Introduction: The Second Song in the Parable
We continue through Shir HaShirim following the approach of the Malbim, and we now turn to the second song - and at this stage, we are dealing exclusively with the literal parable (the mashal). The Malbim explains that this second song begins in chapter 2, verse 8, and continues until chapter 3, verse 1.
Let us recall the background: the connection between the maiden (the Ra'ayah) and her beloved, her husband, whom she met after leaving the palace of Shlomo - that connection was severed. The daughters of Jerusalem intervened, separated her from her beloved, and brought her back to the palace. Since then, she has been, as it were, confined to the royal court for many days. Now the autumn has passed, the winter is gone, the month of Ziv has arrived, and the beloved returns, attempting to entice his bride to come out after him to the vineyards.
The daughters of Jerusalem who accompany her are, as we explained, among Shlomo's attendants, and their role is to prevent the maiden from reuniting with her beloved and to bring her back to the royal palace. Therefore, the beloved urges her to send away the daughters of Jerusalem and distance herself from them so that their bond may be renewed. The maiden does indeed reunite with her beloved in the path between the vineyards - until the day breathes cooler, at which point the daughters of Jerusalem return to tear her away once more, and the beloved vanishes and departs. This is the storyline of the second song, which we shall now explore.
The Voice of My Beloved: Drawing Close in Stages
קוֹל דּוֹדִי הִנֵּה זֶה בָּא, מְדַלֵּג עַל הֶהָרִים, מְקַפֵּץ עַל הַגְּבָעוֹת׃ - "The voice of my beloved! Behold, here he comes, leaping over the mountains, bounding over the hills."
The maiden says: I hear the voice of my beloved from afar, my cherished husband, and I recognize his voice - behold, here he comes! He leaps across the mountains, from peak to peak, and bounds down from the mountains lower toward the hills below, all in order to seek out his beloved, that she may return and reunite with him.
דּוֹמֶה דוֹדִי לִצְבִי אוֹ לְעֹפֶר הָאַיָּלִים, הִנֵּה זֶה עוֹמֵד אַחַר כׇּתְלֵנוּ, מַשְׁגִּיחַ מִן הַחַלֹּנוֹת, מֵצִיץ מִן הַחֲרַכִּים׃ - "My beloved is like a gazelle or a young hart; behold, he stands behind our wall, looking through the windows, peering through the lattices."
In this leaping, he resembles a gazelle or a young hart, which likewise leap across cleft mountains, bounding from mountain to mountain and hill to hill. Notice the progressive stages of his approach: "He stands behind our wall" - he has already drawn close, just outside the wall; "looking through the windows" - his proximity is greater still; "peering through the lattices" - the door or shutter is already slightly ajar, and he pokes his head partially inside.
And it is very interesting: What is the root of the word metzitz ("peering")? The Malbim explains that it derives from the phrase heitzitz tzitz ("put forth a blossom"). A tzitz is the first budding blossom that just barely peeks out and protrudes. So too with one who peers (metzitz) through the lattices - it is as if he puts forth a blossom, extending his gaze and his head inward to look. Thus, metzitz is related to tzitz, that which protrudes.
"Arise, My Love": The Winter Has Passed
עָנָה דוֹדִי וְאָמַר לִי: קוּמִי לָךְ רַעְיָתִי יָפָתִי וּלְכִי לָךְ׃ - "My beloved spoke and said to me: Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away."
"My beloved spoke up" - initially calling out in a loud voice, "and said to me" - then speaking more gently. And the substance of his message: Arise, leave the chambers of Solomon, and come unite with your husband.
כִּי הִנֵּה הַסְּתָו עָבָר, הַגֶּשֶׁם חָלַף הָלַךְ לוֹ׃ - For behold, the winter has passed, the rain is over and gone.
The winter has passed, and even the rain that follows it is already over and gone - you have nothing to fear, and now we can be reunited.
הַנִּצָּנִים נִרְאוּ בָאָרֶץ, עֵת הַזָּמִיר הִגִּיעַ, וְקוֹל הַתּוֹר נִשְׁמַע בְּאַרְצֵנוּ׃ - The blossoms have appeared in the land, the time of singing has arrived, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.
