(Numb. 2:2:) [“The Children of Israel shall camp,] each with his standard, under the banners for their fathers' houses….” This text is related (to Ps. 20:6), “Let us shout for joy in your salvation, and in the name of our God let us set up our standards….” “Let us shout for joy in <i>your</i> salvation,” as is stated (in Exod. 14:30), “So the Lord saved.” (Ps. 20:6, cont.:) “And in the name of our God let us set up our standards,” for God has inserted His name]<sup class="footnote-marker">45</sup><i class="footnote">The whole bracketed section which ends here began in section 3 and represents a missing page in Buber’s primary Oxford Ms.</i> among our names<sup class="footnote-marker">46</sup><i class="footnote">E.g., the <i>El</i> (“God”) in “Isra<i>el</i>.”</i> and has appointed us standards, as stated (in Numb. 2:2), “each with his standard, under the banners.” The Holy One, blessed be He, cherished Israel with great love,<sup class="footnote-marker">47</sup><i class="footnote">Numb. R. 2:3.</i> in that He appointed them standards like [those of] the ministering angels, so that they would be recognizable, the Children of Reuben by themselves, the Children of Simeon by themselves, [etc.]; but where is it shown that He loved them? Where it is stated (in Cant. 2:4), “He brought me unto the banquet house, and His standard over me is love.” To what is the matter comparable? To a rich person who had a storehouse full of wine. He went in to inspect it and found it to be vinegar. [When] he went to leave the storehouse, he found there one cask of [good] wine. He said this cask is worth as much to me as the full storehouse. Similarly the Holy One, blessed be He, has created seventy nations, but of them all He has found pleasure only in Israel, as stated (in Cant. 2:4), “He brought me unto the banquet house (literally: house of wine [<i>yyn</i>]). [Now] <i>y</i> (<i>yod</i>) plus <i>y</i> (<i>yod</i>), [which] equals twenty, plus <i>n</i> (<i>nun</i>), [which stands for] fifty, results in seventy; and of all those [seventy nations] He loved only Israel. It is so stated (ibid., cont.), “and His standard over me is love.” It also says (in Cant. 6:8-9), “There are sixty queens…. One is My dove, My perfect one.” (Cant. 2:4), “He brought me unto the house of wine.” R. Judah says, “He brought me to the great wine cellar, namely Sinai; and from there He taught me Torah, which is expounded in forty-nine ways to render pure and in forty-nine ways to render impure.<sup class="footnote-marker">48</sup><i class="footnote">Cant. R. 2:4:1.</i> And the numerical count (gematria) of (ibid., cont.) “and His standard (<i>wdglw</i>)” is forty-nine. [Another interpretation (of Cant. 2:4),] “He brought me unto the house of wine. R Hunya said, “In the past whoever pointed his finger at a likeness<sup class="footnote-marker">49</sup><i class="footnote">Gk.: <i>eikonion</i>.</i> of the king was put to death; but when the children go to school and point a finger at the [likenesses of] the Divine Name [in the book], the Holy One, blessed be He, says (ibid., cont.), ‘and His standard (<i>wediglo</i>)<sup class="footnote-marker">50</sup><i class="footnote">The midrash interprets HOUSE OF WINE as the equivalent of “house of the book”; and (according to Numb. R. 2:3 and Cant. R. 2:4:1) <i>wediglo</i> (AND HIS STANDARD) is the equivalent of <i>wegodlo</i> (“and his thumb”).</i> over me is love.’” Even though, when sitting and studying the Torah, [one skips (rt.: <i>dlg</i>)] from precept (<i>halakhah</i>) to precept and from verse to verse, the Holy One, blessed be He, says, “He is dear to Me (literally: over Me), ‘and His standard (rt.: <i>dgl</i>) over me is love,’ [and his skipping (rt.: <i>dlg</i>) over Me is love].” Another interpretation (of Cant. 2:4), “and His standard over me is love.” The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “The nations of the world have standards, but only the standard of Jacob is dear to Me, as stated (ibid.), ‘and His standard over Me is love--.’”