Song of Songs Chapter 2 - Matrix4Humans

SLIDE 31 INTRO

As we saw in chapter 1, the conversation between the masculine and feminine figures, spans the remote past, the present and the future. This all reflects a state of initial unity and potential, then going into a time of separation and correction (exile), with the promise of a greater and eternal unity.

The Stages apply to; Israel & G-d, the soul & G-d, humanity as a whole and within our own lives.

Previous; Before whatever caused the separation (Eden, Sinai, ourselves). There was a point of opportunity met with failure. And this cycle repeats in all our lives.
Current; Many types of EXILE. What is the PURPOSE? How much CAN we know of what the problem is? (Notice the female gets it wrong a few times) What is the ‘cure’? How is it the same or different for people? G-d judges fairly – see verse 2
1. “Only the misfortune of exile can provide the in-depth understanding and the overview into the realities of the world.”– Stefan Zweig (tsimtsum – matrix)
Future; A return but to an even higher state – where Adam should have gone
1. Why higher? Develop idea of teshuvah leading to greater bond

SLIDE 32

2:1 “I am a rose of Sharon, a rose of the valleys.”

Verse 2:1 seems a ‘confident’ response to what went down in chapter 1. Especially subsequent to what she was reminded of which related to the Temple.

The Rambam taught the mishkan was the culmination of the redemption process:

The Exodus – became free
Received the light of Torah
The mishkan – when the shade of G-d rested on them

Temple references:

Comparison to “holy of holies”
The chamber
The ‘couch’
The wood in last 2 verses

Pesachim 54a – Seven phenomena were created before the world was created, and they are: Torah, Repentance, the Garden of Eden, Gehenna, the Throne of Glory, the Temple, and the name of Messiah.

Here’s what the Ramchal (early 18^th century) says about the temple in his work Mishkney Elyon

“My purpose in this work is to discuss the subject of the Heavenly Temple mentioned by our sages, to explain its form and structure in all their various details, and to show how the earthly Temple is in direct alignment with it in its structure and all its dimensions.”

As we saw in part 1, there are enormous mysteries revealed through such study The subject of Torah learning, we will get into in a coming verse.

“That is why Ezekiel saw it, for it was already built and standing. Had the Jewish People only been worthy, the redemption in the time of Ezra should have been like the redemption from Egypt, and their entry into the Land should have been like Joshua’s entry. Then they would have built the Temple according to the plan seen by Ezekiel, and the two Temples, above and below, would have been perfectly aligned.”
The Ramchal in Mishkney Elyon

2″As a rose among the thorns, so is my beloved among the daughters.”

Verse 2 seems to return to the masculine voice, letting her know she is quite special, being “among the thorns” (the nations), recognizing that their relationship is unchanged even if her conditions have been difficult and within them she may have failed.

First phrase “As a rose among the thorns …” = KEY POINT to 2:2 is Hashem judges in two ways – righteous in their own right (when they are doing everything well) and, righteous in comparison to the nations.

Compare Noach and Avraham: “Noah was a righteous man, whole-hearted in his generations; Noah walked with God” [Genesis 6:9].

Amazing way the Zohar begins …

ZOHAR 1:1 Rabbi Hizkiah opened his discourse with the text: As a rose among thorns, etc. (S.S. II, 2). ‘What’, he said, ‘does the rose symbolise? It symbolises the Community of Israel. As the rose among thorns is tinged with red and white, so the Community of Israel is visited now with justice and now with mercy; as the rose possesses thirteen leaves, so the Community of Israel is vouchsafed thirteen categories of mercy which surround it on every side.’

3″As an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the sons; in his shadow I delighted and sat, and his fruit was sweet to my palate.

Remember Imagination!

The cloud on the Mishkan, when the shade of G-d rested upon Israel.

SHADE: = shadow of G-d = Bezalel, mishkan= SUKKOT, Shade, embodying light and freedom. (Darkness-light = Binah = the sukkah etc.),

Bezalel = 153 gematria = triangle of 17 = 10+7 = transcendent and immanent

Divine Design pp24f

THEN WWE HAVE THE APPLE … (we often look at numbers/gematria, but what about colors?)

Ready to go down a rabbit hole?

Not just gematria in torah. There is also Color coding. in our temple diagram (the ephod of the priest) red-purple-blue-gold.

In our text HE is called the apple. So …

“Also it is written: “As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons” (Song of Songs 2:3) – as an apple tree which has varied colours, red, white, and green combined in a unity.” – Zohar, Shemoth 122a

But ‘he’ has a bride. So what is she here? Malkhut, who happens to be black as this contains all colors (as keter is all white)

“That expanse of heaven, above the lower Paradise, displays four colours: white, red, green, and black, and correspondingly contains four doors in its four sides.”
Zohar, Shemoth 209b

Associated with “the likeness of the glory of the Lord”

The firmament with its enclosed square contains the gamut of all the colours. Outstanding are four colours, each engraved with four translucent signs, both higher and lower. These when decomposed become twelve. They are green, red, white, and sapphire, which is made up of all these colours. Hence it is written, “As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord” : containing, that is to say, all shades of all colours.”
Zohar, Bereshith 71b

