Commento su Cantico dei cantici 5:17

I have come to my garden. In the days of the dedication of the Beis Hamikdosh.

I have plucked my myrrh and spice: The incense composed of frankincense and the frankincense added to the meal offering.

I have gathered. I gathered, and it is a term of the Mishnah, “as much space [as is required by] a gatherer אוֹרֶה and his basket.”¹Mishnayos Shvi’is 1:2. The term אורה there refers to the harvest of figs. (Sifsei Chachomim) It is also a term found in Scripture, “and all wayfarers have plucked וְאָרוּהָ its fruit.”²Tehillim 80:13. And this was stated in regard to the incense, which they burned as an individual incense offering—the tribal princes on the outside altar and it was accepted.³This incense offering was unusual in two ways. First, because it was an individual offering instead of a communal one; and because it was burned on the outer altar instead of the inner [golden] altar. This is something that does not apply to later generations. 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, “into the sugar of the יַעְרַת canes ,”⁴I Shmuel 14:27. and “יַעְרַת” is a term referring to a cane, as in, “and she placed [it] among the reeds בַּסוּף,”⁵Shemos 2:3. [which Targum renders] “and she placed it in the reeds בְּיַעֲרָא.” And the sugar is sucked out and the wood is discarded. But I, out of great love, “ate my sugar cane with my sugar,” I ate the cane with the sugar, the inedible with the edible, [signifying] the freewill incense offering,⁶The incense offering is symbolized by ‘myrrh,’ because it is one of its most important ingredients. and likewise, the he-goats sin-offering that the tribal princes sacrificed, although a sin-offering is not brought as a freewill sacrifice, but I accepted them on that day.

Eaten my honey and honeycomb: The daily offerings and the additional offerings of New Moons, Sabbaths and holidays, vows and votive offerings, sin and guilt offerings, sacrifices of the firstborn and tithes.

I have drunk my wine. These are the libations.

Eat, lovers: These are the priests.

With my milk. They were sweeter and clearer than milk.⁷Alternatively, חלבי, means my fat, referring to the fat portions of the peace offerings.

And drink: Drink deep of love!: This is the community of Israel. This verse relates to the generation of King Solomon, when Israel enjoyed a peaceful respite from wars.
All of its people were saintly,
Cleansed of iniquity and sin,
Rejoicing in God’s service,
Forgiven through their sacrifices,
Amongst them dwelled shekhinah,
“A mother joyous amid her children” [Ps. 113:9].
Within this text you will find the term bride used six times.¹³⁵From Cant. 4:8 to 5:1. This corresponds to the six appearances of the name Solomon which are regarded as designating the divine within this book, alluding to the six sefirotic dimensions.
As her name so is her praise,
She is the bride
Encompassing all
Of Wisdom’s paths.
Stamped with the seal
Of the whole.

Eat [my] friends. Aharon and his sons, in the Tent of Meeting, and all the kohanim, in the eternal Temple.

Drink and become intoxicated [my] beloved ones. These are the Israelites⁸It does not refer to the kohanim because they are forbidden to drink wine or any intoxicating beverage before performing the divine service. who ate the flesh of the peace offerings that they sacrificed for the dedication of the altar.

I slept. When I was confident and calm in the first Beis Hamikdosh, I despaired of worshiping the Holy One, Blessed Is He, as one who slumbers and falls fast asleep.

I was asleep: The shekhinah states, I was asleep in Babylonian exile.

But my heart was awake. This is the Holy One, Blessed Is He. This is expounded in the Pesikta.⁹Alternatively, ולבי ער, refers to the prophets and the sages who were constantly exhorting and rousing the Bnei Yisroel to rise from their spiritual sluggishness. (Sforno)

But my heart was wakeful: Anticipating the time of redemption, “until the time of the fulfillment of Jerusalem’s desolation, seventy years.”¹³⁶Daniel 9:2. This was actually eighteen years after Cyrus’ declaration, which preceded the fulfillment of the seventy years promised for Babylonian domination.¹³⁷v. Jer. 29:8. also look at Seder Olam ch. 30 ala Milikovsky.

But my heart was awake. The Holy One, Blessed Is He, Who is, “the Rock of my heart and my portion,”¹⁰Tehillim 73:26. is awake to guard me and to benefit me.

Hark, my beloved knocks!: This parable alludes to the Glory arousing the prophets to prophecy to Israel that they should ascend from Babylon to Jerusalem.

A sound! My beloved knocks. He rests His Divine Presence upon the prophets and He warns through them by, “rising early and sending forth.”¹¹Yirmiyahum 7:25.

For my head is drenched with dew: I’ve had enough of dwelling outside of the Temple.

