The point is: How does Judaism read the Song of Songs, a song of love? What is the place that this book finds in the Torah? Furthermore, if the theological general principle is that "God wishes to be exalted only by Israel" and "Israel alone knows God as God has made himself known, which is in the Torah", how does Israel elicit God's love?
Means Israel "those that love and are loved by God"?
I'm not Jewish, but my studies reveal Judaism to be very tolerant of other faiths. Of course their is diversity among different Jewish traditions, but all seem to take a "live and let live" approach. Many of the Jewish prophets foresaw a time when all nations would worship the God of Israel, but this would be God's doing, not the result of proselytizing or conversion efforts on the part of Jews. Mystical Judaism, kabbalah, has a strong universalist theology in which all people ultimately experience union with God. Jews value the rights of people to doubt and question. This is why Torah contains many conflicting ideas.
"Judaism" does not maintain one single view on Song of Songs. The book invites allegorical interpretation, and many different readings have been proposed. In my paper, "Saving the Soul by Knowing the Soul" (which should be posted here on RG) I discuss one avenue taken by medieval Yemenite scholars.
As a result of teaching secular subjects at an Orthodox Jewish Yeshiva for four years and closely interacting with the Rabbis and students there and conducting extensive research on the Historical Jesus using Ancient Jewish Mystical Tradition (Kabbalah) sources, I believe that Orthodox Jews are not concerned with people who do not accept the Torah. They are concerned with achieving Ruach haKodesh, the Holy Spirit, or Enlightenment or righteousness by adhering to the commandments and studying the Torah daily for as many hours as they have available. Their interest in other people is found in Isaiah 2:2-4 and Joel 2:28. These verses indicate that when the Messiah arrives and brings about the Kingdom of God in Israel as prophesied by Isaiah, other people will see the peace, prosperity, abundance, and non-predation there and "go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways And that we may walk in his paths." For the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem...Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they learn war... " Jews believe that once Israel reaches the pinnacle of life on Earth, other peoples will learn how Israel did it and then follow in its footsteps. Hopefully this explanation is helpful to you.
As a result of teaching secular subjects at an Orthodox Jewish Yeshiva for four years and closely interacting with the Rabbis and students there and conducting extensive research on the Historical Jesus using Ancient Jewish Mystical Tradition (Kabbalah) sources, I believe that Orthodox Jews are not concerned with people who do not accept the Torah. They are concerned with achieving Ruach haKodesh, the Holy Spirit, or Enlightenment or righteousness by adhering to the commandments and studying the Torah daily for as many hours as they have available. Their interest in other people is found in Isaiah 2:2-4 and Joel 2:28. These verses indicate that when the Messiah arrives and brings about the Kingdom of God in Israel as prophesied by Isaiah, other people will see the peace, prosperity, abundance, and non-predation there and "go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways And that we may walk in his paths." For the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem...Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they learn war... " Jews believe that once Israel reaches the pinnacle of life on Earth, other peoples will learn how Israel did it and then follow in its footsteps. Hopefully this explanation is helpful to you.
As a result of teaching secular subjects at an Orthodox Jewish Yeshiva for four years and closely interacting with the Rabbis and students there and conducting extensive research on the Historical Jesus using Ancient Jewish Mystical Tradition (Kabbalah) sources, I believe that Orthodox Jews are not concerned with people who do not accept the Torah. They are concerned with achieving Ruach haKodesh, the Holy Spirit, or Enlightenment or righteousness by adhering to the commandments and studying the Torah daily for as many hours as they have available. Their interest in other people is found in Isaiah 2:2-4 and Joel 2:28. These verses indicate that when the Messiah arrives and brings about the Kingdom of God in Israel as prophesied by Isaiah, other people will see the peace, prosperity, abundance, and non-predation there and "go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways And that we may walk in his paths." For the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem...Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they learn war... " Jews believe that once Israel reaches the pinnacle of life on Earth, other peoples will learn how Israel did it and then follow in its footsteps. Hopefully this explanation is helpful to you.