Moses shown the unity of the temple in all dimensions:

“Observe that when Moses was commanded to make the Tabernacle, he could not comprehend its design until G-d showed him an exact replica of every single part, a replica in white fire, in black fire, in red fire, and in green fire. Scripture thus says: “And see that thou make them after their pattern, which is being shown thee in the mount” (Exodus 25:40).”
Zohar, Shemot 241a

(The above will connect to verse 6)

4 He brought me to the banquet hall, and his attraction to me [was symbolic of his] love.

5 Sustain me with flagons of wine, spread my bed with apples, for I am lovesick.

As mentioned in chapter 1, the allusions to the banquet hall (of the king) and the ‘bed’ (the couch of Solomon, are allusions to the temple

PURIM COMPARISONS

Shir Hashirim and Esther are the only texts in Tanakh having no direct mention of G-d
Who has erred and caused separation?
Whose palace (‘vine’) are the people consuming of?
The wine/intoxication connection (not the physical kind)
Where does the ‘arousal’ to reconnect come from?
Eternal aspect of Purim (=Keter of ShS)

Esther and Shoshana share the numerical value of 661.

“The word keter (crown) only appears three times in the whole Tanakh and all three are in the Book of Esther and always in the phrase “keter–malchut” which hints to a powerful kabbalistic practice, called yichud (unification/singularity).” Keter-Malchut, Sarah Yehudit Schneider

6 His left hand was under my head, and his right hand would embrace me.

Connecting to the apple imagery:

Or Neerav, PART VI 3:7 (Moses Cordovero, 1587): Now a prior aspect of this union includes the aspect of embrace which occurs at the hand of Ḥesed and Gevurah. This mystery is hinted at in the verse, his left hand is under my head (Song of Songs 2:6, 8:3)—this indicates that the emanation of Ḥesed is influenced by Tiferet and unites with it. Afterwards Tiferet continues [the emanation] to Gevurah and unites with it. Thus the Bridegroom is united on his two arms. After that he receives the Bride with his left hand, and Gevurah extends into Malkhut and influences it. After that, the emanation of Ḥesed, the right arm, continues to her, and thus the left hand is below and the right hand embraces above. This is the mystery of his left hand.

7 I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or by the hinds of the field, that you neither awaken nor arouse the love while it is desirous.

(THIS BEGINS A HIGHLY MESSIANIC SECTION THROUGH VERSE 12)

A partially righteous person is prone to making mistakes. An abundance of blessing can get in the way of our purpose for Hashem.

Also, this is why we have specific moedim and ‘times of rejoicing’ as opposed to rejoicing ALL the time. The channels cannot be opened due to the corruption caused by sin, as it would expose them to the forces of the Sitra Achra and destruction would ensue.

Deuteronomy 32:15 – Jeshurun waxed fat and kicked. (See KRAMER p. 239)

Exodus: And upon the nobles of the children of Israel He did not lay His hand, and they perceived God, and they ate and drank

Joel 2:26 And you shall eat, eating and being sated, and you shall praise the Name of the Lord your God, Who has performed wonders with you, and My people shall never be ashamed.

The soul says to the Creator, “Tell me the secrets of the sublime wisdom, how You lead and govern the Upper World; teach me the secrets of the wisdom that I have not known and have not learned thus far, so I will not be shamed among those high degrees, among which I come.”

The Creator replies to the soul, “‘If you know not, O fairest among women,’ if you have come and did not gaze in the wisdom before you came here, and you do not know the secrets of the upper world, ‘go thy way,’ for you are not worthy of entering here without knowledge. ‘Go thy way by the footsteps of the flock,’ reincarnate in the world and become knowing by these ‘footsteps of the flock,’ who are human beings that people trample with their heels, for they consider them lowly. However, they are the ones who know their Master’s sublime secrets. From them will you know how to observe and to know, and from them will you learn.”

New Zohar, Song of Songs, Item 485-486

8 The sound of my beloved! Behold, he is coming, skipping over the mountains, jumping over the hills.

Midrash Rabbah – Exodus XV:4 – AND THE LORD SPOKE UNTO MOSES AND AARON (XII, 1). Another explanation: It is written: Hark! my beloved! behold, he cometh (S.S. II, 8). When Moses came to Israel and said: Thus did God say unto me:This day ye go forth, in the month Abib (Ex. XIII, 4), they asked him: Where is He? He replied: Behold, He standeth. Hark! my beloved! behold he cometh. R. Judah asked: What is the meaning of leaping upon the mountains (ib.)? The Holy One, blessed be He, said: If I am to scrutinise the deeds of Israel, they will never be redeemed; I will therefore fix my regard on their holy ancestors, as it says:And moreover I have heard the groanings of the children of Israel… and I have remembered My covenant (VI, 5).1 I will redeem them for the sake of their ancestors; hence does it say leaping upon the mountains , for mountains refers to the ancestors, as it says:Hear, O ye mountains, the Lord’s controversy (Micah VI, 2).

9 My beloved resembles a gazelle or a fawn of the hinds; behold, he is standing behind our wall, looking from the windows, peering from the lattices.

