Israel's Love Affair With God: Song of Songs (review)

Hebrew Studies 36 (1995) 204 Reviews I appreciated the treatment of all three books, but, in particular, I thoroughly enjoyed the appropriate, sane, helpful and theologically appropriate evangelical tone of the interpretation of Song of Songs. If all human beings (including all so-called religious) would celebrate human sexuality as portrayed in this biblical book and as understood by Garrett (and many others), then it would be a pleasure to live these few years of our meaningless (cf. Eccll:2, 12:8) life. I am convinced, though, that our lives are only meaningless and futile if we disregard God's instructions by not showing deep respect to one another: "The Deity worship / and His commandments observe!" (Eccl12:13c). Walter L. Michel Lutheran School o/Theology at Chicago Chicago. IL 60615 ISRAEL'S LOVE AFFAIR WITH GOD: SONG OF SONGS. By Jacob Neusner. The Bible of Judaism Library. pp. xx + 132. Valley Forge, PA: Trinity Press International, 1993. Paper. The Bible of Judaism Library is intended to introduce students to the structure and argument of Midrash through a line-by-line reading of representative passages from Midrash Rabbah. Each volume will focus on one book and its distinctive message. Song of Songs Rabbah has been chosen to inaugurate the series because Neusner considers it to be "the single best entry" (p. 1) into Midrashic literature, the most coherent statement by our sages of their theology and their intimacy with God. Neusner's passionate sensitivity to the poetry of the Midrash, as a complement to that of the Song, is evident throughout. Neusner reads Song of Songs Rabbah as a profoundly symbolic discourse. His aims are: (i) to show that the Midrash is a composition, not an agglutinative compilation; (ii) that it has a relatively clear message; (iii) communicated through a restricted repertoire of symbols . Unlike Muslim and Christian theology, that of the Midrash is not propositional; it impresses itself indirectly, through an accumulation of illustrations and concrete details. "The compilers of Song of Songs Rabbah proposed to say one thing in a great many ways" (p. 11). That it is not overtly propositional accounts for its difficulty for contemporary readers. As always, Neusner writes beautifully and is a skilled and committed teacher. The book is also commendable for its absence of polemic, perhaps Hebrew Studies 36 (1995) 205 Reviews because it is addressed to students. The views with which Neusner disagrees are nevertheless in evidence, though only Adin Steinsaltz is directly cited. Neusner opposes theories of Midrashic polysemy, indeterminacy, and selfcontradiction . He argues that no theology can do without a premise of overarching and intelligible order amid chaos (pp. 11-12). The body of the book illustrates his argument through extensive quotation of long and extremely complex exegeses, such as the tour-de-force on Song of Songs 1:2, and more routine, shorter pieces, chosen for their diversity. Neusner's introductions to these passages and his demonstrations of their coherence are among the best and most moving parts of the book. He shows that throughout we find the same rhetorical structures, such as the rhythmic triads of the Sea, Sinai and the world to come, or the first and second redemptions and the Messianic age (p. 3), and the same restricted sets of paradigmatic figures (pp. 6-8). As in any metaphoric work, the biblical text is taken to pieces so as to assert its ultimate unity. The most pervasive technique in this process of fragmentation and reintegration is the davar 'aher, the difference of opinion which produces, instead of contradiction , a cumulative subsumation in the celebration of divine-human love. For example. both the Sea and Sinai are fit occasions for the Song, and neither is complete without the other (p. 18). The book does have its shortcomings. There is. at times, an extreme disproportion between text and commentary, with long stretches of unrelieved citation. Secondly. although Neusner argues persuasively that the Midrash is an artful composition rather than a miscellany, he accomplishes his structural analysis only through relegating vast amounts of material to the status of footnotes or appendices. There are two problems with this procedure. The first is that the boundary between footnote and main text, between...