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עשר נקודות בתורה אלו הן ישפוט ה' ביני וביניך (בראשית ט״ז:ה׳) על י' שביני״ך נקוד מלמד שלא אמרה לו אלא על הגר וי״א על המטילין מריבה ביני וביניך. ויאמרו אלי״ו איה שרה (שם יח) נקוד על אי״ו שיודעין בה ומבקרין אחריה. (נקוד על) בשכבה ובקומה (שם יט) נקוד על וי״ו שבקומה הראשון מלמד שלא הרגיש אלא בעמידתה (של צעירה) כיוצא בו וירץ עשו לקראתו ויחבקהו ויפול על צואריו וישקה״ו (שם לג) כולו נקוד מלמד שלא נשקו באמת. ר״ש בן אלעזר אומר נשיקה זו של אמת וכולן אינן של אמת. כיוצא בו וילכו אחיו לרעות את צאן אביהם בשכם (שם לז) נקוד על א״ת מלמד שלא לרעות הצאן הלכו אלא לאכול ולשתות (ולהתפתות). כיוצא בו כל פקודי הלוים אשר פקד משה ואהרן (במדבר ג׳:ל״ט) נקוד על אהרן למה מלמד שלא היה אהרן מן המנין. כיוצא בו או בדרך רחוק״ה (שם ט) נקוד על ה' שברחוקה מלמד שלא היתה דרך רחוקה אלא מן אסקופת עזרה ולחוץ. כיוצא בו ונשים עד נופח אשר עד מידבא (שם כא) נקוד על רי״ש שבאש״ר למה מלמד שהחריבו העובדי כוכבים ולא החריבו המדינות שלא החריבו עובדי כוכבים אלא המדינות. ועשרון עשרון (במדבר כ״ט:ט״ו) של יו"ט הראשון של חג הסכות נקוד על עשרו״ן בוי״ו למה מלמד שלא יהא שם אלא עשרון אחד כיוצא בו (דברים כ״ט:כ״ח) הנסתרות לה׳ אלקינו והנגלות לנ״ו ולבנינ״ו נקוד על לנו ולבנינו ועל ע' שבעד למה אלא כך אמר עזרא אם יבא אליהו ויאמר לי מפני מה כתבת כך אומר אני לו כבר נקדתי עליהן ואם אומר לי יפה כתבת אעביר נקודה מעליהן.
Ten stances in the Torah are marked with dots. They are as follows: 1. “The Eternal will judge between me and you” (Genesis 16:5). There is a dot above the letter yod in the term, “and you.” This teaches that Sarah did not say this to Abraham, but to Hagar. Some say that it means she was speaking about those who caused the fighting “between me and you.” 2. “They said to him, Where is Sarah?” (Genesis 18:9). There are dots above the letters aleph, yod, and vav in the term, “to him,” to indicate that they already knew where she was, but they nevertheless inquired about her. 3. (There is a dot on the verse,) “When she lay down and when she arose” (Genesis 19:33). There is a dot above the letter vav in the term, “When she arose” the first time it is used [with regard to Lot’s older daughter]. This teaches that he was not aware of what happened until the (younger daughter) arose. 4. “And Esau ran to greet him, and he hugged him, fell on his neck, and kissed him” (Genesis 33:4). The term for, “and kissed him,” has dots above every letter, to teach that he did not kiss him sincerely. Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar would say: It means that this kiss was sincere, but every other one he gave Jacob was not. 5. “His brothers went to shepherd their father’s flocks in Shechem” (Genesis 37:12). There are dots on the word just before “flocks.” This teaches that they did not actually go to shepherd the flocks, but to eat and drink (and indulge their temptations). 6. “All the Levites who were recorded, whom Moses and Aaron recorded” (Numbers 3:39). There are dots above Aaron’s name. Why? To teach that Aaron himself was not counted in this record. 7. “On a long journey” (Numbers 9:10). There is a dot above the letter hei in the word “long.” This teaches that this does not really mean a long journey, but any exiting the boundaries of the outer court of the Temple. 8. “We caused destruction all the way up to Nophach, which reaches into Medeba” (Numbers 21:30). There is a dot above the letter reish in the word “which.” Why? To teach that they destroyed the idolaters but not the countries themselves (whereas the practice of idolaters was to destroy entire countries). 9. “A tenth, a tenth for each” (Numbers 29:15). [This verse delineates the meal offering that accompanies the burnt offering] on the first day of the Sukkot festival. There is a dot above the letter vav in the [first occurrence of the] word “tenth.” Why? To teach that there is only one-tenth [measure] for each. 10. “The hidden things are for the Eternal our God, and the revealed things are for us and our children forever” (Deuteronomy 29:30). There are dots above the words “for us and our children,” and above the letter ayin in the word “forever.” Why? For this is what Ezra [the Scribe of the Book of Ezra] said: If Elijah comes and says to me: Why did you write it this way? I will say to him: I have already put dots above these words [to indicate I was not certain it was correct]. But if he says to me: You wrote it correctly, then I will remove the dots....
