Optimism and the Song of Songs
Understanding Aggada
Yeshivat Har Etzion
Shiur #19a:
Optimism and the Song of Songs
By Rav Yitzchak Blau
On another occasion,
[Rabban Gamliel, Rabbi Elazar ben Azarya, Rabbi Yehoshua and Rabbi Akiva] were
going to Yerushalayim, and when they came to Mount Scopus, they rent their
clothes. When they came to the
Temple Mount, they saw a fox coming out of the Holy of Holies; [the others]
wept, but Rabbi Akiva laughed.
(Makkot
24b)
Before we can understand the significance of this aggada, we need to
consider another source, which requires some background knowledge. In Mishnaic times, people were keeping
their teruma produce beside the Torah scrolls, and mice were damaging the
scrolls to reach the food. To
prevent this desecration of the Torah scrolls, the Sages declared that touching
these scrolls is metamei yadayim (ritually defiles hands). This would prevent people from keeping
their teruma in the scrolls, as defiled teruma must be
destroyed. There was then a
question regarding whether or not some of the Ketuvim, such as Kohelet
and Shir Ha-shirim, were included in this edict. Thus, in this context, causing defilement
is actually a sign of sanctity.
Rabbi Akiva said: "God
forbid! No one of Israel ever
claimed that Shir Ha-shirim does not defile the hands. After all, the universe in its entirety
was never as worthwhile as the day that Shir Ha-shirim was given to Israel; all
Scriptures are holy, but Shir Ha-shirim is the holiest of the holy. If there was
ever a debate, it was only about Kohelet."
(Yadayim
3:5)
Why is there a question about the ritual status of Shir Ha-shirim, and
what is Rabbi Akiva's argument that it surely defiles hands? One possibility is that the parable of
Shir Ha-shirim could mistakenly be taken for a secular love song, and Rabbi
Akiva is strongly contesting that interpretation. Indeed, a different gemara (Sanhedrin
101a) indicates very strong opposition to treating the Song of Songs as a human
love song. Perhaps Rabbi Akiva
needs to affirm the metaphorical reading of this book as a song of love between
God and the Jewish people.
Rabbi Moshe Avigdor Amiel, former Chief Rabbi of Antwerp and Tel Aviv
(Derashot El Ami 2:15), understands the tension about this work
differently: he links Rabbi Akiva's reaction to the Temple ruins with his
statement about Shir Ha-shirim.
Shir Ha-shirim, the powerful love song between God and the Jewish people,
represents a great spirit of optimism and hope. Some of the Sages question the
continuing significance of such a work when the Temple has been destroyed and
the Jews have been exiled: does optimism still have a place in such a fragmented
world? When Rabbi Akiva contends
that Shir Ha-shirim does generate tumat yadayim, he forcefully asserts
that our aspirations and hopes have become no less relevant in our broken world.
The same spirit enables Rabbi Akiva to laugh when encountering foxes
roaming the Temple mount. He sees
this as the confirmation of a biblical prophecy, and this fills him with hope
that more positive prophecies of consolation will also be fulfilled. This optimistic spirit enables Rabbi
Akiva to maintain that Shir Ha-shirim, the great love song between God and the
Jewish people, remains the holy of holies even when we are confronted with
destruction.
According to Rav Amiel, Judaism incorporates more of the optimism of Shir
Ha-shirim than the pessimism of Kohelet. Kohelet is read once a year on Sukkot,
but Shir Ha-shirim appears in the Siddur for recital each Friday night. Of course, this optimism should not be
confused with the notion that religion quickly solves all human problems and
that religious life consists of resting by still waters in a green pasture.
(Indeed, Rabbi J. B. Soloveitchik
attacks this Pollyannaish view of religion in the majestic fourth footnote of
Halakhic Man.) Rather,
religion understands the unfortunate truth that life includes tragedies,
difficulties and frustrations, and that we cannot easily deal with these things
or confidently understand their place in the cosmic scheme. At the same time,
our faith in the divine promise and in a life of Torah and mitzvot does enable a
certain ongoing optimism even as we acknowledge the existence of suffering. Rabbi Akiva certainly mourns the loss of
the Temple, even as he continues to look forward to a better
future.
The preceding analysis may impact on our reading of a fascinating
midrash:
Rabbi Chiya taught that
only in his elder years did the Holy Spirit reside in Shelomo, enabling him to
write the three works of Mishlei, Kohelet and Shir Ha-shirim. Rabbi Yonatan maintained that he wrote
Shir Ha-shirim first and then Mishlei and then Kohelet. He brought a proof from the way of the
world: the young sing, middle-aged people tell parables and the elderly see the
vanities of the world.
(Shir Ha-shirim
Rabba 1:10)
The correct relationship
between optimism and pessimism emerges from this debate. Rabbi Yonatan identifies the time of
composition of each of Shelomo's works based on the stages of a person's life.
This seems eminently reasonable:
youthful ardor dominates in the mornings of a person's lifetime and experienced
cynicism as evening falls. Why does
Rabbi Chiya argue with an approach that seems true to much of human experience
and instead claim that all three works were penned at the same time in Shelomo's
life?
Rabbi Amiel suggests that all of life must jointly include elements of
both the optimism of Shir Ha-shirim and the pessimism of Kohelet. In fact, it is
only Kohelet's ability to balance the youthful ardor of song with an authentic
understanding of the difficulties of human existence that enables the song to
continue through the ripeness of advancing years. A cheaply acquired optimism is quickly
shattered on the rocks of human suffering; on the other hand, an equally easy
despairing cynicism also misses the mark, as it indicates blindness to the many
wonderful aspects of human existence.
It is only the more realistic optimism that sees effort and difficulty as
unavoidable, but still finds cause for hope that we will survive the
vicissitudes of human life. May we
all merit to share in this more complex optimism and experience the love and
rapture of a genuine relationship with the Divine.
This website is constantly being improved. We would appreciate hearing from you. Questions and comments on the classes are welcome, as is help in tagging, categorizing, and creating brief summaries of the classes. Thank you for being part of the Torat Har Etzion community!