Shir HaShirim (Song of Songs)

 

Chapter 1

 

 

Rashi’s commentary to Shir HaShirim chapter 1

 

1 The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s. Our Rabbis taught (Shevu. 35b): Every Solomon (for they were at a loss to explain why Scripture did not mention his father, as it did in Proverbs and Ecclesiastes) 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.

 

2 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 Solomon would kiss me with the kisses of his mouth as of old,” because in some places they kiss on the back of the hand or on the shoulder, but I desire and wish that he behave toward me as he behaved toward me originally, like a bridegroom with a bride, mouth to mouth.

 

for… is better. your love [is better] to me more than any wine banquet and more than any pleasure and joy. In the Hebrew language, every banquet of pleasure and joy is called after the wine, as it is stated (Esther 7:8): “to the house of the wine feast;” (Isa. 24:9): “In song they shall not drink wine;” (ibid. 5:12): “And there were harp and lute, tambourine and flute, and wine at their drinking feasts.” This is the explanation of its apparent meaning. This figure of speech was used because 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 to explain to them the secret of its reasons and its hidden mysteries, and they entreat Him to fulfill His word, and this is the meaning of “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth.”

 

3 Because of the fragrance of your goodly oils. A good name is referred to by the expression, “good oil.”

 

Because of the fragrance of your goodly oils. that those dwelling at the ends of the earth smelled, [i.e.,] those who heard of Your good fame when You performed awesome deeds in Egypt.

 

your name is ‘oil poured forth.’. Your name is [thus] called. It is said about you that you are oil that is constantly being poured forth so that your fragrant scent wafts forth to a distance, for so is the nature of fragrant oil. As long as it is in a sealed bottle, its scent does not carry. If one opens it and pours the oil into another vessel, its scent carries.

 

Therefore, the maidens loved you. Jethro came at the sound of the news and converted; also Rahab the harlot said, (Josh. 2:10f.): “For we have heard how the Lord dried up, etc.,” and thereby, “the Lord your God, He is God in heaven, etc.”

 

maidens. virgins, since the text compares Him to a youth whose beloved holds him dear, and according to the allegory, the maidens are the nations.

 

4 Draw me, we will run after you. I heard from your messengers a hint that you said to draw me, and I said, “We will run after you to be your wife.”

 

the king brought me to his chambers. And even this very day, I still have joy and happiness that I cleaved to you.

 

We will recall your love. Even today, in living widowhood, I recall your early love more than any banquet of pleasure and joy.

 

they have loved you sincerely. a strong love, a straightforward love, without crookedness (Heb. עקיבה) or deceit (Heb. רכסים), [after Isaiah 40:4: and the crooked terrain (הֶעָקֹב) shall become a plain and the rugged mountains (וְהָרְכָסִים) a valley], that my ancestors and I loved you in those days. This is its simple meaning according to its context, and 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 desert, a land of aridness and darkness, and they did not even prepare supplies for themselves, but they believed in Him and in His messenger, and they did not say, “How will we go out into the desert, which is not a land of seed or food,” but they followed Him, and He brought them into the midst of the chambers of the encompassment of His clouds. With this, they are still joyful today and happy in 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.

 

5 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 sun’s gaze, but I am comely with the shape of beautiful limbs, and if I am black as the tents of Kedar, which are blackened by the rain, for they are constantly spread out in the deserts, I am easily cleansed to be like the curtains of Solomon. The allegory is that the congregation of Israel says to the nations: I am black in my deeds, but I am comely in the deeds of my ancestors, and even some of my deeds are comely. If I am guilty of the iniquity of the [Golden] Calf, I can counter it with the merit of the acceptance of the Torah (Song Rabbah). He calls the nations the daughters of Jerusalem because she [Jerusalem] is destined to become the metropolis for them all, as Ezekiel prophesied (16:61): “and I shall give them to you for daughters,” like (Josh. 15:45): “Ekron, with her towns (וּבְנוֹהֶיהָ).”

 

6 Do not look upon me. Do not look upon me disdainfully [like (I Sam. 6:19) “for they had gazed upon the Ark of the Lord”].

 

because I am swarthy. For my blackness and my ugliness are not from my mother’s womb, but from tanning from the sun, for that blackness can easily be whitened by staying in the shade.

 

my mother’s sons were incensed against me. These are the Egyptians among whom I grew up, and they went up with me in the mixed multitude; they were incensed against me with their enticement and their seduction until they made me…

 

a keeper of the vineyards. and there the sun tanned me and I became blackened; i.e., they made me a worshipper of alien gods, but my own vineyard, which I had from my forefathers, I did not keep. We find that in the Scripture, leaders are called by an expression of vineyards, as it is said (Hos. 2:17): “And I will give to her her vineyards from there,” which the Targum renders: “And I will appoint her leaders for her.” And similarly (Job 24:18): “he will not turn by the way of the vineyards.”

 

7 Tell me, you whom my soul loves. The Divine Spirit repeatedly compares her to the flock that is beloved to the shepherd. The congregation of Israel says before Him as a woman to her husband, “Tell me, You Whom my soul loves, where do You feed Your flock among these wolves in whose midst they are, and where do You rest them at noon, in this exile, which is a distressful time for them, like noon, which is a distressful time for the flock?”

 

for why should I be like one who veils herself. And if you ask, “What does it concern you?” It is not dignified for you that I should be like a mourner, with a veil over my lip, weeping for my flock.

 

beside the flocks of your companions. beside the flocks of the other shepherds, who pasture flocks as you do; i.e., among the flocks of the heathens, who rely on pagan deities, and who have kings and princes who lead them.

 

8 If you do not, etc.. This is the shepherd’s reply: If you do not know where you should go to feed your flock, you, O fairest of women, for the shepherd has ceased pasturing them.

 

go your way in the footsteps of the flocks. Look at the footsteps, the way that the flocks went, and the heels are discernible, traces in French, tracks. There are many similar instances in Scripture, e.g. (Ps. 77:20): “and Your steps (וְעִקְבוֹתֶיךָ) were not known;” (Jer. 13:22): “your steps (עֲקֵבָיִךְ) were cut off;” (Gen. 49:19): “and his troops will return in their tracks (עָקֵב).” He will return in his tracks; now go that way.

 

and pasture your kids beside the shepherds’ dwellings. among the dwellings of the other shepherds beside whom you are, and this is the allegory: If you do not know, My assembly and My congregation, O fairest of women, [the fairest] of the nations, where you will pasture and be saved from the hand of those who oppress you, to be among them, and that your children should not perish, ponder the ways of your early ancestors, who received My Torah and kept My watch and My commandments, and go in their ways, and as a reward for this, you will pasture your kids beside the princes of the nations, and so did Jeremiah say (31:20): “Set up markers for yourself… put your heart to the highway, etc.”

 

9 At the gathering of the steeds of Pharaoh’s chariots have I silenced you, my beloved. Heb. לְסֻסָתִי. This “lammed” is like the “lammed” of (Jer. 10:13): “At the sound of (לְקוֹל) His giving a multitude of waters,” and like (above verse 3): “At the fragrance of (לְרֵיחַ) your oils.” At the gathering of many steeds, for I gathered my camps to go forth toward you in the chariots of Pharaoh to save you, as it is said (Hab. 3:15): “You trampled in the sea with your steeds,” many steeds. There I silenced you, my beloved. I silenced you from your cry, as it is written (Exod. 14:14): “and you shall be silent.” I saw this in Aggadic works (Song Rabbah). Another explanation: דִמִיתִ רַעְיָתִי -There I demonstrated to all that you are my beloved.

 

steeds. Heb. לְסֻסָתִי, means a gathering of horses, and in the French language, chevalchie, troop of horses, cavalcade. דִמִיתִ is adesmay in Old French, like (Jud. 20:5): “Me they intended (דִמוּ) to kill,” for there I adorned you with beautiful ornaments.

 

10 Your cheeks are comely with rows. rows of earrings and a golden forehead plate.

 

your neck with necklaces. necklaces of gold with pearls strung on golden threads of the plunder of the sea.

 

11 We will make you rows of gold. I and My tribunal decided before the arrival of Pharaoh that I should entice him and strengthen his heart to pursue you with all the best of his hidden treasures, so that we should make rows of golden ornaments for you.

 

with studs of silver. that were already in your possession, that you took out of Egypt, for the plunder at the sea was greater than the plunder in Egypt.

 

studs. silver objects studded and decorated with stripes and hues.

 

12 While the king was still at his table. The congregation of Israel 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…”

 

my spikenard gave forth its fragrance. This is instead of saying, “gave forth its stench.” When the Shechinah was still at Sinai, I sinned with the Calf; Scripture describes it with an expression of love, “gave forth its fragrance,” and did not write, “stank,” or “became putrid,” because Scripture speaks euphemistically. [Rashi from Shab. 88b] (According to the Tosafists, it does not say, “stank,” because of euphemism, and it does not say, “abandoned its fragrance,” because of love.)

 

13 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 scent than the first one that you lost.” So was the Holy One, blessed be He, appeased by Israel for the incident of the 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.

 

between my breasts he shall lie. Even though I betrayed him, he said to dwell there.

 

between my breasts. between the two staves of the Ark.

 

14 A cluster of henna-flowers Heb.. כֹּפֶר. There is a spice called כֹּפֶר, like (below 4:12): “Henna-flowers (כְּפָרִים) with spikenard,” and it is shaped like a sort of cluster.

 

in the vineyards of Ein-Gedi. The name of a place, and there it is common. I saw in an aggadah (Song Zuta) that those vineyards produce fruits four or five times a year, and this is symbolic of the many atonements and forgivenesses that the Holy One, blessed be He, forgave them for the many trials that they tried Him in the desert.

 

15 Behold, you are comely, my beloved. I was ashamed of my sin, but He encouraged me with appeasing words, saying, (Num. 14:20): “I have forgiven according to your words,” 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 [a bride] whose eyes are beautiful, her body requires no examination. (Song Rabbah 4). The allegorical meaning is: I forgave you for your iniquity, and behold you are fair with [your statement of] “Let us do,” and you are fair with [your statement of] “Let us hear;” fair with the deeds of your forefathers and fair with your own deeds, because…

 

your eyes are like doves. There are righteous among you who clung to Me like a dove, which, as soon as it recognizes its mate, does not abandon it to mate with another. Similarly, (Exod. 32:26): “and all the sons of Levi gathered to him,” and they did not err with the Calf, and moreover, behold you are fair with the work of the Tabernacle, as it is said (ibid. 39:43): “and behold, they made it, etc. and Moses blessed them;” behold he praised them for that.

