Song of Songs Chapter 1 Verses 8-11

Last updated 8.28.24

Let’s review the flow of the verses to this point.

The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s.
Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for your love is better than wine.
Because of the fragrance of your goodly oils, your name is ‘oil poured forth.’ Therefore, the maidens loved you.
Draw me, we will run after you; the king brought me to his chambers. We will rejoice and be glad in you. We will recall your love more fragrant than wine; they have loved you sincerely.
I am black but comely, O daughters of Jerusalem! Like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon.
Do not look upon me [disdainfully] because I am swarthy, for the sun has gazed upon me; my mother’s sons were incensed against me; they made me a keeper of the vineyards; my own vineyard I did not keep.
Tell me, you whom my soul loves, where do you feed, where do you rest [the flocks] at noon, for why should I be like one who veils herself beside the flocks of your companions?

A Summation

The first seven verses are a mix of “comments and concepts” (1) from the female character, beginning with her desire for a ‘kiss,’ then directed somewhat to the masculine figure regarding the oil and maidens. This evolves into a request made to the male to be drawn toward him, which introduces the bond between her and a mysterious ‘we’ in verse 4. After this she laments about her present situation in verses (to the ‘daughters’) and also in verse 6 (to him). This seems to include “sharing the blame” with the ‘sons.’ It ends with her essentially asking the male, “So, what’s the problem here?”

The male figure in Shir Hashirim addresses the female for the first time:

8. “If you do not know, O fairest of women, go your way in the footsteps of the flocks and pasture your kids beside the shepherds’ dwellings.

9. At the gathering of the steeds of Pharaoh’s chariots have I silenced you, my beloved.

10. Your cheeks are comely with rows, your neck with necklaces.

11. We will make you rows of gold with studs of silver.”

(1) introduce idea of dialogue revealing spiritual concepts and how it works between entities (see 5 types from last section) — a different chibur each time! — pull quote from temple book on azamra at TEMPLE SECRETS: Key Concepts (azamra.org) Tie to our Holy of Holies article?

Is there a connection between male figure and courtyard? Bronze altar. etc? where the sacrifice took place — impacting all 4 worlds. etc?

All of this leads to verse 8, where the response comes from the masculine entity.

Preface

AVODAH = WORK

Each and everyone of Israel has to repair and prepare the part of the stature of the Messiah, which belongs to his soul, as known. Because ADaM is the acronym of Adam, David, Messiah. The stature of Adam has been from the beginning of the world to its end, as the souls of all the Israelites were comprised in him. Afterwards, his statue has been diminished by the sin. So also will the stature of the Messiah be complete (formed) out of all the souls of Israel, which are 600,000, as before the sin of Adam. This is the reason why each and every one of Israel has to prepare that part which is the aspect of the Messiah that belongs to his soul until the entire stature is restored and rebuilt, and a complete and everlasting unification is achieved, may it be fast in our time.
Me’or Einayim, Rabbi Menachem Nachum of Chernobyl

Agency of the Male

Problem: Straying from Torah

Solution: Back on the path of Torah

(link back to previous Yesod concepts and emphasis — expand more from shaare orah?

Partzufim (intro the concept) connect to temple etc …

A Partzuf is a person’s “face” or “appearance” with his or her distinctive features, head, body, arms and legs. The human form reflects that of the Tree of Life, which is one of perfect balance. In the human body, the right and left sides meet and are balanced in the center column. The human form thus expresses the alignment and balance of right and left, giver and receiver. Another expression of this alignment and balance is when Male and Female interact and join together in mutual cooperation, stimulation, giving and receiving. In the terminology of the Kabbalah, this mutual interaction takes the form of Chibur, connecting, and Zivug, pairing and mating. All these concepts of giver/receiver, right/left, male/female, mutual interaction, cooperation and stimulation are aspects of the array of Partzufim through which the ten Sefirot function in different ways on different levels to bring creation to its ultimate purpose …

… The ultimate goal of creation is the complete revelation of God on all levels. In this rectified state, Giver and Receiver are perfectly aligned. The movement of creation towards this rectified state is characterized by various kinds of “joining” and “pairing” of the various Partzufim, some of which are more involved in “giving”, while others are more associated with “receiving”. The supreme example of creative interaction, giving and receiving, is when Man and Wife align and join together in holy union – Yichud – to parent a child who will unite in one being essential qualities of both. They accomplish this through Chibur, joining together, and Zivug, cooperative interaction. …

In a person’s inner spiritual life, the Giver is God and the person or soul, the Receiver, is the “Wife”, while the “children” are the person’s spiritual achievements and good deeds. Yichud, holy union, comes about when the receiver “joins” him or herself to God. One makes oneself the vessel for Godly light by binding all one’s limbs and faculties to His service and filling one’s mind and soul with the words of prayer coming from one’s mouth into one’s ears. When a person makes him or herself a vessel for Godly light on the level of thought, word and action, Shechinah, the Indwelling Presence, is aligned to receive from Melech, the King.

