Song of Songs Rabbah 6:9

¹“One is my faultless dove, one to her mother, pure to the one who bore her. Girls see her and laud her; queens and concubines, and praise her” (Song of Songs 6:9). “One is my faultless dove”—“one,” this is Abraham, as it is stated: “Abraham was one” (Ezekiel 33:24). “One to her mother,” this is Isaac, who was an only child to his mother. “Pure [ bara ] to the one who bore her,” this is Jacob our patriarch, of whom it was clear [ barur ] to the one who bore him that he was entirely righteous. “Girls see her and laud her,” these are the tribes, as it is stated: “The news was heard in Pharaoh's palace, saying, "Joseph's brothers have come" (Genesis 45:16). Alternatively, “girls see her and laud her [ vayashruha ],” this is Leah, as it is stated: “In my happiness, as women will be happy for me [ ishruni ]” (Genesis 30:13). “Queens and concubines, and praise her,” this is Joseph, as it is stated: “Pharaoh said to his servants: Can we find someone like this?” (Genesis 41:38). If we walk from one end of the world to the other we will not find someone like this, as it is stated: “After God has disclosed all this to you, [there is no one as insightful and wise as you]” (Genesis 41:39). ²Rabbi Yitzḥak interpreted the verse regarding the portions of the Torah. “There are sixty queens,” these are the sixty tractates of halakhot . “And eighty concubines,” these are the eighty portions in Torat Kohanim . on the book of Leviticus. “And young women without number,” these are the Tosefta . contains tannaitic material [ baraitot ] that was not included in the Mishna. “One is [my faultless dove],” they dispute each other, but all of them expound it from one source, from one halakha , from a verbal analogy, from an a fortiori inference. ³Rabbi Yudan ben Rabbi Ilai interpreted the verse regarding the Tree of Life and the Garden of Eden. “There are sixty queens,” these are the sixty groups of righteous people that sit in the Garden of Eden beneath the Tree of Life and engage in Torah study. It is taught: The Tree of Life is a walking distance of five hundred years, and all the primordial waters separate and emerge from beneath it. Rabbi Yehuda ben Rabbi Ilai said: This is not only regarding its foliage, but even its trunk was a walking distance of five hundred years. It is taught: The runoff of a kor of seed. This is the equivalent of 75,000 square cubits. irrigates a tarkav . of seed. The tarkav is one-sixtieth of a kor . The runoff of Kush irrigates Egypt. Egypt is a walking distance of forty days, it measures four hundred parasangs by four hundred parasangs, and it is one-sixtieth [the size] of Kush. Kush is a walking distance of more than seven years, and it constitutes one-sixtieth of the world. The length of the world is a walking distance of five hundred years, and its width is a walking distance of five hundred years, and it is one four-hundredth [the size] of Gehenna. We find that the walking distance of Gehenna is two hundred thousand years. We thus find that the whole world in its entirety is like a pot cover for Gehenna. The world constitutes one-sixtieth [the size] of Eden and Eden is beyond measure. “And eighty concubines,” these are the sixty groups of middling people that sit and engage in Torah study outside the Tree of Life. “And young women without number,” there is no limit to the disciples. Are they, perhaps, in dispute with one another? The verse states: “One is my faultless dove”—they all expound it from one source, from one halakha , from one verbal analogy, from an a fortiori inference. ⁴The Rabbis interpret the verse regarding those who departed from Egypt. “There are sixty queens,” these are the six hundred thousand [men] from the age of twenty and above who departed [from Egypt]. “And eighty concubines,” these are the eight hundred thousand Israelites from the age of twenty and below who departed. “And young women without number,” there is no limit and no tally of the proselytes. Rabbi Berekhya said in the name of Rabbi Levi: The nations of the world have enumeration but do not have a tally. They have enumeration:“the children of Yefet, Gomer and Magog” (Genesis 10:2). But Israel has enumeration and a tally, as it is written: “Their count according to the number of every male…[their count was seven thousand five hundred]” (Numbers 3:22); “their count,” this is the enumeration, “according to the number,” this is the tally. Likewise, “Yoav gave the sum of the number of the census to the king…” (II Samuel 24:9), “sum,” this is the enumeration, “census,” this is the tally. If you say that we are testifying about ourselves, did not the wicked Bilam testify in our regard, as it is written: “Who has counted the dust of Jacob,” this is the enumeration, “or tallied one quarter of Israel” (Numbers 23:10), this is the tally. ⁵Another matter, “one is my faultless dove,” this is the congregation of Israel, as it is stated: “Who is like Your people, like Israel, one nation on earth” (II Samuel 7:23). “One to her mother [ le’imah ],” as it is stated: “Pay attention to Me, My people, and listen to Me, My nation [ uleumi ]” (Isaiah 51:4); le’imi is written. ] is written without a vav , such that it can be pronounced le’imi , meaning my mother. However, the verse is traditionally written with the vav in the word le’umi . The midrash may reflect a tradition regarding the writing of this word that is different from the tradition that has been more accepted over the centuries. Alternatively, the word le’umi is not necessary in the verse at all, and is written because it at times can be pronounced le’imi , when it is written without a vav . “Pure to the one who bore her,” Rabbi Yaakov bar Avuna interpreted before Rabbi Yitzḥak: Other than her, there are no others to the one who bore her. “Girls see her and laud her,” just as it says: “All the nations will praise you” (Malachi 3:12). “Queens and concubines, and praise her,” just as you say: “Kings will be your caregivers” (Isaiah 49:23).