Introduction: The Conclusion of the First Song
In the passage before us, we accompany the maiden at a decisive stage. Until now, she was surrounded by the daughters of Jerusalem and was unable to address her beloved, speaking only to them ("Do not look at me because I am dark"). Now, having found a private moment, she turns directly to her beloved on the other side of the wall. She asks him for signs showing how to reach him, flees the king's courtyard, is reunited with him, and is ultimately brought back by force to King Solomon's palace. Here, at chapter 2, verse 7, the first song reaches its completion. It is worth emphasizing: the book of Shir HaShirim is not structured according to Jewish tradition by chapters, but by the general chapter division of Tanach - a Christian division - so in our study, we do not follow chapters, but rather the songs themselves. And as the Malbim explains, the book comprises five distinct songs.
"Where You Graze, Where You Rest the Flocks" - The Request for Signs
הַגִּידָה לִּי שֶׁאָהֲבָה נַפְשִׁי אֵיכָה תִרְעֶה אֵיכָה תַּרְבִּיץ בַּצָּהֳרָיִם שַׁלָּמָה אֶהְיֶה כְּעֹטְיָה עַל עֶדְרֵי חֲבֵרֶיךָ׃ (א, ז) - Tell me, you whom my soul loves: Where do you graze? Where do you rest the flocks at noon? For why should I be as one veiled beside the flocks of your companions? (1:7)
The beloved maiden says to her groom: I want to escape from here and come to you, but how will I identify where you are? The Malbim explains that a shepherd has two distinct states. "Graze" (ro'eh) refers to when he leads the flock to find pasture to eat. "Rest the flocks" (marbitz) does not mean striking the sheep, but making them lie down (from the root roveitz). At noontime, when the sun is blazing hot, the shepherd seeks a shaded spot where the sheep can lie down and rest. There is another difference: while grazing, each shepherd tends his flock in a different location, whereas at resting time, all the shepherds gather together in a single place that offers shade.
According to this, the verse is interpreted: Tell me where you are grazing, and if I do not find you there, tell me where you rest the flock at noon, which is a different, shaded location. The words "For why should I be as one veiled" are a parenthetical phrase, so that the flow of the verse reads: "Where do you rest the flock at noon beside the flocks of your companions?" - that is, where is the place where you rest your flock alongside those of your fellow shepherds, as is customary for flocks to gather together during the resting hour?
And what is the meaning of that parenthetical clause? "For why should I be as one veiled (k'otyah)" - otyah comes from wrapping oneself, as in wrapping a cloak. Why should I remain here covered beneath the tapestries of Solomon, locked away inside his palaces and chambers? I want to leave this place, so tell me where you graze and where you rest the flocks, so that I may come to you and be united with you. The Malbim further explains that otyah can also connote frenzy or wild distraction, akin to a bird of prey (ayit) swooping down upon carcasses to tear them apart - meaning: why should I remain here like one driven to distraction and despair?
"Go Follow the Tracks of the Sheep" - Two Pieces of Advice for Escape
אִם לֹא תֵדְעִי לָךְ הַיָּפָה בַּנָּשִׁים צְאִי לָךְ בְּעִקְבֵי הַצֹּאן וּרְעִי אֶת גְּדִיֹּתַיִךְ עַל מִשְׁכְּנוֹת הָרֹעִים׃ (א, ח) - If you do not know, O fairest among women, go forth along the footsteps of the flock, and graze your kids beside the dwellings of the shepherds. (1:8)
The shepherd beloved answers her: In order for you to escape from the king's court and reach me, you need two things. First, you must know where I am. Second, you need strategies and clever tactics so that the guards do not realize that you are escaping, for as we will see later, the moment they notice she has fled, they immediately set out in search of her.
To the first concern he replies: "Go follow the tracks of the sheep" - if you know the paths and the footsteps left by the flock, you will catch up with me and reach my grazing grounds. And to the second concern: "And graze your kids beside the dwellings of the shepherds" - disguise yourself as a shepherdess and blend in among the shepherds and shepherdesses. In this way, you will disappear among them, no one will suspect that you have come from the royal palace, and even when they come looking for you, it will never cross their minds that you are the king's bride.