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

For my head is drenched [as though] with dew. A term referring to a man who comes at night, knocking on the door of his beloved. He says thus, “Out of love for you, I have come at night at the time of dew or rain.” And the allegory is as follows: “For my head is drenched [as though] with dew,” because I am full of good will and satisfaction with Avrohom your forefather,¹²ראשי alludes to Avrohom who was first [=ראש] to believe in God. (Sifsei Chachomim) whose deeds were pleasing to Me as dew. And behold, I come to you, laden with blessings and the payment of reward for good deeds if you return to Me.

My sidelocks drip with the rains of the night. In My hands there are also many categories¹³Rendering קוצותי as קבוצותי [=collections]. of types of retribution, to punish those who forsake Me and anger Me. “Dew” is a term indicating pleasure.

Rains of the night. The rains of the night, which cause hardship and weariness. רְסִיסֵי is the Targum of רביבים [=drops], “and like raindrops וְכִרְבִיבִים upon blades of grass,”¹⁴Devarim 32:2. [is rendered as,] “and the late rains וכרסיסי.” קְוֻצּוֹת [=locks] are clumps of hair of the head stuck together, called flocels in O.F. And because Scripture adopted an expression of dew and rain, it adopted an expression of head and sidelocks, for it is ususal for dew and rain to stick to the hair and sidelocks. It is also possible to interpret both “dew” and “rains of the night,” both denoting good, [i.e.,] the reward for minor precepts that are easy to perform as “dew,” and the reward for major precepts that are difficult [to perform], as the hardship of the “rains of the night.”

I have removed my robe. I.e., I have already accustomed myself to other ways;¹⁵According to Metzudas Dovid, it refers to the exiles living in Bavel who became accustomed to life there and were not interested in returning to Eretz Yisroel. I can no longer return to You, as the matter is stated, “But ever since we stopped burning incense to the ruling queen of the heavens, etc.,”¹⁶Yirmiyahu 44:18. for these ways were proper in their eyes. The expression, “I have removed my robe ... I have washed my feet,” is the language of the reply of an adulterous wife, who does not want to open the door for her husband. And since the verse began with the expression, “I slept...a sound! My beloved knocks,” it concludes with an expression of a reply that is apropos to the expression of knocking on the door at the time of retiring to sleep at night.

The people Israel says “I had taken off my robe; was I to don it again?”: I had stripped myself of my adornments. The parable refers to the Glory which had dwelled within me and had departed.

“I had bathed my feet; was I to soil them again?”: I have dwelled here and built houses, planted gardens and orchards. How could I depart?

My beloved sent forth his hand from the portal. Which is beside the door; and I saw his hand, and the stirring of my insides swayed me to return to his love and to open [the door] for him.

My beloved took his hand off the latch: The Glory sent punitive decrees from the heavens for I did not believe in the prophets’ words and did not ascend.

And my heart was stirred for him: I realized that these troubles were caused by that sin.

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

I arose to let in my beloved” The parable means that a portion of them ascended to the land of Israel.

Flowed with myrrh. A fragrance that flows and spreads in all directions.

My hands dripped myrrh, my fingers, flowing myrrh: That is to say that I succeeded in the enterprise. As it is stated in Ezra [6:14]: “So the elders of the Judeans progressed in the building, urged on by the prophesying of Haggai the prophet….”

But my beloved had vanished and gone. He was hidden and concealed from me, as in, “the roundness of your flanks,”¹⁷Below 7:2. i.e., the hidden places חַמּוּקֵי of your thighs, because the thigh is hidden. [And as in,] “Until when will you hide תִּתְחַמָּקִין,”¹⁸Yirmiyahu 31:21. [i.e.,] will you hide and cover yourself because of the shame that you betrayed Me?

I opened the door for my beloved: The parable refers to the rebuilt Temple.

My soul departed as he spoke. For he said, “I will not come into your house because at first you did not wish to open [the door].”

But my beloved had turned and gone: The shekhinah did not dwell there and prophecy in Israel ceased. Forty years after the Temple was built, prophetic vision was sealed. As our sages state in Seder Olam: “Alexander, king of Macedonia, reigned twelve years and died.” Until this time the prophets prophesied through the holy spirit. From this time onwards, “Incline your ears and listen to the sages’ words” [Prov. 22:17]. As our Sages said in tractate Yoma: “Why is it written: ‘rebuild the House, then I will look on it with favor and I will glorify it’ [Haggai 1:8] where the transmitted text states ‘I will be glorified.’¹³⁸We are dealing with ketiv/keri—the written text is akhabed (I will be glorified) but it is pronounced akhabdah (I will glorify it). The difference between the text as written and pronounced is the letter heh, whose numerical equivalent is five. These are the five differences distinguishing the first Temple from the second. They are: the Ark of the Covenant, the Urim and Tummim, the annointing oil, the heavenly fire upon the altar and the divine presence.”¹³⁹b. Yoma 21b. This is the proper rendition of the text.

