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The Fragrance of the Flower

Self/Group Study for Shavuoth


Rabbi Yehuda M. Hausman

To love is to discriminate. To choose and to be chosen. In marriage, the groom


designates one bride and the bride extends her finger and, by accepting the ring, selects
one husband. Everyone else observes. At this moment, they are outsiders. They may love
one or both members of this union. And the bride or groom may in turn love them. But
the bonds of parents and children, cousins and friends bows before the commitments
made by this new couple. To marry is to include one. By definition, all others are
therefore excluded.
In the Midrash below, God is imagined to make a choice. God, a king in this
parable of love, chooses to save his orchard (pardes) on account of one red lily. The
question is why is this red lily so exceptional? To answer, let us read the Midrash.

Lev. R. 23:3; Song R. 2:2, 3. ‫ויקרא רבה (וילנא) פרשה כג‬


"As a lily among thorns, so is my darling among the
maidens." (Song 2:2). R. Azariah, citing R. Judah son ‘‫‗כְּ ׁשו ַֹׁׁשמָּה בֵּ ין הַׁ חו ִֹחים כֵּ ן ַׁרעְּ י ִָּתי בֵּ ין הַׁ בָּ נוֹת‬
of R. Simon, illustrated the verse by the parable of a ‫ג ר' עזריה בשם ר' יהודה ברבי סימון אומר משל‬
king who had an orchard planted with a row of fig ‫למלך שהיה לו פרדס נטוע שורה של תאנים ושל‬
trees, a row of grapevines, a row of pomegranate trees, ‫גפנים ושל רמונים ושל תפוחים ומסר לאריס‬
and a row of apple trees. The king turned this orchard
over to a keeper and went away. After a while the king
‫והלך לו לאחר ימים בא המלך והציץ בפרדס‬
came back and looked into the orchard to see how it
‫לידע מה עשה ומצאו מלא חוחין ודרדרין הביא‬
had done, and found it overgrown with thorns and ‫קצצים לקוצו והציץ באותן החוחין וראה בו‬
thistles. He summoned woodcutters to raze it, but as he ‫שושנה אחת של ורד נטלה והריח בה ושבת נפשו‬
looked again at the thorns, he noticed among them a ‫עליה אמר המלך בשביל שושנה זו ינצל כל‬
rose-colored lily. He took hold of it and breathed in its ‫הפרדס‬
fragrance, and his spirit was calmed. Then the king
said: Because of this lily, let the entire orchard be
spared.

A king plants four rows of fruit-bearing trees. Each row contains a different
species of fruit. One might be tempted to ask, who (or what) do these rows represent? But
I am going to sidestep this question, at least for now. Presumably, the king does all the
original planting himself. At first, it would seem that he liked his garden. The question,
then, is why does he transfer guardianship of his garden to a steward. What drove the
king from his groves in the first place? Moreover, why does he stay away for so long a
period of time that the orchard could be ―overgrown with thorns and thistles‖? The
Midrash climaxes when the king summons woodcutters to raze the orchard. This is
basically an act of rage. His spirit is anything but calm. The fruit of his labor—the files of
apples and pomegranates, figs and grapes—stand ready to be cut down on account of the
thistles and thorns that grow in their shade. It takes years for a fruit tree to mature. And
the king, with no show of hesitation, is willing to throw the whole venture away. As if to
say, ―It is all worthless.‖
Where does the red-lily come from? The king did not plant it. The keeper is one
of two things: responsible or negligent. If he is responsible, he may have planted other
things, a patch of yellow tulips, a white square of poppies, a hedge of roses, a leafy lilied
bank. The ―thorns‖ would then belong to the rose‘s stem and perhaps the ―thistles‖ would
therefore belong to the lily‘s leaf. But then why would the king be so irate? His grove is
much improved…
The other possibility is that the keeper is negligent. The thorns and thistles creep
like spider ivy across the surface of the orchard. The king‘s anger is thus justified. What
has become of his pardes?
Before felling his orchard, his eye beholds a red-colored lily. It too may have
crept into the orchard‘s domain. It is red. The color of passion or first love. He takes hold
of it and breathes its scent. One notes, it is not the outer beauty of the lily that compels
him. It is inner beauty—the fragrance of the flower—hidden beneath the petals of skin
that redeems the orchard.
So what does all this have to do with Judaism? At this point, we may proceed to
the second half of the Midrash.

