Introduction
In this part of Chapter 7, King Solomon sets before us a vivid picture: he stands at the window of his house, looks out, and sees a senseless youth heading toward the house of the strange woman. Solomon does not settle for merely describing the act; he delineates step by step how a person falls: how he walks, how she comes out toward him, and above all - with what words she entices him. The Malbim explains the verses according to their literal sense, while the Vilna Gaon reveals that behind that strange woman stands the yetzer hara (evil inclination) itself, and concealed within her methods of seduction is the entire doctrine of the yetzer's temptations.
In the Twilight, in the Evening of the Day - Two Stages along the Way
בְּנֶשֶׁף בְּעֶרֶב יוֹם בְּאִישׁוֹן לַיְלָה וַאֲפֵלָה׃ (ט) - In the twilight, in the evening of the day, in the blackness of night and darkness.
The Malbim explains: Initially, he is merely passing through the marketplace, "in the twilight" (neshef). The word neshef can denote either the beginning of the night or the crack of dawn, the start of the day; and since here the verse refers specifically to the onset of night, it emphasizes "in the evening of the day" - as the day wanes, at the beginning of the night. This is the first stage. In the second stage, he actually strides along the road toward her house, and this is already "in the blackness of night and darkness."
And Behold, a Woman to Meet Him - One Who Comes to Defile Himself Is Aided
וְהִנֵּה אִשָּׁה לִקְרָאתוֹ שִׁית זוֹנָה וּנְצֻרַת לֵב׃ (י) - And behold, a woman meets him, attired as a harlot and guarded of heart.
He merely intended to walk near her house - and behold, she comes out toward him. The Gemara teaches: "One who comes to defile himself, they open the door for him," and the Holy Zohar adds that they actively assist him. One who seeks to defile himself receives, as it were, heavenly assistance: places and opportunities open before him that were never available to him beforehand. "You desire this?" the Holy One, blessed be He, says to him: "I will provide for you; I will give you what you seek." And that is "and behold, a woman meets him" - he walked in her direction, he walked toward sin, and suddenly she is already coming toward him.
"Attired as a harlot" (shit zonah) - shit is related to chasufei shet (exposed hindquarters), symbolizing the covered, private parts of the body; it is as though she is inherently steeped in promiscuity by the very nature of her physical makeup. "And guarded of heart" (u'netzurat lev) - the heart symbolizes man's governing power, his capacity to rule over the faculties of his soul and his desires. But in her case, there is a siege upon the heart: she possesses no mastery over her heart, for her heart is entirely besieged and held captive in the grip of the yetzer hara.
She Is Boisterous and Rebellious
הֹמִיָּה הִיא וְסֹרָרֶת בְּבֵיתָהּ לֹא־יִשְׁכְּנוּ רַגְלֶיהָ׃ (יא) - She is boisterous and rebellious; her feet do not abide in her house.
The Malbim explains that her entire disposition lacks balance and moderation; and a person whose actions are weighed and balanced does not reach the path of sin. But she, in her character traits, is "boisterous" (homiyah) - constantly angry, stirring up noise and screaming. Nor should you think she is boisterous only toward her manservants and maidservants; rather, she is also "rebellious" (soreret) - provoking her husband and the members of her household. Not only that, but instead of staying modestly and virtuously inside her home, she breaches the bounds of modesty: "her feet do not abide in her house." She always has somewhere to go - to this shop, to those neighbors, an endless circuit of visits. She is perpetually looking for an excuse to go outside.
Three Stages of Going Out
פַּעַם בַּחוּץ פַּעַם בָּרְחֹבוֹת וְאֵצֶל כׇּל־פִּנָּה תֶאֱרֹב׃ (יב) - Now outside, now in the broad streets, and lurking beside every corner.
The Malbim explains that there is a difference between "outside" (chutz) and "broad streets" (rechovot). The "outside" refers to the back of the house - the open space behind it; while the "rechov" is in front of the house, what we refer to today as a street. Initially, she is "outside": she does not immediately go out to the main street, but loiters behind the house, where one can also encounter people and neighbors. In the second stage, "in the broad streets" - she goes out directly into the public thoroughfare, into a place crowded with people. And in the third stage, "and lurking beside every corner" - she actually lies in ambush to prey upon those walking along the edges of the streets.
