Introduction: The Fourth Song in the Parable
We now enter the fourth song in Shir HaShirim. This song begins with the verse, "I sleep, but my heart is awake," and concludes with the verse, "His palate is all sweetness, and he is entirely delightful; this is my beloved and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem." From that point onward, a new subject begins: "Where has your beloved gone, O fairest of women?" etc. In this lesson, we will focus exclusively on the parable (the mashal), as explained by the Malbim.
Let us first recall the overall narrative arc of the parable throughout the book. The parable tells of a woman whom King Solomon took as a wife, even though she was already married to a shepherd who tended his flock in a distant pasture. Solomon brought her to his palace against her will, as it were, and the bride felt perpetually trapped there, yearning to go out to her beloved, her shepherd husband who was somewhere out with the flock. Until now, we saw her fleeing repeatedly to unite with her beloved, while the daughters of Jerusalem - attendants acting on Solomon's behalf - pursued her to return her to the palace.
Here, however, the Malbim explains that the overarching theme of this fourth song is that this bond was severed. The bride forgot her beloved for many days. Suddenly, the palace began to appeal to her, and she was no longer drawn to that constant bond she had once shared with her beloved. This continued until one day her beloved, her cherished husband, arrived and knocked at the door. Seeing that she was neither coming out nor fleeing the palace to reach him, he took the initiative himself: he went and knocked on the door. Yet she did not want to open it for him. By the time she finally rose to open it, her beloved had already slipped away and was gone, and she could no longer find him.
"I Sleep, but My Heart is Awake" - The Knock at the Door
אֲנִי יְשֵׁנָה וְלִבִּי עֵר, קוֹל דּוֹדִי דוֹפֵק, פִּתְחִי־לִי אֲחֹתִי רַעְיָתִי יוֹנָתִי תַמָּתִי, שֶׁרֹּאשִׁי נִמְלָא־טָל קְוֻצּוֹתַי רְסִיסֵי לָיְלָה. (ה, ב) - "I sleep, but my heart is awake. Hark! My beloved knocks: 'Open for me, my sister, my love, my dove, my perfect one; for my head is drenched with dew, my locks with the droplets of the night.'" (5:2)
"I sleep" - the Malbim explains that she was asleep in her bed, no longer roused toward her beloved as before. She no longer felt that inner urge to run to him. Nonetheless, "my heart is awake": her heart still retained some memory of her betrothed, the husband who remained far away, the shepherd. And then she suddenly hears "the sound of my beloved knocking" - he is knocking at the door and pleading: "Open for me, my sister; my head is drenched with dew, I am standing outside exposed to the dew and the droplets of the night; open the door and let me in."
The Bride's Excuses
פָּשַׁטְתִּי אֶת־כֻּתׇּנְתִּי אֵיכָכָה אֶלְבָּשֶׁנָּה, רָחַצְתִּי אֶת־רַגְלַי אֵיכָכָה אֲטַנְּפֵם. (ה, ג) - "I have taken off my robe; how can I put it back on? I have washed my feet; how can I soil them?" (5:3)
The bride answers him with excuses: I have already taken off my robe, how can I put it on again? In modern terms, she might say: I have already showered, I cannot go out, I do not want to catch a chill. Likewise, "I have washed my feet" - shall I now get up barefoot to open the door and soil my feet?
דּוֹדִי שָׁלַח יָדוֹ מִן־הַחֹר וּמֵעַי הָמוּ עָלָיו. (ה, ד) - "My beloved thrust his hand through the latch opening, and my feelings were stirred for him." (5:4)
The beloved reaches his hand through the keyhole in an attempt to open the door himself. And then "my feelings were stirred for him" - the bride suddenly felt a deep yearning and desire to reconnect with her beloved.
