פירוש על שיר השירים 2:3

As an apple tree. When an apple tree is among trees that do not bear fruit, it is more precious than all of them, for its fruit is good both in taste and in fragrance.⁵Alternatively, Targum renders תפוח as an Esrog tree.

In his shade is my delight: My existence is through His power and causal agency and for His very sake.

So is my beloved among the sons. Among the young men. The allegory is: So is the Holy One, Blessed Is He, superior to all the gods. Therefore, “in His shade I delighted and sat.” The Midrash Aggadah [explains], this apple tree, all flee from it because it provides no shade; so did all the nations flee from the Holy One, Blessed Is He, at the giving of the Torah, but I,⁶Although the other nations fled, Bnei Yisroel perceived the eternal benefit of sitting in His shadow, by accepting the Torah. “in His shade I delighted and sat.”

And his fruit is sweet to my mouth: The fruit of the Holy One, blessed be He, are the souls, as it is written: “From me comes your fruit” [Hosea 4:9]. Also “Light is sown for the righteous” [Ps. 97:11] and “Sweet is the light” [Eccles. 11:7].