Sukkah, Daf Mem Tet, Part 4

 

Introduction

This section continues with derashot (sermons) on Song of Songs.

 

דרש רבא: מאי דכתיב +שיר השירים ז+ מה יפו פעמיך בנעלים בת נדיב – מה יפו פעמותיהן של ישראל בשעה שעולין לרגל, בת נדיב בתו של אברהם אבינו, שנקרא נדיב, שנאמר +תהלים מז+ נדיבי עמים נאספו עם אלהי אברהם. אלהי אברהם ולא אלהי יצחק ויעקב? אלא: אלהי אברהם שהיה תחילה לגרים.

 

Rava made the following exposition: What is it that is written, "How beautiful are your steps in sandals, O prince’s daughter?" (Song of Songs 7:2): How beautiful are the steps of Israel when they go up [to Jerusalem] to celebrate a festival.

"O prince’s daughter": Daughter of our father Abraham, who is called prince, as it is said, "The princes of the peoples are gathered together, the people of the God of Abraham" (Psalms 47:10).

The God of Abraham! And not the God of Isaac and Jacob? But the meaning is, The God of Abraham who was the first of the converts.

 

Rava expounds upon the verse in Song of Songs, as usual interpreting it to refer to the children of Israel and God. The Talmud also expresses surprise that only Abraham is mentioned, and not Isaac and Jacob. The answer is that Abraham was the first convert. The word for "prince" is to dedicate. Rashi explains that Abraham "dedicated" his heart to be the first person devoted to God.

 

תנא דבי רב ענן: מאי דכתיב +שיר השירים ז+ חמוקי ירכיך למה נמשלו דברי תורה כירך – לומר לך: מה ירך בסתר – אף דברי תורה בסתר. והיינו דאמר רבי אלעזר: מאי דכתיב +מיכה ו+ הגיד לך אדם מה טוב ומה ה’ דורש ממך כי אם עשות משפט ואהבת חסד והצנע לכת עם אלהיך. עשות משפט – זה הדין, ואהבת חסד – זו גמילות חסדים, והצנע לכת עם אלהיך – זו הוצאת המת והכנסת כלה לחופה. והלא דברים קל וחומר: ומה דברים שדרכן לעשותן בפרהסיא – אמרה תורה הצנע לכת, דברים שדרכן לעשותן בצנעא – על אחת כמה וכמה.

 

The School of R. Anan taught: It is written, "The roundings of your thighs" (Song of Songs 7:2). Why are the words of the Torah compared to the thigh? To teach you that just as the thigh is hidden, so should the words of the Torah be hidden.

And this is what R. Elazar said: What is the implication of the text, "It has been told to you, O man, what is good, and what the Lord requires of you: Only to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" (Micah 6:8): To do justly means [to act in accordance with] justice; to love mercy refers to acts of loving kindness , and to walk humbly with your God refers to attending to funerals and providing a bride with a dowry for her wedding.

Now can we not make an a fortiori deduction: If in matters which are normally performed publicly the Torah says to walk humbly , how much more so in matters that are normally done privately?

 

The School of R. Anan compares Torah to the thigh. Just as the thigh is usually hidden by one’s clothing, so too the study of Torah should not be done publicly in a manner intended to draw attention to one self. One should not sit on the top of a hill and study Torah so that all the people of the town could see. Rather, one should act humbly and study Torah in a more modest setting.

The same lesson is drawn from R. Elazar’s statement. Micah uses the phrase "walk humbly" to describe mitzvoth that are done in public because they involve helping others. If, R. Elazar says, we are to walk humbly in the performance of such public mitzvoth, all the more so we should be humble when engaging in a more private act, the study of Torah.