🌸 פרחים 🌼

(1) I am a rose of Sharon,
A lily of the valleys.
(2) Like a lily among thorns,
So is my darling among the maidens.

(1) Rabbi Hizkiyah opened, “It is written, as a rose among thorns.” (Song of Songs 2:2) What is the Rose? It is the Congregation of Israel. Because there is a rose, and there is a Rose. Just as the rose among the thorns is tinged with red and white, so is the Congregation of Israel affected by the qualities of Judgment and Mercy. Just as a rose has thirteen petals, the Assembly of Israel is surrounded on all sides by the thirteen attributes of Mercy. Thus, between the first mentions of the name Elohim, [in the Torah] these [thirteen] words surround and guard the Congregation of Israel.

(2) After this, [the name "Elohim"] is written again in the text. And why is it mentioned again? In order to bring out the five rigid leaves that surround a rose. And these five represent the five gates of salvation. And this secret is written about in the verse, "I will raise the cup of salvation" (Psalms 116:13) This is the cup of benediction which is raised after a meal. The cup of benediction must rest on five fingers, and no more, just as a rose rests on five rigid leaves. And this Rose is the cup of benediction. From the second to the third mention of the name Elohim [in the Torah], there are five words. From this point the Ohr [light] was created [hence "Let there be Light."] and concealed and enclosed within that covenant that entered the rose and fructified it. This is referred to as a "fruit-tree bearing fruit after its kind, wherein is the seed thereof." [Genesis 1:11] This seed is the Covenant.

(3) And just as the Covenant is sown by forty-two birthings from that same seed, so is the engraved and holy name sown, by the forty-two letters that describe the works of Creation.

(1) When God began to create heaven and earth—(2) the earth being unformed and void, with darkness over the surface of the deep and a wind from God sweeping over the water—(3) God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.(4) God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness.(5) God called the light Day and called the darkness Night. And there was evening and there was morning, a first day.(6) God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the water, that it may separate water from water.”(7) God made the expanse, and it separated the water which was below the expanse from the water which was above the expanse. And it was so.(8) God called the expanse Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, a second day.(9) God said, “Let the water below the sky be gathered into one area, that the dry land may appear.” And it was so.(10) God called the dry land Earth and called the gathering of waters Seas. And God saw that this was good.(11) And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation: seed-bearing plants, fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.” And it was so.

I raise the cup of deliverance
and invoke the name of the LORD.

Rabbi Hizkiyah opened, “It is written, as a rose among thorns.” (Song of Songs 2:2) What is the Rose? It is the Congregation of Israel. Because there is a rose, and there is a Rose. Just as the rose among the thorns is tinged with red and white, so is the Congregation of Israel affected by the qualities of Judgment and Mercy. Just as a rose has thirteen petals, the Assembly of Israel is surrounded on all sides by the thirteen attributes of Mercy. Thus, between the first mentions of the name Elohim, [in the Torah] these [thirteen] words surround and guard the Congregation of Israel. After this, [the name "Elohim"] is written again in the text. And why is it mentioned again? In order to bring out the five rigid leaves that surround a rose. And these five represent the five gates of salvation. And this secret is written about in the verse, "I will raise the cup of salvation" (Psalms 116:13) This is the cup of benediction which is raised after a meal. The cup of benediction must rest on five fingers, and no more, just as a rose rests on five rigid leaves. And this Rose is the cup of benediction. From the second to the third mention of the name Elohim [in the Torah], there are five words. From this point the Ohr [light] was created [hence "Let there be Light."] and concealed and enclosed within that covenant that entered the rose and fructified it. This is referred to as a "fruit-tree bearing fruit after its kind, wherein is the seed thereof." [Genesis 1:11] This seed is the Covenant. And just as the Covenant is sown by forty-two birthings from that same seed, so is the engraved and holy name sown, by the forty-two letters that describe the works of Creation.

(1)“I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys” (Song of Songs 2:1).
“I am a rose [ḥavatzelet] of Sharon.” The congregation of Israel said: I am as I am, yet I am beloved [ḥaviva]. It is I whom the Holy One blessed be He loved me more than seventy nations. “A rose [ḥavatzelet] of Sharon,” I made Him shelter [tzel] by means of Betzalel, as it is written: “Betzalel crafted the Ark” (Exodus 37:1). “Of Sharon,” as I recited song [shira] before Him by means of Moses, as it is written: “Then Moses and the children of Israel sang” (Exodus 15:1).
Another matter, “I am a rose of Sharon.” The congregation of Israel said: I am as I am, yet I am beloved. It is I who was shrouded in the shadow of Egypt, but the Holy One blessed be He brought me quickly to Rameses. I sprouted good deeds like a lily, and I recited a song before Him, as it is stated: “The song will be for you like the night of the consecration of the festival” (Isaiah 30:29).
Another matter, “I am a rose of Sharon.” The congregation of Israel said: I am as I am, yet I am beloved. It is I who was shrouded in the shadow of the sea, but I quickly sprouted good deeds like a lily, and I pointed to Him with my finger [and pronounced that He is] my Master, as it is stated: “This is my God and I will exalt Him” (Exodus 15:2).
Another matter, “I am a rose of Sharon.” I am as I am, yet I am beloved. It is I who was shrouded in the shadow of Sinai. I quickly blossomed good deeds with my hand and my heart, and I said before Him: “Everything that the Lord has spoken we will perform and we will heed” (Exodus 24:7).
Another matter, “I am a rose of Sharon.” I am as I am, yet I am beloved. It is I who was shrouded and trampled in the shadow of kingdoms. Tomorrow, when the Holy One blessed be He redeems me from the shadow of the kingdoms, I will blossom like a lily, and I will recite a new song before Him, as it is stated: “A psalm. Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has performed wonders; His right hand and His holy arm have wrought salvation for Him” (Psalms 98:1).

