אֲנִ֤י לְדוֹדִי֙ וְדוֹדִ֣י לִ֔י הָרֹעֶ֖ה בַּשׁוֹשַׁנִּֽים׃ (ס)
Sono la mia amata's, e la mia amata è mia, che si nutre tra i gigli.'
Or Neerav
Now we will commence explaining this matter with God’s help. Rabbi Ḥiyya said, “Worthy are Israel in this world and in the world-to-come.” This means that they have a portion in this world, which is Malkhut, and in the world-to-come, which is Binah. This indicates [the greatness of] their level, [reaching up to] Binah.8Since Binah was one of the highest sefirot, and consequently relatively removed from human understanding, rising to that level was considered a very significant achievement. Regarding [the sefirot] which come between Binah and Malkhut, he also stated that “the Holy One, blessed be He, delights in them.” He [thus] gave a precondition to [Israel’s] coming nigh to holiness, stating that “the Holy One, blessed be He, delights in them.” That is similar to our saying, “He has chosen us from among all nations.”9This statement is found in the blessing for the Torah in the liturgy. Previous to this [election], Israel was equal to the other nations. However, “the Holy One, blessed be He, delighted in them” and preferred them and their portion to the other nations. Thus “they cling [to Him]”, referring to Israel’s “clinging” to God. This is similar to [the verse], I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine (Song 6:3). For the Holy One, blessed be He, loves Israel, and Israel loves Him.