 

16 Behold, you are comely, my beloved, yea pleasant. The beauty is not mine, but yours; you are the comely one.

 

yea pleasant. For You overlooked my transgression and caused Your Shechinah to rest in our midst, and this is the praise of the descent of the fire (Lev. 9:24): “and all the people saw and shouted for joy.”

 

also our couch is leafy. Through your pleasantness, behold our couch is leafy with our sons and with our daughters, all of whom gather to You here, as it is said (ibid. 8:4): “and the congregation gathered [to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting].” The Tabernacle is called a bed, as it is said (below 3: 7): “Behold, the litter of Solomon,” and the Temple is called a bed, as it is said concerning Joash (II Chron. 22:11, II Kings 11:2): “in the bed chamber” which was in the “House of the Lord” (ibid. 3), because they [the Sanctuaries] are the source of Israel’s fruitfulness and procreation.

 

17 The beams of our houses are cedars. This is the praise of the Tabernacle.

 

our corridors. Heb. רָהִיטֵנוּ. I do not know if this is a term referring to boards or a term referring to bars, but I do know that also in the language of the Mishnah, we learned (Hag. 16a): “The רָהִיטִים of a person’s house testify against him.”

 

Chapter 2

 

 

Rashi’s commentary to Shir HaShirim chapter 2

 

1 a rose. Heb. חֲבַצֶלֶת. This is a rose (שּׁוֹשַׁנָה).

 

a rose of the valleys. This is prettier than the rose of the mountains because it is always moist, since the sun has no strength there.

 

2 As a rose among the thorns. which pierce it, but it remains constant in its beauty and its redness, so is my beloved among the daughters. They entice her to pursue them to stray like them after strange gods, but she remains firm in her faith.

 

3 As an apple tree among the trees of the forest. When an apple tree is among trees that do not bear fruit, it is more beloved than them all, for its fruit is good in both taste and fragrance.

 

so is my beloved among the sons. among the young men. The allegory is that so is the Holy One, blessed be He, chosen above all the gods. Therefore, in His shade I delighted and sat. The Midrash Aggadah (Song Rabbah), [states]: This apple tree-all flee from it because it has no shade. So did all the nations flee from the Holy One, blessed be He, at the giving of the Torah, but I in His shade I delighted and sat.

 

4 He brought me to the banquet hall. The Tent of Meeting, where the details and the explanations of the Torah were given.

 

and his attraction to me [was symbolic of his] love. And his gathering, that he gathered me to him, that was love to me. I still remember his love. וְדִגְלוֹ is attrait in French.

 

5 Sustain me. now as is the manner of the sick, with flagons of grape wine or with cakes of pure white flour.

 

spread my bed. Spread my bed around me with apples for a good fragrance, in the manner of the sick, for I am sick for his love, for I thirst for Him here in my exile. רְפִידָה is an expression of a couch, like (Job 41:22): “where he lies (יִרְפַּד) is gold upon the mire.”

 

6 His left hand was under my head. in the desert.

 

and his right hand would embrace me. He traveled a three-days’ journey; to search out a rest for them [as in Num. 10:33], and in the place of the rest, He brought down manna and quails for them. All this I remember now in my exile, and I am sick for His love.

 

7 I adjure you. you nations.

 

by the gazelles or by the hinds. that you will be abandoned and preyed upon like gazelles and hinds.

 

that you neither awaken nor arouse the love. that is between my beloved and I, to change it and to alter it and beg me to be enticed to follow you.

 

while it is desirous. as long as it is thrust in my heart, and he desires me.

 

while it is desirous. Heb. עַד, like (1:12): “While (עַד) the king was at his table,” [i.e.,] while (בְּעוֹד) the king was still at his table.

 

that you neither awaken. Heb. תָּעִירוּ, if you cause hatred, like (I Sam. 28:16): “and has become your adversary (עָרֶךְ);” (Dan. 4:16): “and its interpretation for Your foes (לְעָרָךְ).”

 

nor contest. Heb. תְּעוֹרְרוּ, like (Keth. 13:6): “one who contests the ownership (הָעוֹרֵר) of a field,” chalon[j]èr in Old French, to contest, claim. There are many aggadic midrashim but they do not fit the sequence of the topics, for I see that Solomon prophesied and spoke about the Exodus from Egypt and about the giving of the Torah, the Tabernacle, the entry to the Land, the Temple, the Babylonian exile, and the coming of the Second Temple and its destruction.

 

8 The sound of my beloved. The poet returns to earlier topics, like a person who was brief with his words and later said, “I did not tell you the beginning of the matter.” He commenced by saying, “The king brought me into his chambers,” but did not tell how He remembered them in Egypt with an expression of affection, and now he returns and states: This attraction that I told you about, that my beloved drew me and I ran after him, came about as follows: I had despaired of the redemption until the completion of the four hundred years that were foretold [in the Covenant] between the Segments.

 

The sound of my beloved! Behold, he is coming. before the end, as one skipping over the mountains and jumping over the hills.

 

9 My beloved resembles a gazelle. in the swiftness of his running, for he hastened to come like a gazelle and like a fawn of the hinds. עֹפֶר is a young hind.

 

behold, he is standing, etc.. I had expected to remain detained for many more days, and behold, he informed me that he was standing and peering from the windows of heaven at what was being done to me, as it is written (Exod. 3:7): “I have indeed seen the affliction of My people, etc.”

 

10 raised his voice. Heb. עָנָה, an expression of answering and [sometimes] an expression of a loud cry, and the following is the precedent for them all (Deut. 27:14): “And the Levites shall raise their voices (וְעָנוּ).”

 

and said to me. through Moses.

 

Arise. (Exod. 3:17): “I will bring you up from the affliction of Egypt.”

 

11 behold, the winter has passed. There is no difficulty in traveling now. סְתָיו is winter. The Targum of חֹרֶף (Gen. 8:22) is סִתְוָא.

 

12 The blossoms have appeared in the land. The days of summer are near, when the trees blossom and the travelers enjoy seeing them.

 

the time of singing has arrived. when the birds give forth their song, and the sound is pleasant for travelers.

 

and the voice of the turtledove. Heb. הַתּוֹר. According to its apparent meaning, this is a term referring to turtledoves and young pigeons. It is customary for the birds to sing and chirp in the days of Nissan.

 

13 The fig tree has put forth its green figs. [This is to be explained] according to its apparent meaning.

 

and the vines with their tiny grapes. When the blossom falls, and the grapes are separated from one another, and each grape is recognizable by itself, it is called סְמָדַר. This entire episode, according to its simple meaning, is an expression of the affection of enticement, i.e., a young man appealing to his betrothed to follow him. So did my beloved do to me.

 

[10] My beloved raised his voice. through Moses.

 

and said to me. through Aaron.

 

Arise, my beloved. Hurry (Exod. 11:2): “and let each man borrow from his neighbor.”

 

[11] For behold, the winter has passed. These are the four hundred years. I skipped them by counting them from Isaac’s birth.

 

the rain. which is the hardship of winter, is over and has gone away; i.e., eighty-six years of harsh slavery were decreed upon you, and they have gone away. From the time that Miriam was born, the Egyptians intensified the bondage upon Israel; therefore, she was called Miriam, because they made it bitter (מַר) for them.

 

[12] The blossoms have appeared in the land. Behold Moses and Aaron are prepared for you to fulfill all your needs.

 

the time of singing has arrived. you are destined to recite the Song by the Sea.

 

and the voice of the turtledove. Heb. הַתּוֹר, the great guide (תַּיָר). Another explanation: קוֹל הַתּוֹר means the voice [announcing] that the time of your exodus from Egypt has arrived. [תּוֹר is explained to mean time, as in Esther (2:12,15).]

 

[13] The fig tree put forth its green figs. The time to bring the first fruits has arrived, for you will enter the Land.

 

and the vines with their tiny grapes. The time of the wine libations has drawn near. Another explanation: The pious among you ripened and blossomed good deeds before Me and emitted a pleasant scent.

 

arise. Heb. קוּמִי לָכִי. A superfluous “yud” is written. Arise to receive the Ten Commandments. Another explanation: “The fig tree has put forth its green figs” -These are the transgressors of Israel, who perished during the three days of darkness.

 

and the vines with their tiny grapes gave forth their fragrance. Those who remained of them repented and were accepted. So it is interpreted in Pesikta (Rabbathi 15:11, 12; Pesikta d’Rav Kahana, p. 50).

 

14 My dove, in the clefts of the rock. This is said concerning that time when Pharaoh pursued them and overtook them camping by the sea with no avenue of escape before them because of the sea, and they could not turn because of the wild beasts. What did they resemble at that time? A dove that fled from a hawk and entered the clefts of the rocks, and a snake was hissing at her. Should she enter within, there was the snake. Should she go outside, there was the hawk. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to her, “Show Me your appearance,” the propriety of your deeds, to whom you turn in time of trouble.

 

let me hear your voice. (Exod. 14:10): “And the Children of Israel cried out to the Lord.”

 

in the clefts of. Heb. בְּחַגְוֵי, in the clefts; this is a term referring to a breach, and similar to this is (Ps. 107:27): “They were frightened (יָחוֹגוּ) and staggered;” (Isa. 19:17): “And the land of Judah will be to Egypt for a dread (לְחָגָא),” and in the plural Scripture calls them חַגְוֵי. Similarly, from קֵץ (end) קַצְוֵי, and so, (II Sam. 10:4): “and he cut off their garments (מַדְוֵיהֶם).”

 

steps. Heb. מַדְרֵיגָה, échelons, in French, steps. When they make a ditch around the towers and pour the earth from above to raise the mound roundabout, they make it [in] many steps, one above the other.

 

in the coverture of the steps. There are sometimes holes in them, and reptiles and birds enter therein.

 

15 Seize for us the foxes. The Holy One, blessed be He, heard their voice, commanded the sea, and it inundated them. That is the meaning of “Seize for us” these “foxes,” the little ones with the big ones, for even the little ones were destroying the vineyards, when our vineyards were still with סְמָדַר, when the grapes were tiny. When a Jewish woman gave birth to a male and hid him, the Egyptians entered their houses and searched for the males, but the baby was concealed, and he was a year or two old. So they would bring a baby from an Egyptian home; the Egyptian baby would speak, and the Jewish baby would answer him from his hiding place; and they would seize him and cast him into the Nile. Now why does he call them foxes? Just as the fox looks to turn around to flee, so did the Egyptians look behind them, as it is written (Exod. 14:25): “I shall flee from before Israel.”