~ Why are the dots on top of the words, according to this source?
~ Who put them there?
Esav ran to greet him. [He embraced Yaakov and, falling on his neck,] he kissed him; [and they wept.] (Gen. 33:4). [The word] 'kissed' is dotted [above each letter in the Torah's writing]. Rabbi Shimeon ben Elazar said in every place that you find a lot of text with few dots on top, you need to interpret the dots; when you find a lot of dots on top of a few words you interpret the words. Here neither is the case, rather it teaches that [Esau] was overcome with compassion in that moment and kissed [Jacob] with all his heart. Rabbi Yannai said to him: If so, why is ['kissed'] dotted? On the contrary, it teaches that [Esav] came not to kiss [Yaakov] but to bite him, but our ancestor Yaakov's neck became like marble and that wicked man's teeth were blunted. Hence, 'and they wept' teaches that [Yaakov] wept because of his neck and [Esau] wept because of his teeth. Rabbi Abahu, in the name of Rabbi Yochanan teaches that from here: "your neck is like the tower of ivory" (Songs 7:4)
כָּל פְּקוּדֵי הַלְוִיִּם אֲשֶׁר פָּקַד משֶׁה וְאַהֲרֹן (במדבר ג, לט), וָא"ו שֶׁל וְאַהֲרֹן נָקוּד, עַל שֶׁלֹא הָיָה אֶחָד מִן הַמִּנְיָן. וְדִכְוָתָהּ (בראשית טז, ה): יִשְׁפֹּט ה' בֵּינִי וּבֵינֶיךָ, שֶׁלֹא אָמְרָה לוֹ אֶלָּא עַל הָגָר בִּלְבָד, וְיֵשׁ אוֹמְרִים עַל הַמַּטִּילִים מְרִיבָה בֵּינוֹ לְבֵינָהּ. וְדִכְוָתָהּ (בראשית יח, ט): וַיֹּאמְרוּ אֵלָיו אַיֵּה שָׂרָה, נָקוּד עַל אי"ו שֶׁבְּאֵלָיו, שֶׁהָיוּ יוֹדְעִין הֵיכָן הִיא וּמְבַקְּרִים אַחֲרֶיהָ. וְדִכְוָתָהּ (בראשית יט, לג): וְלֹא יָדַע בְּשִׁכְבָהּ וּבְקוּמָהּ, נָקוּד עַל וא"ו שֶׁבָּאֶמְצַע שֶׁל וּבְקוּמָהּ שֶׁל בְּכִירָה, בְּשִׁכְבָהּ לֹא יָדַע אֲבָל בְּקוּמָהּ יָדַע, וְדִכְוָתָהּ (בראשית לג, ד): וַיִּשָּׁקֵהוּ, נָקוּד עָלָיו עַל שֶׁלֹא נְשָׁקוֹ בְּכָל לִבּוֹ.
"All the Levites who were recorded, whom at the LORD’s command Moses and Aaron recorded by their clan"- the vav of Aharon is dotted on the account that he wasn't among the counted. And similarly, [on the yud of beinecha], "May God decided between me and you [beinecha]" (Genesis 16:5) it is because she only spoke this about Hagar, and there are those who say she was complaining because the two took long walks together. And similarly, "They said to him [elav], “Where is your wife Sarah?”" (Genesis 18:9), the dots on the alef, the yud and the vav indicate that they actually knew where she was and were just chatting about her. ... And similarly, "and he kissed him" (Genesis 33:4) the dots on that [word] indicate that he did not kiss him with all his heart.