Likewise, the whole world, all of it, was created ‫ויקרא רבה (וילנא) פרשה כג‬
only for the sake of the Torah. But after twenty-
six generations,1 when the Holy One looked ‫כך כל העולם כולו לא נברא אלא בשביל תורה‬
closely at His world to ascertain what it had done, ‫לאחר כ"ו דורות הציץ הקב"ה בעולמו לידע מה‬
He found it [muddy] water within [muddy] ‫עשה ומצא מלא מים במים דור אנוש מים במים‬
water2--the generation of Enosh, water within ‫דור המבול מים במים דור הפלגה מים במים‬
water; the generation of the flood, water within ‫והביא קצצים לקוצצו שנא' (תהלים כט) ה' למבול‬
water; the generation of the dispersion of ‫ישב ראה בו שושנה אחת של ורד אלו ישראל‬
mankind, water within water. He summoned ‫ונטלה והריחה בשעה שנתן להם עשרת הדברות‬
destroyers to raze the world, but then he noticed ‫ושבת נפשו עליו בשעה שאמרו נעשה ונשמע אמר‬
there a rose-colored lily--Israel. He took hold of it ‫הקב"ה בשביל שושנה זו ינצל הפרדס בזכות תורה‬
and breathed in its fragrance--He gave Israel the .‫וישראל ינצל העולם‬
Ten Commandments. When he heard their
response, "We will do and we will hearken"
(Exod. 24:7), His spirit was calmed. The Holy
One then said: Because of a lily, an orchard was
spared. Because of Torah and of Israel, let the
world be spared.

The Maker of heaven and earth creates a world: a garden. ―And out of the ground
the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food.‖

1
The 26th generation is the one in which the Torah was given.
2
Wicked people in a wicked environment.
(Gen. 2:9) The fig and grape, apple and pomegranate may be said to represent the
fullness of the earth.3 The four rows remind us of the four wellsprings that nourished the
Ancient World. ―And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it
was parted, and branched into four streams...‖ (Gen. 2:10) God finishes his work and
leaves stewardship of the world in the hands of a keeper: humanity. We read in Genesis:
‫בראשית פרק ב‬
:‫ָאדם וַׁ יַׁמִ חֵּ הּו בְּ גַׁן עֵּ ֶדן לְּ עָּ בְּ ָּדּה ּולְּ ָּׁש ְּמ ָּרּה‬
ָּ ָּ‫ֹלהים אֶ ת ה‬
ִ ֱ‫(טו) וַׁ יִ ַׁקח יְּ קֹוָּ ק א‬
And the Lord God took the man, and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and to
keep it. (Gen. 2:15)
But the keeper has been negligent. The garden is overgrown. He has allowed it to
rot: ―Muddy water within muddy water.‖ The keeper is sullied and he has turned his
keepsake into a muddy reflection of himself. ―The generation of Enosh, water within
water; the generation of the flood, water within water; the generation of the dispersion of
mankind, water within water.‖ Each successive generation exhibits a similar degeneration
in values. Enosh was Adam‘s grandson (Gen. 4:26). Of his generation, Bereshith Rabbah
records the following.

Midrash Rabbah - Genesis XXIII:6 ‫בראשית רבה (וילנא) פרשה כג‬


…Four things changed in the days of
Enosh: The mountains became [barren] ‫ו ולשת גם הוא יולד בן ויקרא את שמו‬
rocks, the dead began to feel [the worms], ‫ בעון קומי אבא כהן ברדלא אדם שת‬,‫אנוש‬
men's faces became ape-like, and they
‫ אמר ע"כ בצלם ובדמות מכאן‬,‫אנוש ושתק‬
became vulnerable to demons. Said R.
Isaac: They were themselves responsible '‫ ד‬,‫ואילך נתקלקלו הדורות ונבראו קינטורין‬
for becoming vulnerable (hullin) to ‫ ההרים נעשו‬,‫דברים נשתנו בימי אנוש בן שת‬
demons, [for they argued]: What is the ‫ ונעשו פניהן‬,‫ והתחיל המת מרחיש‬,‫טרשים‬
difference whether one prostrates himself ‫ א"ר יצחק הן‬,‫ ונעשו חולין למזיקין‬,‫כקופות‬
before an image or prostrates himself ‫ מה‬,‫הן שגרמו לעצמן להיות חולין למזיקין‬
before man? Hence, Then man became
.‫ למאן דגחין לבר נש‬,‫בין דגחין לצלמא‬
degraded ―to call upon the name of the
Lord.‖ (Gen 4:26)

In grand poetic symbolism, inner spiritual corrosion is mirrored by outer physical


decay. As the heart turns to stone, lush mountains become ―barren rock‖. As the soul
withers, the corpse, for the first time in history, begins to decay. Without morality, Man
becomes mammal—ape-like—‗vulnerable to the demonic.‘ Without God-consciousness,
people call to God out of moral poverty not praise or gratitude. The rot continues in the
next generation. Of the generation of the Noah and the flood, we read from Genesis:

