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ShareThe Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s: Our Rabbis taught (Shevu. 35b): Every Solomon mentioned in the Song of Songs is sacred (refers to God), the King to Whom peace (שָׁלוֹם) belongs. It is a song that is above all songs, which was recited to the Holy One, blessed be He, by His congregation and His people, the congregation of Israel. Rabbi Akiva said: The world was never as worthy as on the day that the Song of Songs was given to Israel, for all the Writings are holy, whereas the Song of Songs is the holiest of the holy. Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah said: To what can this be compared? To a king who took a se’ah of wheat and gave it to a baker. He said to him, “Extract for me so much fine flour, so much bran, so much coarse bran, and you shall produce enough fine flour for one white loaf, sifted and superior.” So are all the Writings holy and the Song of Songs the holiest of the holy, for it is all comprised of fear of Heaven and the acceptance of the yoke of His kingdom.
According to RASHI, the Megilah is the “mashal” or allegory of a young and beautiful woman who becomes engaged to and then marries a king. But very soon after the marriage, she is unfaithful to him, causing him to send her away, into the status of “living widowhood,” meaning she is “as if” a widow, although her husband is still alive. But his love for her remains strong, and he watches over her at all times, from behind the scenes, to protect her. And when she resolves to return to him, and be faithful to him, he will take her back, with a love that is fully restored.
The “nimshal,” or referent, the object referred to by the “mashal,” is the People of Israel who were “engaged,” so to speak, to HaShem, when He took them out of Egypt. Then she stood beneath the “chuppah,” the marriage canopy with Him, at Mount Sinai, when He gave her the Torah. But then at the foot of the mountain, she was unfaithful to Him by building the Golden Calf.
But He forgave her for that sin, and for another great sin, and He eventually brought her into the Land of Israel, where she continued to sin. His patience exhausted, He finally sent her into Exile. There she realized that it was far better for her at first with HaShem than afterwards with all the false gods, and pines for the return of their earlier intimate status, in the Land of Israel. But when He approaches her, she suddenly forgets her earlier resolution, and when she seeks Him out, He will not accept her without complete “Teshuvah,” Repentance. But during all the time of her Exile, He watches over her, from “behind the shutters” and protects her from her enemies.
(1) The Song of Songs, by Solomon. (2) Oh, give me of the kisses of your mouth, For your love is more delightful than wine. (3) Your ointments yield a sweet fragrance, Your name is like finest oil— Therefore do maidens love you. (4) Draw me after you, let us run! The king has brought me to his chambers. Let us delight and rejoice in your love, Savoring it more than wine— Like new wine they love you! (5) I am dark, but comely, O daughters of Jerusalem— Like the tents of Kedar, Like the pavilions of Solomon. (6) Don’t stare at me because I am swarthy, Because the sun has gazed upon me. My mother’s sons quarreled with me, They made me guard the vineyards; My own vineyard I did not guard.
(א) יִשָּׁקֵנִי מִנְּשִׁיקוֹת פִּיהוּ. זֶה הַשִּׁיר אוֹמֶרֶת בְּפִיהָ בְּגָלוּתָהּ וּבְאַלְמְנוּתָהּ: "מִי יִתֵּן וְיִשָּׁקֵנִי הַמֶּלֶךְ שְׁלֹמֹה מִנְּשִׁיקוֹת פִּיהוּ כְּמוֹ מֵאָז, לְפִי שֶׁיֵּשׁ מְקוֹמוֹת שֶׁנּוֹשְׁקִין עַל גַּב הַיָּד וְעַל הַכָּתֵף, אַךְ אֲנִי מִתְאַוָּה וְשׁוֹקֶקֶת לִהְיוֹתוֹ נוֹהֵג עִמִּי כַמִּנְהָג הָרִאשׁוֹן, כְּחָתָן אֶל כַּלָּה, פֶּה אֶל פֶּה" ... וְנֶאֱמַר דֻּגְמָא שֶׁלּוֹ עַל שֵׁם שֶׁנָּתַן לָהֶם תּוֹרָתוֹ וְדִבֵּר עִמָּהֶם פָּנִים אֶל פָּנִים. וְאוֹתָם דּוֹדִים עוֹדָם עֲרֵבִים עֲלֵיהֶם מִכָּל שַׁעֲשׁוּעַ. וּמֻבְטָחִים מֵאִתּוֹ לְהוֹפִיעַ עוֹד עֲלֵיהֶם לְבָאֵר לָהֶם סוֹד טְעָמֶיהָ וּמִסְתַּר צְפוּנוֹתֶיהָ, וּמְחַלִּים פָּנָיו לְקַיֵּם דְּבָרוֹ. וְזֶהוּ: "יִשָּׁקֵנִי מִנְּשִׁיקוֹת פִּיהוּ":