כשעבר לבא בארץ כנען, בא עליו עשו מהר שעיר בזעף אף זומם להרגו שנ' זומם רשע לצדיק אמ' עשו איני הורג את יעקב בחצים ובקשת אלא בפי אני הורגו ומוצץ את דמו שנ' וירץ עשו לקראתו וישקהו אל תהי קורא וישקהו אלא וינשכהו ונעשה צוארו עמוד כמגדל השן צוארך וקהו שיניו של אותו רשע וכיון שראה שלא עלתה בידו תאותו התחיל כועס וחורק בשיניו שנ' רשע יראה וכעס שיניו יחרוק ונמס.
When Jacob passed to come into the land of Canaan, Esau came to him from Mount Seir in violent anger, contriving to slay him, as it is said, "The wicked plots against the just, and gnashes upon him with his teeth" (Ps. 37:12). Esau said: I will not slay Jacob with bow and arrows, but with my mouth and with my teeth will I slay him, and suck his blood, as it is said, "And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him; and they wept" (Gen. 33:4). Do not read vayishakêhu (and he kissed him), but (read) vayinashkêhu (and he bit him). But Jacob's neck became like ivory, and concerning him the Scripture says, "your neck is like the tower of ivory" (Songs 7:4). The wicked (Esau's) teeth became blunt, and when the wicked one saw that the desire of his heart was not realized he began to be angry, and to gnash with his teeth, as it is said, "The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away" (Ps. 112:10).
~ What is the assumption of the reason of the kiss in Pirkei deRabi Eliezer?
~ As you read each of the following kisses in the Tanach, ask yourself: who is kissing whom, and why? What kind of kiss is this?
~ In the words of English historian Keith Thomas, the kiss can express “deference, obedience, respect, agreement, reverence, adoration, friendliness, affection, tenderness, love, superiority, inferiority, even insult. There is no such thing as a straightforward kiss.”
[Keith Thomas, “Afterword,” in The Kiss in History, ed. Karen Harvey (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2005), 188. ]
(כח) וְלֹ֣א נְטַשְׁתַּ֔נִי לְנַשֵּׁ֥ק לְבָנַ֖י וְלִבְנֹתָ֑י עַתָּ֖ה הִסְכַּ֥לְתָּֽ עֲשֽׂוֹ׃ ... (א) וַיַּשְׁכֵּ֨ם לָבָ֜ן בַּבֹּ֗קֶר וַיְנַשֵּׁ֧ק לְבָנָ֛יו וְלִבְנוֹתָ֖יו וַיְבָ֣רֶךְ אֶתְהֶ֑ם וַיֵּ֛לֶךְ וַיָּ֥שׇׁב לָבָ֖ן לִמְקֹמֽוֹ׃
(28) You did not even let me kiss my sons and daughters! It was a foolish thing for you to do. .... (1) Early in the morning, Laban kissed his sons and daughters and blessed them; then Laban left on his journey homeward.