וְהֶחֱזִיקָה בּוֹ וְנָשְׁקָה לּוֹ הֵעֵזָה פָנֶיהָ וַתֹּאמַר לוֹ׃ (יג) - She caught hold of him and kissed him; she hardened her face and said to him:
Here, too, there is a descent from bad to worse: at first she merely grabs hold of him, that man walking in the street; then she acts with greater audacity and kisses him; and finally she hardens her face and speaks to him explicitly. "He'ezah" (hardened / made bold) comes from the root *izuz*, denoting strength and power - as though she summoned up the audacity and spoke to him.
The Entire Sequence of Seduction
זִבְחֵי שְׁלָמִים עָלָי הַיּוֹם שִׁלַּמְתִּי נְדָרָי׃ עַל־כֵּן יָצָאתִי לִקְרָאתֶךָ לְשַׁחֵר פָּנֶיךָ וָאֶמְצָאֶךָּ׃ מַרְבַדִּים רָבַדְתִּי עַרְשִׂי חֲטֻבוֹת אֵטוּן מִצְרָיִם׃ נַפְתִּי מִשְׁכָּבִי מֹר אֲהָלִים וְקִנָּמוֹן׃ לְכָה נִרְוֶה דֹדִים עַד־הַבֹּקֶר נִתְעַלְּסָה בׇּאֳהָבִים׃ כִּי אֵין הָאִישׁ בְּבֵיתוֹ הָלַךְ בְּדֶרֶךְ מֵרָחוֹק׃ צְרוֹר־הַכֶּסֶף לָקַח בְּיָדוֹ לְיוֹם הַכֵּסֶא יָבֹא בֵיתוֹ׃ הִטַּתּוּ בְּרֹב לִקְחָהּ בְּחֵלֶק שְׂפָתֶיהָ תַּדִּיחֶנּוּ׃ (יד-כא) - "Sacrifices of peace-offerings were upon me; today I have paid my vows. Therefore I came out to meet you, to seek your face, and I have found you. I have decked my couch with tapestries, with patterned sheets of Egyptian linen. I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. Come, let us drink our fill of love until morning; let us delight ourselves in loves. For the man is not at home; he has gone on a distant journey. He took a pouch of money in his hand; he will return home on the appointed day." With her great persuasiveness she turned him aside; with the smoothness of her lips she lured him away.
We have read through the entire sequence to understand where this narrative is heading and what its objective is. Now let us return and examine each detail.
The Yetzer Hara Starts with a Mitzvah
"Sacrifices of peace-offerings were upon me; today I have paid my vows" - she opens by telling him that she is inviting him to a seudas mitzvah, Heaven forbid not to a sin. Eating from the meat of a shelamim offering is a mitzvah, and it also involves joy: "Today I have paid my vows," and when a person fulfills his vow, he rejoices. The Malbim explains: when the yetzer hara begins with a person, it starts with mitzvos, not with sins. First come mitzvos, and from there it will lead you wherever it wants.
The Vilna Gaon elaborates further: initially, the yetzer hara does not entice a person to commit a transgression, for who would listen to it? Would it tell someone, "Come, desecrate the Sabbath"? Could such a thing even be contemplated? Therefore, it tells him: there is a mitzvah here. You love mitzvos, don't you? I am offering you only a mitzvah! And through the mitzvah, it draws him in. But how does one reach sin through a mitzvah? To this the Gra explains: "The yetzer hara comes only through eating and rejoicing," and both of these exist in the shelamim sacrifice. It involves eating that is a mitzvah, and it also involves the mitzvah of joy - "and you shall rejoice before Hashem your God." And out of this eating, drinking, and rejoicing, the yetzer hara says, I will eventually lead you to the kind of "joy" I want you to reach. But the beginning is the joy of a mitzvah and the eating of a mitzvah.
Why Specifically "I Have Paid My Vows"?