Psalm 19:6 – And it is like a bridegroom emerging from his chamber; it rejoices like a mighty man running a course.

Our generation has been charged with the responsibility of making all Jews aware of Moshiach—and this includes the custom of conducting Moshiach’s Seudah. This mission is particularly relevant in our day, for the Jewish people have completed all the divine service necessary to enable Moshiach to come. As the Previous Rebbe expressed it, “We have already polished the buttons.”⁹ Moshiach is waiting: “Here he stands behind our wall, watching through the windows, peering through the crevices.”¹⁰ The walls of exile are already crumbling, and now, in the immediate future, Moshiach will be revealed
– Shir HaShirim 2:9; cf. Kiddush Levanah (Blessing of the new moon) in Siddur Tehillat HalShem, p. 239..

In a higher world there is rejoicing already: he has already come; down here, however, he is waiting for the Jewish people to repent, to do teshuvah.

According to the Midrash, the verse describes the elusive character of the Redeemer: “Just as a deer appears and disappears and reappears, so the first Redeemer is revealed and occulted and revealed.”3 The commentators limn for us the timetable of the first Redeemer, Moses, who after an initial contact with the Children of Israel subjugated in Egypt, absented himself, only to reappear on the scene at a later time. 4 (Some make the astute observation that in the Bible code known as Atbash, the Hebrew word tsevi [deer] is permutated to Moshe.) And so too, we are told, the future process of redemption will be a symphony in three movements: revelation/occultation/revelation

come the seventeenth century the icon of the deer exploded upon the Jewish world with full force. In 1666 (“the Year of the Beast” from the perspective of English Protestant millenarians), a Turkish Jew by the name of “Tsevi” (first name “Shabbetai”) captured the Messianic imagination of the Jewish People the world over. The symbolism of the deer was lost neither on Shabbetai Tsevi (he signed himself “Tavya devei ‘ila’ah,” Aramaic for “celestial deer”)9 and his admirers, nor on his eventual critics (after the necessary sobering) who punned on his name “tsevi shavur” (“a broken deer,” a Mishnaic reference). 10 Sabbatian iconography (the little that has survived in frontispieces of books) makes ample use of deer representation. 11 The great visionary of Israel’

FRONTISPIECE TO RABBI TSEVI CHOTSH’S HEMDAT TSEVI (BELOVED GAZELLE) 1706

10My beloved raised his voice and said to me, ‘Arise, my beloved, my fair one, and come away.

A view of the future. ‘Arise’ …

11For behold, the winter has passed; the rain is over and gone.

The Olam Hazeh (since Gan Edan) is ending. Just as the Egyptian one ended early, we pray the final one will too. This is why our merit can move it forward.

Midrash Rabbah – Exodus XV:1 – AND THE LORD SPOKE UNTO MOSES… THIS MONTH SHALL BE UNTO YOU THE BEGINNING OF MONTHS. Thus it is written: Hark! my beloved! behold, he cometh (S.S. 2:8). What art thou doing here in a place of unclean people, whose flesh is as the flesh of asses, and whose issue is like the issue of horses (Ezek. XXIII, 20). Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away (S.S. 2:10). He said to God: ‘Lord of the Universe! Thou didst tell us that for four hundred years we would be enslaved, and these have not expired yet.’ God replied: ‘They have expired,’ for it says: For, lo, the winter is past.

12The blossoms have appeared in the land, the time of singing has arrived, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.

Turtledove = the messiah

13The fig tree has put forth its green figs, and the vines with their tiny grapes have given forth their fragrance; arise, my beloved, my fair one, and come away.

During this initial phase of return, the scaffolding of a new country will be built … citrus groves will be planted, and in a once parched land, cherry tomatoes … and cutting-edge hydroponics will be invented … However, in this phase, the spirit, the soul of the nation, will be weak.
“Covid Ha’atzmaut: The Shofar in Our Hearts” (Covid Redemption), Shimon Apisdorf, OU.org

14My dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the coverture of the steps, show me your appearance, let me hear your voice, for your voice is pleasant and your appearance is comely.’

