Megillot II. Class 9. Song of Songs 4

Rashi's introduction to Song of Songs

(1) "One thing God has spoken;
two things have I heard..."(Psalms 62:12). From a single verse several explanations may emerge (Talmud Sanhedrin 34a). All things considered, however, a verse does not depart from its contextual sense and meaning. Although the Prophets have employed metaphors, it is necessary to match the metaphor (dugma) to the elements and order [of scripture], just as scriptural verses are ordered one after the other.

(2) I have seen multiple midreshei aggada (exegetical interpretations) for this book: Some apply a single midrashic interpretation to the entire book while others present many independent midrashim to specific verses which do not suit the wording of scripture and flow of those verses. I have resolved to uphold the sense of the text (mikra) so that the explanation matches the flow of verses. As for the midrashim of our rabbis, I will set each in its proper place.

(3) I contend [lit. 'say'] that King Solomon foresaw through the holy spirit [=prophetic inspiration] that in the future, Israel would undergo exile after exile, destruction after destruction. In exile they would mourn for their prior glory, remembering the original love by which they were distinguished from all other peoples, as the prophet (Hosea 2:9) describes, "I will go and return to my first husband, for then I fared better than now." They would remember His kindnesses, their own trespass, and the good things promised to them at the End of Days.

Solomon wrote this book through the holy spirit as the account of a woman bound up in a 'living widowhood,' longing for her husband, ‘leaning on her beloved’ (Song of Songs 8:5), remembering how she loved him in her youth, and admitting her wrongdoing.

As for her Beloved, he is pained by her pain. He recalls the kindness of her youth, the comeliness of her beauty, and the quality of her deeds through which he was bound up to her in intense love. He tells her that he has not willfully troubled her, that she is not permanently estranged from him, for she is still his wife and he her husband, and that he is going to return to her.”

(1) “Whither has your beloved gone,
O fairest of women?
Whither has your beloved turned?
Let us seek him with you.”

(2) My beloved has gone down to his garden,
To the beds of spices,
To browse in the gardens
And to pick lilies.

(3) I am my beloved’s
And my beloved is mine;
He browses among the lilies.

(4) You are beautiful, my darling, as Tirzah,
Comely as Jerusalem,
Awesome as bannered hosts.

(5) Turn your eyes away from me,
For they overwhelm me!
Your hair is like a flock of goats
Streaming down from Gilead.

(6) Your teeth are like a flock of ewes
Climbing up from the washing pool;
All of them bear twins,
And not one loses her young.

(7) Your brow behind your veil
[Gleams] like a pomegranate split open.

(8) There are sixty queens,
And eighty concubines,
And damsels without number.

(9) Only one is my dove,
My perfect one,
The only one of her mother,
The delight of her who bore her.
Maidens see and acclaim her;
Queens and concubines, and praise her.

(10) Who is she that shines through like the dawn,
Beautiful as the moon,
Radiant as the sun
Awesome as bannered hosts?

(1) “Where did your beloved go, fairest of women? Where did your beloved turn, that we may seek him with you?” (Song of Songs 6:1).
“Where did your beloved go, fairest of women?” The nations of the world say to Israel: ‘Where did your beloved go? From Egypt, to the sea, to Sinai. Where did your beloved turn?’

[Note in Sefaria translation: The nations of the world taunt Israel: In the past, God performed wonders for you in Egypt, at the sea, and at Sinai; but where is He now? He has abandoned you. ]

What does the Congregation of Israel respond to the nations of the world? ‘Why are you asking about Him, while you have no share in Him? Now that I have cleaved to Him, am I able to separate from Him? Now that He has cleaved to me, can He separate from me? Wherever He is, He comes to me.’

(4) You are beautiful [yafah], my darling, as Tirzah,
Comely as Jerusalem,
(5) Turn your eyes away from me,
For they overwhelm me!
Your hair is like a flock of goats
Streaming down from Gilead. (6) Your teeth are like a flock of ewes
Climbing up from the washing pool;
All of them bear twins,
And not one loses her young. (7) Your brow behind your veil
[Gleams] like a pomegranate split open.