(1) Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth. She recites this song with her mouth in her exile and in her widowhood, “If only King Shlomo would kiss me with the kisses of his mouth as of yore,”7“With the kisses of his mouth” is obviously superfluous, therefore Rashi explains that it refers to the days of yore. (Sifsei Chachomim) because in some places they kiss on the back of the hand or on the shoulder, “but I desire and wish that he behave with me as his original behavior, like a bridegroom with a bride, mouth to mouth.”8If it were not mouth to mouth the verb נשק [=kiss] would be followed with a lamed as in Bereishis 27:26 and Ibid. 29:11, and in many other places. (Sifsei Chachomim) And according to its allegorical meaning: It was said in reference to when He gave them His Torah and spoke to them face to face. And that love is still more pleasant to them than any pleasure, and they are assured by Him that He will appear to them again to explain to them the secret of its reasons and its hidden mysteries, and they beseech Him to fulfill His word. This is [the meaning of], “Let Him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth.”
(ד) מֵישָׁרִים אֲהֵבוּךָ. אַהֲבָה עַזָּה, אַהֲבַת מִישׁוֹר בְּלִי עֲקִיבָה וּרְכָסִים (לְשׁוֹן פָּסוּק "וְהָיָה הֶעָקֹב לְמִישׁוֹר וְהָרְכָסִים לְבִקְעָה"). אֲשֶׁר 'אֲהֵבוּךָ' אֲנִי וַאֲבוֹתַי בְּאוֹתָן הַיָּמִים. זֶהוּ פְשׁוּטוֹ לְפִי עִנְיָנוֹ. וּלְפִי דֻגְמָתוֹ, הֵם מַזְכִּירִים לְפָנָיו חֶסֶד נְעוּרִים, אַהֲבַת כְּלוּלוֹת, לֶכְתָּם אַחֲרָיו בַּמִּדְבָּר, אֶרֶץ צִיָּה וְצַלְמָוֶת, וְגַם צֵדָה לֹא עָשׂוּ לָהֶם, וְהֶאֱמִינוּ בוֹ וּבִשְׁלוּחוֹ, וְלֹא אָמְרוּ: "הֵיאַךְ נֵצֵא לַמִּדְבָּר, לֹא מְקוֹם זֶרַע וּמְזוֹנוֹת"? וְהָלְכוּ אַחֲרָיו, וְהוּא הֱבִיאָם לְתוֹךְ חַדְרֵי הֶקֵּף עֲנָנָיו. בְּזוּ, עוֹדָם הַיּוֹם גָּלִים וּשְׂמֵחִים בּוֹ אַף לְפִי עָנְיָם וְצָרָתָם, וּמִשְׁתַּעְשְׁעִים בַּתּוֹרָה, וְשָׁם מַזְכִּירִים דּוֹדָיו מִיַּיִן וּמִישׁוֹר אַהֲבָתָם אוֹתוֹ:
(4) They loved you sincerely. A strong love, a straightforward love, without deceit or intrigue, (in accordance with the expression of the verse, “and the crooked will become straight and heights will become a valley”17Yeshayahu 40:4. ) that my ancestors and I loved you in those days. This is its simple meaning according to its context. According to its allegorical meaning: They mention before Him the loving kindness of [their] youth, the love of [their] nuptials, their following Him in the wilderness, a land of drought and darkness, and they did not even prepare provisions for themselves, but they believed in Him and in His messenger. And they did not say, “How can we go out into the wilderness, which is neither a land of seed nor food?”18See Yirmiyahu 2:2. But they followed Him, and He brought them into the midst of the chambers of the envelopment of His clouds. With this, they are still joyful today and happy with Him despite their afflictions and distress; and they delight in the Torah, and there they recall His love more than wine, and the sincerity of their love for Him.19Their love for You is much higher than the love of wine from which pleasure is derived. (Sforno)
(1) I am black but comely, etc. You, my friends, let me not be light in your eyes. Even if my husband has left me because of my blackness, for I am black because of the tanning of the sun, but I am comely with the shape of beautiful limbs. Though I am black like the tents of Keidar, which are blackened because of the rains, for they are always spread out in the wilderness, I am easily cleansed to become like the curtains of Shlomo. The allegory is: The congregation of Yisroel says to the nations, “I am black in my deeds [i.e., sins], but I am comely by virtue of the deeds of my ancestors, and even some of my deeds are comely. If I bear the iniquity of the [golden] calf,20According to Targum the faces of the Bnei Yisroel actually turned black like the skin of the Cushites, when they sinned with the golden calf. After they repented the blackness went away. I can offset it with the merit of the acceptance of the Torah.” [Scripture] calls the nations, “the daughters בְּנוֹת of Yerusholayim” because it is destined to become the metropolis for them all, as Yechezkeil prophesied, “I will give them to you as surrounding villages לְבָנוֹת,”21Yechezkeil 16:61. and similarly, “Ekron, and its suburbs וּבְנֹתֶיהָ.”22Yehoshua 15:45.