(ה) וַיָּ֨מׇת שָׁ֜ם מֹשֶׁ֧ה עֶבֶד־ה' בְּאֶ֥רֶץ מוֹאָ֖ב עַל־פִּ֥י ה'׃
The philosophers have already explained how the bodily forces of a person in his youth prevent the development of moral principles. In a greater measure this is the case as regards the purity of thought which a person attains through the perfection of those ideas that lead the person to an intense love of God. One can by no means attain this so long as one's bodily humours are hot. The more the forces of one's body are weakened, and the fire of passion quenched, in the same measure does one's intellect increase in strength and light; one's knowledge becomes purer, and one is happy with one's knowledge. When this perfect person is stricken in age and is near death, their knowledge mightily increases, their joy in that knowledge grows greater, and their love for the object of their knowledge more intense, and it is in this great delight that the soul separates from the body. To this state our Sages referred, when in reference to the death of Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, they said that death was in these three cases nothing but a kiss. They say thus: We learn from the words, "And Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab by the mouth of the Lord" (Deut. 34:5), that his death was a kiss. The same expression is used of Aaron: "And Aaron the priest went up into Mount Hor . . . by the mouth of the Lord, and died there" (Num. 33:38) Our Sages said that the same was the case with Miriam; but the phrase "by the mouth of the Lord" is not employed, because it was not considered appropriate to use these words in the description of her death as she was a woman. The meaning of this saying is that these three died in the midst of the pleasure derived from the knowledge of God and their great love for Him. When our Sages figuratively call the knowledge of God united with intense love for Him a kiss, they follow the well-known poetical diction, "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth" (Song 1:2). This kind of death, which in truth is deliverance from death, has been ascribed by our Sages to none but to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. The other prophets and pious men are beneath that degree: but their knowledge of God is strengthened when death approaches. Of them Scripture says, "Thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy reward" (Isa. 58:8). The intellect of these people remains then constantly in the same condition, since the obstacle is removed that at times has intervened between the intellect and the object of its action: it continues for ever in that great delight, which is not like bodily pleasure. We have explained this in our work, and others have explained it before us.
~ Bothe Rashi and Maimonides agree on the reading of these verses. What do they agree on? What does Maimonides add?
(26) He will kiss on the lips to the one who gives a straightforward reply.
The kisses of an enemy are profuse.
justice and well-being kiss.
(2) Oh, give me of the kisses of his mouth, For your loves are more delightful than wine.
ברייתא העבר רצונך מפני רצון שמים שכן מצינו ליעקב שלא נשק ליוסף: [גמ׳] אמאי לא נשק ליה סבר דילמא איידי דגלה אטעיניה נשי אגב שופריה דכתיב וירא אליו ויפול על צואריו איהו בעי למינשקיה ולא שבקיה דכתיב ויבך על צואריו עוד היינו דכי נח נפשיה נשקיה דכתיב ויבך עליו וישק לו אמר תלתין ותשע שנין קמיה ולא נשקניה לפומיה דאבא והשתא קברנא ליה ולא נשיקנה ליה והיינו דכתיב וירא ישראל את בני יוסף ויאמר מי אלה אטו עד השתא לא ידע מאן אינון אלא דשייליה אם (לא) איתיילדו בכתובה וכיון דחזייה כתובה אתבא דעתיה ונשקינהו בדיל יוסף אמר רבא ש״מ יוסף נתחמם לנגדה דאי ס״ד לא נתחמם כנגדה והתניא הניח ידו על גבי בני מעיו ואמר שישו בני מעי שישו בני מעי ומה ספקות שלכם כך בוודאות עאכ״ו מובטח אני בכם שאין רמה ותולעה שולטת בכם וקרא על עצמו אף בשרי ישכון לבטח והוא לא מחשיב בהדיהו. וכ״ש יעקב דמחשיב בהדיהו. הלכך צפה יעקב ברוח הקדש ונמנע מלנשוקי ליה. והיכא רמיזא דכתיב ותשב באיתן קשתו וכתיב התם עריה תעור קשתך ומי גרם לו שניצול לו שבועות מטות מאי אומר סלה אלקי יעקב סלה מיתיבי וירץ לקראתו ויחבק לו וינשק לו. והלא דברים ק״ו לבן שמנשק ע״ז ומנשק זונות כתיב ביה הכי יוסף לא הוה מנשק דילמא לא איצטריך קרא למכתביה אלא קרא אזכותיה דיעקב מהדר וירץ לבן לקראתו בעא לנשוקיה ולא שבקיה חבקיה הדר לנשקיה ונקיף ליה ליסתיה דייקא נמי דכתיב וינשק ולא כתיב וישק ש״מ (והכי) [והכא] כתיב וישק להם ויחבק להם מאי בין וישק לוינשק וינשק בכל הגוף וישק בפה. ומנא לן הכי דכתיב שפתים ישק משיב דברים נכוחים כל מקום שנאמר וישק אינו אלא כרושם ומצרף לחשבון. ת״ש וירץ עשו לקראתו ויחבקהו [וגו׳] וישקהו הא דמיא ללבן א״ל זיל חזי(כמי) [כמה] שיני חרותי עילויה. ומ״ש משום דבעי לנשוכי באותה שעה נעשו שיניו כדונג והכה לחייו בצוארו של יעקב ואיחלש על אותה שעה אמר דוד קומה ה׳ הושיעני וגו׳ שיני רשעים שברת:
BARAITHA. Subordinate your will to the will of Heaven; for so we find that Jacob did not kiss Joseph.