I sought him, etc. The watchmen found me, those who go about the city. And apprehend thieves who prowl at night.

Consequently, upon the departure of the shekhinah, many and horrific troubles befell me, caused by the watchmen patrolling the town. These are the seventy angels who surround God’s Throne of Glory; through them harsh decrees enter the world. As it states in the Chapters of R. Eliezer [chap. 24] concerning: “‘Let us, then, go down and confound their speech …’ [Gen. 11:7]. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to the angels surrounding His Throne of Glory: ‘let us go and confound their speech.’” They are similarly called shomrei homot: “the guards of the walls.” This passage is a parable for the evil decrees and persecutions which befell the Jewish people during the period of the Second Temple by the hands of the Greeks.

They struck me they wounded me. They inflicted a wound upon me.¹⁹I.e., by striking me they inflicted a wound. Alternatively, the double expression [struck, wounded] represents the destruction of the first Beis Hamikdosh and the second Beis Hamikdosh. Every “פֶּצַע” denotes a wound [inflicted] by a weapon,²⁰Rashi in Shemos 25:21 defines “פצע” as “a wound that draws blood.” navredure in O.F.

One thing you need to know is that a decree was enacted that Israel would be subjugated to four kingdoms, not counting the period of servitude in Egypt, for Israel was not yet a people and not designated as the people of God until they entered the land and constructed the Temple. These four nations were revealed to our father Abraham during “the covenant between the pieces” [Gen. 15], just as they were shown to Daniel.¹⁴⁰See Daniel 8. The three year old calf of Abraham’s vision is the kingdom of Babylon, that is to say Nebuchadnezzar its king; the three-year old goat is Greece, that is, Alexander the Macedonian, and he is the ram [tzfir ‘izim] mentioned in Daniel [8:4]. The turtledove represents Rome, also known as Edom.

My ornament. My jewelry that was hammered and beaten out, upon me. The entire episode is an expression [using the terms] of the wife of one’s youth who grieves for the husband of her youth and searches for him. The following is the allegorical meaning:

The kingdom of Babylon is referred to as being threefold because three kings arose from it: Nebuchadnezzar, Ebel Merodach, and Balshezzar. Thus it is written in Jeremiah [27:7]: “All of the nations shall serve him, his son and grandson, until the turn of his own land comes, when many nations and great kings shall subjugate him.” Greece is referred to as a three-year old goat because Alexander was the king of the north who conquered the other three directions of the world and governed them just as Nebuchadnezzar had ruled the entire world. As it is written: “raising from their thrones, all of the kings of the nations” [Isa. 14:9]. The three-year old ram represents the Medeans, these being the kings of Assyria, Cyrus and Darius. As it is written: “They joyfully celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread for seven days, for the Lord had given them cause for joy by inclining the heart of the Assyrian king toward them so as to give them the support in the work of the House of God, the God of Israel” [Ezra 6:22]. Because they were Shem’s descendants, they merited that the Temple be constructed on their account, and it was not destroyed by the hand of Senacherib.

My beloved sent forth his hand from the portal. When I said, “I have washed my feet,”²¹Above Verse 3. and I will not open for You, and I will not repent of the idolatry that I have chosen.

Scripture refers to them as a three-year old [ram] for they were the kings of the east, who conquered the other three directions of the world. As we find in Isaiah [46:11]: “I summoned that swooping bird from the east” and “Who has roused a victor from the east?” [Isa. 41:2]¹⁴¹The verses refer to Cyrus. He conquered the three remaining directions of the world, as it states: “I saw a ram butting westward, northward, and southward” [Dan. 8:4]. And it says: “So says Cyrus, the king of Persia: ‘The Lord, God of heaven, has granted me all of the kingdoms of the world’” [II Chron. 36:23]. The turtledove represents the wicked one, the fourth awful and mighty beast viewed by Daniel. He desired to comprehend its true meaning, as it is written: “I approached one of the attendants and asked him the true meaning of all of this” [Daniel 7:16]. It is said concerning this beast: “it will devour the whole earth, tread it down and crush it.” R. Yohanan said: “It is requisite that Rome’s nature spread throughout the entire world.”¹⁴²b. Avodah Zarah 2b. “Rome” and “Edom” for the medieval Jews refer to Christendom, which they view as a continuation of the Roman empire.

