Tanach
Shir HaShirim 6:4-9 שיר השירים ו׳:ד׳-ט׳
Part of: Chapter 6
Reading: Hebrew · Simple EnglishHebrew · Faithful translationHebrew onlyHebrew · Simple EnglishHebrew · Faithful translationHebrew onlySimple English onlyFaithful translation onlySide by sideRashi
יָפָה אַתְּ רַעְיָתִי כְּתִרְצָה נָאוָה כִּירוּשָׁלָ͏ִם אֲיֻמָּה כַּנִּדְגָּלֽוֹת׃
You are beautiful, my beloved, as Tirtzah, comely as Yerusholayim, awesome as the hosts [of angels].
You are beautiful, my beloved, as Tirtzah, comely as Yerusholayim, awesome as the hosts [of angels].
Rashi
נאוה. את עתה כאשר בראשונה בירושלם:
Comely. Are you now as at first in Yerusholayim.10Which is described as “perfect in beauty’ in Tehillim 50:2.
אימה כנדגלות. חיילי מלאכים אימתך אטיל עליהם שלא להלחם ולהשביתכם מן המלאכה כמו שנאמר בעזרא:
Awesome as the hosts [of angels]. Legions of angels. I will cast your awe upon them so that they should not wage war and stop you from the work, as it is stated in Ezra.115:5.
הָסֵבִּי עֵינַיִךְ מִנֶּגְדִּי שֶׁהֵם הִרְהִיבֻנִי שַׂעְרֵךְ כְּעֵדֶר הָֽעִזִּים שֶׁגָּלְשׁוּ מִן־הַגִּלְעָֽד׃
Turn your eyes away from me, for they made me haughty; your hair is like a flock of goats descending from Mount Gilad.
Turn your eyes away from me, for they made me haughty; your hair is like a flock of goats descending from Mount Gilad.
Rashi
הסבי עיניך מנגדי. כבחור שארוסתו חביבה ועריבה עליו ועיניה נאות ואומר לה הסבי עיניך מנגדי כי בראותי אותך לבי משתחץ ומתגאה עלי ורוחי גסה כי איני יכול להתאפק:
Turn your eyes away from me. Like a young man whose betrothed is dear and pleasing to him, and her eyes are comely, and he says to her, “Turn away your eyes from me, for when I see you, my heart becomes haughty and proud, and my spirit becomes arrogant, and I cannot resist.”
הרהיבני. הגיסו לבי כמו (תהלים צ) ורהבם עמל ואון (ישעיה ל) רהב הם שבת אישמיי"ר בלע"ז והדוגמא כך הוא אמר הקדוש ברוך הוא במקדש זה אי אפשר להשיב לכם ארון וכפרת וכרובי' שהם הרהיבוני בבית ראשון להראותכם חבה יתירה עד שמעלתם בי:
Made me haughty. They made my heart haughty, as in, “And their pride וְרָהְבָּם is toil and pain,”12Tehillim 90:10. [and as in,] “They are haughty רַהַב but idle,”13Yeshayahu 30:7. asoajier in O.F. The allegorical meaning is as follows: The Holy One, Blessed Is He, said, “In this Beis Hamikdosh, it is impossible to restore to you the Ark, the Ark cover, and the cherubim, which excessively endeared you to Me in the first Beis Hamikdosh, to show you great affection, until you betrayed Me.”
שערך כעדר העזים. בקטנים ורכים ודקים שבכם יש שבח הרבה
Your hair is like a flock of goats. The young, tender, and insignificant ones among you, are praiseworthy.
שִׁנַּיִךְ כְּעֵדֶר הָֽרְחֵלִים שֶׁעָלוּ מִן־הָרַחְצָה שֶׁכֻּלָּם מַתְאִימוֹת וְשַׁכֻּלָה אֵין בָּהֶֽם׃
Your teeth are like a counted flock which have come up from the washing; all of which are perfect and none are blemished among them.
Your teeth are like a counted flock which have come up from the washing; all of which are perfect and none are blemished among them.
Rashi
שניך. קצינים וגבורים שביך כולם לטובה:
Your teeth. The officers and the mighty that are among you are entirely good.
כעדר הרחלים. הרחל הזאת כולה קדושה צמרה לתכלת בשרה לקרבן קרניה לשופרות שוקיה לחלילין מעיה לכינורות עורה לתוף אבל הרשעים נמשלו לכלבים שאין מהם לקדושה כלום:
Like a counted flock. The ewe can entirely be utilized for holy purposes: its wool is for blue thread, its flesh for sacrifice, its horns for shofars, its thighs for flutes, its intestines for harp [strings], its hide for a drum. But the wicked [i.e., nations] were likened to dogs, for they are entirely unuseable for holy purposes.
כְּפֶלַח הָרִמּוֹן רַקָּתֵךְ מִבַּעַד לְצַמָּתֵֽךְ׃
Like a slice of pomegranate are your cheeks from within your kerchief.
Like a slice of pomegranate are your cheeks from within your kerchief.