"The blossoms" (nitzanim) - this word shares a root with tzitz and neitz, denoting that which buds and begins to bloom; the flora has already emerged across the land. "Singing" (hazamir) refers to the songbirds that sing in the springtime. Thus, "the time of singing has arrived" means that spring has come; autumn and winter are over.
And what is the turtledove (tor)? The Malbim explains that the turtledove is among the birds of passage, a fact he notes in several places, including in the Book of Iyov. Birds of passage are what we call migratory birds today. Their nature is to depart during the cold winter days, migrating to warmer lands, and to return once the sun warms the colder lands again. Therefore, "the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land" is an unmistakable sign: the winter has passed, the cold season is gone, and the migratory birds have returned, their voices heard once more.
Not Only Is There Nothing to Fear - There Is Reason to Go Out
הַתְּאֵנָה חָנְטָה פַגֶּיהָ, וְהַגְּפָנִים סְמָדַר נָתְנוּ רֵיחַ, קוּמִי לָךְ רַעְיָתִי יָפָתִי וּלְכִי לָךְ׃ - The fig tree has formed its early figs, and the blossoming vines give forth fragrance; arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.
"Early figs" (pagim) - when the fruit first begins to develop, it is called a pag. This signifies that the month of Ziv has arrived. Chazal teach that the month of Ziv is the month of Iyar. Why was it called Ziv (radiance)? Because in it there is radiance to the trees, as the trees burst into bloom. One who goes out during the days of Nisan recites Birkat HaIlanot (the blessing on blossoming fruit trees), and following Nisan comes Iyar, in which the radiant beauty of all the trees is clearly visible. "And the vines in blossom (smadar)" - smadar refers to grapes while they are still tiny buds.
Here we see a progression in the beloved's argument. At first he said, "Arise," on the grounds that there is nothing to fear - the winter has passed, and the cold and rain are no more. Now he adds: not only has the winter passed, but the summer has already arrived. Not only do you have no reason to dread the cold, but on the contrary - you have an inviting reason to venture out, drawn by the delights of summer: the fig tree has formed its early figs, and the blossoming vines give forth their fragrance. All of this should encourage you to step outside. Arise, come, and let us be together.
My Dove in the Clefts of the Rock
יוֹנָתִי בְּחַגְוֵי הַסֶּלַע, בְּסֵתֶר הַמַּדְרֵגָה, הַרְאִינִי אֶת מַרְאַיִךְ, הַשְׁמִיעִנִי אֶת קוֹלֵךְ, כִּי קוֹלֵךְ עָרֵב וּמַרְאֵיךְ נָאוֶה׃ - O my dove in the clefts of the rock, in the secrecy of the cliff, let me see your countenance, let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your countenance is comely.
The beloved sees that the bride cannot venture far from the city. She does not go out into the wilderness, but only to the vineyards, as the vineyards were closer to the city while the wilderness was far from it. Previously we saw that she reached as far as the wilderness, but now she has strength only to reach the vineyard.
Therefore, he compares her to a dove hiding in the clefts of the rock during the winter. This dove conceals itself from the cold, and in this state her voice is not heard either - she does not sing. To this, he pleads with her: My dove, hiding in the clefts of the rock, in the secret place of the cliff, in that hidden spot where you conceal yourself so that your form is not seen and your voice is not heard - show me your appearance, let me hear your voice and your song, for your voice is sweet and your appearance is pleasant. That is to say: even if you do not come out into the wilderness, at least emerge from your hiding place, so that I may see you and hear your voice.
"Catch Us the Foxes": The Bride's Strategy
אֶחֱזוּ לָנוּ שֻׁעָלִים, שֻׁעָלִים קְטַנִּים מְחַבְּלִים כְּרָמִים, וּכְרָמֵינוּ סְמָדַר׃ - Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, for our vineyards are in blossom.
Now Scripture describes how the bride goes out to be alone with her beloved, while still in the vineyards without venturing far from the city. However, the daughters of Jerusalem were guarding her there - those women from Shlomo's palace whose role was to ensure she did not flee back to her beloved. On the face of it, their presence should have thwarted their reunion. How did the bride overcome this obstacle?