 

little foxes. Heb. שֻּׁעָלִים. It is written without a “vav”, because He punished them with water, which was measured with the gait (בְּשָּׁעֳלוֹ) of the Omnipresent.

 

16 My beloved is mine, and I am his. He demanded all His needs from me; He commanded only me: Make a Passover sacrifice, hallow the firstborn, make a Tabernacle, sacrifice burnt offerings, and He did not demand these things of any other nation.

 

and I am his. All my needs I demanded of Him, and not of other deities.

 

who grazes. his flock among the roses, in a good, pleasant, and beautiful pasture.

 

17 Until the sun spreads. This refers back to the preceding verse: “My beloved is mine, and I am his,” until the time that the iniquity caused the sun to darken me in the heat of the day, and the heat to intensify.

 

and the shadows flee. We sinned with the Calf; we sinned with the Spies, and the shadows fled, the merits that protected us. We broke off His yoke.

 

go around, liken yourself, my beloved. I caused him to leave me on mountains distant from me.

 

distant. Heb. בָתֶר, an expression of separation and distancing.

 

 

Chapter 3

 

 

Rashi’s commentary to Shir HaShirim chapter 3

 

1 On my bed at night. when I was troubled; when I sat in the dark for the entire thirty-eight years that the Israelites were under reproach.

 

I sought him but I did not find him. (Exod. 33:3): “For I shall not go up in your midst;” (Deut. 1:42): “for I am not in your midst.”

 

2 I will arise now, etc., I will seek. (Exod. 32:11): “And Moses prayed;” (ibid. verse 30): “I will go up to the Lord.”

 

3 The watchmen who patrol the city found me. Moses and Aaron.

 

Have you seen him whom my soul loves. What did you find in His mouth?

 

4 I had just passed them. shortly before their separation from me, at the end of the forty years.

 

when I found. that He was with me in the days of Joshua to vanquish the thirty-one kings.

 

I held him and would not let him go. I did not loosen my grasp from Him until I brought Him to the Tabernacle at Shiloh because of all that He had done for me.

 

5 I adjure you. [you] nations, while I am exiled among you.

 

that you neither awaken nor arouse. my beloved’s love from me through seduction or enticement to forsake him, to turn from following him.

 

while it is desirous. as long as I still desire his love.

 

6 Who is this coming up from the desert. When I was traveling through the desert and the pillar of fire and cloud were going before me and killing the snakes and scorpions and burning the thorns and thistles to make a straight road, and the cloud and the smoke were ascending, the nations saw them, and were astounded by my greatness, and they said, “Who is this,” i.e., “How great is this one coming up from the desert, etc.!”

 

like columns of smoke. Heb. כְּתִימְרוֹת, tall and erect as a palm tree (תָּמָר).

 

perfumed with myrrh. the cloud of incense which would rise straight up from the inner altar.

 

the peddler. a spice merchant who sells all types of spices.

 

powder. Heb. אַבְקַת, since they crush it and pound it as fine as dust (אַבַק).

 

7 Behold the litter of Solomon. the Tent of Meeting and the Ark, which they carried in the desert.

 

sixty mighty men are around it. sixty myriad surround it.

 

of the mighty men of Israel. of those who go out to the army, in addition to those under twenty [years of age] and those over sixty.

 

8 skilled in warfare. the war of Torah, and similarly, the priests who surround it, who camp around the Tabernacle, skilled in the order of their service.

 

each one with his sword. his weapons. These are the Masorah and the mnemonics, by which they preserve the correct version [of the Oral Law] and the masorah (the traditional spelling and reading of the Scriptures), lest it be forgotten.

 

because of fear at night. lest they forget it, and troubles will befall them, and so Scripture says (Ps. 2:12): “Arm yourselves with the grain [of Torah] lest He become angry and you perish on the way.”

 

9 because of fear at night. lest they forget it, and troubles will befall them, and so Scripture says (Ps. 2:12): “Arm yourselves with the grain [of Torah] lest He become angry and you perish on the way.”

 

10 its couch of gold. His couch and His dwelling were on the Ark cover, which is gold.

 

its curtain of purple. Heb. מֶרְכָּבוֹ. This is the dividing curtain, which hangs and “rides” (רוֹכֵב) on poles from pillar to pillar.

 

its interior inlaid. arranged with a floor of love-the Ark with an Ark cover, cherubim, and Tablets.

 

from the daughters of Jerusalem. Heb. יְרוּשָּׁלָיִם. These are the Israelites, who fear (יְרֵאִים) and are wholehearted (שְּׁלֵמִים) with the Holy One, blessed be He.

 

11 O daughters of Zion. Heb. צִיוֹן. [This refers to] the sons, who are distinguished (מְצֻיָנִין) for Him with circumcision, phylacteries, and ritual fringes.

 

upon the crown with which his mother crowned him. [This refers to] the Tent of Meeting, which is crowned with hues: blue, purple, and crimson. Rabbi Nehunia said: Rabbi Simeon bar Yohai asked Rabbi Eleazar the son of Rabbi Jose, “Perhaps you heard from your father what the meaning of ‘upon the crown with which his mother crowned him’ is?” He replied: "This is a parable of a king who had an only daughter of whom he was very fond. He could not stop loving her until he called her 'my daughter,' as it is said (Ps. 45:11): 'Hearken, daughter, and see.' He could not stop loving her until he called her 'my sister,' as it is said (below 5:2): 'Open for me, my sister, my beloved.' He could not stop loving her until he called her 'my mother,' as it is said (Isa. 51:4): 'Hearken to Me, My people, and My nation (וּלְאוּמִי), bend your ears.' It is written: וּלְאֻמִי [which can be read as וּלְאִמִי, and to my mother]." Rabbi Simeon bar Yohai stood up and kissed him on his head, etc.

 

on the day of his nuptials. the day of the giving of the Torah, when they crowned Him King for themselves and accepted His yoke.

 

and on the day of the joy of his heart. This refers to the eighth day of the inauguration, when the Tabernacle in the desert was dedicated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 4

 

 

Rashi’s commentary to Shir HaShirim chapter 4

 

1 Behold, you are fair, my beloved. He praised them and appeased them, and their sacrifices pleased Him.

 

until the sun spreads. that they sinned before Me in the days of Hophni and Phinehas.

 

your eyes are [like] doves. Your hues and your appearance and your characteristics are like those of a dove, which cleaves to its mate, and when they slaughter it, it does not struggle but stretches forth its neck; so have you offered your shoulder to bear My yoke and My fear.

 

from within your kerchief; your hair is like a flock of goats. This praise is a paradigm of the praise of a woman beloved by her bridegroom. Within your kerchief, your hair is beautiful and glistens with brilliance and whiteness like the hair of white goats descending from the mountains, whose hair gleams in the distance. And in the allegorical sense, [it is said of] the congregation of Israel that within your camps and your tents, even the empty ones among you are as dear to Me as Jacob and his sons, who streamed down to descend from Mount Gilead when Laban overtook them there. Another explanation: As those who mobilized against Midian beyond the Jordan, which is in the land of Gilead, and this language is found in Midrash Shir Hashirim.

 

within. Heb. מִבַּעַד. This is a term meaning “within,” for the majority of בְּעַד in Scripture refers to something that covers and shields against something else, like (Job 9:7): “and He sealed up (וּבְעַד) the stars;” (Jonah 2:7): “the earth-its bars are closed on me (בְּעַדִי);” (Job 22:13): “Does He judge through (הַבְעַד) the dark cloud?” And מִבַּעַד is the thing that is within that בְּעַד. Therefore, he says, מִבַּעַד.

 

your kerchief. Heb. צַמָּתֵךְ. An expression denoting a thing that confines the hair so that it does not show, and this refers to a kerchief and ribbons. It is impossible to interpret צַמָּתֵךְ as meaning a veil (צֹמֶת), where the “tav” is a radical, for were that so, it would have to be punctuated with a “dagesh” when immediately preceding a “hey,” which makes it the feminine possessive, or a “vav,” which makes it the masculine possessive, like the “tav” of שַּׁבָּת, which, when given to a female, (i.e., in the feminine possessive form), is punctuated with a “dagesh,” like (Hos. 2:13): “her festival[s], her new moon[s], and her Sabbath[s] (שַּׁבַּתָּהּ),” and so for the masculine, (Num. 28:10): “the burnt offering of a Sabbath in its Sabbath (בְּשַּׁבַּתּוֹ),” but the “tav” of צַמָּתֵךְ, which is not punctuated with a “dagesh,” perforce comes instead of a “hey,” and the name of the kerchief is צַמָה, and when it is possessive, to be given to a male or female, the “hey” is converted to a “tav” without a “dagesh”; e.g. שִּׁפְחָה becomes שִּׁפְחָתוֹ or שִּׁפְחָתָה, and so אָמָה [becomes] אֶמָתוֹ, אֲמָתָה; עֶרְוָה (nakedness) [becomes] עֶרְוָתוֹ, עֶרְוָתָה, and likewise, this one, צָמָה [becomes] צַמָתוֹ, צַמָתָה, צַמָּתִי, צַמָתֵךְ.

 

that streamed. Heb. שֶׁגָלְשׁוּ, that they became bald. גִבֵּחַ is rendered by the Targum as גְלוֹשּׁ. When the animals descend from the mountain, the mountain becomes bald and bare of them.

 

2 Your teeth are like a flock of uniformly shaped [ewes]. This praise too is in terms of a woman’s beauty.

 

Your teeth. are thin and white and arranged like wool and the order of a flock of ewes, selected from the rest of the flocks by count and number, delivered to a clever and worthy shepherd to be careful with their wool, for they make them into fine woolen garments, and they watch them from the time of their birth, that the wool should not become soiled, and they wash them from day to day.

 

all of whom are perfect. Heb. מַתְאִימוֹת, an expression of perfection, (Ps. 38:4): “There is no soundness (מְתֹם) ,” i.e., perfect, enterins in Old French, whole, perfect, sound.

 

bereavement. There is neither bereavement nor blemish among them. This example is given as symbolic of the mighty men of Israel, who cut down and devour their enemies surrounding them with their teeth, and yet they distance themselves from stealing from Israelites and from immoral acts, so that they should not become sullied with sin. Now this praise was given concerning the twelve thousand men who mobilized against Midian with count and number, of whom not one was suspected of committing immoral acts, as it is written (Num. 31:49): “and not a single man among us is missing.” And they even brought atonements for erotic thoughts, and they were not suspected of theft, for Scripture attests for them, (ibid. verses 11f.): “And they took all the booty and they brought it to Moses and to Eleazar the priest, etc.,” and not one of them concealed even one cow or one donkey.

