Shir ha-Shirim VIII: Part Seven: The Merit of Teaching

Rabbi Yudan said: “more so because Kohelet was wise,” to teach you that who ever teaches Torah in public merits that the Divine Inspiration should rest on him. From whom do you learn this? From Solomon; for because he taught Torah in public, he earned the privilege that the Divine Inspiration rested on him and he composed three books, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and The Song of Songs. (Shir haShirim Rabbah 1.1:8, part seven)

How does this comment relate to all the previous lessons about Solomons parables? I believe that this is teaching us that it is not the merit of teaching Torah to the public that earns one Divine Inspiration, but the merit of teaching Torah in a way that makes it accessible to the public. Solomon taught his great wisdom by means of parables; he made it accessible to all. He connected everyone to the wisdom of Torah, expanding his wisdom by its connection to so many more people.

Our Torah, our wisdom, cannot become a part of the Song of Songs until we can see it in a manner that makes it accessible to others. The point of teaching the Pesach story act the Seder is to convey our insights in an accessible manner. This is why we focus on the different types of children: we must share our insights in a manner that can relate to every child, every type of person, no matter his level of learning or observance.

When we focus on expressing our insights in a way that can be shared with others and connect to them in a powerful way, our insights the common part of the Song of Songs.