GEMARA. Why did he not kiss him? He thought that, since he was away from home, women may have led him astray because of his beauty; as it is written, And he presented himself unto him, and fell on his neck. [Joseph] wanted to kiss him but he would not let him do so, as it is written, And he wept on his neck a good while. That is to say, he [only] kissed him when he died, as it is written, And wept upon him, and kissed him. Joseph said, ‘Thirty-nine years have [passed] before him and I have not kissed my father’s mouth, and now shall I bury him without kissing him?’ That is the meaning of what is written, And Israel beheld Joseph’s sons and said: Who are these? Did he not know until then who they were? But [Jacob] inquired of him whether they had been born in wedlock, and when he showed him the kethubah his mind became at rest and he kissed them for the sake of Joseph.
... It was quoted in refutation, And it came to pass, when Laban heard the tidings of Jacob his sister’s son, that he ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed him—is not this a case where an inference from minor to major is to be drawn? If of Laban who kissed idols and harlots it is so written, Joseph who did not kiss these [yet did not kiss Jacob]! Perhaps the verse should not have written this, but it points to Jacob’s merit. [It indicates,] And he [Laban] ran to meet him, i.e. he wanted to kiss him but [Jacob] would not permit him; he then embraced him again to kiss him, whereupon he struck [Laban] on his cheek. This may be proved from the fact that it is written wayyenasheḳ and not wayyishshaḳ. Hence it is proved; here it is written, And he kissed them and [continues], And embraced them.
What is the difference between wayyishaḳ and wayyenasheḳ? The latter indicates [kissing] with the whole body, the former [only] with the mouth. Whence do we know that this is so? For it is written, He will kiss [yishaḳ] on the lips the one that gives a straight answer. Wherever wayyishaḳ occurs it denotes a [light] impress to be added to the count. Come and hear: [It is stated,] And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him, and fell on his neck and kissed him. Is not this [act of kissing] similar to what Laban did? The reply is: Go and see how many teeth were dug into him. And why? Because he [really] wanted to bite him, but at the time his teeth became as [soft as] wax and he knocked his jaws against Jacob’s neck and became weak. To that episode David alluded when he said, Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God; for Thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek, Thou hast broken the teeth of the wicked.
~ Back to our text, Kallah Rabbati really sees many types of kisses. But what happened to Yaakov and Esav?
~ What happened between Yaakov and Yosef? Why?
~ Note the text does not assume a sexual connotation to the kiss on the lips by father and child.
And Esav ran to meet him, and hugged him, and fell on his neck, and kissed him, and they wept.
~ Notice how the Targum Yerushalmi incorporates the midrash.
... רַבִּי יִצְחָק פָּתַח, (שיר השירים א׳:ב׳) יִשָּׁקֵנִי מִנְּשִׁיקוֹת פִּיהוּ וְגוֹ' אָמְרָה כְּנֶסֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל, יִשָּׁקֵנִי מִנְּשִׁיקוֹת פִּיהוּ. מַאי טַעֲמָא יִשָּׁקֵנִי, יֶאֱהָבֵנִי מִבָּעֵי לֵיהּ, אֲמַאי יִשָּׁקֵנִי. אֶלָּא הָכִי תָּנֵינָן, מַאי נְשִׁיקוֹת אַדְבְּקוּתָא דְּרוּחָא בְּרוּחָא. דִּבְגִינִי כַּךְ נְשִׁיקָה בַּפֶּה, דְּהָא פּוּמָא אַפְקוּתָא וּמְקוֹרָא דְּרוּחָא הוּא, וְעַל דָּא נְשִׁיקִין בְּפוּמָא, בַּחֲבִיבוּתָא, וְדַבְקִין רוּחָא בְּרוּחָא, דְּלָא מִתְפָּרְשָׁן דָּא מִן דָּא.