Sent forth his hand. And He demonstrated His vengeance in the days of Achaz, and He brought upon him the king of Aram’s army. [It states,] “and they smote him and captured from him a great captivity, etc. And Pekach the son of Remalyah slew in Yehudah one hundred and twenty thousand in one day.”²²II Divrei Hayomim 28:5-6.

Israel underwent subjugation to these nations in accord with the following order. Senacherib, king of Assyria, who was also king of Medea, exiled the ten tribes. “He settled them in Halah, along the Habor [and] the river Gozan, and in the towns of Media” [II Kings 18:11]. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, at the appointed time, exiled Judah and Benjamin. Isaiah the prophet forecast the downfall of Babylon by the hands of the Medeans, just as he forecasted Cyrus’ command for Israel’s manumission. “Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, who do not value silver or delight in gold” [Isa. 13:17]. At the prophecy’s conclusion he states: “And when the Lord has given you rest from your sorrow and trouble, and from the hard service that you were made to serve, you shall recite this song of scorn over the king of Babylon” [Isa. 14:3–4]. Then follows the song’s content until it comes to its conclusion “I will rise up against them … and will wipe out of Babylon name and remnant, kith and kin …” [Isa. 14:22]. Isaiah similarly prophesied regarding Cyrus’ decree concerning Israel: “So says the Lord to Cyrus His anointed, whose right hand I strengthened” [Isa. 45:1], “He will build my city” [Isa. 45:13]. We find similarly in Daniel [5:30–6:1]: “During that very night Belshazzar the King was killed and Darius the Mede received the kingdom.” He reigned one year to complete the seventy years apportioned to the sovereignty of Babylon.¹⁴³See Megillah 12a. During the first year of Cyrus’ reign, the decree concerning Israel was issued and Israel came under the jurisdiction of the kingdom of Medea. Afterwards, the kingdom of Greece arose, that is, Alexander the Macedonian, the three-year old goat and Daniel’s tzfir ‘izim.¹⁴⁴See p. 96 above. He fought with the ram [Dan. 8:7], these being the kings of Medea, Darius the Persian, putting him to the sword, as it is written: “There was no one to rescue the ram from his power” [Dan. 8:7]. Israel, both those in Babylon and those in Jerusalem during the period of the second Temple, came under the rule of the king of Greece. The rule of the kings of Greece lasted one hundred and eighty years, as it states in the tractate Avodah Zarah [9a]. At that time war broke out between Greece and Rome, as our sages taught in Avodah Zarah [8b]: “The Romans engaged in thirty-two battles with Greeks and were not able to overcome them until Israel allied itself with Rome.” Israel revolted against the Greeks during the period of the second Temple, coming under Roman authority and keeping faithful alliance with them for twenty-six years. Then the Romans turned against them, destroyed the second Temple, and the kingdom of Greece was subjugated by the Romans. Nor will the son of David come until the dominion of the kingdom of Rome spreads over the entire world for nine months, just as the other three kingdoms spread over the entire world. For this reason, our sages ordained the drinking of four cups of wine,¹⁴⁵On the eve of Passover, celebrating the first redemption but anticipating the last. corresponding to the four terms for redemption appearing in the pericope Va‘era [Exod. 6:6–7], conveying the glad tidings to Israel that they will go forth from their subjugation to the four kingdoms.

And my innards longed for him. Chizkiyahu, his son, came and repented with all his heart to seek the Holy One, Blessed Is He, and his entire generation was wholehearted; there never arose a generation like them in Yisroel, as is explained in “Cheilek,” “They searched from Dan to Be’ersheva and did not find an ignoramus, from Gabas to Antochya, and did not find a man or a woman who was not proficient in the laws of ritual contamination and purity.”²³Maseches Sanhedrin 94b. The eleventh chapter in entitled “Cheilek.” This is [the meaning of], “my hands dripped myrrh, etc.” Also, regarding Yoshiyahu it is stated, “Before him there had never been a king like him, etc.,”²⁴II Melochim 23:25. Because he saw the punishment which had come upon Menashe and upon Ammon, thereby fulfilling [the words], “he sent forth his hand from the portal, and my innards longed for him.”

I have written all of this because I have seen an interpretation in Genesis Rabbah in which the three-year old goat is correlated with the kingdom of Greece, with the two-horned ram appearing in Daniel [8:3] brought as corroborating evidence. This seems to me to be either a mistake or a case of scribal error, for it is clearly stated in Daniel that the two-horned ram represents the kings of Medea and Persia.

