Megillah, Daf Yod Daled, Part 3
דבורה – דכתיב +שופטים ד"+ ודבורה אשה נביאה אשת לפידות. מאי אשת לפידות – שהיתה עושה פתילות למקדש. +שופטים ד"+ והיא יושבת תחת תמר, מאי שנא תחת תומר? – אמר רבי שמעון בן אבשלום: משום יחוד. דבר אחר: מה תמר זה אין לו אלא לב אחד – אף ישראל שבאותו הדור לא היה להם אלא לב אחד לאביהן שבשמים.
"Devorah," as it is written, "Now Devorah a prophetess, a woman of flames" (Judges 4:4). What is meant by a woman of flames? Because she used to make wicks for the Temple.
"And she sat under a palm tree" (v. 5). Why under a palm tree? R. Shimon b. Avishalom said: [To avoid] seclusion.
Another explanation is: Just as a palm tree has only one heart, so Israel in that generation had only one heart devoted to their Father in heaven.
Devorah from the book of Judges is also called a prophetess. The Talmud asks why she was also called "woman of flames." The simple meaning of this phrase is probably that she was from a place called "Lapidot." Midrashically, the Talmud interprets "woman of flames" to mean that she made wicks to be used in the Menorah in the Temple.
She sat under a palm tree, an open place, to avoid being secluded with any man who came to seek her advice. The rabbis were very concerned that women should not be secluded with men. This is known as "yihhud."
The palm tree is also interpreted more as a metaphor, symbolizing Israel’s solidarity during that generation, in their devotion to God.
חנה – דכתיב +שמואל א" ב"+ ותתפלל חנה ותאמר עלץ לבי בה‘ רמה קרני בה", רמה קרני ולא רמה פכי. דוד ושלמה שנמשחו בקרן – נמשכה מלכותן, שאול ויהוא שנמשחו בפך – לא נמשכה מלכותן.
"Hannah", as it is written, "And Hannah prayed and said, My heart exults in the Lord, my horn is exalted in the Lord" (I Samuel 2:1): "My horn is exalted", and not, "my cruse is exalted." David and Solomon, who were anointed from a horn, their kingship would be prolonged, but Saul and Yehu, who were anointed with a cruse, their kingship would not be prolonged.
Hannah, the mother of the prophet Shmuel, was also a prophetess. Her prophecy is derived from her words "My horn is exalted." David and Solomon were anointed with oil poured from a horn and their kingdom lasted. Saul and Yehu (see II Kings 9:3) were anointed from a cruse of oil, and their kingships were cut short.
+שמואל א" ב"+ אין קדוש כה‘ כי אין בלתך, אמר רב יהודה בר מנשיא: אל תקרי בלתך אלא לבלותך. שלא כמדת הקדוש ברוך הוא מדת בשר ודם; מדת בשר ודם – מעשה ידיו מבלין אותו, אבל הקדוש ברוך הוא – מבלה מעשה ידיו.
"There is none holy as the Lord, for there is none beside you" (I Samuel 2:2). R. Judah b. Menashya said: Read not biltekha, (beside You), rather lebalotekha ["to survive longer than you"]. For the nature of the Holy One, blessed be He, is not like that of flesh and blood. It is the nature of flesh and blood to be survived by its works, but God survives His works.
Having begun interpreting Hannah’s song in II Samuel 2, the Talmud continues with a few more explanations. R. Judah b. Menashya plays off the word "biltekha" showing that God is different from human beings. When human beings make things, the objects outlast the person (at least they did back then, nowadays I’m not sure). But God outlasts His works.
+שמואל א" ב"+ ואין צור כאלהינו – אין צייר כאלהינו. אדם צר צורה על גבי הכותל ואינו יכול להטיל בה רוח ונשמה קרבים ובני מעים, אבל הקדוש ברוך הוא צר צורה בתוך צורה, ומטיל בה רוח ונשמה קרבים ובני מעים.
"Neither is there any rock [tzur] like our God." There is no artist [tzayyar] like our God. A person draws a figure on a wall, but is unable to endow it with breath and spirit, inward parts and intestines. But the Holy One, blessed be He, fashions a form within a form and endows it with breath and spirit, inward parts and intestines.
God is the greatest artist. Human artistic creations simply cannot be compared with the wondrous creation of life, fashioned inside a person by God.