled the Judge with enflamed wrath against me. “They placed me as guard of the vineyards,” the guarding of Yerovam’s two calves, “I did not guard my own vineyard,” I did not maintain the priestly and Levite watches. That is: “I did not guard my own vineyard.” Rabbi Levi said: On the day that Solomon married the daughter of Pharaoh Nekho, [the angel] Mikhael, the great prince, descended from the heavens and inserted a large reed into the sea. Mud arose on this side and that, and made that place like a thicket. It became the location of Rome. On the day that Yerovam ben Nevat established the two golden calves, two towers were built in Rome. They would build them and they would collapse, build them and they would collapse. There was one elderly man there named Abba Kolon. He said to them: ‘Unless you bring water from the Euphrates River, mix it with the mortar, and build them, they will not remain standing.’ They said to him: ‘Who can do that?’209They knew that the authorities in the Land of Israel would not allow water from the Euphrates to be transported. He said to them: ‘I can.’ He presented himself as a wine merchant. He would enter a city and leave a city, enter a province and leave a province until he arrived there. When he arrived there, he went and brought water from the Euphrates.210He transported it in the empty wine barrels. They mixed it with mortar and built them and they remained standing. From that time, they would say: Any province where there is no Abba Kolon cannot be called a province. They would call it Babylonian Rome.211The Euphrates was in Babylon. On the day that Elijah, of blessed memory, departed [from the world], a king assumed power in Edom. That is what is written: “There was no king in Edom, a prefect was king” (I Kings 22:48).212For many years, Edom was subservient to Israel and was ruled by a prefect who was controlled by Israel. When Elijah departed from the world, Edom appointed a king and became politically independent. It should be noted that the Sages generally identify Edom as the forebear of Rome. Another matter, “my mother’s sons were incensed at me”—the members of my nation, this is Ahab. “Were incensed at me,” they assailed me; they filled the Judge with enflamed wrath against me. “They placed me as guard of the vineyards,” he would pamper and feed Tzidkiya ben Kenaana and his cohorts,213False prophets. and I had one true prophet, this is Mikhaihu, and this is what he commanded and said: “Feed him scant food and scant water until I return in peace” (I Kings 22:27). “That is: “I did not guard my own vineyard.” Another matter, “my mother’s sons”—[members of] my nation, this is Jezebel. “Were incensed at me”—they assailed me; they filled the Judge with enflamed wrath against me. “They placed me as guard of the vineyards”—she would pamper and feed the prophets of the Baal and the Ashera. And to Elijah the prophet, of blessed memory, who was a true prophet, she sent and said to him: “At this time tomorrow I will render your life like the life of one of them” (I Kings 19:2).214She threatened to have him killed. That is: “I did not guard my own vineyard.” Another matter, “my mother’s sons,” this is King Zedekiah. “Were incensed at me”—they assailed me; they filled the Judge with enflamed wrath against me. “They placed me as guard of the vineyards,” he would pamper Pashḥur ben Malkiya and his cohorts.215False prophets. And I had one true prophet, this is Jeremiah, and he wrote in his regard:216Jeremiah wrote what Zedekiah did for him. “They gave him a loaf of bread daily from the bakers' street” (Jeremiah 37:21). What is “from the bakers’ street [ḥutz]”? Rabbi Yitzḥak said: This is coarse bread, which is black and made from barley bran, which is sold outside [ḥutz] the bakers’ marketplace. That is: “I did not guard my own vineyard,” because I did not guard my own vineyard.217I did not protect the true prophets.