 

3 Your lips are like a scarlet thread. beautiful to promise and to keep their promise, as the Spies did to Rahab the harlot, i.e., they said to her, (Josh. 2:18): “you shall bind this line of scarlet thread, etc.,” and they kept their promise.

 

and your speech. Heb. וּמִדְבָּרֵךְ your speech, and this is of the structure of (Ezek. 33:30): “who talk (הַנִדְבָּרִים) about you beside the walls;” (Mal. 3:16): “Then the God-fearing men spoke (נִדְבְּרוּ),” parlediz in Old French; words, speech, talk.

 

your temple. Heb. רַקָתֵךְ. This is the highest part of the face, called pomels or pomials, cheek-bones, [some editions read: tenples or tanples, temples] next to the eyes. And in the language of the Talmud, it is called “the pomegranate of the face,” and it resembles the split half of a pomegranate from the outside, which is red and round. This is a praise in terms of a woman’s beauty, and our Sages explained the allegory to mean: even your worthless ones (רֵיקָנִים, lit. empty ones) are full of mitzvoth as a pomegranate.

 

from within your kerchief. Heb. מִבַּעַד לְצַמָתֵך, from within your kerchief.

 

4 Your neck is like the Tower of David. An erect stature is beauty in a woman, and the allegorical meaning is that [just as] the Tower of David, which is the Citadel of Zion, is a place of strength, a tower, and a fortress, so is your neck. This is the Chamber of Hewn Stone, which was Israel’s strength and fortification, and that tower was built as a model, and was built for beauty, so that everyone should look at it to learn its forms and the beauty of its architecture, and the word (לְתַלְפִּיּוֹת) is of the grammatical structure of (Job 35:11): “He teaches us (מַלְפֵנוּ) more than the beasts of the earth,” and the “tav” in תַלְפִּיוֹת is like the “tav” in תַרְמִית (guile) and תַבְנִית (form).

 

a thousand shields hanging on it. It was the custom of the princes to hang their shields and their quivers on the walls of the towers.

 

quivers. Heb. שִּׁלְטֵי, the quivers in which they place arrows, like (Jer. 51:11): “Polish the arrows, fill the quivers (הַשְּׁלָטִים),” and similar to this is the Chamber of Hewn Stone, whence instruction goes forth, for the Torah is a shield to Israel, (rendering אֶלֶף הַמָּגֵן as: the teaching that is a shield). It is also possible to render אֶלֶף הַמָּגֵן as מָגֵן הָאֶלֶף, the shield of the thousand, alluding to (I Chron. 16:15): “the word He had commanded to the thousandth [לְאֶלֶף] generation.”

 

all the quivers of the mighty men. We find that disciples are symbolized by arrows and quivers, as is stated (Ps. 127:4f.): “As arrows in the hand of a mighty man, so are the sons of one’s youth. Happy is the man who has filled his quiver with them.”

 

5 Your two breasts. which nourish you. This refers to Moses and Aaron

 

are like two fawns, the twins of a gazelle. It is customary for a gazelle to bear twins so that they are both identical, this one to that one. Another explanation:

 

Your two breasts. symbolize the Tablets.

 

the twins of a gazelle. exactly corresponding in one measure; the five commandments on this one (side of the Tablets, correspond to) the five commandments on the other (side of the Tablets), each commandment corresponding to a commandment. “I [am the Lord your God]” corresponds to “You shall not murder,” for the murderer diminishes the semblance of the Holy One, blessed be He. “You shall not have [any other gods before Me]” corresponds to “You shall not commit adultery,” for one who commits idolatry is like an adulterous woman, who takes strangers instead of her husband. “You shall not hear [the name of the Lord your God in vain]” corresponds to “You shall not steal,” for one who steals will ultimately swear falsely. “Remember [the Sabbath day to keep it holy]” corresponds to “You shall not bear [false witness against your neighbor],” for one who profanes the Sabbath testifies falsely against his Creator, saying that He did not rest on the Sabbath of Creation. “Honor [your father and mother]” corresponds to “You shall not covet,” for one who covets is destined to beget a son who slights him and honors one who is not his father.

 

who graze. their flocks among the roses and lead them in a tranquil and straight path.

 

6 Until the sun spreads. Until the sun will spread.

 

and the shadows flee. That is the time of heat, the hottest time of the day. I will save you, and you are pleasant to me.

 

the sun. Heb. הַיוֹם, usually “the day.” This refers to the sun, and likewise, (Gen. 3:8): “in the direction of the sun (לְרוּחַ הַיוֹם),” and so, (Mal. 3:19): "For lo, the sun (הַיוֹם) comes, glowing like a furnace," and when the sun spreads, “I will go to Mount Moriah,” to the everlasting Temple. [This is] in Genesis Rabbah (55:7). I.e., when they will then sin before Me by profaning My sacred offerings and by spurning My meal offerings in the days of Hophni and Phinehas (I Sam. 3:12-17), I will withdraw from them and I will abandon this Tabernacle, and I will choose for Myself Mount Moriah, the everlasting Temple, and there,” You are all fair… and there is no blemish in you," and there I will accept all your sacrifices.

 

8 With me from Lebanon, my bride. When you will be exiled from this Lebanon, with Me you will be exiled, for I will go into exile with you.

 

with me from Lebanon shall you come. And when you return from the exile, I will return with you, and also all the days of the exile, I will be distressed with your distress. Therefore, he writes: “with Me from Lebanon you shall come.” When you are exiled from this Lebanon, you shall come with Me, and he does not write: “with Me to Lebanon you shall come,” denoting that from the time of your departure from here until the time of your arrival here, I am with you wherever you go out and come in.

 

you shall look from the peak of Amanah. When I gather your dispersed ones, you will look and ponder what is the reward of your actions from the beginning of your faith (אֶמוּנָה) that you believed in Me (Tan. Beshallach 10), your following Me in the desert and your travels and your encampments by My command, and your coming to the peak of Senir and Hermon, which were the dens of lions, namely Sihon and Og (Song Rabbah, Mid. Zuta). Another explanation: From the peak of Amanah. This is a mountain on the northern boundary of the Land of Israel, named Amanah, and in the language of the Mishnah, the mountains of Amnon, and [this is] Mount Hor, about which it says: (Num. 34:6): “from the Great Sea you shall draw a line extending to Mount Hor.” When the exiles gather and arrive there, they will look from there and see the boundary of the Land of Israel and the air of Israel, and they will rejoice and utter thanks. Therefore, it says: “You shall see from the peak of Amanah.”

 

9 You have captivated my heart. Heb. לִבַּבְתִּנִי, you have drawn my heart to you.

 

with one of your eyes. Of the many good characteristics that you possess, if you had only one, I would have loved you dearly, and how much more so with all of them! And so, בְּאַחַד עֲנָק מְצַוְרֹנָיִךְ, with one of the links of the necklaces of your adornments; these are the adornments of the commandments with which the Israelites are distinguished. Another explanation: בְּאַחַד עֲנָק -with one of your forefathers; he was the one who was special, and that is Abraham, who was called עֲנָק, a giant, “the greatest man among the Anakim” (Josh. 14:15).

 

10 how much better is your love. Every place where you showed Me affection is beautiful in my eyes: Gilgal, Shiloh, Nob, Gibeon, and the everlasting Temple. That is what the “Babylonian (poet)” composed: “A resting place and other meeting places:” “resting place” refers to Jerusalem, and “other meeting places” refers to the place where the Shechinah met with Israel.

 

and the fragrance of your oils. your good name.

 

11 flowing honey. which is sweet.

 

Your lips drip. the reasons of Torah.

 

and the fragrance of your garments. the proper commandments that pertain to your garments: ritual fringes, the blue thread, the priestly raiments, and the prohibition of shaatnez (the mingling of wool and linen).

 

12 A locked up garden. This refers to the modesty of the daughters of Israel, who are not loose in immoral actions.

 

a locked up spring. Heb. גַל. This may be explained as a term referring to a fountain, like (Josh. 15:19): “upper springs (גֻלֹת עִלִיּוֹת),” and it may also be explained as a term referring to a gate. This is an Aramaic expression; in the Talmud (Ber. 28a): טְרוּקוּ גַלֵי, lock the gates.

 

13 Your arid fields. Dry land is called בֵּית הַשְּׁלָחִין. It must be continually irrigated, and a field watered by rain is superior to it. Here he praises the arid field. Your arid fields are replete with all good like a pomegranate orchard. This is symbolic of the smallest of Israel, who are moist with good deeds like a pomegranate orchard.

 

henna and spikenard. These are species of spices.

 

15 A garden fountain. All this refers back to, “your arid fields” and he praises them (comparing them to) a fountain that waters them, and this figure of speech symbolizes the immersions of purity which the daughters of Israel immerse themselves.

 

and flowing streams from Lebanon. from a place of cleanliness, without the murkiness of mud.

 

16 Awake, O north wind, and come, O south wind. Since your fragrance and the beauty of your dwellings is pleasing to me, I command the north and south winds to blow on your garden so that your good fragrance should spread afar. And this figure of speech symbolizes the ingathering of the exiles and from all the nations they will bring [them] as an offering to Jerusalem, and in the days of the building [of the Temple], the Israelites will gather there for the festivals and for the pilgrimages, and Israel shall reply, “Let my beloved come to His garden.” If You are there, all are there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 5

 

 

Rashi’s commentary to Shir HaShirim chapter 5

 

1 I have come to my garden. in the days of the dedication of the Temple.

 

I have gathered. Heb. אָרִיתִי, I gathered, and it is Mishnaic language (Shev. 1:2): “as much space as is required by a picker (אוֹרָה) and his basket.” It is also Biblical language (Ps. 80:13): “and all wayfarers have plucked its fruit (וְאָרוּה).” This was stated in regard to the incense, for the princes burned private incense on the outside altar and it was accepted. This is something that does not apply to later generations, and because of this, it is stated: “I have eaten my sugar cane with my sugar.” There is honey that grows in canes, as it is stated (I Sam. 14:27): “into the sugar canes (בְּיַעְרַת הַדְבַשּׁ),” and יַעְרַת is a term referring to canes [or reeds], as it is stated (Exod. 2:3): “and she placed [it] in the reeds (בַּסוּף),” [which Onkelos renders:] וּשֲּׁוּיתָהּ בְּיַעְרָא, and the sugar is sucked out and the wood is discarded. But I, out of great love, ate my יַעַר with my honey: I ate the cane with the sugar, the inedible with the edible, signifying the freewill incense, and likewise, the he-goat sin offering that the princes sacrificed, although a sin offering is not sacrificed as a freewill offering, but I accepted them on that day.