Rabbi Yitzchak opened [his explanation with] "let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth" (Songs 1:2): the congregation of Israel said 'let Him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth'. What is 'let Him kiss me'? 'let Him love me' really is what is asked, what is 'let Him kiss me'? Rather, this is what we teach: what is a kiss? The clinging of a spirit onto another spirit. And in this way, the kiss on the mouth, which is the opening of the neck and the source of the soul, and this is the kiss on the mouth, with love, and they cling a spirit to a spirit, and they don't separate one from another.
And because of this, one whose soul goes out in a kiss, [that one] clings oneself to a different spirit, a spirit that does not separate from that one. And this is what we call kiss. And it was on this that the congregation of Israel said 'let Him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth', to cling spirit to spirit and not to separate one from another.
'Because Your loves are better than wine' (Songs 1:2) - and this is why it is written "But these are also muddled by wine etc" (Isaiah 28:7) and it is also written "drink no wine or other intoxicant, you or your sons" (Lev. 10:9) - why is wine mentioned here? Rabbi Chyiah said - [God's kisses are] better than the wine of Torah. Rabbi Hizkiyah said: it is written "wine that cheers the hearts of humans" (Psalms 104:15) and about that it is written "because Your loves are better than wine" bringing one to a complete rejoicing of the heart. 'Better than wine' - makes me rejoice more than anything.
~ What is a kiss, according to the Zohar?
~ What is the position of the Zohar vis-a-vis being drunk and praying?
רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אָמַר, כְּתִיב, (בראשית כ״ט:י״א) וַיִּשַּׁק יַעֲקֹב לְרָחֵל וְיִשָּׂא אֶת קוֹלוֹ וַיֵּבְךְ, אֲמַאי קָא בָּכָה. אֶלָּא בְּאִתְדַּבְּקוּתָא דְּרוּחָא בָּהּ, לָא יָכִיל לִבָּא לְמִסְבַּל, וּבָכָה. וְאִי תֵּימָא, הָא כְּתִיב, (בראשית ל״ג:ד׳) וַיִּשָּׁקֵהוּ וַיִּבְכּוּ. תָּנֵינָן, אֲמַאי נָקוּד וַיִּשָּׁקֵהוּ, אֶלָּא דְּלָא אִתְדָּבַּק בֵּיהּ רוּחָא כְּלָל, וְעַל דָּא כְּתִיב, (משלי כ״ז:ו׳) וְנַעְתָּרוֹת נְשִׁיקוֹת שׂוֹנֵא. מַאי וְנַעְתָּרוֹת נְשִׁיקוֹת שׂוֹנֵא. אֶלָּא מַאן דְּנָשִׁיק בַּחֲבִיבוּתָא, מִתְדָּבַק רוּחֵיהּ בְּרוּחֵיהּ, בִּדְבֵיקוּתָא דַּחֲבִיבוּתָא וּמַאן דְּלָא נָשִׁיק בַּחֲבִיבוּתָא, לָאו בִּדְבֵיקוּתָא הוּא, אֶלָּא וְנַעְתָּרוֹת. מַאי נַעְתָּרוֹת. גַּסּוּתָא, דְּלָא דָּבִיק רוּחֵיהּ בְּהַהוּא נְשִׁיקָה. וְלָא אִתְדָּבַּק בֵּיהּ כְּלָל. וּבְגִינֵי כַּךְ כְּתִיב, יִשָּׁקֵנִי מִנְּשִׁיקוֹת פִּיהוּ, דְּהוּא דְּבֵקוּתָא רוּחָא בְּרוּחָא.
Rabbi Yehudah said: it is written "Yaakov kissed Rachel and raised his voice and cried" (Gen. 29:11) Why did he cry? It was only due to his spirit clinging to her, his heart could not stand it, and he cried. Here it is written "and he kissed him and they cried" (Gen. 33:4). We were taught: why is "and he kissed" dotted? Because his spirit did not cling to him at all, and therefore it is written "And the kisses of enemies are profuse" (Prov. 27:6). What does "the kisses of enemies are profuse" mean? Rather, when there are kisses with love, there is the spirit [of one person] clinging to the spirit [of the other], a love clinging, and whoever does kiss without love has no clinging, rather, it is na'tarot [profuse]. And what is na'tarot? Haughtiness, that does not cling the spirit on that kiss. And does not cling oneself at all. And similarly this is written "let Him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth" (Songs 1:2) - this is the clinging of a spirit to another spirit.
