Pardes

Pardes (פרדס) is the Hebrew word for Paradise. In addition, early rabbinic tradition uses the word as an acronym of the four ways of interpreting scripture. These four ways are:
# Peshat (פשט) — the simple or superficial understanding of the text.
# Remez (רמז) — making connexions between this text and others that explicate its meaning.
# Derash (דרש) — the binding interpretation of the text: what I must do to fulfil this commandment.
# Sôd (סוד) — the mystical interpretation of the text.
To read a biblical text and understand it at these four levels is considered to be the hermeneutical equivalent to walking in the most beautiful of gardens, even Paradise itself.
I wonder how many there are who read the scripture and stop at the peshat meaning of text. Perhaps pardes is the way out of textual fundamentalism in religion.
category:Judaism