"To a Mare in Pharaoh's Chariots" - Words of Love in Private Intimacy
לְסֻסָתִי בְּרִכְבֵי פַרְעֹה דִּמִּיתִיךְ רַעְיָתִי׃ (א, ט) - To a mare among Pharaoh's chariots have I compared you, my beloved. (1:9)
The Malbim explains: After he gave her directions on how to find him, she indeed slips away and reaches him. Now she is reunited in private with her beloved, and he begins with words of love. He sees her adorned in precious jewelry, pearls, and gold, and says to her: In my eyes, you are like my solitary mare that Shlomo took and harnessed to his chariots. For it is known that the gathering of horses from Egypt was acquired by Shlomo, and he became the greatest horse merchant; he obtained all the marketing rights for horses from Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and as Pharaoh's son-in-law - having married his daughter - he received all the commercial rights there. Her beloved says to her: Although Pharaoh has horses, and Shlomo has countless horses and chariots, holding the entire trade in his hands - it was specifically my mare that he took.
נָאווּ לְחָיַיִךְ בַּתֹּרִים צַוָּארֵךְ בַּחֲרוּזִים׃ (א, י) - Your cheeks are comely with rows of jewelry, your neck with strings of beads. (1:10)
You resemble Shlomo's horses, which were adorned with elaborate ornaments. Even today, there are those who invest lavishly in their steeds - or cars - with custom bodywork and alloy wheels; every generation has its own "horses" and its own indulgences. And he says to her: Your cheeks are lovely like the golden ornaments placed along the cheeks of royal horses, and your neck is adorned with strings of pearls like those draped around a horse's neck.
תּוֹרֵי זָהָב נַעֲשֶׂה לָּךְ עִם נְקֻדּוֹת הַכָּסֶף׃ (א, יא) - Rows of gold we will make for you, with studs of silver. (1:11)
Her beloved says to her: When you were with me, you had nothing of the kind. You had only studs of silver - neither gold jewelry nor fine rows, only simple studs - for with me you lived in poverty, as I am a humble shepherd. And now I see that they have crafted rows of gold for you: while with me you had only silver studs, here Shlomo made you rows of gold.
"My Spikenard Sent Forth Its Fragrance" - The Maiden's Response: I Did Not Crave the King's Table
עַד שֶׁהַמֶּלֶךְ בִּמְסִבּוֹ נִרְדִּי נָתַן רֵיחוֹ׃ (א, יב) - While the king was at his banquet, my spikenard sent forth its fragrance. (1:12)
Here, the Malbim explains, the maiden responds: Know that now that I have departed from the company of King Shlomo, I can reveal this to you - even while the king seated me at his banquet, in his palace and at his sumptuous table, I did not long for his pleasures and delicacies. "My spikenard" - nard is a type of precious perfume; the perfume of my beloved is what diffused its fragrance. That is to say: although I sat there amid all that grandeur and magnificence, what filled my senses was not the food and delicacies set before me, but the fragrant nard of my beloved - to him alone am I drawn.
צְרוֹר הַמֹּר דּוֹדִי לִי בֵּין שָׁדַי יָלִין׃ (א, יג) - A sachet of myrrh is my beloved to me; between my breasts it shall rest. (1:13)
She describes sensing his sweet fragrance in two distinct ways. The first: it was customary for women to wear a sachet of myrrh for fragrance between their breasts - a small pouch of cloth filled with aromatic spices that emitted a continuous scent. The maiden says: The fragrance that rests upon me and wafts forth reminds me of you; whenever I breathe in the perfume I wear, it is as though this scent comes directly from you, "resting between my breasts," and I am perpetually mindful of you.
אֶשְׁכֹּל הַכֹּפֶר דּוֹדִי לִי בְּכַרְמֵי עֵין גֶּדִי׃ (א, יד) - A cluster of henna is my beloved to me, in the vineyards of Ein Gedi. (1:14)
"Kofer" (henna) is a type of perfume, as in the verse, "henna with spikenard." And the second aspect: I smell the cluster of henna, which radiates its fragrance far and wide, from the vineyards of Ein Gedi - from the place where you are found. From there, your fragrance wafts from afar and reaches me. Thus, she expresses two kinds of scent: both the scent that is with me reminds me of you, and the scent that arrives from you does not let me forget you.