 

I have drunk my wine. These are the libations.

 

with my milk. They were sweeter and clearer than milk.

 

Eat, friends. in the Tent of Meeting. [These were] Aaron and his sons, and in the everlasting Temple, all the priests.

 

drink, yea, drink abundantly, beloved ones. These are the Israelites who ate the flesh of the peace offerings that they offered up for the dedication of the altar.

 

2 I sleep. When I was confident and tranquil in the First Temple, I despaired of worshipping the Holy One, blessed be He, as one who sleeps and slumbers.

 

but my heart is awake. This is the Holy One, blessed be He. So is this explained in the Pesikta (Rabbathi, ch. 15).

 

but my heart is awake. The Holy One, blessed be He, Who is (Ps. 73:26): “the Rock of my heart and my portion,” is awake to guard me and to favor me.

 

Hark! My beloved is knocking. He causes His Shechinah to rest upon the prophets and He admonishes through them by sending them betimes.

 

Open for me. Do not cause Me to withdraw from you.

 

for my head is full of dew. A term referring to a man who comes at night, knocking on the door of his beloved. He says thus, “Because of love for you, I have come at night at the time of dew or rain,” and the allegory is that, “My head is full of dew because I am full of goodwill and satisfaction with Abraham your father, whose deeds pleased Me like dew, and behold, I come to you, loaded with blessings and the payment of reward for good deeds if you return to Me.”

 

my locks with the drops of the night. In My hands there are also many categories of types of retribution, to exact retribution from those who forsake Me and anger Me. Dew is an expression connoting pleasure.

 

the drops of the night. the rains of the night, which represent hardship and weariness. רְסִיסֵי is the Targum of רְבִיבִים. (Deut. 32:2): “and like drops (וְכִרְבִיבִים) on the grass,” is translated as וְכִרְסִיסֵי מַלְקוֹשָּׁא, drops of the last rain of the season. Locks are bunches of hair stuck together, called flozels, curls, locks, and because Scripture adopted an expression of dew and rain, it adopted an expression of a head and locks, for it is usual for dew and rain to stick to the hair and locks. Both “dew” and “drops of the night” may also be explained favorably, viz. the reward for precepts that are easy to perform, like dew, and the reward for precepts that are difficult as the hardship of the drops of the night.

 

3 I have taken off my tunic. i.e., I have already accustomed myself to other ways; I can no longer return to You, as it is stated (Jer. 44:18): “But since we stopped burning incense to the queen of heaven, etc.,” for these ways were proper in their eyes, and the expression, “I have taken off my tunic… I have bathed my feet,” is the language of an adulterous wife, who does not wish to open the door for her husband. And since Scripture commenced with the language of, “I sleep… Hark! My beloved is knocking,” it concludes with an expression apropos to an expression of knocking at the door at the time of retiring to sleep at night.

 

4 My beloved stretched forth his hand from the hole. which is beside the door, and I saw his hand, and the stirring of my insides turned within me to return to his love and to open for him.

 

5 I arose to open for my beloved, and my hands dripped with myrrh. wholeheartedly and with a desiring soul, as one who adorns herself to endear herself to her husband with a pleasant scent.

 

with flowing myrrh. with a fragrance that flows and spreads to all parts.

 

6 but my beloved had hidden and was gone. Heb. חָמַק, was hidden and concealed from me, like (below 7:2): “the curves (חֲמוּקֵי) of your thighs,” the hidden places of your thighs, because the thigh is hidden. [Also] (Jer. 31:21): “How long will you hide (תִתְחַמָּקִי),” will you hide and cover yourself because of the shame that you betrayed Me?

 

my soul went out when he spoke. for he said, “I will not come into your house because at first you did not wish to open.”

 

The watchmen who patrol the city found me. and apprehend the thieves who prowl at night.

 

they smote me and wounded me. They inflicted a wound upon me. Every [instance of] פֶצַע is an expression of a wound [inflicted] by a weapon, navredure in Old French, a wound.

 

my jewelry. Heb. רְדִידִי. My jewelry that was hammered and beaten, upon me, and the entire episode is an expression of a wife of one’s youth who bewails the husband of her youth and searches for him. And this is the allegorical meaning:

 

[Verse 4] My beloved stretched forth his hand from the hole. when I said, “I have bathed my feet,” and I will not open for You, and I will not repent of the idolatry that I have chosen.

 

stretched forth his hand. and demonstrated His vengeance in the days of Ahaz, and He brought upon him the army of the king of Aram (II Chron. 28:5f): “and they smote him and captured from him a great captivity, etc. And Pekah the son of Remaliah slew in Judah one hundred and twenty thousand in one day.”

 

and my insides stirred because of him. Hezekiah his son came and repented with all his heart to seek the Holy One, blessed be He, and his entire generation was wholehearted; there never arose a generation in Israel like them, as is delineated in [the chapter entitled] חֵלֶק (Sanh. 94b): They searched from Dan to Beersheba and did not find an ignoramus, from Gebeth to Antioch, and did not find a man or woman who was not well versed in the laws of ritual contamination and purity, and this is the meaning of, “my hands dripped with myrrh, etc.” It is also stated regarding Josiah (II Kings 23:25): “Now before him there was no king like him, etc.,” for he saw the retribution that had come upon Manasseh and upon Amon, to fulfill the words, “he stretched forth his hand from the hole, and my insides stirred because of him.”

 

[Verse 6] I opened for my beloved, but my beloved had hidden and was gone. He did not nullify His decree, as it is stated regarding Hezekiah (Isa. 39:6f): “Behold a time shall come when everything in your palace, etc. shall be carried off to Babylonia. And…[some] of your sons… whom you shall beget.” These are Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, and also [as it is stated] concerning Josiah, through Huldah the prophetess (II Kings 22:16): “Behold, I bring calamity upon this place and upon its inhabitants, etc.” And Scripture states: (ibid. 23:25ff): “Now, before him there was no king like him… Nevertheless, the Lord did not turn back from His great wrath, for His wrath was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations that Manasseh had provoked Him. And the Lord said: I will remove Judah too from before Me as I have removed Israel, and I will reject this city.”

 

my soul went out when he spoke. It left me when He spoke this word.

 

I sought him, but found him not. Now if you ask: Was not Jeremiah standing and prophesying during the days of Jehoiakim and Zedekiah, (Mal. 3:7): “Return to Me, and I will return to you?” This was not to nullify the decree, but to mitigate the punishment and to prepare their kingdom for the time when they would return from the exile, to plant them without being uprooted and to build it without being demolished.

 

7 The watchmen… found me. Nebuchadnezzar and his armies.

 

who patrol the city. to wreak the vengeance of the Omnipresent.

 

took my jewelry. the Temple.

 

the watchmen of the walls. Even the ministering angels, who were guarding its walls, as it is stated (Isa. 62:6): “On your walls, O Jerusalem, etc.” They ignited the fire upon it, as it is written (Lam. 1:13): “From above He has hurled fire, etc.”

 

8 I adjure you. [You] heathens, Nebuchadnezzar’s men, who saw Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah submitting themselves to the fiery furnace, and Daniel to the lions’ den because of prayer, and Mordecai’s generation in the days of Haman…

 

if you find my beloved. in the future, on judgment day, for He will request you to testify about me, as it is stated (Isa. 43:9): “Let them present their witnesses, that they may be deemed just.”

 

what will you tell him. you will testify on my behalf that because of love for Him, I suffered harsh tortures among you. Let Nebuchadnezzar come and testify… let Eliphaz and Zophar and all the prophets of the heathens [come] and testify about me that I fulfilled the Torah.

 

What is your beloved more than another beloved. This is what the nations were asking Israel, “What is it about your God more than all the other gods, that you allow yourselves to be burned and hanged because of Him?”What is your beloved more than another beloved. This is what the nations were asking Israel, “What is it about your God more than all the other gods, that you allow yourselves to be burned and hanged because of Him?”

 

What is your beloved more than another beloved. This is what the nations were asking Israel, “What is it about your God more than all the other gods, that you allow yourselves to be burned and hanged because of Him?”

 

10 My beloved is white. Heb. צַח, white, like (Lam. 4:7): “they were whiter (צַחוּ) than milk.”

 

and ruddy. I will first explain the entire section according to its simple meaning, i.e., the praise of the beauty of a young man, when he is white and his face is ruddy.

 

surrounded by myriads. surrounded by many armies; His armies are many. Many myriads are called רְבָבָה, as it is said: (Ezek. 16:7): “Myriads (רְבָבָה) like the plants of the field have I made you.”

 

11 His head. glistens like the finest gold. כֶּתֶם is a term referring to the treasures of kings which they store in their treasure houses, and similarly, (Lam. 4:1): “[How] changed is the fine gold jewelry (הַכֶּתֶם),” and similarly, (Job 31:24): “and to jewelry (לַכֶּתֶם) I said, ‘My confidence,’” and similarly, (Prov. 25:12): “and jewelry of finest gold (כָתֶם).”

 

his locks are curled. Heb. תַּלְתַּלִים, an expression of hanging (תְּלוּיִים), pendeloys in Old French, (locks of hair) hanging.

 

black as a raven. All these are beauty for a young man.

 

12 His eyes are like doves beside rivulets of water. By rivulets of water his eyes are as beautiful as the eyes of doves. Rivulets of water are beautiful to behold, and the young men go there to swim, so does the poet praise the eyes of “my beloved.” When he gazes upon the rivulets of water, they resemble the beauty of the eyes of doves.

 

bathing in milk. the eyes of my beloved in milk.

 

fitly set. All this is an expression of beauty, neither protruding too much nor sunken, but set on מִלֵאת, their sockets. (Other editions: the eye according to the socket.) The literal meaning parallels the allegorical meaning. And it is a term used to refer to anything made to fit a socket which is made for it as a base, like (Exod. 25:7): “stones to be fit (מְלֻאִים):” (ibid. 28:17): “And you shall set (וּמִלֵאתָ) into it settings of (מִלֻאַת) stones.”

 

13 His jaws are like a bed of spice. in those beds are spice plants.

 

growths of aromatic plants. Heb. מִגְדְלוֹת מֶרְקָחִים, aromatic plants, growths of aromatic plants which are compounded with the art of an apothecary.

 

14 wheels of gold. Heb. גְלִילֵי זָהָב, like wheels of gold.

 

set with chrysolite. Every term referring to the setting of a precious stone in gold is called מִלֵאת.