SEE https://www.inner.org/main-posts/pray-for-it-sing-for-it

Shir Hashirim Rabbah 2:35-38: It was taught in the school of R. Ishmael: When Israel went forth from Egypt, what did they resemble? A dove which was fleeing from a hawk and flew into the cleft of a rock, and found a serpent lurking there. When it tried to get right in it could not, because the serpent was lurking there, and when it tried to turn back it could not because the hawk was hovering outside. What then did the dove do? It began to cry and beat its wings so that the owner of the cote should hear and come to its rescue. This was the position of Israel by the Red Sea. They could not go down into the sea, because it had not yet been divided before them. They could not turn back, because Pharaoh had already drawn near. What did they do? And they were sore afraid; and the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord (Ex. XIV, 10). Then straightway, Thus the Lord saved Israel that day (ib. 30). R. Judah said in the name of R. Hama from Kfar Tehumin: It is as if a king who had an only daughter desired very much that she should talk to him.2 So what did he do? He made a proclamation saying, Let all the people go out to the sports ground. When they went there, what did he do? He gave a sign to his servants, and they fell on her suddenly like brigands. She began crying out, Father, save me. He said to her: Had I not done this, you would not have cried out, “Father, save me.,,, So when the Israelites were in Egypt the Egyptians oppressed them and they began to cry and lift their eyes to the Holy One, blessed be He, as it says, And it came to pass in the course of those many days that the king of Egypt died; and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried (Ex. II, 23). Forthwith, And God heard their groaning (ib. 24): the Holy One, blessed be He, heard their prayer and brought them forth with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. The Holy One, blessed be He, desired to hear their voice further, but they were not willing. What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He hardened the heart of Pharaoh and he pursued them, as it is written, And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued, etc. (Ex. XIV, 8). It is also written, And Pharaoh brought near (ib. 10).1 What is meant by brought near? That he brought Israel near to repentance. When the Israelites saw them, they lifted up their eyes to the Holy One, blessed be He, and cried before Him, as it says, The children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians were marching after them; and they were sore afraid; and the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord (ib. XIV, 10)–in the same way as they had cried out in Egypt. When the Holy One, blessed be He, heard, He said: Had I not done so to you, I should not have heard your voice., Referring to that moment He said, MY DOVE IN THE CLEFT OF THE ROCK. It does not say here, LET ME HEAR a voice, but THY VOICE: the voice which I had already heard in Egypt. And when the children of Israel cried before the Holy One, blessed be He, straight way, Thus the Lord saved Israel that day (ib. 30). 36. R. Eleazar interpreted the verse as referring to Israel when they stood by the Red Sea. MY DOVE IN THE CLEFT OF THE ROCK: they were so called because they were sheltered in the recess of the sea. LET ME SEE THY COUNTENANCE: as it says, Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord (Ex. XIV, 13). LET ME HEAR THY VOICE: this refers to the Song, as it says, Then sang Moses (ib. XV, 1). FOR SWEET IS THY VOICE: this refers to the Song; AND THY COUNTENANCE IS COMELY: because the Israelites pointed with the finger saying, This is my God, and I will glorify Him (ib. 2). 37. R. Akiba interpreted the verse as applying to Israel at the time when they stood before Mount Sinai. MY DOVE IN THE CLEFT OF THE ROCK: SO called because they were hidden in the shadow of the mountain. SHOW ME, etc., as it says, And all the people perceived the thunderings, etc. (Ex. XX, 15). LET ME HEAR THY VOICE: this refers to what they said before the Commandments were given, as it says, All that the Lord hath spoken will we do, and obey (Ex. XXIV, 7).1 FOR SWEET IS THY VOICE; this refers to what they said after the Commandments were given, as it says, And the Lord heard the voice of,your words… and said,… they have well said all that they have spoken (Deut. V, 25). What is meant by they have well (hetibu) said all that they have spoken? Hiyya b. Adda and Bar Kappara gave different explanations [of the word well]. One compared it to the trimming (hataboth) of the lamps,2 the other to the preparation (hataboth) of the incense.3 AND THY COUNTENANCE Is COMELY: as it says, And when the people saw it, they trembled, and stood afar (Ex. XX, 15).4 38. R. Jose the Galilean interpreted the verse with reference to the alien powers. MY DOVE IN THE CLEFT OF THE ROCK: being hidden in the shadow of the alien powers. LET ME SEE THY COUNTENANCE: this signifies study. LET ME HEAR THY VOICE: this signifies good actions. Once they had a discussion in the house of Aliyath Arim5 at Lydda on the question: Which is more important, study or action?6 R. Tarfon maintained that action was more important; R. Akiba maintained that study was more important. They took a vote and decided that study was more important, because it leads to action.1 FOR SWEET IS THY VOICE: this signifies study; AND THY COUNTENANCE IS COMELY: this signifies good action. 39. R. Huna and R. Aha in the name of R. Aha b. Hanina interpreted the verse, following R. Meir,3 as referring to the tent of meeting. MY DOVE IN THE CLEFT OF THE ROCK: because they are hidden in the shelter of the tent of meeting. LET ME SEE THY COUNTENANCE; as it says, And the congregation was assembled at thc door of the tent of meeting (Lev. VIII, 4). LET ME HEAR THY VOICE, as it says, And when all the people saw it, they shouted (ib. IX, 24). They chanted a beautiful song because they saw a new thing; therefore they chanted a new song. FOR SWEET IS THY VOICE: this refers to the song, AND THY COUNTENANCE IS COMELY: as it says, And all the congregation drew near and stood before the Lord (ib. IX, 5). R. Tanhuma said: They [R. Huna and R. Aha] interpreted it, following R. Meir, as referring to the tent of meeting; I too will interpret it, following the Rabbis,2 as referring to the Temple. MY DOVE IN THE CLEFT OF THE ROCK: because they were hidden in the shelter of the Temple: LET ME SEE THY COUNTENANCE: as it says, Then Solomon assembled, etc. (I Kings VIII,1). LET ME HEAR THY VOICE: as it says, It came even to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one (II Chron. V, 13). R. Abin said in the name of R. Abba Cohen b. Daliah: It is written, And all the people answered together (Ex. XIX, 8), and it is also written, And all the people answered with one voice, and said (ib. XXIV, 3). Till when did that voice stand by them? Until, it came even to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one.3 FOR SWEET IS THY VOICE: this refers to the song4; AND THY COUNTENANCE IS COMELY: this refers to the offerings, of which it says, And Solomon offered for the sacrifice of peace-offerings, etc. (I Kings VIII, 63).1 What oxen, are referred to? The four wagons and the eight oxen (Num. VII, 8) 40. R. Elijah interpreted the verse as referring to the festival pilgrims. LET ME SEE THY COUNTENANCE: this refers to the festival pilgrims, of whom it says, Three times in a year shall all thy males be seen, etc. (Deut. XVI, 16). LET ME HEAR THY VOICE: this refers to the melodious reciting of Hallel.2 When Israel recite Hallel, their voice ascends on high; and so the proverb says, The Passover in the house and the Hallel break the roof., FOR SWEET IS THY VOICE: this refers to the song.3 AND THY COUNTENANCE IS COMELY: this refers to the priestly blessing.4