(1) Ah, you are fair [yafah], my darling,
Ah, you are fair.
Your eyes are like doves
Behind your veil.
Your hair is like a flock of goats
Streaming down Mount Gilead. (2) Your teeth are like a flock of ewes
Climbing up from the washing pool;
All of them bear twins,
And not one loses her young. (3) Your lips are like a crimson thread,
Your mouth is lovely.
Your brow behind your veil
[Gleams] like a pomegranate split open.

(9) You have captured [or 'stirred' or 'weakened'] my heart,
My own, my bride,
You have captured my heart
With one [glance] of your eyes,
With one coil of your necklace.

(10) Who is she that shines through like the dawn,
Beautiful as the moon,
Radiant as the sun
Awesome as bannered hosts?

(11) I went down to the nut grove
To see the budding of the vale;
To see if the vines had blossomed,
If the pomegranates were in bloom.

(12) Before I knew it,
My desire set me
Mid the chariots of Ammi-nadib.

(1) Turn back, turn back,
O maid of Shulem!
Turn back, turn back,
That we may gaze upon you.
“Why will you gaze at the Shulammite
In the Mahanaim dance?”

(2) How lovely are your feet in sandals,
O daughter of nobles!
Your rounded thighs are like jewels,
The work of a master’s hand.

(3) Your navel is like a round goblet—
Let mixed wine not be lacking!—
Your belly like a heap of wheat
Hedged about with lilies.

(4) Your breasts are like two fawns,
Twins of a gazelle.

(5) Your neck is like a tower of ivory,
Your eyes like pools in Heshbon
By the gate of Bath-rabbim,
Your nose like the Lebanon tower
That faces toward Damascus.

(6) The head upon you is like crimson wool/carmel
The locks of your head are like purple—
A king is held captive in the tresses.

Many commentators identify two speakers in verse 10.

(7) How fair you are, how beautiful!
O Love, with all its rapture!

(8) Your stately form is like the palm,
Your breasts are like clusters.

(9) I say: Let me climb the palm,
Let me take hold of its branches;
Let your breasts be like clusters of grapes,
Your breath like the fragrance of apples,

(10) And your mouth like choicest wine.
“Let it flow to my beloved as new wine

Gliding over the lips of sleepers.”

(10) And your mouth like choicest wine.
“Let it flow to my beloved as new wine

Gliding over the lips of sleepers.”

(11) I am my beloved’s,
And his desire is for me.

(1) Turn back, turn back,
O maid of Shulem!
Turn back, turn back,
That we may gaze upon you.
“Why will you gaze at the Shulammite
In the Mahanaim dance?”

(17) For they said, “There must be a saving remnant for Benjamin, that a tribe may not be blotted out of Israel; (18) yet we cannot give them any of our daughters as wives,” since the Israelites had taken an oath: “Cursed be anyone who gives a wife to Benjamin!” (19) They said, “The annual feast of GOD is now being held at Shiloh.” (It lies north of Bethel, east of the highway that runs from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah.) (20) So they instructed the Benjaminites as follows: “Go and lie in wait in the vineyards. (21) As soon as you see the daughters of Shiloh coming out to join in the dances, come out from the vineyards; let each of you seize a wife from among the daughters of Shiloh, and be off for the land of Benjamin.

(8) Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said: There were no days as joyous for the Jewish people as the fifteenth of Av and as Yom Kippur, as on them the daughters of Jerusalem would go out in white clothes, which each woman borrowed from another. ...

And the daughters of Jerusalem would go out and dance in the vineyards. And what would they say? Young man, please lift up your eyes and see what you choose for yourself for a wife. Do not set your eyes toward beauty, but set your eyes toward a good family, as the verse states: “Grace is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised” (Proverbs 31:30), and it further says: “Give her the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates” (Proverbs 31:31). ...

(3) Your navel is like a round goblet—
Let mixed wine not be lacking!—
Your belly like a heap of wheat
Hedged about with lilies. (4) Your breasts are like two fawns,
Twins of a gazelle.

(14) His hands are rods of gold,
Studded with beryl;
His belly a tablet of ivory,
Adorned with sapphires.

(16) And to the woman [God] said,
“I will greatly expand
Your hard labor—and your pregnancies;
In hardship shall you bear children.
Yet your urge shall be for your husband,
And he shall rule over you.”