The Malbim explains: the bride sent the daughters of Jerusalem to catch the foxes ruining the vineyards. She told them - there are little foxes wandering through the vineyard and destroying it, and our vineyard is in blossom, the grapes are still tender, so you must catch the foxes so they do not continue their destruction. What did she actually accomplish by this? She sent them away to deal with the foxes, to catch them and drive them out of the vineyard, and thereby she gained the time and privacy to be alone with her beloved.
The Allusion of the Foxes - Like the Foxes of Shimshon
The Malbim adds another point by way of allusion, describing it as "apples of gold in imagery of silver": the silver is external, the silver setting, while embedded inside are apples of gold. In other words, within the literal level of the text lies a deeper inner meaning.
For we know that when Shimshon's bride was given to another man and his wrath burned against the Philistines - who did not protest against her father when he went and gave his wife to another - Shimshon caught three hundred foxes and sent them out to ravage their vineyards and fields. Here, too, the foxes seemingly go out to destroy the vineyard; and the bride had been taken from her beloved, a separation that was intensely painful for her. She then says: there are foxes here that have come to create separation and disrupt my union with my beloved; go and catch these foxes. By way of allusion, she is telling them: just as with Shimshon the foxes were the retribution for separating him from his wife, so too here, the allusion lies in the foxes causing separation between me and my husband.
"My Beloved Is Mine, and I Am His"
דּוֹדִי לִי וַאֲנִי לוֹ, הָרֹעֶה בַּשּׁוֹשַׁנִּים׃ - My beloved is mine, and I am his, he who grazes among the lilies.
While the daughters of Jerusalem were off hunting the foxes - "my beloved is mine," she united with her beloved. And what is meant by "he who grazes among the lilies"? The Malbim explains: he brought her roses, for roses give off a sweet fragrance, so that through them she would always remember his love for her, strengthening the bond between them.
Until the Day Breathes: The Parting - and the Promise to Return
עַד שֶׁיָּפוּחַ הַיּוֹם וְנָסוּ הַצְּלָלִים, סֹב דְּמֵה לְךָ דוֹדִי לִצְבִי אוֹ לְעֹפֶר הָאַיָּלִים עַל הָרֵי בָתֶר׃ - Until the day breathes and the shadows flee, turn, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag upon the cleft mountains.
How long does this union last? Until the day breathes, until the heat of the day intensifies and the shadows flee. In the hours when the sun is not yet strong, there is much shadow, because the sun strikes from an angle; but when the sun stands at the zenith of the sky, there is hardly any shadow, as it beats down directly from above. "Until the day breathes and the shadows flee" - the day advances and shadows are no more.
At that hour, the daughters of Jerusalem return from the vineyards, as they can no longer pursue the foxes while the sun beats down. Upon their return, they resume their task: separating the maiden from her beloved. Therefore, the maiden says to her beloved: Turn away from here and flee, and be like a gazelle or a young stag. That is to say: now you must hurry and depart, because soon the daughters of Jerusalem will return, unable to continue chasing foxes in the heat of the day. But be like a gazelle; just as the gazelle constantly returns to its place, coming and going, so too you - even though you must go now on account of the daughters of Jerusalem, return to me time and again, and renew the bond between us.
This concludes the second song of the allegory.
Summary:
The second song (2:8 - 3:1) describes the beloved's return to the maiden imprisoned in Shlomo's palace. He approaches in stages - leaping upon the mountains, standing behind the wall, looking through the windows, peering through the lattices - and entices her to come out: first by arguing that there is nothing left to fear ("the winter is past, the rain is over"), and then with a positive appeal that there is something wonderful to go out to (the blossoms, the songbird, the turtledove, the fig tree, and the grapevines). When he saw that she could not venture out as far as the wilderness, he asked her at least to emerge from her hiding place - "my dove in the clefts of the rock." The maiden, through her ingenuity, sends the daughters of Jerusalem to seize the foxes that damage the vineyards - an allusion to Shimshon's foxes that came to avenge the separation between him and his wife - thereby freeing herself to be alone with her beloved, who "grazes among the lilies." And when the day breathes and the daughters of Jerusalem return, she quickly sends him away, yet asks that he be like a gazelle that comes and goes - that he constantly return to renew their bond.