I opened for my beloved but my beloved had vanished and gone. He did not annul His decree, as it is stated about Chizkiyahu, “Behold, days are coming when everything in your palace will be carried off, etc. ... [some] of your sons ... whom you will beget.”²⁵Yeshayahu 39:6-7. These are Doniyeil, Chananyah, Misha’eil, and Azaryah, and also concerning Yoshiyahu, through Chuldah the prophetess [it states], “Behold, I am bringing calamity upon this place and upon its inhabitants, etc.”²⁶II Melochim 22:16. And it states, “Before him there had never been a king like him... Nevertheless, God did not relent from His great wrath, for His wrath burned against Yehudah, because of all the provocation with which Menashe had provoked Him. And Adonoy said, ‘I will remove Yehudah, too, from My Presence as I have removed Yisroel, and I will reject this city.’”²⁷Ibid. 23:25-27.

I have also seen someone dispute the words of our Sages and state that the fourth beast shown to Daniel represents the kingdom of Ishmael, for they have expanded throughout the majority of the inhabited world, their kingdom being great and widespread. They find it difficult to refer to Greece [and Rome] as representing two kingdoms when they really are one nation. Thus it states: “the offspring of Greece [Yavan] are Elisha, Tarshish and the Kittim” [Gen. 10:4]. The Kittim are the Romans. So we find in the first chapter of Josippon:¹⁴⁶The popular medieval Hebrew adaptation of Josephus’s History of the Jews. “And Sappho the son of Eliphaz ruled there.” If this is the case, the Greeks and the Romans constitute one people. All of this is found in his commentary to the Pentateuch and also at the conclusion of the pericope Balak, concerning the verse: “Ships come from the quarter of Kittim” [Num. 24:24].

My soul departed as he spoke. It left me when He spoke of this matter.²⁸Alternatively, my soul departed as a result of my intense prayers by which I sought to annul these harsh decrees.

The essential interpretation is in accord with the words of our sages. Since the verse mentioned the kingdom of Babylon, it has already mentioned Ishmael, for Babylon stands at their head; all are under its dominion and conform to its discipline.¹⁴⁷Babylon equals Baghdad, the capital of Islam. Furthermore, although the Greeks and Romans constitute one ethnos, they are two distinct kingdoms, and in the past they engaged in war with one another. Similarly, the kings of Judah and Israel were one people who split into two kingdoms.

I sought him but could not find him. Now if you should ask, “Was not Yirmiyahu standing and prophesying during the days of Yehoyakim and Tzidkiyahu,²⁹See Yirmiyahu 3:14, 22. [And similarly Malachi said,] ‘Return to Me, and I will return to you’³⁰Malachi 3:7. This indicates that their sincere repentance would completely have annulled the decree. Therefore, Rashi explains that repentance would “not nullify the decree entirely, but to lighten, etc.” ”? [This was] not to nullify the decree, but to lighten the punishment and to prepare their kingdom upon their return from the exile, to plant them without uprooting and to build them without demolishing.

It is said in Daniel [7:25] concerning the fourth beast: “He will speak words against the Most High,” that is, he will say words that can not conceivably be said: “these are my words.”¹⁴⁸This would seem to be Christianity’s appropriation of Jewish scripture. There has been considerable censorship of the manuscript in the following lines. “And he will harass the holy ones of the Most High” [Dan. 7:25]: Israel. This is the meaning of “in the presence of the vengeful foe” [Ps. 44:17]. “He will think of changing times and laws” [7:25]: in their interpretation and to change the law. “And they will be delivered into his hands for time, times and half a time” [Dan. 7:25]: that is to say that redemption will not come to Israel until “time, times and half a time.” As it is said: “the beast was killed … its body was destroyed and it was consigned to the flames” [Dan. 7:11]. It is written afterwards: “As I looked on in the night vision,”
One like a human being
Came with the clouds of heaven …
Dominion, glory, and kingship were given to him
All peoples and nations of every language must
serve him [Dan. 7:13–14].

The watchmen found me. Nevuchadnetzar and his armies.

Those who go about the city. To wreak the vengeance of the Omnipresent.

They stripped my ornament. The Beis Hamikdosh.

[Even] the guards of the walls. Even the ministering angels, who were guarding its walls, as the matter is stated: “On your walls, O Yerusholayim [I posted guards], etc.”³¹Yeshayahu 62:6. They ignited the fire upon it, as the matter is stated, “From above He has hurled fire, etc.”³²Eichah 1:13.

I bind you under oath. The nations, Nevuchadnetzar’s men, who saw Chananyah, Misha’eil, and Azaryah submit themselves to the fiery furnace,³³See Daniyeil 3:20-23. and Doniyeil to the lions’ den³⁴See Ibid. 6:17-18. because of prayer, and Mordechai’s generation in the days of Haman.

I adjure you O maidens of Jerusalem! All this is a parable concerning the ascent of the Glory, and the shekhinah complaining bitterly about his departure.

