Page:The Song of Songs (1857).djvu/43

 sin of the calf, with which I covered myself. A question is raised, How does [HE:bkrmy] signify my covering? Then Rabbi Mar-Sutra ben Rabbi Nachman quotes [HE:ks' Sl kvbs Skvrmy `lyv 't hkl'm/] from another part of the Talmud (Kelim 35), where [HE:krm/] means to cover. R. Joshuah ben Levi proceeds, What is meant by [HE:lHyyv k`rvgt hbvSm/] is, At every commandment which proceedeth from the mouth of the Holy One on Mount Sinai, the world was filled with aromatics. A question is asked, If the world was filled at the first commandment, where was the odour diffused at the second commandment? Answer, The Holy One sent his wind from his stores, and carried them away successively, as it is written, [HE:Sptvtyv SvSnym/] do not read [HE:SvSnym/] but [HE:SSvnym/] repeating in succession. Rabbi Joshuah ben Levi concludes, At every commandment uttered by the mouth of the Holy One, the soul of Israel was drawn out of them, as it is written, ' My soul went out when he spake ' A question is again asked, If their soul was drawn out at the first commandment, how could they receive the second? Answer. He (i. e. God) caused the dew to come down, by which he will raise the dead, and revived them, as it is written, 'Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain, whereby thou didst confirm thine inheritance,when it was weary.'" Ps. lxviii. 9.

Here, again, we see that the bridegroom is taken to be the Holy One, the Owner of all things, and the bride the congregation of Israel. The reader, looking into the text of the Talmud quoted in the note, will observe that most of this interpretation has been obtained, either by the separation of words, the transposition and change of letters, or by substi-*`vn/ gdy skrmty ly m'y mSm` dh'y krmy lySg' dmknyS hrh 'mr br zvTr' bryh drb nHmn/ kdtnn/ ks' Sl kyns Skvrmy `lyv 't hklym={:} v'"r yhvS` bn/ lvy m'y dktyb lHyyr k`rgt hbvSm/ kl dybvr vdybvr Syx' mpy hqb"h ntml' kl h`vlm/ kvlv bSmym/ vk.yvn/ Smdybyr r'Svn/ ntml' dybvr Sny lhkyn/ hlk/ Hvxy' hqb"h HrvH m'vxrvtyv vhyh m`byr r'Svn/ r'Svn/ Sv"' Sptvtyv SvSnym/ nvTpvt mvr `vbr 'l hyqry SvSnym/ 'l' SSvnyM/{:} v'"r yhvS` bn/ lvy kl dybvr vrybvr Syx' mpy hqb"h yxth nSmtn/ Sl ySr'l Sn"' npSy yx'h bdbrv vm'Hr Smdybvr r'Svn/ yxth nSmtn/ dybvr Sny hy'n/ qyblv hvryd Tl S`t.yd lhHyvt bv mtym/ vhHyh 'vtm/ Sn'" nSm/ nrbvt Hnyp/ 'lhym/ nHlt {.} vnl'h 'th kvnnth{.} msnt Sbt pH]]