תָּנָא, כָּל זִמְנָא דְּקוּדְשָׁא בְּרִיךְ הוּא אָזִיל בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל, כִּבְיָכוֹל אִתְדָּבַּק רוּחָא בְּרוּחָא, וְעַל דָּא כְּתִיב, (דברים ד׳:ד׳) וְאַתֶּם הַדְּבֵקִים בַּה'', בְּכָל אִינּוּן גַּוְונֵי דְּבֵיקוּתָא, וְלָא מִתְפָּרְשָׁא דָּא מִן דָּא. ...
It is taught: every moment that the Holy One of Blessing walks as it were in [the people] Israel the spirit clings to the Spirit, and regarding that it is written "and all you who cling to Ad-nay [are all alive today]" (Deut. 4:4). In all the ways of clinging they do not become separated one from another...
~ What kind of kiss was the kiss between Rachel and Yaakov? How does the Zohar interprets his crying?
~ What kind of kiss was Esav's? Why?
~ When do we receive a kiss from God?
Another interpretation: "let Him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth" (Songs 1:2). What surrounded King Solomon? That he brought in words of love between the upper and lower worlds, and songs of loving praise that came between them, this is "let Him kiss me". Rather, this is what is maintained [regarding that] and this is it: when there is no love and no spirit clinging to another
this is an empty kiss. And the kiss on the mouth, which is the fountain of the spirit, and brings it out. And when they kiss each other, their spirit cling to one another, and become one, and therefore there is one love.
~ What is the Zohar's interpretation of the verse in Song of Songs? How could King Solomon write that?
~ According to this part, what was Esav's kiss?
In the book of Rav Hamnuna the First Elder it said about this verse that a kiss of love spreads to the four winds/spirits, and those four spirits cling to one another as one, and they are the essence of the secret of faith/confidence, and they are the four letters on which the Holy Name is dependent on, and the Upper [Worlds] and the Lower [Worlds] are dependent on them. And the praise of the Song of Songs is dependent on them. And what are they? AHVH [Love]. And they are the Upper Chariot. And they are Friendship and Clinging and the fill/complete everything.
These letters, they are four spirits. And they are the spirits of love, and joy of all the parts of the body with no sadness whatsoever. Four spirits are in a kiss, every one of them included in the others. And when one spirit is included in another and another is included in one they become two spirits like one. And when they cling in one clinging, those four in completion, and they blow in one another and are included in each other.
~ What is an unexpected name for God?
~ When two people kiss, what happens, according to the Zohar?
The gesture of the kiss as a token of affection, greeting, or reverence takes on a wide range of meanings across the historical expanse of Judaism. In the Bible there are thirty-one kisses, the vast majority of which are kisses between (usually male) relatives. Examples include Genesis 27:26-27; 29:13; 32:1; 33:4; 45:15; 48:10; 50:1; Exodus 4:27; 18:7; 1 Samuel 20:41 and 2 Samuel 14:33; and Ruth, 1:9, 14.
Sometimes the kiss serves as official or formal recognition (1 Samuel 10:1; 2 Samuel 15:5). The one scriptural instance of a woman kissing a man (Proverbs 7:1) sounds a cautionary note about the behavior of a harlot. Several kisses signal the beginning of a relationship and are sometimes made to bear symbolic weight by the rabbis for the future of the relationship.
Jacob kisses his cousin Rachel at their first meeting, a sign that marks the beginning of a passionate love affair with far-reaching ramifications. Laban kisses Jacob when they first meet but the rabbis suggest that it is a ruse, with Laban using his tongue to poke around in Jacob’s mouth for hidden jewels (Bereshit Rabba 70:13). When Jacob and Esau reunite, they embrace and kiss but the dots above the word va-yishaqehu (and he kissed him) prompt the rabbis to represent Esau’s kiss as an attempted bite (Bereshit Rabba 78:9).
