33. Midrash Hane'elam (Homiletical interpretations on the obscure). "And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son, Abraham begot Isaac" (Beresheet 25:19). Rabbi Yitzchak began the discussion with the verse: "The mandrakes give a fragrance..." (Shir Hashirim 7:14). The sages taught that in the future, the Holy One, blessed be He, will raise the dead and shake the dust off them. As a result, they will no longer be made of dust, as they were when first created from dust, which does not endure, as it is written, "And Hashem Elohim formed man of the dust of the ground" (Beresheet 2:7).

34. The instant they shake the dust from their bodily frames, they will have enduring frames, as it is written, "Shake yourself from the dust; arise, and sit down, Jerusalem" (Yeshayah 52:2). They will endure and rise from beneath the ground to receive their souls in the land of Yisrael. At that time, the Holy One, blessed be He, will pour upon them all the kinds of fragrances that are in the Garden of Eden, as it is written, "The mandrakes give a fragrance."

35. Rabbi Yitzchak said, Do not pronounce it dudaim ('mandrakes'), but rather dodim ('lovers'). They are the body and the soul, who are lovers and friends to each other. Rav Nachman said, They are real mandrakes. As the mandrakes bring love into the world, so they create love in the world. And they give off a fragrance, which is how they know and recognize their Creator.

37. Rabbi Acha bar Jacob said that a divine voice resounded, proclaiming: "New and old, which I have laid up for you, O my beloved" (Shir Hashirim 7:14). "I have laid up for you" - in these same worlds. "...for you..." means because of you, because you are a holy and clean body. Another explanation is that these mandrakes are the Angels of Peace. "...Give a fragrance..." refers to souls, the fragrance of the world; "give" means to allow, as it is written, "and Sichon would not allow Yisrael" (Bemidbar 21:23).