"Behold, You Are Fair" - Two Kinds of Beauty
הִנָּךְ יָפָה רַעְיָתִי הִנָּךְ יָפָה עֵינַיִךְ יוֹנִים׃ (א, טו) - Behold, you are fair, my love; behold, you are fair, your eyes are like doves.
The beloved responds to her: You are beautiful in my eyes for two reasons. The first - "Behold, you are fair, my love": what you have just described to me shows that you are always my beloved companion, for even though you were in Shlomo's palace and he bestowed every goodness upon you, you remained loyal to me. In this regard, your deeds are exceedingly beautiful in my eyes, as you were not enticed by the desires and pleasures of King Shlomo. And the second - "Behold, you are fair, your eyes are like doves": inherently, your eyes are like doves, for doves are known to look only at their mate and never seek another partner.
Deeper still, there are two kinds of beauty here: there is beauty that is in the eye of the beholder, and there is universally acknowledged beauty. The Gemara says that "a woman has grace in the eyes of her husband" - not necessarily that she is beautiful in the eyes of everyone, but rather that she found favor in his eyes, the proof being that he married her; whether for herself or her fortune, it does not matter - in any case, she found favor in his eyes. In contrast, there is a grace that is not subjective but agreed upon by all, as in "Esther obtained grace in the eyes of all who beheld her" - a consensus. This is what the beloved tells her: On the one hand, "Behold, you are fair, my love," from the standpoint of the bond between us, that you were not enticed by Shlomo and I remained in your mind and heart; and on the other hand, "Behold, you are fair" with a beauty acknowledged by all - "your eyes are like doves," for just as a dove fixes its eyes only on its mate, so you fix your gaze only upon your husband.
"Our Couch Is Green" - A Home in the Forest
הִנְּךָ יָפֶה דוֹדִי אַף נָעִים אַף עַרְשֵׂנוּ רַעֲנָנָה׃ (א, טז) - Behold, you are handsome, my beloved, yea, pleasant; also our couch is leafy and green.
After he says to her, "Behold, you are fair, my love," she replies to him: "Behold, you are handsome, my beloved" - in terms of your appearance, for appearance is an external quality. "Yea, pleasant" - in terms of your inner perfection, for a "pleasant" person is one whose companionship is delightful, the complete individual of refined character traits. She adds: Now the time has come for us to unite in seclusion. Until now, I lay upon beds of gold and silver in the king's palace, but now "our couch is leafy and green" - where are we? In the forest, in the field; what do we have? A bed made of fresh, green boughs of trees. And now the time of love has arrived, the time for us to be together.
קֹרוֹת בָּתֵּינוּ אֲרָזִים רַהִיטֵנוּ בְּרוֹתִים׃ (א, יז) - The beams of our houses are cedars, our rafters are cypresses.
And in that place where we unite, I do not have a palace like Shlomo's palace, nor beds of gold and silver like those in his chambers. What, then, is my house? "The beams of our houses are cedars" - the cedar trees growing here in the forest are the beams of our house. "Our rafters [rahitenu] are cypresses" - rehatim refers to a place where water runs, as in "in the gutters [rehatim], in the watering troughs," derived from the root for running. While in the language of Chazal a rahit is a door, and the Gemara explains that it is called this because people always run to the door, we also find rehatim as an expression for water troughs, where water flows swiftly as well.
And the meaning here: "Berotim" are cypress trees, and some say they are not specifically cypresses but trees with broad branches. For we are lying out in the forest and our couch is green, and if rain should fall upon us - what will serve as our gutters? What will channel the water away from us? These are the berotim, whose broad foliage pours the water away around us and shelters us so the rain does not reach us.
"I Am a Rose of Sharon, a Lily of the Valleys"
אֲנִי חֲבַצֶּלֶת הַשָּׁרוֹן שׁוֹשַׁנַּת הָעֲמָקִים׃ (ב, א) - "I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys."
The beloved continues: I am like the rose growing in the Sharon and the lily growing in the valleys. The Malbim explains: The chavatzelet is a plant that has bulb-like roots underground; they do not have a strong scent, but atop them is a very beautiful blossom. When the sun rises, the chavatzelet turns toward it; when the sun is in the middle of the sky, it turns its head upward; and when the sun sets, it turns toward the sunset - as is known of flowers that follow the course of the sun. This flower grows and flourishes specifically in the Sharon plain and directly facing the sun, in a sun-drenched place. The shoshanah, by contrast, is a fragrant flower whose nature is to release the scent it absorbed specifically at sunset, and therefore it thrives better in a shaded place.
