Musar su Cantico dei cantici 5:2

There is also another Midrash which describes the heifer as symbolizing Israel, comparing Israel to a stubborn, defiant cow. Again, also the word אדומה is interpreted by that Midrash as referring to Israel who are redder than pearls. תמימה refers to Israel who are compared to יונתי תמתי, "My perfect turtle dove," in Song of Songs 6,9. The words אשר אין בה מום, "which is totally unblemished," are also a reference to Israel, since the verse quoted above describes that turtle dove. In this way the words אשר לא עלה עליה עול, "which has never accepted a yoke," are a reference to Israel during the period of Jeremiah, when Israel refused to accept the Yoke of Heaven. This Midrash is almost the reverse of the Yalkut! Besides, why does the Midrash continually repeat the words "this refers to Israel?"

Since no individual can fulfil all 613 commandments, even at the time when the Temple is standing, we must ask ourselves how one can attain one's שלמות, perfection, both the perfection of one's body and that of one's soul. There are three reasons that some people cannot fulfil all the 613 commandments. Either a certain category of commandments applies only to a certain category of Jews, and such categories are determined at birth, or they cannot be fulfilled because certain events have not occurred during one's lifetime. A person cannot perform the commandment of the levirate marriage or the giving of חליצה, (an act demonstrating that one refuses to marry that sister-in-law) to his sister-in-law of a brother who died without issue, since such situations are beyond his control. One cannot take refuge in a city of refuge unless one had killed someone inadvertently. One cannot make the payments imposed by the Torah for having accused one's wife of not having been a virgin at the time of the wedding, unless circumstances had made such an accusation possible. The examples of all the commandments that most people are never called upon to fulfil are too numerous to list here. There is a third category of commandment which though easily capable of fulfilment, requires certain conditions, such as the affixing of a Mezuzzah on one's door post. If one dwells in a tent, this commandment does not apply since the entrance to a tent does not meet the requirements necessary to make that commandment applicable. ^{Author's comment} I have found the following interesting comment in a book called Megillat Setarim. I quote verbatim: "The mystique of the 613 commandments is that they are divided into 248 positive commandments and 365 negative commandments. Nowadays (when the Temple is in ruins, and Israel in exile), only 126 of the 248 positive commandments are capable of being fulfilled. Only 243 of the 365 negative commandments are capable of being observed. This leaves us with a total of 369 commandments that are capable of fulfilment in our day and age. This is alluded to in the sentence אני ישנה ולבי ער, (Song of Songs 5,2) "asleep” which equals 365 to which you add one for each word, making 369. As a result we are unable to fulfil 244 of the commandments. The numerical value of 244 can be expressed as מרד, (insurrection, revolt). This is to remind us that due to our insurrection against G–d's rule, we lost the Temple. Only 48 of the 126 positive commandments that are capable of being performed nowadays apply to each individual. The other 78 positive commandments need to be fulfilled only when certain circumstances occur. Many such circumstances may never occur during a person's lifetime. Similarly only 222 of the 243 negative commandments that apply in our times are capable of being observed by every individual Jew. The remaining 21 negative commandments can be observed only when certain circumstances occur in a person's life. When you combine the numerical value of the 48 positive commandments that apply to every Jew today with the 222 negative commandments each one of us is duty bound to observe, you get the numerical value of the other half of the verse mentioned earlier namely ולבי ער, i.e. 270.

There is a Midrash Chazit on Song of Songs 3, 21 in which Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai asks Rabbi Eliezer son of Rabbi Yossi whether he had heard any comment about the crown his mother had made for him. Rabbi Eliezer replied in the affirmative. When asked what that comment was, he replied that it was a parable describing a king who had only one daughter whom he loved excessively and whom he called בתי, "my daughter." In the course of time he took to calling her אחותי, "my sister." Still later he started calling her אמי, "my mother." This describes the developing relationship of love between G–d and Israel. It is reflected in Psalms 45,11 where G–d is described as addressing Israel as "listen daughter, and incline your ear." In Song of Songs 5,2 Israel is addressed as "open your heart to Me My sister;" in Isaiah 51,4 Israel is addressed as עמי ולאומי, and the latter word is spelled Immi, "my mother." Upon hearing this Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai stood up and kissed Rabbi Eliezer on his head and said: "if I had only come to hear this word from you it would already have been worthwhile."