Hermeneutics has to do with the methodological principles applied to the interpretation of scripture. In Kabbalah, there are four traditional levels of understanding scripture, symbolized by the word "Pardes", which means "garden" or "orchard".

"Pardes" is used as an acronym. P stands for "peshat," the simple or literal meaning of the text; R for "remez," the hints and allusions within the text for ways that it might be more meaningful, especially in terms of morality; D for "dresh," the derivative implications of the text, how it relates to other texts in a way that provides deeper meaning to all of them, as well as how it may speak in the context of one's own life; and S for "sod", the hidden mystical, or genuinely gnostic meaning of the text, one which is experienced through direct spiritual intuition and inspires deeper insight and appreciation at the other levels.

The kind of gnostic exegesis that we see people like Valentinus doing is apparently in the dresh catergory because there was an oral tradition in which aspirants were taught how to "read between the lines" and interpret the symbolism of scripture in a particular way. Some might say this is actually part of sod because sod literally means "secret" or "hidden", however, the truly secret and hidden cannot be taught. One can teach another how to open up to it, one can tell another about his or her experience of it, but the real *meaning* of the sod level is in the experience of it.

Peace,
Griffin