(1) The arid desert shall be glad,
The wilderness shall rejoice
And shall blossom like a rose.(2) It shall blossom abundantly,
It shall also exult and shout.
It shall receive the glory of Lebanon,
The splendor of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall behold the glory of the LORD,
The splendor of our God.

(6) I will be to Israel like dew;
He shall blossom like the lily,
He shall strike root like a Lebanon tree.^-e(7) His boughs shall spread out far,
His beauty shall be like the olive tree’s,
His fragrance like that of Lebanon.(8) They who sit in his shade shall be revived:
They shall bring to life new grain,
They shall blossom like the vine;
His scent shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

Rabbi Azarya [said] in the name of Rabbi Yehuda that Rabbi Simon said: This is analogous to a king who had an orchard, and they descended and planted a row of fig trees, a row of grapevines, a row of pomegranate trees, and a row of apple trees. He entrusted it to a sharecropper and went. Some time later, the king came and peered at the orchard to ascertain what he had done, and he found it filled with thorns and briars. He brought cutters to cut it down, but he saw a rose in it and smelled it, and he was placated. The king said: Because of this rose, the orchard will be saved. So too, the world was created only for Israel. After twenty-six generations passed, the Holy One blessed be He peered at His world to ascertain what it had done, and He saw that it was water in water. The generation of Enosh was obliterated with water. The Generation of the Flood was obliterated with water; the Generation of the Dispersion, in water. He brought cutters to cut it, as it is stated: “The Lord sat enthroned at the Flood” (Psalms 29:10). He saw a rose, this is, Israel; He took it and smelled it when Israel assented to the Ten Commandments, and He was placated. When Israel said: “We will perform and we will heed” (Exodus 24:7), the Holy One blessed be He said: ‘Due to this rose, the orchard will be spared; due to the merit of the Torah and those who engage in its study, the world will be spared.’

(31) You shall make a lampstand of pure gold; the lampstand shall be made of hammered work; its base and its shaft, its cups, calyxes, and petals shall be of one piece.(32) Six branches shall issue from its sides; three branches from one side of the lampstand and three branches from the other side of the lampstand.(33) On one branch there shall be three cups shaped like almond-blossoms, each with calyx and petals, and on the next branch there shall be three cups shaped like almond-blossoms, each with calyx and petals; so for all six branches issuing from the lampstand.(34) And on the lampstand itself there shall be four cups shaped like almond-blossoms, each with calyx and petals:

Therefore, we have said that there are two pillars to the service of God, blessed be He, and they are fear and love. These two pillars have a foundation, which is reason. Reason is the fruit of the rational soul. For when a man is born and goes forth into the world, the soul which is in his body is like a seed that is sown beneath the earth whose power is not known, but its master waters it every day and guards it through heat and frost until it begins to sprout and send forth branches and shoots, and afterwards it brings forth flowers, produces blossoms, and finally its fruit ripens. Thus it is with the soul. At the beginning of its existence in the body its power is not known, and its deeds cannot be seen. It is like the seed which is hidden beneath the earth. It grows, and its powers begin to be discerned and are augmented slightly every day until the man reaches the time of youth, then the soul is like a tree which brings forth flowers and produces blossoms. As days are added to its life, man’s reason is perfected, and then the soul is like a flower or a blossom whose fruit has ripened. Thus, the fruit of the soul is reason. However, not every tree produces good fruit, and not every soul has good reason. But according to the goodness of the soil, the goodness of the root, and the goodness of the care given to it, will be the goodness of the fruit. In a similar manner, the goodness of reason will be according to the goodness of the foundations of the body, which is the soil, and according to the goodness of the soul, which is the root, and according to the goodness of the moral instruction, which is the watch kept over it. It is because of this that we have said that reason is the foundation of fear and love. These two, fear and love, are the pillars of the proper service. According to the goodness of reason will be the goodness of the love and fear and their perfection, and, with this good reason, the service of God will be true.