As a result of teaching secular subjects at an Orthodox Jewish Yeshiva for four years and closely interacting with the Rabbis and students there and conducting extensive research on the Historical Jesus using Ancient Jewish Mystical Tradition (Kabbalah) sources, I believe that Orthodox Jews are not concerned with people who do not accept the Torah. They are concerned with achieving Ruach haKodesh, the Holy Spirit, or Enlightenment or righteousness by adhering to the commandments and studying the Torah daily for as many hours as they have available. Their interest in other people is found in Isaiah 2:2-4 and Joel 2:28. These verses indicate that when the Messiah arrives and brings about the Kingdom of God in Israel as prophesied by Isaiah, other people will see the peace, prosperity, abundance, and non-predation there and "go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways And that we may walk in his paths." For the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem...Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they learn war... " Jews believe that once Israel reaches the pinnacle of life on Earth, other peoples will learn how Israel did it and then follow in its footsteps. Hopefully this explanation is helpful to you.
The concept of God is vague. God has been created by men to create them. Actually, the concept of God came when men failed to explain their source of origin and existence. Darwin fails to satisfy the eternal curiosity of man. Torah was written thousands of centuries ago, and the book cannot be taken as offering a postulate on the existence of God. Equally, Mahomet and Jesus cannot be taken solving the issue forever. Religion is a human entrepreneurship which ought to pass through a process of evolution with the passage of time. Let us remain concerned with peace and love. May mystery remain a mystery forever in its own place.
Many thanks to everyone for the answers and Happy New Year.
Best wishes from Trieste
In jewish tradition the Tanak (Old Testament for christians) is divided in three portions: Torah (five book of Moshe), Prophets (Neviim) and Writtins (Ketuvim). The book the Song of Songs (shir ha-shirim) is part of Ketubim portion. Rabbi Akiva, one of the greatest sages of Talmud said: "All the songs of Scripture are holy, but the Song of Songs is holy of holies". This Rabbi Akiva understanding is based in the tradition that the Song of Songs is an allegorical description of the mutual love between God and Ysrael. According to this exegesis the Song of Songs is a book of prophecy since it speaks about the redemption of Israel in a rich manifold of poetic metaphors. In this sense, it seems to me, that the book of the Song of Songs should has its place among the prophetic writtings.
For a rabbinic study of the Song of Songs, you could read the Midrash of Song of Song published by The Soncino Press, third edition 1983. There is an excellent work in spanish language on this Midrash: Midrás Cantar de los Cantares of Dr. Luis Fernando Girón Blanc (Verbo Divino, 1991).
In relation to the question: Means Israel "those that love and are loved by God"? The answer is not. The answer is in Genesis 32:28. However, the jews as the chosen people love and are loved by God.
Rabbi Dr. Williams Pitter
Tzvi Langermann
Many thanks for your very good explanation. May I ask you a further question?
- Israel and the Nations.
My point is: the Nations reject God and the Torah and therefore DO NOT know God. For that they worship idols. Only Israel "knows and loves and worship God". The Nations do not concede that the God of Israel is the one and only true God; they maintain he is no different from any other god (Song of Songs, Rabbah LXIX:i. 1).That bring us again to the relationship God/Nations and God/Israel: "God's relationship with Israel is not comparable to God's relationship with Israel". As a consequence of this theological proposition how do you explain Israel' relationship with the Nations?
There are several books and essays dealing with the relationship between Jews and the "Bnai Noach"--the rest of humanity which lives under the covenant made with Noah rather than with the covenant on Sinai. See especially:
The image of the non-Jew in Judaism: an historical and constructive study of the Noahide Laws / David Novak. New York : E. Mellen Press, c1983.
Hi Antonio, which chapter and verse?
Exodus 4:22 While The Children of Israel are collectively 'G-d's first born son' and the intended conduit for mankind to connect to, and be blessed by, G-d.
Mankind, all of whom are created the image (beselem ) of G-d.
Hope attached is useful for you.
Article Faith Finding Meaning: A Theology of Judaism (review)
Many thanks for your suggestion. I am just reading:
J. Neusner, Judaism and the Interpretation of Scripture, Hendrickson Publishers, Massachusetts 2014
I'm not sure how your main question relates to your next few questions but God relates to those who do not accept His dominion with love and mercy. This is clear from various places in Scriptures and rabbinic writings. See, for example, Psalms, 145:9, Talmud Bavli Megillah 10b.
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