When you find my beloved. In the future, on the Day of Judgement, when it will be requested of you to testify about me, as the matter is stated, “Let them present their witnesses, and they will be vindicated.”³⁵Yeshayahu 43:9. See Maseches Avodah Zarah 3a.

What will you tell him. You will testify on my behalf that because of love for Him, I suffered harsh afflictions among you. Let Nevuchadnetzar come and testify, let Eliphaz and Tzophar and all the prophets of the nations come and testify about me that I fulfilled the Torah.

With what does your beloved excel another beloved. This is what the nations were asking Yisroel, “What is it about your God more than all the other gods, that you allow yourselves to be burned and hanged because of Him?”³⁶I.e., why are you so loyal to a God Who has forsaken you? (Metzudas Dovid)

How is your beloved fairer than another, From all of the seventy thrones of Kingship.

That you bind us under oath. To testify before Him about your love.

My beloved is pure white. White, as in, “they were whiter צַחוּ than milk.”³⁷Eichah 4:1.

My beloved is clear skinned and ruddy, Our sages say in the Midrash to Canticles: “My beloved is clear skinned and ruddy: His appearance is ruddy, black, green, and white. Thus the appearance of the Holy One is like ‘the appearance of the rainbow which is within the cloud’ [Ezek. 1:28].”

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

Preeminent among ten thousand: Surrounding Him is the divine camp; myriad holy ones are about Him. He is distinguished among His hosts, is recognized among His camps. As our Sages said concerning Rabbi Akiba when he entered the Orchard: “‘What did you see?’¹⁴⁹This variant reading is found only in the printed text. Alternatively: “What is the meaning of the verse.” ‘The Lord of Hosts [tzevaot] is His name’ [Isa. 47:4]. He is distinguished [ot] amidst His Host [tzeva shelo].”¹⁵⁰b. Ḥagigah 16a.

Surrounded by myriads. He is surrounded by many armies; His armies are many. Many myriads are called ‘רְבָבָה’, as it is stated, “Myriads רְבָבָה like the vegetation of the field have I made you.”³⁸Yechezkeil 16:7.

His head. Shines like the finest gold. ‘כֶּתֶם’³⁹‘ם‘ת‘כ is an acronym representing the three crowns: תורה [=Torah], כהונה [=priesthood], and מלכות [=kingship], mentioned in Avos 4:13. (Gra) is a term referring to the treasures of kings which they store in their treasure houses, and similarly, “the finest gold כֶּתֶם has changed,”⁴⁰Eichah 4:1. and similarly, “and fine gold וְלַכֶּתֶם I called my security,”⁴¹Iyov 31:24. and similarly, “and an ornament of fine gold כֶּתֶם.”⁴²Mishlei 25:12.

His head is finest gold: All inclusive, crowned and endiademed.¹⁵¹The following lines may be read as a progression through the sefirot, beginning here with keter, but the individual referents are kept somewhat murky.

His locks hang. תַּלְתַּלִּים is] is an expression of hanging תְּלוּיִים, pendelojes in O.F.

His locks are black curls: As the verse states: “He made darkness His screen; dark thunder heads, dense clouds of the sky were His pavilion round about Him” [Ps. 18:12]. For they constitute the beginning of the generation of water. This is as the sages said in Exodus Rabbah [15:22]: “The waters engendered and birthed darkness.”

They are raven-black. All these are handsomeness for a young man.

His eyes are like doves upon brooks of water. His eyes by brooks of water are as beautiful as doves’ eyes. Brooks of water are pleasant to behold, and the young men go there to swim. And so the poet praises the eyes of “my beloved,” when he gazes upon the brooks of water, they resemble the beauty of the eyes of doves.

His eyes are like doves: “For the eyes of the Lord set about the whole earth” [II Chron. 16:9].

Bathed. [I.e.,] the eyes of my beloved in milk.

Bathed in milk: And they are as pure as milk.

Well set in their fullness. All this is an expression of beauty. They neither protrude excessively nor are they sunken, but they are well set מִלֵּאת in their socket. (Other editions: the eye according to the socket.) The literal meaning parallels the allegorical meaning. It מִלֵּאת is a term used for anything made to fill a socket which is made for it as a setting, as in, “stones for setting מִלֻּאִים,”⁴³Shemos 25:7. [and as in,] “And you shall set וּמִלֵּאתָ into it settings מִלֻּאַת of stone.”⁴⁴Ibid. 28:17.

Set by a brimming pool: Situated by the dwelling places of perfection and beauty.

His cheeks are like a bed of spice. Wherein those beds are growths of perfume.

His cheeks are like a bed of spices The parable alludes to that illuminated countenance which no mortal may see and live. No mortal creature can attain satiety¹⁵²He seems to mean that no one could be sufficiently satisfied in order to depart from such a vision. For that reason “No man can see Me and live” [Exod. 33:20]. from that illumination.