—

Verses 14 to 16 seem to be desire, requirement and fulfillment)

Back to the ‘draw me to you’ verse. Hashem wants the “arousal from below.” (Aramaic: itaruta d’ltata.). This is not just a cry when all seems lost (like in Egypt, which He said he heard) but one of correct desire – not on our terms, but His – which is revealed in His Torah.

“The Holy One, blessed be He, said, ‘I will not enter the heavenly Jerusalem until I can enter the earthly Jerusalem.’”

Talmud, Ta’anith 5a

What does this entering below involve?

Torah Study is key to knowing what to do and doing it in order to make connection with G-d.

“I have made a covenant with my chosen.,’ This covenant is the secret of faith. Or we may interpret the “chosen one” of the Zaddik from whom issue blessings to all the lower creation, all the holy Hayyoth being blessed from the stream which flows forth to the lower world. “I have sworn unto David my servant”, to wit, that he will always be established in this Zaddik, the foundation of the world, save in the time of galuth, when the flow of blessing is cut off, and faith is defective, and all joy is banished. During this period, at nightfall, joy no longer enters before the King. Yet, though rejoicings do not enter, angels stand outside and chant hymns, and at midnight when the impulse from below arrives on high, G-d arouses all the hosts of the heaven for lamentation and strikes the firmament, causing upper and lower worlds to quake; nor is there any respite save when those below commence to study the Torah. Then G-d and all those with Him listen with joy to that voice, and relief is felt. For on the day on which the Sanctuary below was destroyed, G-d swore that He would not enter the celestial Jerusalem until Israel should enter the earthly Jerusalem. Now all those singers stand outside and chant hymns in the three watches of the night and intone praises, and all the hosts of the heavens sing at night and Israel by day, nor is the sanctification recited above until it is recited by Israel below, and only then do all the hosts of heaven sanctify the holy name together. Hence, Israel are holy and are sanctified by upper and lower angels, since the sanctification of the holy name is complete only when uttered above and below together.’
Zohar, 1:231a

New Zohar, Song of Songs, Item 485-486

15 Seize for us the foxes, the little foxes, who destroy the vineyards, for our vineyards are with tiny grapes.

This verse sets up the couple for intimate time together (v 16)

The little foxes symbolize the troubles of the individual and the collective = internal and external

42 STAGES OF CORRECTION …

Midrash Rabbah – The Song of Songs 1:41 – MY MOTHER’S SONS, the sons of my nation, namely the spies, WERE INCENSED AGAINST ME: they attacked me, they filled the Judge with wrath against me. THEY MADE ME KEEPER OF THE VINEYARDS: because I stayed in the wilderness journeying forty-two stages, I was not able to enter the land of Israel. Hence, MY OWN VINEYARD I DID NOT KEEP.

–

And, in one of the more cryptic verses in the Megillah, she responds:

Catch us the foxes, The little foxes, That ruin the vineyards — For our vineyard is in blossom. (2:15)

Ibn Ezra (peshat s.v. amrah) and Malbim (s.v. echezu) explain that the woman seeks to create opportunity for her to be alone with the dod by sending others – particularly the Daughters of Jerusalem – to watch over her vineyard. The strength of this reading is that it flows directly into the following verse, in which she declares her and the dod’s full commitment to one another:

My beloved is mine, And I am his, Who browses among the lilies. (2:16)

This verse – which also harks back to the beginning of chapter 2, in which the dod referred to his beloved as a lily among the thorns – suggests that 2:15 sets up the couple for intimate time together.

Yet others read 2:15 as referring back to the dialogue between the raya and her half-brothers, who had appointed her to watch their vineyards. She is explaining that she is unavailable to the dod because, especially during the blossoming of springtime, she must vigilantly guard the fields to ward away the foxes. She simultaneously scorns her half-brothers, whom she calls “small foxes” that stand between her and her beloved, symbolized by a blossoming field.

On this reading, the final two verses of chapter 2 comprise a unit:

My beloved is mine, And I am his, Who browses among the lilies.