According to this, her words are explained: "I am a rose of Sharon" - I love tranquility, sitting in the Sharon and opening my beautiful petals before the shining sun. And who is the sun? You, my beloved. You are my love, you are the sun, and your light is apparent upon me; I take joy in being under your shelter, where you shine and bestow your influence upon me, and it is then that my beauty comes to expression. But when the daughters of Jerusalem come, seize me, and bring me back to King Solomon's palace - when I return to the valley and to the shadows, where I am confined - then I release the sweet fragrance I received from the sun. Then I resemble the shoshanah, which begins to give off its sweet fragrance specifically at sunset.
That is to say: the daughters of Jerusalem will perceive my sweet fragrance - my ethical refinement and good character traits - precisely when I return to Solomon's palace. This also seems to convey an insight into human nature: a person who is bitter, for whom things are always difficult, reveals it in their behavior; by contrast, after a period of well-being, their behavior improves as well. This is what she means: after having been in seclusion with my beloved, even when they return me to the palace, I will continue to give off my fragrance, like the lily of the valleys that gives off its scent even in a shaded place.
"Like a Lily Among Thorns" - The Beloved's Warning
כְּשׁוֹשַׁנָּה בֵּין הַחוֹחִים כֵּן רַעְיָתִי בֵּין הַבָּנוֹת׃ (ב, ב) - "Like a lily among the thorns, so is my beloved among the daughters."
The beloved tells her: Among the daughters of Jerusalem, you are like a lily among thorns. The shoshanah, as is well known, has a stem covered with thorns - anyone who has ever held a rose stalk knows that thorns surround it - and when the flower becomes entangled among thorns, they ruin it. Therefore, I warn you: you must lift your head upward and not connect with the thorns. And who are the thorns? The daughters of Jerusalem, who constantly try to draw her back to Solomon and awaken within her a connection and love for him, while her heart belongs to her beloved out in the wilderness. Be cautious: lift your head up high, so that the thorns do not harm the lily.
"Like an Apple Tree Among the Trees of the Forest" - The Maiden's Response
כְּתַפּוּחַ בַּעֲצֵי הַיַּעַר כֵּן דּוֹדִי בֵּין הַבָּנִים בְּצִלּוֹ חִמַּדְתִּי וְיָשַׁבְתִּי וּפִרְיוֹ מָתוֹק לְחִכִּי׃ (ב, ג) - "Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the young men; in his shade I delighted to sit, and his fruit was sweet to my palate."
The maiden responds: You too, among the young men, are like an apple tree among the trees of the forest. The forest trees are tall while the apple tree is short, and they obscure it with their branches and their height - yet even so, it stands out among them because of its fragrant scent. "In his shade I delighted to sit" - this refers to the sweet aroma it exudes. And secondly, its distinction lies in its fruit, which is sweet to my palate.
And the meaning is: When I am with you - "and his fruit was sweet to my palate" - I taste the fruit itself. And when I am not with you - "in his shade I delighted to sit" - even where I am situated with Solomon, your fragrance reaches me. In simple words, she answers him: Do not fear that the thorns will harm the lily, or that the daughters of Jerusalem will draw me into desiring Solomon. You have nothing to worry about - you are like an apple tree among the trees of the forest; when I am with you I enjoy your fruit, and when I am not with you, your fragrance, wafting from afar, draws my heart to remain bound to you.
"He Brought Me to the Wine House" - The Height of Dveikut
הֱבִיאַנִי אֶל בֵּית הַיָּיִן וְדִגְלוֹ עָלַי אַהֲבָה׃ (ב, ד) - He brought me to the house of wine, and his banner over me was love.
The maiden says: After the lovers exchanged all these words, the Beloved took her and brought her to the house of wine. And what is the banner he placed over her? Love. Love is the banner between them.
סַמְּכוּנִי בָּאֲשִׁישׁוֹת רַפְּדוּנִי בַּתַּפּוּחִים כִּי חוֹלַת אַהֲבָה אָנִי׃ (ב, ה) - Sustain me with flagons of wine, spread apples around me, for I am lovesick.
