[Avodah] mi ban siach

[Micha Berger]

On Wed, Jun 15, 2011 at 10:22:07PM +0300, Eli Turkel wrote:
: At weddings I attend one rarely hears this. However, following Prof. Levine
: this may be an infiltration of non-ashkenazi customs

I dunno, I don't think I ever attended a wedding where "Mi Bon Siach" was
/not/ sung.

The words are based on Shir haShirim Rabba 2:4 and part of a longer piut
found in Machzor Vitri. They are (to the best of my transliterating
abilities):
    Mi bon siach shoshan chochim,
    Ahavas kallah, mesos dodim,
    Hu yivarech es hechasan v'es hakallah

My translation:
    The One Who knows the speech of a rose among thorns
    the love of a bride and the joy of lovers
    He will bless the groom and the bride.

Although the words seem to be saying that the "siach shoshan" is "ahavas
kallah" and "mesos dodim", the source medrash indicates that the sichah
in question is sheva berakhos. "The way of the world is that 10 people
enter the beis mishteh, and none of them can open his mouth to pless birkhas
chasanim. One comes and opens his mouth and blesses birkhas chasanim. What
is he like among them? Like a shoshanah bein hachochim."

Thus, it's a list: Hashem who knows three things: (1) 7 berakhos, (2)
ahavas kallah, and (3) mesos dodim, will bless the couple.



Personally, I think "sichah" has flirtatious overtones, as in "al
tarbeh sichah im ha'ishah". I would link this to the use of "lasuach
basadeh" when the Torah describes what chazal tell us is Yitzchaq's
tefillah. Yitzchaq's name is linked to this kind of Shir haShirim theme
when the Torah plays on it and tells us "Yitzchak metzachek es Rivqa
ishto..."

And that would explain its use here, as well. See 2:1, which describes
Rivqa as the shoshanah bein hachochim (Lavan haArami / ramai).

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             One doesn't learn mussar to be a tzaddik,
micha at aishdas.org        but to become a tzaddik.
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