אִיֹש עַל דִּגְלוֹ. זֶה שֶׁאָמַר הַכָּתוּב: נְרַנְּנָה בִּישׁוּעָתְךָ וּבְשֵׁם אֱלֹהֵינוּ נִדְגֹּל (תהלים כ, ו). נְרַנְּנָה בִּישׁוּעָתְךָ, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וַיּוֹשַׁע ה' (שמות יד, ל). וּבְשֵׁם אֱלֹהֵינוּ נִדְגֹּל. הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא שְׁמוֹ כִּשְׁמוֹתֵינוּ, וְעָשָׂה לָנוּ דְּגָלִים, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: אִישׁ עַל דִּגְלוֹ בְּאוֹתוֹת. חִבָּה גְּדוֹלָה חִבֵּב הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל שֶׁעֲשָׂאָן דְּגָלִים כְּמַלְאֲכֵי הַשָּׁרֵת, כְּדֵי שֶׁיִּהְיוּ נִכָּרִין בְּנֵי רְאוּבֵן לְעַצְמָן וּבְנֵי שִׁמְעוֹן לְעַצְמָן. וּמִנַּיִן שֶׁהִיא אָהֲבָה. שֶׁכֵּן הוּא אוֹמֵר, הֱבִיאַנִי אֶל בֵּית הַיַּיִן וְדִגְלוֹ עָלַי אַהֲבָה (שה״ש ב, ה). אָמַר רַבִּי אַבָּהוּ, וּמַה תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר: וְדִגְלוֹ עָלַי אַהֲבָה, הֱבִיאַנִי אֶל בֵּית הַיַּיִן. מָשָׁל לְמָה הַדָּבָר דּוֹמֶה. לְעָשִׁיר שֶׁהָיָה לוֹ אוֹצָר מָלֵא יַיִן, נִכְנַס לְבָדְקוֹ וּמְצָאוֹ כֻּלּוֹ חֹמֶץ. בָּא לָצֵאת לוֹ מִתּוֹךְ הָאוֹצָר, מָצָא שָׁם חָבִית אַחַת וְיַיִן טוֹב. אָמַר, חָבִית זוֹ חֲבִיבָה עָלַי מִכָּל הָאוֹצָר. כָּךְ בָּרָא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אֶת שִׁבְעִים אֻמּוֹת, וּמִכֻּלָּם לֹא מָצָא הֲנָאָה אֶלָּא בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: הֱבִיאַנִי אֶל בֵּית הַיַּיִן. שְׁנֵי יוּדִין עֶשְׂרִים, נוּן חֲמִשִּׁים, הֲרֵי שִׁבְעִים, אֵלּוּ שִׁבְעִים אֻמּוֹת. וּמִכֻּלָּם לֹא אָהַב אֶלָּא יִשְׂרָאֵל, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: וְדִגְלוֹ עָלַי אַהֲבָה. וְאוֹמֵר: שִׁשִּׁים הֵמָּה מְלָכוֹת וּשְׁמֹנִים פִּילַגְשִׁים וַעֲלָמוֹת אֵין מִסְפָּר, אַחַת הִיא יוֹנָתִי תַּמָּתִי (שם ו, ח-ט). רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר, הֱבִיאַנִי אֶל בֵּית הַיַּיִן, לְמַרְתֵּף גָּדוֹל שֶׁל יַיִן, זֶה סִינַי. וְלָמַדְנוּ מִשָּׁם תּוֹרָה, שֶׁנִּדְרֶשֶׁת בְּאַרְבָּעִים וְתִשְׁעָה פָּנִים טָהוֹר, וּבְאַרְבָּעִים וְתִשְׁעָה פָּנִים טָמֵא. וְדִגְלוֹ, בְּגִימַטְרִיָּא אַרְבָּעִים וָתֵשַׁע. הֱבִיאַנִי אֶל בֵּית הַיַּיִן. אָמַר רַבִּי חֲנַנְיָא, בָּרִאשׁוֹנָה כָּל מִי שֶׁהָיָה מַרְאֶה אִקּוֹנִין שֶׁל מֶלֶךְ בְּאֶצְבַּע, הָיָה נֶהֱרָג. וְהַתִּינוֹקוֹת הוֹלְכִין לְבֵית הַסֵּפֶר וּמַרְאִין אֶת הַהַזְכָּרָה בְּאֶצְבְּעוֹתֵיהֶן. אָמַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, וְדִגְלוֹ עָלַי אַהֲבָה. אֲפִלּוּ אָדָם יוֹשֵׁב וְעוֹסֵק בַּתּוֹרָה, מִתּוֹרָה לְתוֹרָה, וּמֵהֲלָכָה לַהֲלָכָה, וּמִפָּסוּק לְפָסוּק, אָמַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, עָלַי הוּא אַהֲבָה, חָבִיב הוּא עָלַי, וְדִגְלוֹ עָלַי אַהֲבָה. דָּבָר אַחֵר, וְדִגְלוֹ עָלַי אַהֲבָה. אָמַר הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא, יֵשׁ לְאֻמּוֹת הָעוֹלָם דְּגָלִים דְּגָלִים, וְאֵין חָבִיב עָלַי אֶלָּא דִּגְלוֹ שֶׁל יַעֲקֹב, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: אִישׁ עַל דִּגְלוֹ. (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 your 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]45The whole bracketed section which ends here began in section 3 and represents a missing page in Buber’s primary Oxford Ms. among our names46E.g., the El (“God”) in “Israel.” 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,47Numb. R. 2:3. 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 [yyn]). [Now] y (yod) plus y (yod), [which] equals twenty, plus n (nun), [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.48Cant. R. 2:4:1. And the numerical count (gematria) of (ibid., cont.) “and His standard (wdglw)” 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 likeness49Gk.: eikonion. 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 (wediglo)50The 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) wediglo (AND HIS STANDARD) is the equivalent of wegodlo (“and his thumb”). over me is love.’” Even though, when sitting and studying the Torah, [one skips (rt.: dlg)] from precept (halakhah) 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.: dgl) over me is love,’ [and his skipping (rt.: dlg) 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--.’”