Why does she emphasize, "I have fulfilled my vows"? The Vilna Gaon explains: There is a distinction between a neder (a vow) and a nedavah (a freewill gift). Our Sages teach that a vow is formulated as "It is incumbent upon me" (harei alai), whereas a freewill gift is "Behold, this animal is" (harei zo). In both cases, a person undertakes to bring a shlamim (peace-offering), but the difference lies in liability. If one said, "It is incumbent upon me to bring a shlamim," and designated an animal for that purpose, but the next morning found that the animal had become a treifah (mortally impaired), he is obligated to bring another one, because he assumed personal liability ("upon me") and the obligation remains upon him. However, if he said, "Behold, this animal is a freewill gift," and it became a treifah, he is exempt; he bears no continuing liability for it.
Now, when is a person happier upon completing his sacrifice - with a vow or with a freewill gift? With a vow. For with a vow, there is constant anxiety: guard the animal carefully, because if it is lost, you will have to replace it. Once he has offered it, he relaxes; he is freed from the liability. But with a freewill gift, the relief and joy are not quite as intense, since even had it been torn by a predator, he would have been exempt. That is why she tells him: "Today I have fulfilled my vows" - do you realize what immense joy I have? I bore full liability for it, and now I have fulfilled it, offered it, and discharged my obligation! Notice the exact wording: because this was a vow of "upon me," she specifically said, "Peace-offerings were upon me" (alai), rather than framing it as a freewill gift. And since it is a sacrificial offering, there is also a mitzvah to eat from it so that it does not become nosar (leftover meat past the permitted time).
Between the Fences
The Vilna Gaon explains: All the enticements of the yetzer hara (evil inclination) operate in realms where good and bad are mixed. Where does the yetzer hara tread? Between the two entrances of the heart - it does not march down the main thoroughfare, but along the edges. Similarly, the serpent, as the Midrash states, habitually slithers "between the fences." What does it mean to walk between the fences? The serpent does not say to you, "Come, desecrate Shabbat," for you would never listen to it. Instead, it says: "Listen, this matter is merely a fence and a safeguard; the Sages enacted it only to distance a person from sin, and it is not even clear that it is forbidden, and there is even a dispute among the halachic authorities." This is walking "between the fences" - targeting the fences and safeguards, the areas that seem less absolute, where good and evil are intertwined. If something were purely, overtly evil, who would listen to it? It begins from between the fences, until it becomes the master of the house and walks right down the center.
Therefore, where does it begin? With eating for a mitzvah and rejoicing in a mitzvah. The Gra notes: Consider this, there is no eating of a mitzvah in the world greater than eating shlamim. Even with the meals of Shabbat, the Gemara says that with kasa deharsena (a simple dish of small fish fried in flour), one fulfills his obligation. But with shlamim, the eating itself is an actual mitzvah, one must be vigilant that it does not become nosar, and it fulfills the mitzvah of rejoicing on the festival. And this is what that strange woman - who represents the yetzer hara - tells him: "Peace-offerings were upon me; today I have paid my vows." See, Shlomo HaMelech tells us, where it all begins: from the joy of a mitzvah and eating for a mitzvah! But from there, it gradually habituates you. At first, you seek only a siyum, only a seudat mitzvah, not ordinary mundane eating. From there, you begin looking for fine steaks, and once accustomed to fine steaks, you seek out high-end restaurants, and later you may even pursue things whose kashrut is questionable, because someone tells you of some exquisite delicacy - foie gras whose certification is dubious, but "it is fine, one can rely on that standard too." And where did it all start? From mitzvah feasts. From there, a person is drawn in step by step. It is the way of the yetzer hara to lure a person from the permissible to the forbidden; this is the essence of all its seductions, and against this one must be ever watchful and on guard.
"I Came Out to Meet You, to Seek Your Face"
עַל־כֵּן יָצָאתִי לִקְרָאתֶךָ לְשַׁחֵר פָּנֶיךָ וָאֶמְצָאֶךָּ׃ (טו) - "Therefore I came out to meet you, to seek your face, and I have found you." (15)
Let us return to the Malbim's explanation. At first, she says that she saw him walking by and came out toward him, but then she grows bolder, brazenly adding that she went out "to seek your face" - specifically searching for him. There is a vast difference here: if someone meets a person outside and says, "I saw you through the window and came out," that does not flatter him nearly as much as saying, "I had no idea you were coming by; I was actually heading out to your house." Initially, she says: I saw you through the window and came out to meet you. Then she intensifies her seduction with even greater audacity: I had actually set out to visit you at your home, and suddenly here you are!