Like towers of perfumes. Aromatic plants, growths מִגְדָּלוֹת of spices מֶרְקָחִים. which are compounded with the art of an apothecary.⁴⁵And processed into perfume.

Like a bed of spices: This is wisdom, the countenances illuminated by the luminosity of Wisdom. Concerning this it is said: “In the light of the king’s countenance is life” [Prov. 16:14]. And it says: “May God shine His countenance upon you and deal graciously with you” [Num. 6:25].

His lips are like lilies: The six sefirot are directed by His word and the spirit of His mouth.

They drip flowing myrrh: These are the words of Torah which all nations and tongues acknowledge. It is like that goodly myrrh which passes from place to place and contains no impurity.

Rolls of gold. Like gold wheels.

Studded with precious gems. Every term referring to the setting of a precious stone in gold is called מִלֵּאת [=setting].

Sparkle. An expression as in, “They became fat; they became thick עָשְׁתוּ.”⁴⁶Yirmiyahu 5:28. A thick mass is called עֶשֶׁת,⁴⁷Alternatively, עשת means sparkle or radiate, as in, “shining [עשות] iron,” in Yechezkeil 27:19. (Metzudas Tzion) masiz in O.F.

Ivory. From an elephant’s tusks.

Overlaid with sapphires. Adorned and decorated with sapphires, an expression [as in], “וַתִּתְעַלָּף,”⁴⁸Bereishis 38:14. which the Targum renders, “and she adorned herself.”

His legs. Are like pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold.

He is as majestic as Lebanon, Stately as the cedars.¹⁵³ There follows a long quotation from Sefer ha-Bahir, Scholem’s sections 64, 67–69. In similar fashion Scripture states: “I am like a leafy cypress; your fruit comes from Me” [Hos. 14:9]. Souls are the fruit of the blessed Holy One. If Rava created a man,¹⁵⁴b. Sanhedrin 65b. The reference is to the primary Talmudic source for the later Golem tradition. he returned it to dust, for it contained no power of the soul.

Pillars of marble. Pillars of marble שַׁיִשׁ=שֵׁשׁ, and a similar word appears in Megillas Esther, “upon silver rods and marble שֵׁשׁ columns.”⁴⁹Esther 1:6. His appearance is as tall as the cedars of the Levanon.

Chosen like the cedars. Chosen among the sons as the cedar among the other trees.

[The words of] his palate are 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 [attributes] I have become sick for his love. The allegorical meaning, regarding the Holy One, Blessed Is He, is as follows:

My beloved is pure white. And white, [anxious] to whiten my iniquities. [He is] clear and white, when He appeared at Sinai, He appeared as an old man, teaching instructions, and similarly, when He sits in judgment, “His garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like clean wool.”⁵⁰Doniyeil 7:9.

And ruddy. To exact punishment from His enemies, as the matter is stated, “Why is Your clothing red?”⁵¹Yeshayahu 63:2.

Surrounded by myriads. Many armies⁵²I.e., angels, as it is written “a thousand thousands served Him, and myriad myriads stood before Him,” in Daniyeil 7:10. (Metzudas Dovid) surround Him.

His locks hang. Upon every point [=קוֹץ are heaps [=תִּלִּים and heaps of laws.⁵⁵See Maseches Eruvin 21b.

His head is [like] finest gold. The beginning of His words shone like finest gold, and similarly it says, “The introduction of Your words illuminates.”⁵³Tehillim 119:130. He began, “I am Adonoy your God.”⁵⁴Shemos 20:2. He showed them first that He has the right of sovereignty over them, and He then issued His decrees upon them.

They are raven-black. Because it [the Torah] was written before Him in black fire on white fire.⁵⁶See Rashi Devarim 33:2. Another explanation, “His locks hang,” when He appeared on the sea, He appeared like a young man mightily waging war.

His eyes are like doves upon brooks of water. Like doves, whose eyes gaze toward their windows, so His eyes [gaze] upon the synagogues and study halls, for over there are the sources of Torah, which is compared to water.⁵⁷See Maseches Bava Kama 17a.

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

Well set in their fullness. In the fullness of the world. They wander over the entire earth,⁵⁸See Zecharyah 4:10. gazing upon the good and the evil.⁵⁹See Mishlei 15:3. Another explanation, עֵינָיו symbolizes] Torah scholars,⁶⁰See Rashi in Maseches Ta’anis 24a. whom the Holy One, Blessed Is He, designates as eyes to enlighten the world, just as the eyes enlighten man. “Like doves” that wander from dovecote to dovecote to seek their food, so do they [Torah scholars] go from the study hall of one sage to the study hall of another sage, to seek out explanations of Torah.