When the day blows gently, And the shadows flee, Set out, my beloved, Swift as a gazelle, Or a young stag, For the hills of spices! (2:16-17)

The language is again reciprocal and pastoral, and, consistent with the shepherdesses’ adjuration of the daughters of Jerusalem (2:7), the gazelle and stag again figure prominently. Yet as beautifully and romantically as the chapter ends, the couple is not able to fully consummate their relationship. At most, they can only be together during midday – “when the day blows gently and the shadows flee.” And the concluding verse is ambiguous. She might be suggesting that he flee to a place where she will meet him; yet, as Ibn Ezra (s.v. ve-ata) claims, she might instead be recommending that he flee without her.

Ultimately, she desires to be with her beloved, but at best can only do so in a partial fashion. Their love is beginning to blossom, yet due to external pressures she is not fully free to be with him. And so, just as in 1:8 he had concluded their dialogue by coyly suggesting that she “go follow the tracks of the sheep and graze your kids by the tents of the shepherds,” here she lovingly yet ambiguously directs him to set to set out himself “for the hills of spices.”

16My beloved is mine, and I am his, who grazes among the roses.

Reverse of Ani Ledodi

17Until the sun spreads, and the shadows flee, go around; liken yourself, my beloved, to a gazelle or to a fawn of the hinds, on distant mountains.”

Is this reference to Isaiah and the mountains laid low?

“The definition of Jewish belief is that which is written in Torah. That defines Jewish belief. This possibility – that Moshiach comes, and after his coming and revelation there’s an interruption, and then he completes the process – this is found in a number of places in Torah. Let me just mention a few. One is Midrash Rabba Shir HaShirim 2:22, on the pasuk “Domeh dodi l’tzvi.” And the Midrash says, just like a deer is revealed, and hidden, and again hidden. I guess it means that when it runs, it runs between the trees – you see it and then you don’t see it. That’s what happened with Moshe Rabbeinu in Egypt. He came, and then he was concealed for a few months – there are different opinions how many months – and then he was revealed again and took the Jews out of Mitzrayim. The Midrash concludes the same thing will be with Moshiach: He will be revealed, then he will be hidden, and then he will be revealed again. In fact, the Midrash says that when he will be hidden, it will be a very difficult time. There will be people who will stop believing in him because of that, and that ultimately he will come. This message is also in Rashi, in Daniel 12:12. The pasuk says, “Ashrei ha’m’chakim” (fortunate are those who will wait for Moshiach). Rashi says this is not just talking about people in general who wait for Moshiach…fortunate are those who will wait for Moshiach after he is revealed, and then he will be hidden, and then revealed again. In that in-between time: fortunate are those who persevere in their emuna. In fact, Rashi says this is brought down in the davening, in the siddur, the “Yotzer” for Parshas HaChodesh. Anyone can look it up. It’s in the Rav Yaakov Emden Siddur. It says the same thing: Moshiach will come, be revealed, then he’ll be hidden, and revealed again. It’s also found in this week’s parsha, Parshas Shmos. Rabbeinu Bechaye, at the end of the parsha, says, “Moshe Rabbeinu came, then he was hidden, and then he came back to take the Yidden out of Mitzrayim.” And he writes that the same will be with Moshiach, as it says, “Kimei tzeis’cha m’Eretz Mitzrayim ar’enu niflaos.” This redemption will be similar to the redemption in the times of Mitzrayim. The Chasam Sofer, one of the greatest masters of halacha in our recent generations, also wrote in his seifer, Toras Moshe, on this parsha, Shmos. At the end of the parsha, he says that the fact that Moshe was gone for six months was a very big test. The same will be b’yimei Moshiach Tzidkeinu, yinelam achar nisgaleh (in the days of Moshiach Tzidkeinu, he will be concealed after he is revealed), and we will need special assistance from Hashem to stand up to this test. As mentioned before, the Arizal in Seifer Shaar HaGilgulim also says the same thing – that he’ll come, and like Moshe Rabbeinu, he will disappear, go away, we won’t have him. Then he’ll come back and take all the Yidden out of Galus.”
– Rabbi Majeski, A Preface to Moshiach: Setting the Record Straight, Moshiach & Geula,

BeisMoshiach.org

LAITMAN –

MAY HE KISS ME WITH THE KISSES OF HIS MOUTH

Teruma [Donation]

371) Why made King Solomon, who brought words of love between the upper world, Zeir Anpin, and the lower world, Malchut, and the beginning of the praise of the improvement of love that he introduced between them, “May he kiss me.” Indeed, there is love of Dvekut [adhesion] of spirit to spirit only in a kiss, and a kiss on the mouth, the outlet of the spirit and its outlet. When they kiss each other, these spirits cleave to one another and become one, and then it is one love.

372) The kiss of love spreads to the four directions, and the four directions cleave together, and they are inside the faith, Malchut. And the four spirits rise by four letters, which are the names upon which the holy name depends, and upon which the upper and lower depend. The praise of the Song of Songs depends on them, and they are the four letters of Ahava [“love, ”Aleph-Hey-Bet-Hey]. They are the upper Merkava [chariot/assembly], HGTM (Hesed and Gevura, Tifferet and Malchut), and they are bonding and Dvekut,and the wholeness of everything.