The Gra elucidates the language of this temptation: "I know that you love mitzvot, and I love you dearly." This is how the yetzer hara initially approaches a person: "Only because you love mitzvot am I arranging such opportunities for you. I am looking out for your spiritual interests: a peace-offering, look how many mitzvot you can fulfill today! How fortunate you are! There is the mitzvah of joy, eating sacrificial meat, saving it from becoming nosar, and fulfilling your sacrifice." "I came out to seek your face" - to search for you, because I know how much you cherish mitzvot, "and I have found you" - and Heaven assisted me in finding you immediately! The evil inclination makes him feel that Divine assistance, siyata di'shmaya, was involved in making this encounter happen.
"I Have Decked My Couch with Coverings"
מַרְבַדִּים רָבַדְתִּי עַרְשִׂי חֲטֻבוֹת אֵטוּן מִצְרָיִם׃ (טז) - "I have decked my couch with coverings, with tapestries of fine Egyptian linen." (16)
She continues with increasing brazenness, inviting him: Come lodge at my home; behold, I have a bed adorned with precious tapestries where you can lie down. The Malbim explains that marvadim are ornamental drapes placed around the bed, whose corners are smoothly carved and squarely tailored, which is why they are called chatuvot; and they are bordered with etun Mitzrayim - precious cords draped around them, like a golden necklace.
"I Have Sprinkled My Bed" - Couch and Bed
נַפְתִּי מִשְׁכָּבִי מֹר אֲהָלִים וְקִנָּמוֹן׃ (יז) - I have sprinkled my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
The word nafti either stems from liquefying or from nofet tzufim (dripping honeycomb), to flow and pour like honey; the meaning is that she scattered and sprinkled fragrant essences and perfumes over her bed. Rashi explains that it relates to waving or fanning (hafana and nifnuf): when one wants a pleasant scent to spread throughout the house, one fans it to disperse it. That is: "I fanned my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon" - I placed myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon there so that this place would have a wonderful fragrance for you.
Notice, says the Malbim: at first she said, "I have decked my couch with tapestries," and afterward, "I have sprinkled my bed." What is the difference between "my couch" (arsi) and "my bed" (mishkavi)? Here, too, the audacity progressively escalates. At first she says: I have a bed in my house lined with coverings, come lie on it. But then she says, "I have sprinkled my bed" - the place designated for my own rest, meaning, come and lie in my own personal bed. This is an even greater brazenness, an escalation beyond what she said before.
"Mishkav" - One Who Does Not Reflect Upon His Ways
What is "myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon"? The Vilna Gaon explains: A person who goes through life drawn after his desires and pleasures without reflecting upon his ways - this is called mishkav (lying down). Why lying down? Because someone lying in bed is passive; so too is one who does not examine his path: "How is it going? Just going with the flow." He goes with the flow - the Yarkon River also flows, and where does it flow? Straight into the sewer. Someone who does not examine his ways simply drifts along, and this is "my bed": he is not alert to see what is happening to him. Just as the Gemara notes that to test whether a fish is viable or dying one sees if it swims against the current; and of the Baal Shem Tov it is told that he would take only fish that swim against the current, not ordinary fish. One who swims against the current is alive; but one who does not swim and merely drifts along is lying down, resting passively and letting time carry him away.
And this is what the yetzer hara comes and tells a person: You do not need to reflect upon your ways; go after whatever your heart desires. The person replies: But this is a sin, a transgression, and if it is forbidden, I will be held accountable - there is judgment and there is a Judge! The yetzer hara tells him: You have nothing to worry about; on the contrary - "I have sprinkled (nafti) my bed." Nafti can also mean waving away easily (tenufah). After all, it is written that for one who repents out of love, intentional sins are transformed into merits! What are you worried about? Everything that is now "my bed," where you just drift along committing all the sins - later you will wave it away with ease, and not only that, you will turn it into merits. What persuasive seduction by the yetzer hara!