Upon brooks of water. Upon study halls, which are the sources of the water of Torah.

Bathed in milk. Since he calls them [Torah scholars] eyes, and the eye is a feminine noun, “bathed” רוֹחֲצוֹת is in the feminine conjugation. They cleanse themselves with the milk of Torah and whiten⁶¹I.e., clarify. its secrets and mysteries.

Well set in their fullness. They resolve the matters appropriately. Another explanation, “His eyes,” [means] “its contents” עִנְיָנָיו=עֵינָיו; the sections of the Torah, the laws, and Mishnayos, are “like doves” which are beautiful in their walk, “upon brooks of water,” [i.e.,] in the study halls, “bathed in milk,” they are made clear as milk, as I have explained.

His cheeks. The commandments at Mount Sinai, where He showed them a friendly and smiling demeanor.

His lips are like roses. The commandments that He spoke in the Tent of Meeting, which were for appeasement and for atonement and for a pleasant fragrance; [these are] the law of the sin offering, the guilt offering, the meal offering,⁶²Alternatively, “his lips” represent His prophets who spread His word like the fragrance of spices. (Metzudas Dovid) the burnt offering, and the peace offering.

His hands. The Tablets, which He gave with His right hand, and are His handiwork.⁶³See Shemos 32:16. The Tablets are symbolized by hands, each one with five fingers, corresponding to the five commandments on each Tablet. (Melo Haomer)

Rolls of gold. These are the commandments, about which it is said, “They are more desirable than gold, than even much fine gold.”⁶⁴Tehillim 19:11. Rabbi Yehoshua the son of Nechemyah said, “They [i.e., the Tablets] were made miraculously; they were of sapphire, yet they were rolled גְּלִילֵי.” Another explanation [of ‘גְּלִילֵי’], because they [i.e., the Tablets] bring about מְגַלְגְּלוֹת much good to the world.

Studded with precious gems. For He included in the Ten Commandments the six hundred and thirteen commandments.⁶⁵See Rashi in Shemos 24:12. There he quotes Rav Sa’adia Gaon’s Sefer Hamitzvos wherein he connects the 613 mitzvos to the Ten Commandments.

His innards sparkle like ivory. This is [Chumash] Vayikra which was placed in the center of the five books [i.e., the Pentateuch], like the intestines, which are set in the center of the body.

Set in sockets of fine gold. Rabbi Elazar Hakapar said, “This pillar has a capital above and a base below.” Rabbi Shmuel the son of Gada said, “The sections of the Torah have a capital above and a base below, and they are connected [to the sections] preceding them and [to the sections] after them, e.g., the sections of the Sabbatical Year and the Jubilee are [connected to] ‘And if you sell something,’⁶⁶Vayikra 25:14. to inform you how severe a minor infraction of the Sabbatical year is,”⁶⁷If one does business with produce during the Sabbatical year, he will eventually be forced to sell all his property. as it appears in Tractates Sukkah⁶⁸40b. and Arachin.⁶⁹30b. Also, for example [the section], “May Adonoy ... appoint a man over the assembly,”⁷⁰Bamidbar 27:16. is [connected to] “Command...My offering, My food.”⁷¹Ibid. 28:2. Before you command Me about My children,⁷²To appoint a leader over the congregation of Yisroel. command them about Me [i.e., My offering], and similarly, there are many. Therefore, it is stated, ‘His legs are like pillars of marble set in, etc.’”

Sparkle like ivory overlaid with sapphires. It [Chumash Vayikra] appears as smooth as a block of ivory, and is arranged with many details, [e.g.] similar wordings, general principles, and inferences drawn from minor premises to major ones.

His appearance is like Levanon. Whoever reflects and ponders over His words finds in them blossoms and sprouts, like a blooming forest. So are the words of Torah, whoever meditates over them constantly discovers new explanations in them.

Chosen. Selected, like the cedars, which are chosen for building and for strength and for height.⁷³Alternatively, referring to Bnei Yisroel, who became His “chosen” people at Mount Sinai when He gave us the Torah, as Scripture states in Shemos 19:5-6.

[The words of] his palate are sweet. His words are pleasant, [as in,] “And an incision for the dead you shall not make in your flesh ... I am Adonoy,”⁷⁴Vayikra 19:28. faithful to pay reward. Is there a palate sweeter than this? Do not wound yourselves, and you will receive reward. [In addition,] “And when a wicked man repents from his wickedness and performs justice and righteousness, he shall live because of them.”⁷⁵Yechezkeil 33:19. Iniquities are accounted to him as merits [after he repents]. Is there a palate sweeter than this?