According to the RAMBAM, a twelfth century Torah giant of the Jewish People, the highest form of relationship between a human being and HaShem is the relationship based on love, “Ahavat HaShem,” even higher than the relationship built on fear or reverence, “Yirat HaShem.” The RAMBAM continues, “Just as when a man loves a particular woman, he cannot remove her from his thoughts, with just such intensity should a person love HaShem.
And since Judaism regards the relationship between a man and a woman as potentially holy, Rabbi Akiva argued (Mishnah Yadayim 3:5) for the inclusion of Shir HaShirim in the Sacred Canon when its inclusion was questioned because of the apparent earthiness of the “mashal.” He said that if all the other Books of the Bible are considered “Kedoshim,” Holy, then Shir HaShirim must be considered “Kodesh Kodashim,” the Holiest of the Holy, because both its “mashal” and its “nimshal” are holy.
“If you do not know, O fairest of women, go forth in the footsteps of the sheep and pasture your kids beside the dwelling of the shepherds.”
This is the response of HaShem to the People of Israel asking for direction – where to go and what to do, in the darkness of the Exile –
RASHI: “If you do not know, My assembly and My congregation, O fairest of women, among the other nations, where you should pasture and be saved from the hands of those who oppress you; if you wish to survive among them and not have your children lost, then reflect upon the ways of your early forefathers. They accepted My Torah and observed My ordinances and My commandments, and followed in My ways.”
(1) While the king was at his table. The congregation of Yisroel replies and says, “All this is true. You bestowed good upon me, but I repaid You with evil, for while the King was still at the table of His wedding banquet...”47At Mount Sinai. (2) My spikenard gave out its fragrance. This expression is instead of [saying], “gave forth its stench.” When the Divine Presence was still at Sinai, I sinned with the [golden] calf; Scripture describes it with an expression of love, “gave out its fragrance,” and it did not write, “stank,” or “became putrid,” because Scripture speaks euphemistically. (See Rashi in Maseches Shabbos, Chapter “Rabbi Akiva”4888b. who states the reason for not writing “stank” or “ became putrid” is because of love. However according to the Tosafists explanation there, the reason that “gave out” is written instead of “abandoned its fragrance,” is because of love. However, it is not written, “stank,” or “ became putrid,” even without that reason, but because of euphemism.) (1) A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me. My beloved has become to me as one who has a bundle of myrrh in his bosom, and he said to him, “Here, [take] this bundle, which will give a more fragrant aroma than the first one that you lost.” So, was the Holy One, Blessed Is He, appeased by Yisroel for the incident of the [golden] calf and found them an atonement for their iniquity and said, “Donate to the Tabernacle, and let the gold of the Tabernacle atone for the gold of the calf.” (2) Between my breasts he shall lie. Even though I betrayed Him, He said He would dwell there.49I.e., in the Tabernacle. (3) Between my breasts. Between the two staves of the Ark.50Maseches Yoma 54a; the Gemara there explains that the staves of the Ark protruded into the curtain causing it to bulge like a woman’s breasts. (1) A cluster of henna. There is a spice called כֹּפֶר as in, “Henna כְּפָרִים with spikenard,”51Below 4:13. and it is shaped somewhat like clusters. (2) In the vineyards of Ein-Gedi. [Ein-Gedi is] the name of a place, and there it is common. I saw in Aggadah that those vineyards produce fruits four or five times a year. And this is an allegory of the many atonements and forgiveness that the Holy One, Blessed Is He, forgave them for the numerous trials with which they tried Him in the wilderness.52Alternatively, henna are composed of many seeds and their fragrance diffuses over great distances, symbolizing that the miracles God performed were heard from afar.