Myrrh, Aloes, and Cassia - Chet, Avon, and Pesha
And what is the meaning of the addition, "myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon"? The Vilna Gaon explains: We find another verse - "Myrrh and aloes and cassia are all your garments" (Mor va'ahalot ketzi'ot kol bigdotecha). Notice the differences: there it is "myrrh" (mor) and here it is "myrrh" (mor); there it is "aloes" (ahalot, feminine) and here "aloes" (ahalim, masculine); there it is "cassia" (ketzi'ot) and here "cinnamon" (kinamon). And Chazal expound upon that verse: Do not read bigdotecha (your garments), but rather begidotecha (your betrayals) - teaching you that the betrayals an individual committed will ultimately be transformed into merits for him.
However, there are three categories of transgression: chet, avon, and pesha. A chet is an inadvertent sin or a minor offense, and when one does teshuvah out of love, it is transformed into a great mitzvah. An avon is more severe, no longer purely unintentional, and cannot be compared to the level of a chet - even if one repents, it does not reach the level where it is transformed into a great mitzvah. And all the more so with a pesha, which is committed with deliberate defiance; it certainly cannot attain the level of an avon.
According to this, the Gra explains the three words in that verse: Mor is masculine and also in Lashon Hakodesh (the Holy Tongue), both of which signify importance - and this corresponds to chet, which, when repented of, is transformed into fragrant myrrh. Ahalot is in Lashon Hakodesh but in the feminine form, corresponding to avon: when one repents for it, it will not shine and radiate like myrrh, for the feminine form signifies diminished strength, lacking the vigor of the masculine. And the third, ketzi'ot, is both feminine and from the Aramaic Targum, corresponding to pesha: pesha cannot reach the level of mor, nor even that of ahalot, but only the status of ketzi'ot.
How the Yetzer Hara Deceives
And now, the Vilna Gaon explains, see how the yetzer hara - symbolized here by that woman - deceives a person. It comes and tells him: You have nothing to worry about; do whatever your heart desires - sin, commit iniquity, transgress. You think there is judgment and a Judge? "I have perfumed my bed" - I will brush it all away, turning everything into a pleasant fragrance for you. What is more, you will even be rewarded for it: you can do teshuvah out of love later on and receive an extra reward.
Notice the subtlety in the phrasing: "Myrrh" (mor) is masculine and in Lashon HaKodesh; this is true, corresponding to inadvertent sin (chet). But in truth, willful iniquity (avon) falls under the category of ahalot (aloes, in the feminine form), meaning you will not receive such a great reward for it. Yet the yetzer hara tells him: "Not at all - ahalim! Both masculine and in Lashon HaKodesh!" And so too with willful rebellion (pesha), which is truly in the category of ketzi'ot (cassia) - both feminine and a foreign, Aramaic term; yet the yetzer misleads him, saying: "Not at all - ve-kinamon (cinnamon)! It has a sweet aroma, and it is both masculine and in Lashon HaKodesh!" The reality is "Myrrh, aloes, and cassia are all your garments" (alluding to betrayals, begadotayich), but the yetzer hara portrays it as "myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon" - telling him that all your betrayals will turn into something wonderful, into a great mitzvah once you repent. Therefore, feel free; do whatever your heart desires.
In summary:
King Solomon describes an entire trajectory of downfall: the youth passes through at twilight and arrives in the pitch of night; and when someone wishes to defile himself, Heaven opens the door and assists him, and the woman is already coming out to meet him. She herself is guarded of heart, clamorous and rebellious, her feet not abiding in her home. She advances step by step: from the outside to the broad plazas and lying in wait at every corner; from seizing to kissing and brazen audacity; and from "my couch" to "my bed." Behind all of this stands the yetzer hara, which never opens with a transgression, but with a mitzvah - with peace-offerings, with a festive meal of a mitzvah, with the joy of a mitzvah, and with walking "between the fences" - and from there drags a person from what is permitted to what is forbidden. Finally, it promises him that everything will be easily brushed aside and turned into merits, deceiving him with "myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon" instead of "myrrh, aloes, and cassia." From here comes the warning to a person: do not simply lie back and drift with the flow, but be alert and examine your ways, like a fish swimming against the current - for only a living fish swims upstream.