Dear Rabbi Simon
I have a question about the idea of Pardes (literally “orchard”) as an acronym for the different interpretations, or layers of meaning, to the Torah: Peshat, remez, derash and sod. What is the source for this concept?
I had thought it was Rabbeinu Bachye (b. Asher,14th c. Catalonia), however, in the introduction, Rabbeinu Bachye talks about the path of peshat, derash, sekhel [rational or philosophical], Kabbalah, and Musar [ethical insights].
He says Derekh Kabbalah is like the Ramban’s Derekh ha-Emet.
Also in Pardes, remez is first before derash. Otherwise, it would be Padres :). But Rabbeinu Bachye puts derash as the second level
What do you think?
Best Wishes
Moshe
Dear Moshe,
According to the 20th c. Israeli scholar Isaiah Tishbi, applying the term Pardes as an acronym for peshat, etc, originates with the Spanish kabbalist R. Moshe de Leon in the late 13th c. The term itself originates with (or alludes to) the account in the Talmud (Hagigah 14b), “Four [Sages] entered the Orchard…” (for most of them, it did not end well). Of course, the approaches of Rabbenu Bechaye are quite similar to the Pardes categories, even if they do not correlate precisely. In any case, the basic principle of multiple layers of meaning is accepted by all commentators—even (le-havdil) by secular or non-Jewish students of the Scriptures.
With Torah blessings,
Rabbi Rashi Simon