Gen. 6:5-6 ‫בראשית פרק ו‬

3
In Rabbinic sources, the Tree of Knowledge is suggested to be a fig or grape. (Sanhedrin 70a/b; Berachot
40a) In Christian art, the apple reigns supreme. Some modern scholars have suggested the pomegranate
since it is native to Mesopotamia.
And the Lord saw that the wickedness of
man was great in the earth, and the impulse ‫ָארץ וְּ כָּל‬
ֶ ָּ‫ָאדם ב‬
ָּ ָּ‫(ה) וַׁ י ְַּׁרא יְּ קֹוָּ ק כִ י ַׁרבָּ ה ָּרעַׁ ת ה‬
of the thoughts of his heart was only evil :‫יֵּצֶ ר מַׁ ְּח ְּׁשבֹת לִ ב ֹו ַׁרק ַׁרע כָּל הַׁ יוֹם‬
continually. And the Lord repented that he ‫ָארץ‬
ֶ ָּ‫ָאדם ב‬
ָּ ָּ‫(ו) וַׁ יִ מָּחֶ ם יְּ קֹוָּ ק כִ י עָּ ָּשה אֶ ת ה‬
had made man on the earth, and it grieved :‫וַׁ יִ ְּתעַׁ צֵּ ב אֶ ל לִ ב ֹו‬
him in his heart.

Similarly, in the next generation, that of the Tower of Babel and their subsequent
dispersion, we find God voicing comparable resentment.

Gen. 11:5-7
‫בראשית פרק יא‬
‫(ה) וַׁ י ֵֶּרד יְּ קֹוָּ ק לִ ְּראֹת אֶ ת הָּ עִ יר וְּ אֶ ת הַׁ ִםגְּ ָּדל‬
And the Lord came down to see the city :‫ָאדם‬ ָּ ָּ‫אֲ ֶׁשר בָּ נּו בְּ נֵּי ה‬
and the tower, which the sons of men built. ‫(ו) וַׁ יֹאמֶ ר יְּ קֹוָּ ק הֵּ ן עַׁ ם אֶ חָּ ד וְּ ָּשפָּ ה ַאחַׁ ת לְּ ֻכלָּם‬
And the Lord said, Behold, the people are ‫וְּ זֶ ה הַׁ ִחלָּם ַׁלעֲשוֹת וְּ עַׁ ָּתה ֹלא יִ בָּ צֵּ ר מֵּ הֶ ם כֹל‬
one, and they have all one language; and :‫אֲ ֶׁשר יָּזְּ מּו ַׁלעֲשוֹת‬
this they begin to do; and now nothing will ‫(ז) הָּ בָּ ה נ ְֵּּר ָּדה וְּ נָּבְּ לָּה ָּׁשם ְּשפָּ תָּ ם אֲ ֶׁשר ֹלא‬
be restrained from them, which they have :‫יִ ְּׁש ְּמעּו ִאיׁש ְּשפַׁ ת ֵּרעֵּ הּו‬
schemed to do.

On the whole, humanity has evinced a striking pattern of corruption. The Midrash
is wonderfully ambiguous when it comes to the question of whether the ‗king‘ left the
orchard before or after the first signs of sullying. The first half implies before: ―The king
turned this orchard over to a keeper and went away.‖ The second half implies that he may
have maintained a minimal interest in the world. ―But after twenty-six generations, when
the Holy One looked closely at His world to ascertain what it had done, He found it
[muddy] water within [muddy] water.‖ Either way, what God finds upon his return is
cause for justified anger, resentment, and grievous disappointment. The children of men
continue to defy the moral expectations of their God, to sow prickly briars of wrong into
what was intended to be a paradise of right. It is at this point that God ―summoned
destroyers to raze the world.‖
As I wrote above, it was not the appearance of the red-lily that quieted the king‘s
scalding anger, but rather its scent. ―He took hold of it and breathed in its fragrance, and
his spirit was calmed.‖ The point is simple. Inner beauty, not outer form, saves the
orchard and, by analogy, the world.
The God of Israel is not taken by aesthetics and exteriors. The Jewish people, in
the wake of their great exodus from Egypt, must have appeared most disheveled and
unkempt. A nation of escaped slaves, turned survivors, turned desert refugees; it‘s hard to
imagine them in their ‗Sabbath best‘. But when they stood at the foot of mountain, and
uttered those momentous words—―We will do and we will hearken‖ (Ex. 24:7)—they
could not have been more beautiful or fragrant.

Chag Samayach
*This work maybe used for pedagogical purposes only, not monetary resale. This work
maybe distributed widely.

Citations

I. Translation for the first midrash (Lev. R. 23:3; Song R. 2:2, 3) is from The Book of
Legends Sefer Haagadah. © 1992. Schocken Books, Inc.; CD-ROM Version © 1995-
2003 Davka Corporation.
II. Translation for the second midrash (Gen. R. 23:6) is from the Soncino Midrash
Rabbah. © 1983. Available through the Judaic Classics Library 2.2 (Davka Corp, 2001)
by David Kantrowitz.
III. Hebrew Sources are from Responsa Project – Version 14. Bar-Ilan University. 2006.
IV. English Biblical Quotations are from the Jerusalem Bible.

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