SEE LIFE WITH THE WOMAN WHOM YOU LOVE

Miketz [At the End]

70) “See life with the woman whom you love.” This verse is a sublime secret. “Enjoy life” is life of the next world, for happy is the man who is rewarded with it, as it should be.

71) “With the woman whom you love” is the assembly of Israel, which is the Nukva, since it is about her that love is written, as it is written, “I have loved you with an everlasting love.” When? When the right side clings to her, as it is written, “Therefore with mercy have I drawn you,” and mercy [Hesed] is the right side.

HALL OF LOVE

VaEtchanan [I Pleaded]

145) The righteous have several sections above sections in that world. The highest among those sections is for those to whom love is their Master is connected, since their section ties to the palace that rises above all because by that, the Creator is enriched with love.

146) This palace, the highest of all, is called “love,” and everything stands on love, as it is written, “Many waters cannot quench the love.” Everything stands with love because the holy name, HaVaYaH, is so. The upper tip, Keter of Yod of HaVaYaH, Hochma, never parts from it because the Keter is on it with love, and they never part from one another. Likewise is the Hey of HaVaYaH, as it is written, “And a river, Bina, comes out of Eden, Hochma.” Bina always comes out of Hochma, and they forever cling with love.

147) When Vav-Hey,Zeir Anpin and Malchut, cling to one another, they cling together in love, the groom with the bride, whose way is always in love. It follows that Yod with Hey, Hey with Vav, and Vav with the last Hey always connect to one another with love, and everything is called “love.” Hence, one who loves the King becomes tied to that love, and for this reason, “Love the Lord your God.”

LOVE IS THE WHOLE OF THE GRATITUDE

VaEtchanan [I Pleaded]

138) “And you shall love the Lord your God.” “And you shall love” means that one should connect to Him with sublime love, that any work that one should do for the Creator should be done with love, as there is no work like the love of the Creator. These words, love, are the whole of the Torah, since the ten commandments in the Torah are included here.

139) There is nothing more favorable in the eyes of the Creator than one who loves Him properly, as it is written, “With all your heart.” What does “With all” mean? It should have said “With all your heart,” as well as “With all your soul,” and “With all your might”; what is “With all your heart”? It comes to include both hearts—one good and one bad. “With all your soul” means with two souls—one good and one bad. “With all your might” means whether one comes into wealth by inheritance or whether he has earned it.

140) One who loves the Creator is crowned with Hesed [grace/mercy] from all sides. He does Hesed to all and has no concern for his own body or wealth. From where do we know that? From Abraham, who had no mercy on his heart, his soul, and his wealth because of his love for his Master.

141) “On his heart” means that Abraham did not look after his own will for his love for his Master. “On his soul” means that he had no mercy for his son and his wife for his love for his Master. “On his wealth” means that he stood at a crossroads and offered food to the whole world. This is the reason why he was crowned with a crown of the Sefira Hesed, as it is written, “Mercy to Abraham.”

One who is tied with the love of his Master is rewarded with it, and moreover, all the worlds are blessed for him. This is the meaning of what is written, “And Your pious ones shall bless You.” Do not pronounce it “Shall bless You,” but “Shall bless Koh, ” since the pious ones, those who have been rewarded with the Sefira of Hesed, will bless Divinity, who is called Koh. Thus, even Divinity is blessed because of them.

LOVE IS AS STRONG AS DEATH; JEALOUSY IS AS HARSH AS THE NETHERWORLD

VaYechi [Jacob Lived]

730) “Set me as a seal upon your heart… its flashes are flashes of fire.” The assembly of Israel, Nukva, has complete desire and craving for the Creator only through the souls of the righteous, who awaken the springing of the lower water in the Nukva, opposite the upper water of ZA, which raise MAN to the Nukva. This is so because at that time, the complete desire and craving are in adhesion, to bear fruits.

731) And once ZON are clung to one another and she receives a desire for ZA, she says, “Set me as a seal upon thy heart.” It is the conduct of a seal that once it is attached to a place, it leaves its imprint there although it is removed from there. Thus, she does not move from him, and all of his impression and form remain there. Thus said the assembly of Israel, the Nukva: “Behold, I have clung unto you. And even though I will depart you and go into exile, set me as a seal upon your heart, so that my whole shape will remain in you,” like a seal that leaves its whole shape in the place where it had been attached.

732) “For love is as strong as death.” It is as strong as the separation of the spirit from the body. When a person’s time to depart the world arrives, and he has seen what he has seen, the spirit goes to all the organs in the body and raises its waves, as though sailing in a ship at sea without oars, futilely rising and falling, coming and seeking to bid farewell from all the organs of the body. There is nothing harder than the day when the spirit departs the body. Such is the power of the love of the assembly of Israel to the Creator, as the power of death at the time when the spirit wishes to depart the body.

733) “Jealousy is as harsh as the netherworld.” Any person who loves, and jealousy is not tied to it, his love is not love, since jealousy completes the love. From this we learn that a man must be envious for his wife, so he will connect with her in complete love, since as a result, he does not look at another woman. “Jealousy is as harsh as the netherworld.” As the netherworld is harsh in the eyes of the wicked—to go down it, jealousy is harsh in the eyes of the envious lover—to part from the love.