(א) הִנָּךְ יָפָה רַעְיָתִי. אֲנִי הָיִיתִי בוֹשָׁה בְקִלְקוּלִי, וְהוּא חִזְּקַנִי בְדִבְרֵי רִצּוּיִים, לוֹמַר "סָלַחְתִּי כִּדְבָרֶיךָ". וַהֲרֵי אַתְּ יָפָה וְיָפָה כִּי עֵינַיִךְ יוֹנִים, כְּלוֹמַר: כַּלָּה שֶׁעֵינֶיהָ כְעוּרִים כָּל גּוּפָהּ צָרִיךְ בְּדִיקָה, וְשֶׁעֵינֶיהָ נָאִים אֵין גּוּפָהּ צָרִיךְ בְּדִיקָה. וְהַדֻּגְמָא זוֹ הִיא: מָחַלְתִּי לָךְ עַל עֲוֹנֵךְ, וַהֲרֵי אַתְּ יָפָה בְ'נַעֲשֶׂה' וְהִנָּךְ יָפָה בְ'נִשְׁמָע', יָפָה בְמַעֲשֵׂה אָבוֹת, יָפָה בְמַעֲשָׂיִךְ: כִּי (ב) כִּי עֵינַיִךְ יוֹנִים. צַדִּיקִים יֵשׁ בְּיָדֵךְ שֶׁדָּבְקוּ בִי, כְּיוֹנָה זוּ שֶׁמִּשֶּׁמַּכֶּרֶת אֶת בֶּן זוּגָהּ אֵינָהּ מַנִּיחַתּוּ שֶׁיִּזְדַּוֵּג לְאַחֵר. כָּךְ "וַיֵּאָסְפוּ אֵלָיו כָּל בְּנֵי לֵוִי" וְלֹא טָעוּ בָעֵגֶל. וְעוֹד: הִנָּךְ יָפָה בִמְלֶאכֶת הַמִּשְׁכָּן, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר "וְהִנֵּה עָשׂוּ אֹתָהּ וגו' וַיְבָרֶךְ אֹתָם משֶׁה". הֲרֵי שֶׁקִּלְּסָם עַל כָּךְ:
(1) Behold, you are comely, my beloved. I53I.e., Yisroel. was ashamed of my going astray, but He encouraged me with appeasing words, saying, “I have forgiven because of your words.”54Bamidbar 14:20. And you are most fair, for your eyes are like doves; i.e., a bride whose eyes are ugly, her entire body requires examination, but she whose eyes are beautiful, her body requires no examination.55See Maseches Ta’anis 24a. The allegorical meaning is: I forgave you for your iniquity, and behold you are fair with “Let us do,”56Shemos 24:7. and you are fair with “Let us hear;”57Ibid. fair with the deeds of your forefathers and fair with your own deeds, because — (2) Your eyes are like doves. There are righteous among you who clung to Me like a dove, that once it recognizes its mate, does not allow him to mate with another.58Even when its mate is not there. Similarly, Bnei Yisroel do not abandon God even during the period when the Divine Presence is “hiding” from making its presence felt. (Sefer Duda’im) Similarly, “and all the sons of Leivi gathered around him,”59Shemos 32:26. and they did not err with the [golden] calf. Another explanation [of הִנָּךְ יָפָה, behold, you are beautiful through the construction of the Tabernacle, as it is stated, “and behold, they had done it, etc. And Moshe blessed them;”60Ibid. 39:43. he praised them for that.
(1) Flee my beloved. From this exile, and redeem us from among them. (2) And be like a gazelle. To hasten the redemption, and to cause Your Divine Presence to rest—Upon the mountains of spices. This is Mount Moriyah and the Beis Hamikdosh, may it be rebuilt speedily and in our days, Amen.