 

a block. Heb. עֶשֶּׁת, an expression of (Jer. 5:28): “They became fat; they became thick (עָשְּׁתוּ).” A thick mass is called עֶשֶּׁת, masse in French, a mass.

 

ivory. Heb. שֵּׁן, from the bones of the elephant.

 

overlaid with sapphires. Heb. מְעֻלֶפֶת, adorned and decorated with sapphires, an expression of (Gen. 38:14) וַתִּתְעַלָף, which the Targum renders: וְאִתַקְנַת, and she adorned herself.

 

15 His legs are. as pillars of marble, founded upon sockets of fine gold.

 

pillars of marble. Heb. שֵּׁשּׁ, pillars of marble, שַּׁיִשּׁ, and a similar word appears in Megillath Esther (1:6): “on silver rods and marble (שֵּׁשּׁ) columns,” and his appearance is as tall as the cedars of the Lebanon.

 

chosen as the cedars. chosen among the sons as the cedar among the other trees.

 

16 His palate is sweet. His words are pleasant.

 

this is my beloved. This is the likeness of my beloved, and this is the likeness of my friend, and because of all these things I have become ill for his love. The allegorical meaning, symbolizing the Holy One, blessed be He, is as follows:

 

[Verse 10] My beloved is white. to whiten my iniquities. Clear and white; when He appeared at Sinai, He appeared as an old man, teaching instructions, and so, when He sits in judgment (Dan. 7:9): “His garment was like white snow, and the hair of His head was like clean wool.”

 

and ruddy. to exact retribution upon His enemies, as it is stated (Isa. 63.2): “Why is Your clothing red?”

 

surrounded by myriads. Many armies encompass Him.

 

[Verse 11] His head is as the finest gold. The beginning of His words shone like finest gold, and so Scripture says (Ps. 119:130): “The commencement of Your words enlightens.” The commencement of, “I am the Lord your God” showed them first that He has the right of sovereignty over them, and He then issued His decrees upon them.

 

his locks are curled. Heb. קְוֻצוֹתָיו תַּלְתַּלִים. Upon every point (קוֹץ וָקוֹץ) [of the letters of the Sepher Torah] were heaps of heaps (תִּלֵי תִּלִים) of halachoth.

 

black as a raven. because it was written before Him in black fire on white fire. Another explanation: His locks were curled when He appeared on the sea, appearing like a young man mightily waging war.

 

[Verse 12] His eyes are like doves beside rivulets of water. Like doves, whose eyes look toward their dovecotes, so are His eyes on the synagogues and study halls, for there are the sources of Torah, which is compared to water.

 

bathing in milk. When they look into the judgment, they clarify the law in its true light, to justify the just, to give him what he deserves, and to condemn the guilty, to repay his [evil] way upon his head.

 

fitly set. on the fullness of the world. They wander over the entire Earth, gazing upon good and evil. Another explanation: Torah scholars, whom the Holy One, blessed be He, makes as eyes to illuminate the world, just as the eyes illuminate for man; like doves that wander from dovecote to dovecote to seek their food, so do they go from the study hall of one sage to the study hall of another sage, to seek the explanations of the Torah.

 

by rivulets of water. in the study halls, which are the sources of the water of Torah.

 

bathing in milk. Since he calls them eyes, and the eye (עַיִן) is a feminine noun, bathing (רוֹחֲצוֹת) is in the feminine conjugation. They cleanse themselves with the milk of Torah and whiten (clarify) its mysteries and enigmas.

 

fitly set. They resolve the matters appropriately. Another explanation: His eyes עֵינָיו, [like] עִנְיָנָיו His topics. The sections of the Torah, the halachoth, and the Mishnayoth are like doves which are comely in their walk beside the rivulets of water, [i.e.,] in the study halls; bathing in milk, made clear as milk, as I have explained.

 

[Verse 13] His jaws. the commandments of Mount Sinai, for He showed them a friendly and smiling countenance.

 

his lips are like roses. the commandments (lit. statements) that He spoke in the Tent of Meeting, which are for appeasement and for atonement and for a pleasant fragrance: the law of the sin offering, the guilt offering, the meal offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offering.

 

[Verse 14] His hands. the Tablets, which He gave with His right hand, which are the work of His hands.

 

wheels of gold. These are the commandments, about which it is said (Ps. 19:11): “They are to be desired more than gold, yea more than much fine gold.” Said Rabbi Joshua the son of Nehemiah: They were made miraculously. They were of sapphire, yet they could be rolled (Song Rabbah, Tanch. Ki Thissa 26). Another explanation: because they bring about (lit. roll) much good to the world.

 

set with chrysolite. He included the 613 commandments in the Decalogue.

 

his abdomen is [as] a block of ivory. This is the Priestly Code (Leviticus), placed in the center of the Five Books of the Pentateuch, like the intestines, which are set in the middle of the body.

 

[as] a block of ivory, overlaid with sapphires. It appears as smooth as a block of ivory, and is set with many details [derived from] similar wordings, general principles, and inferences from minor to major.

 

[Verse 15] founded upon sockets of fine gold. Said Rabbi Eleazar Hakkappar: This pillar has a capitol above and a base below. Said Rabbi Samuel the son of Gadda: The sections of the Torah have a capitol above and a base below, and they are juxtaposed before them and after them, e.g., the sections of the Sabbatical year and the Jubilee year, [are juxtaposed to] (Lev. 25:14): “And if you transact a sale,” to teach you how severe the dust (i.e., a minor infraction) of the Sabbatical Year is, as appears in Tractates Bava Metzia and Arachin (30b). Also, like (Num. 27: 16): “May the Lord… appoint a man over the congregation,” and (ibid. 29:2): “Command… My sacrifice, My bread.” Before you command Me about My children, command them about Me (Sifrei Num. 27:23), and similarly, many [such instances]. Therefore, it is stated: “His legs are [as] pillars of marble, founded, etc.”

 

his appearance is like the Lebanon. One who reflects and ponders over His words finds in them blossoms and sprouts, like a forest which blooms. So are the words of Torah-whoever meditates over them constantly finds new explanations in them.

 

chosen. Heb. בָּחוּר, chosen as the cedars, which are chosen for building and for strength and height.

 

[Verse 16] His palate is sweet. His words are pleasant, e.g. (Lev. 19:28): “And you shall not make a wound in your flesh for one who has died… I am the Lord,” faithful to pay reward. Is there a palate sweeter than this? Do not wound yourselves, and you will receive reward. (Ezek. 33:19): “And when a wicked man repents of his wickedness and performs justice and righteousness, he shall live because of them.” Iniquities are accounted to him as merits. Is there a palate sweeter than this?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 6

 

 

Rashi’s commentary to Shir HaShirim chapter 6

 

1 Where has your beloved gone. The nations taunt and provoke Israel, “Where has your Beloved gone?” Why has He left you abandoned like a widow?

 

Where has your beloved turned. When He returned and caused His spirit to rest on Cyrus, and sanctioned the rebuilding of the Temple, and they commenced to build, they came and said to them, “Where has your Beloved turned?” If He is returning to you, we will seek Him with you, as is stated (Ezra 4:1f): “Now the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the people of the exile were building a Temple, etc. And they approached Zerubbabel, etc.: Let us build with you, for like you we seek your God, etc.” But their intention was for evil, in order to stop the work. And they replied to them:

 

2 My beloved has gone down to his garden. He commanded us to build His Temple, and He will be there with us.

 

to the spice beds. to the place where the incense is burned.

 

to graze in the gardens. And further, He went down to pasture His flocks in the gardens where they were scattered, i.e., those who did not come up from the exile. He causes His Shechinah to rest upon them in the synagogues and in the study halls.

 

and to gather roses. He listens and hearkens to those who speak of His Torah, to collect their merits and to inscribe them in a memorial book before Him, as it is stated (Mal. 3:16): “Then the God-fearing men spoke…[and a book of remembrance was written before Him…]” Now, concerning your request to seek with us and to build with us, “I am my Beloved’s,” but you are not His, and you shall not build with us, as it is stated (Ezra 4:3): “It is not for you and for us to build a House for our God,” and Scripture states further (Neh. 2:20): “and you have no portion or right or memorial in Jerusalem.”

 

3 who grazes among the roses. who pastures his flocks in a calm and goodly pasture.

 

4 You are fair, my beloved, as Tirzah. And the Holy One, blessed be He, praises her for this: You are fair, my beloved, when you are desirable (רְצוּיָה) to me. So it is expounded in Sifrei (Deut. 6:9).

 

comely. are you now as at first in Jerusalem.

 

awesome as the bannered legions. the legions of angels. I will cast your awe upon them (upon your adversaries) so that they should not wage war and stop you from the work, as is stated in Ezra (ch. 5).

 

5 Turn away your eyes from me. as a young man whose betrothed is dear and sweet to him, and her eyes are comely, and he says to her, “Turn away your eyes from me, for when I see you, my heart becomes haughty and proud, and my spirit becomes arrogant, and I cannot resist.”

 

they have made me haughty. Heb. הִרְהִיבֻנִי. They made my heart arrogant, like (Ps. 90:10): “but their pride (וְרָהְבָּם) is toil and pain;” (Isa. 30:7): “They are haughty (רַהַב), idlers,” asoijer in Old French, to make proud. The allegorical meaning is as follows: The Holy One, blessed be He, said: In this Temple, it is impossible to restore to you the Ark, the Ark cover, and the cherubim, which made Me proud in the First Temple, to show you great affection, until you betrayed Me.

 

your hair is like a flock of goats. in the small, the tender, and the slight ones among you, there is much praise.

 

6 Your teeth are like a flock of ewes. The officers and the mighty men among you are all [devoted to] goodness.

 

like a flock of ewes. This ewe is entirely devoted to holiness: its wool is for the blue thread, its flesh for a sacrifice, its horns for shofaroth, its thighs for flutes, its intestines for harps, its hide for a drum; but the wicked were likened to dogs, for they have nothing to offer to holiness.

 

8 There are sixty queens. Abraham and his descendants (Song Zuta). The sons of Keturah are sixteen. Ishmael and his sons are thirteen. Isaac and his sons are three. The sons of Jacob are twelve. The sons of Esau are sixteen, thus totaling sixty. And if you say that Timna should be excluded because she was a woman, then count Abraham in the number.

 

and eighty concubines. Noah and his sons until Abraham, all the generations of those who left the Ark (Song Zuta)-you will find them to be eighty. And just as the queens, who are the kings’ wives, are superior in greatness to the concubines, so were Abraham and his descendants of great esteem, and superior in their esteem over everyone, as you will see. Hagar was the daughter of kings [and became Sarah’s maidservant (Gen. Rabbah 45:1)]. Timna was the daughter of rulers and became Esau’s concubine (ibid. 82:15), and Scripture says (Gen. 14:17): “to the Valley of Shaveh (שָׁוֶה), etc.” They all unanimously (הֻשְווּ) resolved to make Abraham king over them.

