Song of Songs Rabbah 2:8

¹“The sound of my beloved! Behold, he approaches, he leaps over the mountains and bounds over the hills” (Song of Songs 2:8). “The sound of my beloved! Behold, he approaches,” Rabbi Yehuda, Rabbi Neḥemya, and the Rabbis. Rabbi Yehuda says: “The sound of my beloved! Behold, he approaches,” this is Moses at the moment when he came and said to Israel: ‘During this month you will be redeemed.’ They said to him: ‘Moses our master, how will we be redeemed? Did the Holy One blessed be He not say to Abraham: “They will enslave them and afflict them four hundred years” (Genesis 15:13)? But we have only two hundred and ten years.’ He said to them: ‘Since He desires your redemption, He does not look at your calculations, but rather “he leaps over the mountains.” The mountains and hills mentioned here are nothing other than terminuses and intercalations. He leaps over calculations and over terminuses and intercalations, and during this month you will be redeemed, as it is stated: “This month is for you the beginning of the months” (Exodus 12:2).’ Rabbi Neḥemya said: “The sound of my beloved! Behold he approaches,” this is Moses at the moment that he came and said to Israel: ‘During this month you will be redeemed.’ They said to him: ‘Moses our master, how will we be redeemed? We do not have to our credit any good deeds.’ He said to them: ‘Since He desires your redemption, He does not look at your evil deeds. At whom does He look? At the righteous in your midst, and their actions, such as Amram and his court.’ ²“He leaps over the mountains and bounds over the hills,” mountains are nothing other than courts, just as it says: “I will go and descend upon the mountains” (Judges 11:37). During this month you will be redeemed, as it is stated: “This month is for you the beginning of the months.” The Rabbis say: “The sound of my beloved! Behold he approaches,” this is Moses. When he came and said to Israel: ‘During this month you will be redeemed,’ they said to him: ‘Moses our master, how will we be redeemed, when all of Egypt is contaminated with our idol worship?’ He said to them: ‘Since He desires your redemption, He does not look at your idol worship, but rather “he leaps over the mountains.” Mountains are nothing other than idol worship, just as it says: “On the mountaintops they slaughter and on the hills they burn incense” (Hosea 4:13). And during this month you will be redeemed, as it is stated: “This month is for you.” Rabbi Yudan and Rabbi Ḥunya, Rabbi Yudan in the name of Rabbi Eliezer son of Rabbi Yosei HaGelili and Rabbi Ḥunya in the name of Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov say: “The sound of my beloved! Behold, he approaches,” this is the messianic king. When he says to Israel, ‘this month you will be redeemed,’ they will say to him: ‘How will we be redeemed? Did the Holy One blessed be He not take an oath that He will subjugate us to seventy nations?’ He responds to them [and gives] two answers, saying to them: ‘One of you was exiled to Barbary and one of you was exiled to Smatrya, and it is as though all of you were exiled [there]. Moreover, this kingdom [Rome] imposes levies upon the entire world, from each and every nation. If a certain Cuthean or a certain Barbarian comes and subjugates you, it is as though you were subjugated to their entire nation, and [thus] it is as though you were subjugated to seventy nations. During this month you will be redeemed, as it is stated: “This month is for you the beginning of the months.”’