פָּשַׁ֙טְתִּי֙ אֶת־כֻּתָּנְתִּ֔י אֵיכָ֖כָה אֶלְבָּשֶׁ֑נָּה רָחַ֥צְתִּי אֶת־רַגְלַ֖י אֵיכָ֥כָה אֲטַנְּפֵֽם׃
Hinubad ko na ang aking damit; paano ko pa ito isusuot? Hinugasan ko na ang aking mga paa; paano ko pa dudumihan ang mga ito?
Kol Dodi Dofek
What was our reaction to the beckoning of the voice of the Beloved, to the munificence of His loving-kindness and miracles? Did we get out of our beds and immediately open the door, or did we continue to rest like the Lover [in the story of the Song of Songs], and were we too lazy to get out of our beds? “I have washed my feet, how shall I soil them?” (Song of Songs 5:3).
Kol Dodi Dofek
Let us publicly and frankly confess: we complain about certain Israeli leaders and their attitude toward the values of our tradition and religious practice. The complaints are justified. We have serious charges against the secular leadership of the Land of Israel. However, are only they to be blamed, and are we as faultless and pure as the heavenly angels? Such an assumption is without foundation. We could have extended our influence and done something to shape the spiritual character of the Land if we had but hurried to awaken from our slumber and open the door for the Beloved who is knocking. I fear that we Orthodox Jews are still enveloped in sweet slumber. If we were to establish more religious kibbutzim, if we were to build more housing for religious immigrants, if we were to establish an extensive system of schools, our situation would be completely different. Then there would be no need to come forward with complaints against the leaders of other movements. We Orthodox Jews suffer from a unique illness that is not found in nonreligious Jews (with some rare exceptions). We are all miserly. We do not excel when it comes to giving generously, in comparison with the rest of American Jewry. We are satisfied to part with a couple of pennies, and we demand, in recompense for our piddling donation, our reward in this world and a share in the first allocations. Thus, our dignity has reached its nadir, and we do not exercise appropriate influence on Jewish life here in America and on the course of events in Israel. Great and free America is a land of charity. The government itself, in the years 1945 to 1956, disbursed $55 billion, $350 million in foreign aid projects (the numbers are truly beyond our comprehension), and philanthropists are truly respected in this land that knows how to give and help in such proportions. Accordingly, we Orthodox Jews are not entitled to the greatness that others possess. Lately, we have become experts at criticism and fault-finding. (“And the priest shall look on him, and pronounce him unclean” [Leviticus 13:3]). We know well how to criticize, to look for blemishes and to express opinions as self-styled experts. One thing, however, escapes us, and that is that the priest who pronounces defilement must leave the encampment to be with the afflicted sufferer so as to purify him. “And the priest shall leave the encampment ... and the priest shall command” (Leviticus 14:3–4). We must build not just a few small nooks, whose impact is unfelt, but central institutions throughout the length and breadth of America and the Land of Israel. We have an obligation to purify those who are “outside the encampment,” who are situated in the huge camp of ignorance. To this end, there is a need for vast sums; and we, the Orthodox Jews, are far from being generous and charitable. For this reason, our institutions here and in Israel suffer from want. The Religious Zionist movement especially has to content itself with paltry sums. Due to lack of funds, the movement cannot function appropriately. Indeed, the loyal Lover is quite splendid, her eyes are like twin doves and her face radiates a beautiful charm (Song of Songs 1:15, 4:1). She is much fairer than the nonreligious lover. However, beauty is vain and grace is deceptive (Proverbs 31:30) if this Lover is stingy and very lazy. “I have removed my cloak, how shall I put it on again?” (Song of Songs 5:3). When one calls a rich Jew and asks him to give to a just cause, he answers, “I am going to Florida, and this year I have decided to stay in a luxury hotel, and I don’t have the wherewithal to give you what you requested.” What did the scholar tell the King of the Khazars? “You have embarrassed me, King of Khazars! … And our saying ‘worship at His holy hill’ [Psalms 99:9] is but the chirping of a starling” (HaKuzari 2:24). Do we not hear in our trembling over the safety and tranquility of the Land of Israel in our day, the beckoning of the Beloved who begs the Lover to let Him in? He has already been beckoning for eight years, and still He has not been properly responded to. Nonetheless, He continues to beckon. To our good fortune, our inherited Land has become more beautiful. The Beloved has not shown the Lover any favoritism, but He has compassion for her. The Beloved beckoned for only a short moment that night and disappeared, yet with us He has exhibited extraordinary patience. It is eight years that He has continued to beckon. Hopefully, we will not miss the opportunity!!
Kol Dodi Dofek
What is the essence of the story of the Song of Songs, if not the description of a paradoxical and tragic hesitation on the part of the love-intoxicated, anxiety stricken Lover, when the opportunity, couched in majestic awe, presented itself? What is it, if not the deferral of a great and sublime opportunity pregnant with a possibility of which she dreamed, for which she fought, which she sought, and for which she had searched with all the fervor of her soul? The delicate and refined Lover, passion-driven to her fair-eyed Beloved, who in days resplendent in brightness wandered the paths of the vineyards, the mountain ridges, through wheat fields and orchards, and in evenings bathed in the pale light of an enchanting moon or gloomy with darkness passed between the walls in search of her Lover — she returned one rain-stormy night to her tent, tired and weary, and fell asleep. The patter of quick-moving, light footsteps was heard in the stillness of the tent. In that mysterious and strange night, the Beloved for whom she had so hoped and kept watch, suddenly appeared out of the darkness and beckoned at the entrance of her tent. He knocked and pleaded that she open the door for Him. “Listen! My Beloved Is Knocking, saying, ‘Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: for my head is drenched with dew, and my locks with the damp of the night’” (Song of Songs 5:2). The great moment for which she had been waiting with such longing came at a time of inattentiveness. The elusive and secretive Beloved, weary of wandering and tribulations, appeared with His curly locks, black eyes, powerful build, and shining countenance. He stood in her doorway and thrust His hand through the hole in the lock, seeking shelter from the dampness of the night. He wanted to recount to her His mighty love, His longing and yearning for a life together filled with desire and joy, and of fulfillment of expectations and realization of dreams. A simple extension of the hand to turn the lock separated the Lover and her Beloved — the great dream from its complete fulfillment. With one leap the Lover could have attained all her life’s desires. “Draw me, we will run after you. … We will be glad and rejoice in you” (Song of Songs 1:4). Deceitful is the heart (Jeremiah 17:9), however, and who can explain it? That very night, sloth, the result of a strange inertia, took hold of the Lover. For one small moment the flame of yearning that burned within her was buried, the mighty desire withered, and her feelings and dreams were silenced. The Lover refused to leave her bed. She did not open the door of her tent to her handsome Beloved. A cruel confusion swept her into forgetfulness and apathy. The Lover became lazy and stubborn, she poured forth countless excuses and pretexts to explain her strange behavior. “I have removed my cloak, how shall I put it on again? I have washed my feet, how shall I soil them?” (Song of Songs 5:3). The Beloved continued to beckon, and as His beckoning became more persistent, so too did the insanity that chilled and tainted the Lover.