 

and innumerable maidens. All these were divided into many families.

 

9 My dove is but one. And of all of them, one is My chosen one as a perfect dove, for she is wholehearted with her mate.

 

she is one to her mother. to her assembly. Many controversies exist in the study halls. All of them stem from the desire to understand the Torah in a well founded manner and according to its true meaning.

 

she is the pure one of she who bore her. Jacob perceived that perfect bed without any blemish, and he thanked and praised the Omnipresent, as it is said (Gen. 47:31): “And Israel prostrated himself because of the esteem of the bed.”

 

daughters saw her. Israel in her greatness.

 

and they lauded her. And what was their praise?

 

10 Who is this who looks forth. upon us. [Looking] from a high place to a low place is called הַשְּׁקָפָה. So is the Temple higher than all lands.

 

like the dawn. which progressively lights up little by little; so were the Israelites in the Second Temple. In the beginning, Zerubbabel was the governor of Judah, but not a king, and they were subjugated to Persia and to Greece, and afterwards, the house of the Hasmoneans defeated them and they became kings.

 

awesome as the bannered legions. awesome among the mighty men as the bannered legions of kings. All this the Holy One, blessed be He, praises the congregation of Israel, “You are fair, my beloved, as Tirzah,” and the entire matter until here.

 

11 I went down to the nut garden. This too is included in the words of the Shechinah: “Behold I came to this Second Temple to you.”

 

to see the green plants of the valley. what moisture of good deeds I would see in you.

 

whether the vine had blossomed. whether you caused Torah scholars, scribes, and teachers of Mishnah to blossom.

 

the pomegranates were in bloom. [This refers to] those who fulfill the commandments, who are full of merits. Why were the Israelites compared to a nut? Just as this nut-all you see is wood, and what is inside is not discernible, and you crack it and find it full of sections of edible food, so are the Israelites modest and humble in their deeds, and the students among them are not discernible, and they do not boast by announcing their [own] praise. But if you examine him, you find him full of wisdom. There are many additional homiletic interpretations of this matter. Just as if this nut falls into the mud, its interior does not become sullied, so are the Israelites exiled among the nations and smitten with many blows, but their deeds are not sullied.

 

12 I did not know. The congregation of Israel laments: I did not know to beware of sin, that I should retain my honor and my greatness, and I erred in the matter of groundless hatred and controversy, which intensified during the reign of the Hasmonean kings, Hyrcanus and Aristobulus, until one of them brought the kingdom of Rome and received the kingship from their hand and became their vassal, and since then, my soul made me to be chariots, that the nobility of other nations ride upon me.

 

a princely people. Heb. עַמִי נָדִיב like:. עַם נָדִיב, the “yud” being superfluous, like the “yud” of (Deut. 33:16): “the One Who took up His abode (שֹּׁכְנִי) in the thornbush;” (Gen. 31:39): “stolen (גְנֻבְתִי) by day;” (Lam. 1:1): “populous (רַבָּתִי עַם).”

 

my soul made me. I myself appointed them over me, as it is stated (Jer. 13:21): “and you accustomed them to be princes over you as head.”

 

 

 

Chapter 7

 

 

Rashi’s commentary to Shir HaShirim chapter 7

 

1 Return, return, O Shulammite. They say to me, “Return from following the Omnipresent.”

 

O Shulammite. Heb. הַשּׁוּלַמִית, the one who is perfect in your faith with Him, return, return to us.

 

and let us gaze upon you. נֶחֱזֶה. We will appoint from you governors and rulers, like (Exod. 18:21): “And you shall appoint (תֶחֱזֶה) from all the people.” So did Rabbi Tanhuma interpret it (Bamidbar 11). Another explanation for “and we will gaze upon you:” We will ponder what greatness to give you, but she says, “What will you see for the Shulammite?” What greatness can you allot me, that will equal my greatness, or even the greatness of the divisions of the dances of the encampments in the desert?

 

2 How fair are your feet in sandals. They say to her: We want you to cleave to us because of the beauty and the esteem that we saw in you when you were still beautiful.

 

How fair are your feet. in the festive pilgrimages, O daughter of princes!

 

The curves of your thighs are like jewels. A collection of gold jewels is called חֲלִי כֶתֶם, al chali in Arabic. And our Sages interpreted this as referring to the holes of the foundations [of the altar] for the libations, which were created during the Six Days of Creation, round as a thigh.

 

like jewels. Heb. חֲלָאִים, like the hollow of (חוּלְיַת) a pit.

 

the handiwork of a craftsman. [They are] the [work of the] hands of the Holy One, blessed be He. [See] Tractate Succah (49a).

 

craftsman. Heb. אֳמָן, like אוּמָן. In the praise of the Holy One, blessed be He, the Israelites praise Him from top to bottom. They commence, so to speak, from “His head is as finest gold,” and progressively descend to “His legs are as pillars of marble,” since they come to appease Him, to draw down His Shechinah from the heavenly abodes to the earthly abodes. He, however, counts their praises from bottom to top: “How fair are your feet!” and He progressively counts until, “Your head upon you is like Carmel,” until He comes to draw them to Him.

 

3 Your navel is [like] a round basin. Your navel is like a basin of clear water with which they wash, and it [the basin] is made of marble, which in Arabic is called “sahar.” He compares it to a round basin because the navel is shaped like a round hole. This praise does not refer to a woman’s beauty as the above praise does, for [in] the above, her beloved praises her, but here, her companions praise her about her deeds, saying: You are worthy to join us. The image symbolizes the Chamber of Hewn Stone, which is situated in the “navel” of the world.

 

where no mixed wine is lacking. No beverage will ever cease [to be found] there; he wishes to say that no words of instruction will cease or end from there.

 

your belly is [like] a stack of wheat. which everyone needs.

 

fenced in with roses. fenced and hedged about with roses. A light fence suffices her, and no one breaches it to enter. For example, a bridegroom enters the nuptial canopy, his heart longing for the nuptials and for the love of his marriage. When he comes to cohabit with her, she says to him, “I have perceived a drop of blood like [the size of] a mustard seed.” He turns his face the other way. Now no snake bit him, nor did a scorpion sting him. [Similarly,] one passes by on the road and sees freshly ripened fruit at the top of the fig trees. He stretches out his hand to take [them]. They tell him, “These belong to owners,” and he too withdraws his hand because of [the prohibition] of theft. This is the meaning of “she is fenced in with roses.”

 

4 Your two breasts. the two Tablets. Another explanation: the king and the high priest.

 

5 Your neck. the Temple and the altar, which are erect and tall, and the Chamber of Hewn Stone, which is also there, made for strength and for a shield, like an ivory tower.

 

your eyes. are like pools (בְּרֵכוֹת) in Heshbon, through which water flows. So are your eyes by the gate of the multitudes. Your sages, when they sit in the gates of Jerusalem, the city of multitudes, and engage in the computation (חֶשְּׁבּוֹן) of the seasons and the signs of the zodiac-their wisdom and understanding in the eyes of the peoples flow like pools of water. Alternatively, we can explain בְּרֵכוֹת בְּחֶשְּׁבּוֹן to mean doves, and this is a Mishnaic usage: If one buys the doves of a dovecote, he must let the first brood (בְּרִיכָה) fly away; covedes in Old French, covey, brood.

 

your face is as the tower of Lebanon. Heb. אַפֵּךְ. I cannot explain this to mean a nose, either in reference to its simple meaning or in reference to its allegorical meaning, for what praise of beauty is there in a nose that is large and erect as a tower? I say, therefore, that אַפֵּךְ means a face. Now the reason he uses the singular and does not say אַפַּיִךְ, is that he speaks of the forehead, which is the main recognizable feature of the face, as it is said (Isa. 3:9): “The recognition of their faces testified against them.” And you should know, for he progressively praises them from bottom to top “ -Your eyes are [like] pools in Heshbon,” and after them the forehead, and so do the nations praise (Ezek. 3:8): “and your forehead is strong against” the forehead of all who come to harm you and entice you.

 

as the tower of Lebanon, facing towards Damascus. I saw [the following] in the Midrash (Zuta): This is the house of the Lebanon forest, which King Solomon made. Whoever stood on it could look and count how many houses there were in Damascus. Another explanation: Your face looks towards Damascus; looks forward to the coming of the gates of Jerusalem until Damascus, for it is destined to expand as far as Damascus.

 

6 Your head upon you is like Carmel. These are the tephillin [phylacteries] of the head, about which it is said (Deut. 28:10): “And all the peoples of the world will see that the name of the Lord is called upon you, and they will fear you.” That is their strength and their fear, like a rock of the mountains, and the Carmel is the most prominent of the mountains.

 

and the braided locks of your head. The braided hair of your Nazirites are as beautiful with commandments as braided purple [ropes].

 

and the braided locks of your head. Heb. וְדַלַת רֹאשֵּׁךְ, because the braid is lifted up (מֻדְלֵת) on the highest part of the head.

 

the king is bound in the tresses. The name of the Omnipresent is bound in the locks, as is stated (Num. 6:7): “The crown of his God is on his head.”

 

tresses. Heb. רְהָטִים, courants in French; currents, windings [tresses]. This is what they call the fringes of the sashes, with which they tie the girdles. Another explanation of מֶלֶךְ אָסוּר בָּרְהָטִים : The Holy One, blessed be He, is bound with love to the commandments and to the swiftness with which you run before Him.

 

7 How fair and how pleasant you are. After having praised each limb in detail, he includes everything in a general statement: How fair you are in your entirety, and how pleasant you are, to cleave to you with a love that is proper to delight in.

 

8 This, your stature, is like a palm tree. We saw the beauty of your stature in the days of Nebuchadnezzar, when all the nations were kneeling and falling before the image, but you stood as erect as this palm tree.

 

and your breasts are like clusters [of dates]. [This refers to] Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, who were like breasts for you to suckle from. They were like clusters [of dates], which shower liquid; so did they nurse lavishly and teach everyone that there is no fear like fear of You. Until this point, the nations praise Him. From here on are the words of the Shechinah to reveal Israel, who are among the nations.

 

9 I said: Let me climb up the palm tree. I boast of you among the heavenly hosts, that I should be exalted and hallowed through you in the lower realms, for you will hallow My name among the nations.

 

let me seize its boughs. and I will seize and cleave to you. סַנְסִנִים are boughs.