When this unification (Yichud) comes about, the receiving Partzuf of Nukva, the female, is aligned to receive from Zeir Anpin, the male. On the level of the Names of the two Partzufim involved, this union is expressed through the “joining” of the two Divine Names YHVH and ADNY to form new power-combinations. One of the better known examples of how these two names may be “joined together” is through Shiluv, “interweaving” the letters of the two names as in YAHDVNHY or AYDHNVYH, as printed in certain prayer-books. Those who know the meaning of these Shiluvim may visualize and contemplate them at appropriate points in their prayers, thereby unifying the Giver, the Holy One blessed-be-He, and the Receiver, the Shechinah.
Mishkney Elyon, Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto

Another matter, “let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth,” Rabbi Yoḥanan said: An angel would take the utterance from before the Holy One blessed be He, each and every utterance, and circulate them before each and every Israelite and say to him: ‘Do you accept this utterance upon yourself? There are such and such laws in it, there are such and such punishments in it, there are such and such decrees in it, and so many commandments, and so many a fortiori inferences, there are such and such rewards in it.’ The Israelite would say to him: ‘Yes.’ [The angel] would then say to him: ‘Do you accept the divinity of the Holy One blessed be He?’ And he would say to him: ‘Yes, yes.’ Immediately he would kiss him on his mouth; that is what is written: “You have been shown in order to know [that the Lord, He is God]” (Deuteronomy 4:35), by means of an agent.
Song of Songs Rabbah 1:2

Purpose/Function of torah observance for her … also connect to Awaken not verse …

Israel might well wonder why God waits until the messianic era to fulfill all his promises of good. Would it not be better to bless Israel with peace, tranquility, and prosperity right now, so that it would be easier for Jews to study Torah and do mitzvot now?

God answers: Stalks of grain cannot grow in the field, unless the field is first broken by plowing. Similarly, the great good of the messianic era cannot grow, unless the bodies of Israel are first broken by toil in Torah and mitzvot. The great good will come when Israel becomes adorned with Torah and mitzvot, which are its ornaments.

Ben Ish Hai

Revisiting the question from verse 6 … connect to ‘the great good’ in text just above ^.

“The concept of geula b’rachamim (a merciful redemption) … Rachamim (compassion, mercy) actually is a revelation of the higher reality – the source of all the things, that ends up uniting opposites. Usually, we talk about rachamim in relation to the Sefirah of Tiferet – a perfect blend of Chesed and Gevurah … Tiferet finds the common ground between Chesed and Gevurah and harmonizes it and blends it. Tiferet as rachamim manifests through it … It’s actually the revelation of the Source that’s beyond both of them that’s bringing all of the things into existence. When we’re asking for rachamim we’re asking for the revelation of the higher Source of where everything is coming from – we see through all the coverings and the stringencies, and you understand the soul processes that are playing out and what’s going, and you can turn face to face with what’s really happening from the perspective of the soul and the needs of the soul.”
Ani Lipitz, “Helping Each Other Through the Home Stretch” (Stream of 1.16.24)

The proactive role of mashiach

The unification of Yesod and Malchut — This is one of the principal missions of Mashiach ben Yosef: to unify heaven and earth.
Kol Hator, Chapter 2, Aspect #56

The messiah will thus be a unifier of opposites. He will bring about the unification of the spiritual realms and our physical world.
“Moshiach and His Effect on the World,” Yitzi Hurwitz

Involves us

The concept of Mashiach ben Yoseph functions on three levels: meta-historical, the actual personality of Mashiach ben Yoseph, and any individual who contributes to the messianic process.
“The Secret Doctrine of the Gaon of Vilna,” Joel David Bakst

Parts of the soul of the Tzaddik are to be found in the whole creation, especially in God’s People, and especially in all the true Tzaddikim.
Tikunei Zohar 69:112a