שִׁשִּׁים הֵמָּה מְלָכוֹת וּשְׁמֹנִים פִּֽילַגְשִׁים וַעֲלָמוֹת אֵין מִסְפָּֽר׃
There are sixty queens and eighty concubines, and young maidens without number.
There are sixty queens and eighty concubines, and young maidens without number.
Rashi
ששים המה מלכות. אברהם ויוצאי יריכו בני קטורה שש עשר', ישמעאל ובניו שלש עשרה, יצחק ובניו שלשה, בני יעקב שנים עשר, בני עשו שש עשרה, בדברי הימים, הרי ששים, ואם תאמר צא מהם תמנע שהיא אשה אברהם מן המנין:
There are sixty queens. [Referring to] Avrohom and his descendants. The sons of Keturah are sixteen. Yishmael and his sons are thirteen. Yitzchok and his sons are three. The sons of Yaakov are twelve. The sons of Eisav are sixteen. [All of the above are listed] in Divrei Hayomim14Chapter 1. , and total sixty. And if you should say that Timna15Eisav’s granddaughter. should be excluded because she is a woman, then count Avrohom in the number [of sixty].
ושמנים פלגשים. נח ובניו עד אברהם תולדות יוצאי התיבה שמנים תמצאם וכשם שהמלכות שהם נשי המלך יתירות בגדולה על הפלגשים כך היו אברהם יוצאי יריכו חשובים גדולים ויתרים בחשיבות על הכל כאשר תראה הגר בת מלכים היתה תמנע בת שלטונים היתה ונעשית פלגש לעשו ואומר (בראשית יד) אל עמק שוה וגו' הושוו כלם בעצה אחת והמליכו את אברהם עליהם:
And eighty concubines. [If you count] Noach and his sons until Avrohom, [i.e.,] all the generations of those who left the Ark, you will find them to be eighty. And just as the queens, who are the kings’ wives, are superior in greatness over the concubines, so were Avrohom and his offspring deemed greater and superior to all, as you will see. Hagar was the daughter of kings. Timna was the daughter of rulers and became Eisav’s concubine, and it states, “to the Valley of Shaveh, etc.”16Bereishis 14:17. [meaning,] they all unanimously resolved הֻשְׁווּ=שָׁוֵה and crowned Avrohom as king over them.
ועלמות אין מספר. למשפחות הרבה נחלקו כל אלה:
And young maidens without number. All these were divided into many families.
אַחַת הִיא יוֹנָתִי תַמָּתִי אַחַת הִיא לְאִמָּהּ בָּרָה הִיא לְיֽוֹלַדְתָּהּ רָאוּהָ בָנוֹת וַֽיְאַשְּׁרוּהָ מְלָכוֹת וּפִֽילַגְשִׁים וַֽיְהַלְלֽוּהָ׃ {ס}
But she is unique, my dove, my perfect one, she is unique to her mother, she is pure to her who begot her; daughters saw her and acclaimed her, queens and concubines, and they praised her.
But she is unique, my dove, my perfect one, she is unique to her mother, she is pure to her who begot her; daughters saw her and acclaimed her, queens and concubines, and they praised her.
Rashi
אחת היא יונתי. ומכולם אחת היא הנבחרת לי ליונה תמה שהיא תמימת לב עם בן זוגה:
But she is unique my dove. And of all of them,17All the nations mentioned in the previous verse. she18I.e., Yisroel. is My chosen one, like a perfect dove, who is wholehearted with her mate.
אחת היא לאמה. לכנסייתה הרבה מחלוקות בבתי מדרשות כלם לבם להבין תורה על מכונה ואל אמתתה:
She is unique to her mother. To her assembly.19I.e., allegorically the word לאמה is understood to mean לאומה [=nation]. Many arguments take place in the study halls, all of them stem from the desire to understand Torah in its fundamentals and according to its true meaning.
ברה היא ליולדתה. יעקב ראה אותה מטה שלימה בלא פסול והודה וקילס למקום שנאמר (בראשית טו) וישתחו ישראל על ראש המטה:
She is pure to her who begot her. Yaakov saw that his bed [i.e., progeny] was perfect without any disqualification, and he thanked and praised the Omnipresent, as it is stated, “And Yisroel bowed down at the head of the of the bed.”20Bereishis 47:31. He bowed in gratitude that all his children were righteous.
ראוה בנות. את ישראל בגדולתה:
Daughters saw her. [Other nations saw] Yisroel in her greatness.
ויאשרוה. ומה הוא קילוסך—
And acclaimed her. And what is their praise?
יפה את רעיתי כתרצה. והקדוש ברוך הוא מקלסה על זאת יפה את רעיתי כשאת רצויה לי כך הוא נדרש בספרי:
You are beautiful, my beloved, as Tirtzah. And the Holy One, Blessed Is He, praises her for this [reply, and says], “You are beautiful, My beloved,” when you are desirable9I.e., where you perform deeds that please me, interpreting כתרצה as כרצויה. Alternatively, תרצה is a city in Eretz Yisroel that was captured by Yehoshua [see Yehoshua 12:24]. It is renowned for its beauty. to Me. So it is expounded in Sifrei.