The Song of Songs opens with the plea, “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth” (1:2), the rhetorical excess signaling the intensity of the desire and building on the Hebrew alliteration, yishaqeni mi-neshiqot. The verse continues, “For your lovemaking is better than wine,” evoking the open-mouthed sensuality and intoxicating quality of the lovemaking.
The Talmud (Babylonian Talmud 17a) teaches that Moses, Aaron, and Miriam all died with a kiss. Numbers 33:38 and Deuteronomy 34:5 state that Aaron and Moses died “by the mouth of the Lord,” which the rabbis understand as a kiss. Noting that the words “by the mouth of the Lord” are not found in connection with the death of Miriam, Rabbi Eleazar explains, “Because such an expression would be disrespectful.” In Song of Songs Rabbah (1:2; xvi) the mercy shown these three luminaries is extended to all the righteous, “for it is written: ‘Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth,’” using the plural as proof.
Judaism developed kissing practices as a form of pious behavior to express the dearness of a ritual item. It is common practice for the Torah scroll to be kissed when paraded around the synagogue and before and after its ritual chanting. Ritual fringes (Shulhan Arukh Orah Hayyim 24:4) and phylacteries (Shulhan Arukh Orah Hayyim 28:3) are kissed as part of the daily rite. There is a widespread custom in Jewish households to kiss the mezuzah (miniature sacred parchment in a casing affixed to a doorpost) upon entering or leaving a dwelling.
Medieval philosophical literature elaborates upon the deaths of Moses, Aaron, and Miriam from a kiss in its consideration of eschatology. Maimonides writes, “when a perfect man is stricken with years and approaches death, . . . [intellectual] apprehension increases very powerfully, joy over this apprehension becomes stronger, until the soul is separated from the body at that moment in this state of pleasure. Because of this, the Sages have said with reference to the deaths of Moses, Aaron, and
Miriam that the three of them died by a kiss____ to indicate that the three of them died in the pleasure of this apprehension that is achieved in a state of intense and passionate love for Him, . . . in accordance with the dictum: ‘Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth.’”
Maimonides has interpreted the kiss in a thoroughly metaphorical way, stripping it of any sensual meaning. Shem Tov ibn Falaquera, Moses ibn Tibbon, Yizhaq ibn Sahula, Isaac ibn Latif, and Moses Narboni all employ the metaphor of the kiss in similar ways to indicate the cleaving of the individual soul to the Active Intellect.
Medieval kabbalists—Jewish mystics such as Bahya ben Asher, Isaac of Acre, and Mena-hem Recanati—built upon these philosophical foundations to refer to mystical kisses at the end of life as well. In the Zohar—a mystical commentary on the Torah, the five topics of Moses—three of the companions who populate the text die with a kiss in mystical rapture, cleaving to the divine (3:144a-b). The Zohar also uses the image of the kiss to refer to male-female kisses and male-male kisses that partake of mystical rapture but do not eventuate in the separation of soul from body. “How [can we discern] a kiss of love? Only [a kiss] on the mouth so that spirit joins with spirit. Each one of them is comprised of two spirits, his spirit and that of his fellow. Thus between the two of them there are four spirits. How much more so in the case of a man and a woman when they are joined— there are four spirits together. The son that comes from them, that is the spirit that comes from four spirits as you have cited, ‘Come, O spirit, from four spirits’—that is a complete spirit” (Zohar Hadash Shir ha-Shirim 60c).
The Zohar restores the centrality of the kiss’s concrete meaning even as it wrestles with the higher meaning of the kiss. The male-male kiss signals companionship and the exchange of mystical lore, whereas the male-female kiss is part of erotic foreplay leading to procreation. The kiss is the focal point of a tension between the impulse toward spiritual continuity, effected through Torah study, with the countervailing impulse to propagate the Jewish people.
Finally, all kisses of true love are said to draw upon a divine source. About the scriptural lemma “With the kisses of His mouth” (Song of Songs 1:2), the Zohar comments that the kisses signify “those supernal kisses that He had kissed before. For there is no love and enjoyment unless they come from the kisses of the supernal spirit [to those] below.” (Zohar Hadash Shir ha-Shirim 64b). In other words, human love ultimately participates in the larger economy of God’s love for humanity and recreates it in relationships in this world.