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How could Jewish women maintain their faithfulness during Egyptian slavery when the Egyptians controlled their husbands through forced labor? The locked garden metaphor teaches that Egyptian immorality operated through seduction rather than force, allowing Jewish women to resist. This faithfulness is eternally testified by God's inclusion of the divine letters yud and hei in Jewish family names.
This shiur provides an in-depth analysis of Shir HaShirim (Song of Songs) chapter 4, beginning with verse 12's description of 'gan na'ul choti kallah' (a locked garden, my sister bride) and 'gal na'ul ma'ayan chasum' (a locked spring, a sealed fountain). Rabbi Zweig explains how these metaphors refer to the modesty and faithfulness of Jewish women during the Egyptian exile. The Midrash teaches that despite the Egyptians' assumption that they controlled Jewish wives as well as their husbands (through a kal v'chomer argument), the Jewish women remained faithful to their husbands. This is testified to by the Torah (תורה)'s inclusion of the letters yud and hei in the family names in Parshat Pinchas, indicating God's seal of authenticity on Jewish lineage. The shiur addresses the apparent logical strength of the Egyptians' kal v'chomer reasoning and explains why it didn't apply in practice. Rabbi Zweig suggests that Egyptian immorality was based on seduction rather than force, and that those who engage in immoral behavior for pleasure typically don't resort to violence. The discussion then moves to contemporary issues, comparing ancient and modern understanding of assault and its motivations. The shiur continues with analysis of other verses in Shir HaShirim, including the description of Israel as a 'pomegranate orchard' with various spices. Rabbi Zweig addresses an apparent contradiction between the teaching that 'even the empty ones among Israel are full of mitzvos like a pomegranate' and the four species symbolism where only the etrog represents those with both Torah and mitzvos. He resolves this by distinguishing between merely doing mitzvos and doing them with proper taste and fragrance - every Jew performs mitzvos, but not all do so with the full spiritual beauty and meaning represented by the etrog.
Shir HaShirim 4:12
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