"Ashishot" are glass vessels filled with wine, wine goblets, as Ibn Ezra explains. "Spread apples around me" - spread fragrant apples around my couch, for it was customary that when someone fell ill, they would place apples and sweet-smelling items around them to help restore them to health. "For I am lovesick" - because I am sick with love, this is the remedy I require, for my love for my Beloved is boundless.
שְׂמֹאלוֹ תַּחַת לְרֹאשִׁי וִימִינוֹ תְּחַבְּקֵנִי׃ (ב, ו) - His left hand is under my head, and his right hand embraces me.
And it is not only I who bestow my love upon him, but my Beloved also directs his love toward me: his left hand is beneath my head, and his right hand embraces me.
"Whether you stir up or awaken" - The Maiden's Oath
הִשְׁבַּעְתִּי אֶתְכֶם בְּנוֹת יְרוּשָׁלִַם בִּצְבָאוֹת אוֹ בְּאַיְלוֹת הַשָּׂדֶה אִם תָּעִירוּ וְאִם תְּעוֹרְרוּ אֶת הָאַהֲבָה עַד שֶׁתֶּחְפָּץ׃ (ב, ז) - I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or by the hinds of the field, that you neither stir up nor awaken love until it pleases.
Yet here the connection is severed, for the daughters of Jerusalem arrive to bring the maiden back to the king's palace. They approach her to return her to the palace, and she says to them: I adjure you. "Leha'ir" (to stir up) and "le'orer" (to awaken) sound to us like the same concept, but the Malbim explains that this is not so. "Leha'ir" means to arouse hatred and enmity, and there are explicit verses supporting this: in Sefer Shmuel, it is said to Shaul, "Hashem has departed from you and become your adversary (eirecha)" - "eirecha" meaning your enemy. And likewise in Daniel: "The dream be to those who hate you, and its interpretation to your enemies (le'arecha)" - may the Holy One, blessed be He, bring the dream you saw upon your haters, and its interpretation upon your foes. And to whom did Daniel say this? To Belshazzar; he interpreted the dream for him in this manner (and whoever wishes may review the lessons on Daniel, which is highly recommended).
According to this: "If you stir up (im ta'iru)" - do not cast enmity into the great love between me and my beloved. "And if you awaken (ve'im te'oreru)" - nor should you try to artificially inflate this love. For between two lovers, the Malbim explains, no outsider may intrude: do not diminish, and do not add. Love will awaken of its own accord in its fitting measure; do not try to detract from it, and do not try to augment it.
And since there is no one present in the wilderness, by whom can she adjure them? Therefore she says: I adjure you by the gazelles and by the hinds of the field, that they should serve as witnesses, warners, and announcers of this oath. Just as one might say, "I adjure you by heaven and earth," swearing by something that will stand as a witness. Here we have no human witnesses, so I call as witnesses those surrounding us - the gazelles or the hinds of the field - that you neither undermine this love nor attempt to artificially awaken it.
At this point the Beloved departs, and the maiden is returned and brought back to the chambers of Shlomo. The Malbim notes: Here the first song concludes. From here we transition to the allegory, to understand the deeper meaning - the process that unfolded here between the soul, the Holy One, blessed be He, and King Shlomo.
In summary:
In this section, the beloved maiden completes her journey of escape and union: she asks her Beloved for signs - where he grazes his flock and where he rests them at midday, and he answers her with two pieces of advice: to follow the footsteps of the flock and to disguise herself as a shepherdess. Once she reaches him, he praises her as his mare among the chariots of Pharaoh, adorned with rows of gold, and she testifies that even at the king's table she did not crave his delicacies, but only the scent of her Beloved's nard, which accompanies her from within (a bundle of myrrh) and from without (a cluster of henna). He praises her with two kinds of beauty - the beauty of faithfulness and the recognized beauty of "your eyes are doves" - and she responds with a description of a forest home: beams of cedar and rafters of cypress. From there: the rose of Sharon versus the lily of the valleys, the warning of "as a lily among thorns" and the response of "as an apple tree among the trees of the forest," and finally the peak of devotion in the house of wine, lovesick, and the oath "that you not awaken nor stir up love" - that no stranger draw near to this love, neither to detract from it nor to add to it. And here, as the lovers part, the first song is completed.