Rabbi Yossi Slotnick
Former Rosh Kollel in Cape Town (1997-1998)
Currently Ra”m in Yeshivat Ma’ale Gilboa
Rabbi Yossi Slotnick
Former Rosh Kollel in Cape Town (1997-1998)
The Midrash in Shir HaShirim Rabbah, commenting on the verse “I am black and beautiful, daughters of Jerusalem” (Song of Songs 1:5), picks up on the internal contradiction in the verse. If she is black (which has negative associations in the Bible), how is she beautiful? The Midrash suggests three possible approaches to resolve this internal tension.
A) My deeds are black, but my ancestors’ deeds are beautiful.
This explanation refers to the gap between past and present, which is known today as yeridat hadorot (the devolution of the generations). Although I have the potential to be beautiful, my deeds cannot compare to those of my predecessors, so in actuality I am black.
B) Another explanation: The nation of Israelsaid: I see myself as black, but I am beautiful in the eyes of my Creator, as it is written (Amos 9:7), “For you are like Cushites to Me, people of Israel.” You are like Cushites — in your own eyes; but to Me — you are the people of Israel.
This explanation counters the low self-image which says I am truly beautiful, but I see only the evil of my ways. This is a very encouraging approach — we don’t always have to judge ourselves harshly. There is much good in us, and it is worthwhile to remember that we are beautiful in the eyes of the Master of the Universe.
C) Another explanation:
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I was black in Egyptand beautiful in Egypt. I was black in Egypt, as it says (Ezekiel 20:8), “They rebelled against Me and did not wish to listen to Me.” And I was beautiful in Egypt, through the blood of the Paschal lamb and the blood of circumcision, as it says (Ezekiel 16:6), “When I passed over you and saw you wallowing in your blood, I said to you: Through your blood you will live” — this is the blood of the Paschal lamb; “and I said to you: Through your blood you will live” — this is the blood of circumcision.
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I was black at the sea, as it says, “They were rebellious at the sea, even the Red Sea” (Psalms 106:7). And I was beautiful at the sea, as it says (Exodus 15:2), “This is my God, and I will be beautiful for Him.”
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I was black at Marah, as it says (Exodus 15:24), “The people murmured against Moshe, saying: What shall we drink?” And I was beautiful at Marah, as it says (Exodus 15:25), “[Moshe] cried to God, and God showed him a tree; he cast it into the waters, and the waters were made sweet.”
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I was black at Refidim, as it says (Exodus 17:7), “He called the place Masah (Strife) and Merivah (Quarrel).” And I was beautiful at Refidim, as it says (Exodus 17:15), “Moshebuilt an altar and called it Hashem-Nissi (God is My Banner).”
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I was black at Chorev, as it says, “They made a calf in Chorev” (Psalms 106:19). And I was beautiful at Chorev, as it says, “They said: All that God has spoken we will do and obey” (Exodus 24:7).
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I was black in the wilderness, as it says (Psalms 78:40), “How often did they rebel against Him in the wilderness!” And I was beautiful in the wilderness at the setting up of the Tabernacle, as it says (Numbers 9:15), “On the day that the Tabernacle was raised.”
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I was black through the spies, as it says (Numbers 13:32), “They spread an evil report of the land.” And I was beautiful through Joshua and Caleb, as it says (Numbers 32:12), “Except for Caleb the son of Yefuneh the Kenizite.”
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I was black at Shittim, as it says (Numbers 25:1), “Israellived in Shittim and the people began to commit harlotry with the daughters of Moav.” And I was beautiful in Shittim, as it says (Psalms 106:30), “Then Pinchas stood up and executed judgment.”
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I was black through Achan, as it says (Joshua 7:1), “But the children of Israelviolated the proscription.” And I was beautiful through Joshua, as it says (Joshua 7:19), “Joshua said to Achan: My son, pay honor to God.”
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I was black through the kings of Israel. And I was beautiful through the kings of Judah.
If even with my black ones I was so beautiful, how much more so with my prophets!
This approach, which is totally different from the previous two, seems to be the dominant one in this Midrash (hence the ten examples). There is no dissonance between black and beautiful. They exist simultaneously. They appear in the same places, against the same background, and nevertheless they are total opposites. I succeed in taking the complex reality in which I exist and transforming it both for good and evil. In Egypt, I rebel against God’s work, and I listen to Him. At the Red Sea, I find the ability both to rebel against God and to praise Him.
Today we are conditioned to our dual identity — we are religious and secular both. We are Jews and Westerners, Jews and Israelis. There is a strong sense of confused identity which comes about from our being drawn to both good and evil. First of all, it is helpful to note that the Midrash says that this is not a new problem but a very old one. But more significantly, I find beauty in the concluding sentence of the Midrash:
If even with my black ones I was so beautiful, how much more so with my prophets!
The Midrash sees in this dialectical tension the beauty within the blackness. Even when things are pitch black, we succeed in finding ways to introduce beauty, holiness, prayer. There is no struggle between dark and light which leaves me torn apart. Even when I am entirely imprisoned by the darkness of Egyptor the sin of Achan, there is still light which enables me to save myself. This is what the chassidim call the pintele yid — the point of light that will always be there.