They walk the same less-travelled path that the ‘One’ does:

A man can travel on a narrow path, or he can travel on a broad, smooth road. How do the two paths differ? In the number of people who have been that way. The path that only few have gone remains narrow and bumpy, whereas the feet of the multitude tread out a broad and smooth roadway. The righteous (those who remain faithful to man’s spiritual goals) travel on a ‘path’, the wicked (who have self-indulgently allowed themselves to stray after material goals) travel on a ‘road.’ The road of the wicked is well-troden; many others have traveled it before. Tzaddikim, on the other hand, walk a way that only a select few have passed.
“The Juggler and the King,” Aharon Feldman

Why he is needed

Because of the physical restraints imposed upon him by this world, man – almost without exception – finds it nearly impossible to perceive this spiritualism. The Tzaddik is the exception. He does have a grasp of the spiritual. He can discover the level and the route – and not only his own, but those of others as well … A Tzaddik knows on what to concentrate his energies and how to focus on it, and he knows how then to bring his understanding down to a level that even ordinary people can comprehend.” … “The bond which we seek to create with the Tzaddik is a spiritual one.
Crossing the Narrow Bridge, Chaim Kramer, p. 320,328

Male – female ..

Receiving counsel from the tzaddik creates a bond between the giver and the receiver. In a sense, this is like a marriage. Through the transmission of his advice, a union occurs between the tzaddik and the person receiving from him.
Likutey Moharan I, 7:4

Arousal …

In freeing the captive secrets from dominion of the husks (that which conceals the truth) they would also liberate the soul of the Mashiach and help him to complete the Redemption, ‘for the Mashiach is called tzadik (‘righteous one’), as in the allusion in Scripture: “he is righteous and saved” (Zechariah 9:9), and those who hold fast to his strength are called tzadikim (‘righteous ones’).
“Messianic Mysticism,” Isaiah Tishby

Conversely, the righteous one (i.e., messiah) helps himself by being willing to help others:

Whats in it for him? …

The Tzaddik is … “one who gives freely and generously. By lifting up his brethren, he himself is raised.”
“On the Mystical Shape of the Godhead: Basic Concepts in the Kabbalah,” Gershom Scholem

Compare to guarantee (on yaala page)

The main guarantor is the soul of Mashiach, which is the collective soul of all tzaddikim (righteous ones) throughout the generations. Mashiach will complete all rectifications and fix all the damage that was incurred throughout history … he serves as guarantor for them all.
“Likutey Halakhos,” Rabbi Nosson of Breslov

“As he (the tzaddik) is the comprehensive soul of his generation, he can elevate all and everything that is rooted in his soul … he can elevate even the souls of the wicked.”
“Chassidic Dimensions, Vol. 3,” Jacob Immanuel Schochet

What is the Meaning of Neo’s Return?

As for Neo’s ‘death’ in The Matrix Revolutions and how he is returning for The Matrix Resurrections:

Within the hands of Yesod/Tzaddik are the souls of all living things. Because of this it is also called Hei ha-olamim – the “eternally living one.”
Along the Path: Studies in Kabbalistic Myth, Symbolism, and Hermeneutics, Elliot R. Wolfson

“… that fundamental experience of liberation, when suddenly there comes a time when you are free to fulfill your potential because the whole environment, the climate, changes. At that time, a messianic process is unfolding around you; there is growth of spirituality and now you can develop into a profoundly holy person. Mashiach liberates you, providing an environment where you can really grow, flourish and thrive. If you are not so inclined, you don’t have to, but you can if you want. Your spiritual potential can now be actualized. That’s the essential idea of the mashiach; he removes the physical constraints and allows for, and brings, a spiritual environment.”
Rabbi Mendel Kessin

8. “If you do not know, O fairest of women, go your way in the footsteps of the flocks and pasture your kids beside the shepherds’ dwellings.

9. At the gathering of the steeds of Pharaoh’s chariots have I silenced you, my beloved.

10. Your cheeks are comely with rows, your neck with necklaces.

11. We will make you rows of gold with studs of silver.”

Notess

(1) Concepts evolve out of the exchanges — chibur!

This is a “collective commentary” that anyone can contribute citations and ideas to. See our Home Page for contact info.

HELPFUL KEYWORDS TO SEARCH WITH FOR THIS SECTION: fr

Return to Index of Chapter 1 Verses

Return to the Shir Hashirim Home Page