734) When the wicked are brought down to the netherworld, they are told why they are being brought down, and it is harsh for them. Thus, one who is envious demands for sins and thinks how many suspicious deeds she has done, and then a tie of love is tied in him.

735) “Its flashes are flashes of fire, the flame of the Lord.” “The flame of the Lord” is a burning flame that emerges from the Shofar [a ram’s horn], YesodIma, called Koh [Yod-Hey], which has awakened and burns. It is the left line of Ima, as it is written, “Let his left be under my head.” This burns the flame of love of the assembly of Israel, Divinity, for the Creator.

736) For this reason, much water will not be able to quench the love, since when the right—water, Hesed—comes, it adds to the burning of the love and does not quench the flame of the left, as it is written, “And his right shall embrace me.” This is so because during the illumination of Hochma in the left line of Ima to the Nukva, it is a burning fire, as it is without Hassadim. And when the right line comes with its Hassadim, called “water,” to quench the fire, it does not quench the illumination of Hochma by that. On the contrary, it adds and complements her illumination because it clothes the Hochma with Hassadim, and the Hochma shines in complete perfection.

739) In all the places, the male chases the Nukva and awakens the love toward her. But here it turns out that she awakens the love and chases him, as it is written, “Set me as a seal upon your heart.” Usually, however, it is not to the Nukva’s credit to chase the male. Indeed, this is an unclear matter and a sublime thing, hidden in the treasures of the King.

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New Zohar, Song of Songs, Item 485-486

WATCH LISTe

https://www.ou.org/holidays/shir-hashirim-and-the-kodesh-kodashim/

READ LIST

https://www.ou.org/holidays/shir_hashirim_the_song_of_songs/

https://ohr.edu/holidays/purim/the_story_of_purim/1485

https://www.steinsaltz-center.org/vault/PassOver2019/01TheSongofSongs.pdf

Use in preface related to SS and Shabbat and the feminine: https://aish.com/men-are-from-weekday-women-are-from-shabbat/

https://steinsaltz.org/essay/shirhashirim2006/?fbclid=IwAR0F89_HKsfEqNBYkMV9OgdmZNE1Ny4ERl_ZgeyHuK9rfq4VXj8yBkpdq1I

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SEE OU Video AT 31:00 for play on Solomons name = completed perfect (Keter-Malkhut), the Source, etc

FIND THIS …

LAITMAN (KISS): http://www.kabbalah.info/eng/content/view/frame/86370?/eng/content/view/full/86370&main

DIANA our hearts can be broken, but we are not our emotions.- our innermost being is whole, worthy, complete. What needs to be broken to let in are the klipot, the “shells” of our egos known as pride, fear, and discontntment – Your core essence is complete and whole as it is the image of Gd. Klipot, enhanced by the ego, is what is needs to be broken. this is why we reach out to Hashem.

As Shlomo wrote in Mishle 6- 16-There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him:

17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue,

and hands that shed innocent blood,

18 a heart that devises wicked plans,

feet that make haste to run to evil,

19 a false witness who breathes out lies,

and one who sows discord among brothers.

“Where is the lowest of worlds? You’re in it. This is the world of total otherness, a world where there dwell creatures that have no sense of anything else other than this world. Some even sense that they themselves are the masters of this world, or even that nothing else exists other than themselves. It is a material world: Things couldn’t get more discretely tangible, more self-absorbed, more otherly, than they are down here.”
“Exile of the Shechinah and Descent of the Soul,” Tzvi Freeman

“The world from the beginning of time was always meant to achieve full integration – a full harmony between spirit and matter … however the way the universe is created, and I am using a kabbalistic concept called tsimstum, concealment … that the divine plan and the divine consciousness was concealed and therefore we were given free will, in order to be independent consciousness – independent selves to choose correctly. Unfortunately, sometimes we will choose self-interests over the bigger spiritual story – we will pursue our own personal needs over transcendence. But the truth is that the narrative of history is really the pursuit and the seeking of inner unity. We are looking for unity. We are looking for the unified field theory. We’re looking for principles that unite fragmented phenomena. It’s not a world scattered in all disjointed ways. There is a unifying element – a unifying theory that unites it all … We human beings can definitely distort this narrative, but the narrative continues.”

“The Inside Story: The Divine Story Behind the Events of Our Times,” Rabbi Simon Jacobson

4:15 well – share orah p.19

5:18 See:

https://orot.com/the-orality-of-shir-ha-shirim-and-of-tikkunei-zohar/?fbclid=IwAR1j1V31Vha2L1WAiel5junhzho_19vLEAly3sfBc1NlBZejyiNxW0qZq7k

7:11 compare to Genesis 3:16 … a ‘foreseeable conclusion”

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SAVE STUFF >>>

This idea of intimate connection is expressed in another interesting way (which BTW is a typical verse some will interpret literally and go off the path):

Hakadosh Baruch Hu sits and studies Torah

https://www.kosmic-kabbalah.com/ art for sukkot?