 

and let your breasts be now. And now, cause my words to be realized, that you will not be seduced after the nations, and may the good and wise among you be steadfast in their faith, to retort to those who seduce them, so that the small ones among you will learn from them.

 

10 And your palate is like the best wine. Be careful with your answers that they should be like the best wine.

 

that glides down smoothly to my beloved. I am careful to answer them that I will remain steadfast in my faith, that my palate will go before my beloved with straightforward love, which emanates from the heart, and not from deceit and guile.

 

like the best wine. which makes the lips of the sleeping speak. Even my ancestors in the grave will rejoice with me and give thanks for their portion. דוֹבֵב means moving, promued in Old French, stimulates (to talk), and its basis is an expression of speech, and so is the reply: I am my beloved’s, and he also longs for me.

 

12 Come, my beloved, let us go out to the field. Our Rabbis expounded in Eruvin (21b): The congregation of Israel said, "O Lord of the Universe, do not judge me like the inhabitants of large cities, where there is robbery and immorality, but like the inhabitants of villages, who are craftsmen, and engage in the Torah amidst hardship.

 

let us lodge in the villages. Heb. בַּכְּפָרִים. Let us lodge among the disbelievers (בַּכּוֹפְרִים). Come and I will show You the sons of Esau, upon whom You bestowed plenty, but who do not believe in You.

 

13 Let us arise early to the vineyards. These are the synagogues and the study halls.

 

let us see whether the vine has blossomed. These are the students of the Torah.

 

the tiny grapes have developed. When the blossom falls off and the grapes are discernible, that is the development of the סְמָדַר, and he compares the students of the Mishnah to them, because they provide pleasure by teaching Torah.

 

the pomegranates have lost their flowers. when they become ripe, and the flower around them falls off. הֵנֵצוּ means its flower (נִצוּ), and he compares the Talmud students to them, who possess full wisdom and are fit to teach.

 

there I will give you my love. There I will show You my glory and the glory of my sons and daughters.

 

14 the pots. The pots of the good and the bad figs, as it is stated (Jer. 24:1f.): “The Lord showed me, and behold, two pots of figs, etc. One pot [contained] very good figs, etc., and the other pot [contained] very bad figs, which could not be eaten.” These are the transgressors of Israel. Now, both of them have given forth their fragrance. They all seek Your countenance.

 

the pots. The pots of the good and the bad figs, as it is stated (Jer. 24:1f.): “The Lord showed me, and behold, two pots of figs, etc. One pot [contained] very good figs, etc., and the other pot [contained] very bad figs, which could not be eaten.” These are the transgressors of Israel. Now, both of them have given forth their fragrance. They all seek Your countenance.

 

both new and old. that which the Sages innovated, as well as the old, which You wrote for me.

 

which I have hidden away for you. For Your name and for Your service I have hidden them away in my heart. Another explanation: I stored them away to show You that I have fulfilled them.

 

 

Chapter 8

 

 

Rashi’s commentary to Shir HaShirim chapter 8

 

1 O that you were like my brother. that you would come to console me as Joseph did his brothers, who did evil to him, and it is stated concerning him (Gen. 50:21): “and he consoled them.”

 

I would find you outside, I would kiss you. I would find Your prophets speaking in Your name, and I would embrace them and kiss them. I also know that they would not despise me, for Your love is worthy that Your beloved should go around after You.

 

2 to the house of my mother. the Temple.

 

who instructed me. as You were accustomed to do in the Tent of Meeting.

 

who instructed me. as You were accustomed to do in the Tent of Meeting.

 

of the juice. sweet wine.

 

4 I adjure you. Now the congregation of Israel addresses the nations, “Even though I complain and lament, my Beloved holds on to my hand, and He is my support in my exile; therefore, I adjure you.”

 

5 Who is this. The Holy One, blessed be He, and His tribunal say about the congregation of Israel, “Who is this?” How esteemed is this one, who was exalted from the desert with all the good gifts! There she was exalted at the giving of the Torah and with the cleaving of the Shechinah, and her love is visible to all, and she is still in her exile.

 

embracing her beloved. Heb. מִתְרַפֶּקֶת, attached to her beloved, admitting that she is his companion and clinging to him. רפק in Arabic is רַפְקְתָא, union.

 

Under the apple tree I aroused you. So she says in the request of the affection of her beloved: “Under the apple tree I aroused You.” I remember that under Mount Sinai, formed over my head as a sort of apple tree, I aroused You. That is an expression of the affection of the wife of one’s youth, who arouses her beloved at night when he is asleep on his bed, and embraces him and kisses him.

 

there your mother was in travail with you. We have said that the Holy One, blessed be He, called her His mother (above 3:11). There she became Your mother.

 

was in travail. Heb. חִבְּלָתְךָ, an expression of (Hos. 13:13): “birth pangs (חֶבְלֵי יוֹלֵדָה),” birth pangs came to her from you, like (Jer. 10:20): “my children have left me (יְצָאֻנִי),” they went out of me.

 

6 Place me like a seal. for the sake of that love, You shall seal me on Your heart, so that You should not forget me, and You will see.

 

for love is as strong as death. The love that I loved You is to me equal to my death, for I was killed for Your sake.

 

zeal is as strong as the grave. [This refers to] the quarrel that the nations were jealous and quarreled with me because of You. [The word] קִנְאָה everywhere [in Scripture] means enprenement in Old French, zealous anger, an expression of determination to wreak vengeance.

 

fire of a great flame. coals of a strong fire that comes from the force of the flame of Gehinnom. The cantillation symbol of the zakef gadol, which punctuates רִשְּׁפֵּי (coals of) teaches us about the word אֵשּׁ (fire) that it is connected to שַּׁלְהֶבֶתיָהּ, meaning fire of a great flame, [or a flame of God, see Ibn Ezra].

 

7 Many waters cannot quench the love. Since he refers to them with an expression of coals, the language of “cannot quench” is appropriate for them.

 

Many waters. the heathen nations.

 

rivers. their princes and their kings.

 

nor can… flood it. (not] through strength and fear nor [even] through enticement and seduction.

 

should a man give all his property for love. in exchange for Your love.

 

they would despise him. On all these the Holy One, blessed be He, and His tribunal testify that to this extent the congregation of Israel embraces her Beloved.

 

8 We have a… sister. in the lower realms, who is united, attaches herself [to us], and is desirous to be with us; she is small and humbles herself more than all the [other] nations, as it is stated (Deut. 7:7): “Not because you are more numerous, etc.,” for they consider themselves insignificant.

 

a… sister. Heb. אָחוֹת, an expression of joining (אִחוּי), (Moed Katan 26a): “These are the tears that may not be reattached (מִתְאָחִי).”

 

who has no breasts. as it is stated concerning the exile of Egypt: (Ezek. 16:7): “breasts fashioned,” when the time of the redemption arrived, but this one has yet no breasts. Her time has not yet reached the time of love.

 

what shall we do for our sister on the day she is spoken for. when the heathens whisper about her to destroy her, as it is stated (Ps. 83:5): “Come, let us destroy them from [being] a nation.”

 

9 If she be a wall. If she is strong in her faith and in her fear [of God], to be against them like a copper wall, that they should not enter her midst, meaning that she will not intermarry with them, and they will not come into her, and she will not be seduced by them.

 

we will build upon her a silver turret. We will be to her as a fortified city and for a crown and for beauty, and we will build for her the Holy City and the chosen Temple.

 

and if she be a door. which turns on its hinges, and when one knocks on it, it opens. She, too, if she opens for them so that they enter her and she [enters] them.

 

we will enclose her with cedar boards. We will put into her door wooden boards which rot and which the worm gnaws and eats. Thereupon, the congregation of Israel will say:

 

10 I am a wall. a strong [wall] in the love of my Beloved.

 

and my breasts are like towers. These are the synagogues and the study halls, which nurture Israel with words of Torah.

 

then. when I said this.

 

I was in his eyes as one who finds peace. like a bride who is found perfect, and finds peace in her husband’s house.

 

11 Solomon had a vineyard. This is the congregation of Israel, as it is said (Isa. 5:7): “For the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is the House of Israel.”

 

In Baal-Hamon. in Jerusalem, which is populous and has a multitude of people.

 

Baal. an expression denoting a plain, like (Jos. 12:7): “from Baal-Gad in the valley of Lebanon.”

 

he gave the vineyard to the keepers. He delivered it into the hands of harsh masters: Babylon, Media, Greece, and Edom. In Midrash Shir Hashirim, I found some support to [the theory that] these keepers are the kingdoms.

 

each one brought for the fruit thereof. whatever they could collect from them: head taxes, tithes, and illegal foreclosures; they collected everything from them to bring into their homes.

 

12 My vineyard, which is mine, is before me. for on the day of judgment, the Holy One, blessed be He, will bring them to justice, and He will say, “My vineyard, even though I delivered it into your hands, it is Mine, and before Me is all that you seized for yourselves, its fruit. And that which you collected from them is not hidden from Me.” And they will say:

 

you, O Solomon, shall have the thousand. “The thousand pieces of silver that we collected from them, we will return everything to You.”

 

and those who watch its fruit, two hundred. And we will add much more of our own, and we will give it to them, to their heads and their sages, as it is stated (Isa. 60:17): “Instead of copper I will bring gold.”

 

who watch its fruit. These are the Torah scholars, and those payments are for the Torah scholars, as it is stated (Isa. 23:18): “but those who sit before the Lord shall have her commerce” and her hire, i.e., that of Tyre. And it can also be explained: and two hundred for those who watch its fruit-according to the law of a person who derives benefit from consecrated objects, who pays the principal and a fifth. We too will pay, for (Jer. 2:3): “Israel is holy to the Lord, the first of His grain,” the principal and a fifth, a fifth of the principal, and two hundred is a fifth of a thousand.

 

13 You, who sit in the gardens. The Holy One, blessed be He, says to the congregation of Israel, “You, who are scattered in exile, grazing in the gardens of strangers and sitting in synagogues and study halls…”

 

the friends hearken to your voice. The ministering angels, your friends, children of God like you, hearken and come to listen to your voice in the synagogues.

 

let me hear [it]. And afterwards, they will declare [God’s] sanctity, as it is said (Job 38:7): “When the morning stars sing together.” These are the Israelites. And afterwards, “and all the angels of God will shout.”

 

14 Flee, my beloved. from this exile and redeem us from among them.

 

and liken yourself to a gazelle. to hasten the redemption and to cause Your Shechinah to rest.

 

on the spice mountains. This is Mount Moriah and the Temple, may it be built speedily and in our days, Amen.