It’s like a tiny seed containing an entire orchard. Take, for instance, the verse from Song of Songs 7:5: "Your neck is like an ivory tower; your eyes are pools in Ḥeshbon, by the gate of Bat Rabim; your nose is like the tower of Lebanon overlooking Damascus.”

Today, let's focus on that first part: "Your neck is like an ivory tower." The Shir HaShirim Rabbah, a classical collection of Rabbinic interpretations of Song of Songs, finds layers of meaning in this simple comparison, and it takes us to some unexpected places.

The Rabbis, in their insightful way, connect this verse to the fraught encounter between Jacob and Esau. Remember that scene? “Esau ran to meet him, embraced him, fell upon his neck, and kissed him [vayishakehu] [and they wept]" (Genesis 33:4). But there's something odd about the word vayishakehu—it's written in the Torah scroll with dots over each of the letters.

What’s up with those dots? Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar offers a fascinating rule: when the script is more numerous than the dots, we follow the script. When the dots are more numerous, we follow the dots. But in this case, neither is more numerous! So, what do we do?

The Rabbis suggest that the unusual dots hint at something sinister. Esau didn't really come to kiss Jacob, but rather to bite him! According to this interpretation, Jacob’s neck miraculously became as hard as marble, and Esau’s teeth became dull and melted like wax. So why the weeping? One was crying over his neck, the other over his teeth!

This interpretation, found in the Shir HaShirim Rabbah, sees the "ivory tower" of the neck as a symbol of divine protection.

But that's not all! The Rabbis aren't done with the image of the neck. Rabbi Abahu, in the name of Rabbi Elazar, connects our verse from Song of Songs to the story of Moses fleeing Pharaoh. "Pharaoh heard this matter and he sought to kill Moses. Moses fled" (Exodus 2:15). Now, Rabbi Abahu asks a pointed question: can anyone truly flee from a king?

The answer, they suggest, is no. Instead, the text teaches us that Moses was tried and sentenced to beheading. But, as Rabbi Evyatar tells it, a miracle occurred: the sword glanced off Moses' neck and instead sliced the neck of the wicked executioner! "For the God of my father was my help, and He delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh" (Exodus 18:4). God delivered Moses, but not the executioner.

Rabbi Bon applies Proverbs 11:8 to this situation: “The righteous is extricated from trouble, and the wicked comes in his place.” Rabbi Berekhya offers a similar sentiment, quoting Proverbs 21:18: "The wicked is a ransom for the righteous."

Bar Kappara suggests an even more extraordinary explanation: an angel descended in the guise of Moses! The guards apprehended the angel, allowing the real Moses to escape.

Rabbi Abba son of Rav Pappi and Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin, citing Rabbi Levi, bring the story to a dramatic climax. At that moment, all of Pharaoh’s advisors were struck with disabilities. Some became mute, some deaf, some blind, and some disabled. How could they answer Pharaoh's questions?

As it says in Exodus 4:11: “The Lord said to him: Who gives a mouth to a person, or who renders one mute or deaf, or sighted or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?” God was behind it all, clearing the path for Moses: “Now go and I will send you to Pharaoh” (Exodus 3:10).

So, what can we take away from this exploration of a single verse? It shows us how the Rabbis saw connections between seemingly disparate parts of the Tanakh. The "ivory tower" of the neck becomes a symbol of divine protection, a testament to God's power to intervene in human affairs, shielding the righteous from harm. It reminds us that even in moments of great peril, when faced with enemies and impossible odds, there is always the possibility of miraculous deliverance. And maybe, just maybe, it encourages us to look for those hidden connections in our own lives, to see the echoes of ancient stories in our own struggles and triumphs.