קַמְתִּי אֲנִי לִפְתֹּחַ לְדוֹדִי, וְיָדַי נָטְפוּ־מוֹר וְאֶצְבְּעֹתַי מוֹר עֹבֵר עַל כַּפּוֹת הַמַּנְעוּל. (ה, ה) - "I rose to open for my beloved, and my hands dripped with myrrh, and my fingers with flowing myrrh, upon the handles of the lock." (5:5)
At long last, the maiden decided to take action and rise to open the door for her beloved. Her hands dripped with myrrh, which coated the handles of the lock as she touched it, reflecting, as it were, her intense desire and yearning for this connection.
"My Beloved Had Turned Away and Was Gone"
פָּתַחְתִּי אֲנִי לְדוֹדִי וְדוֹדִי חָמַק עָבָר, נַפְשִׁי יָצְאָה בְדַבְּרוֹ, בִּקַּשְׁתִּיהוּ וְלֹא מְצָאתִיהוּ, קְרָאתִיו וְלֹא עָנָנִי. (ה, ו) - "I opened for my beloved, but my beloved had turned away and was gone; my soul departed at his word. I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he did not answer me." (5:6)
By the time she finally opened - her beloved had already slipped away and gone. Apparently, he had waited long enough, saw that no one was opening, and got up and left. The Malbim explains: he became incensed at her and moved on; that is, he was angry with her for not opening when he knocked at her door. "My soul departed at his word" - her soul departed when she heard him, as he walked away, speaking harsh words against her for abandoning her beloved. "I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he did not answer me."
מְצָאֻנִי הַשֹּׁמְרִים הַסֹּבְבִים בָּעִיר הִכּוּנִי פְצָעוּנִי, נָשְׂאוּ אֶת־רְדִידִי מֵעָלַי שֹׁמְרֵי הַחֹמוֹת. (ה, ז) - "The watchmen who patrol the city found me; they struck me, they wounded me; the keepers of the walls stripped my veil from upon me." (5:7)
She attempts to leave the city in the hope of finding her beloved, but those watchmen patrolling the city beat her and wound her, stripping away her veil, the cloak covering her. The guardians of the walls would not allow her to leave to reunite and be secluded once more with her beloved.
"For I Am Lovesick" - The Secret Is Revealed
הִשְׁבַּעְתִּי אֶתְכֶם בְּנוֹת יְרוּשָׁלָ͏ִם, אִם־תִּמְצְאוּ אֶת־דּוֹדִי מַה־תַּגִּידוּ לוֹ, שֶׁחוֹלַת אַהֲבָה אָנִי. (ה, ח) - "I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my beloved, what will you tell him? That I am lovesick." (5:8)
At this point, the matter became public knowledge: the king's wife, or the king's concubine - speaking, of course, within the mashal (allegory) - who resides in Shlomo's palace, is not truly attached to the palace; she has a betrothed or husband, a shepherd somewhere out there. Once the matter became known, she no longer saw any need to conceal it. She therefore revealed her secret specifically to the daughters of Jerusalem, who until now had kept her away from connecting with her beloved. She adjures them: if you find my beloved, tell him that I am lovesick. That is: let him not hold a grievance or remain angry with me, for my soul departed at his words when he walked away speaking harshly. Tell him that I yearn to continue my bond with him.
The Question of the Daughters of Jerusalem: "What Is Your Beloved More Than Another Beloved?"
מַה־דּוֹדֵךְ מִדּוֹד הַיָּפָה בַּנָּשִׁים, מַה־דּוֹדֵךְ מִדּוֹד שֶׁכָּכָה הִשְׁבַּעְתָּנוּ. (ה, ט) - "What is your beloved more than any other beloved, O fairest among women? What is your beloved more than another beloved, that you have adjured us so?" (5:9)
What is the reason for the repetition of "How is your beloved more than another beloved," which is said twice? The term dodim denotes both love and the beloved husband, as in the phrase eis dodim (a time of love). It turns out they are asking her two questions. The first question, "How is your beloved more than another beloved, O fairest among women?" asks: Why do you believe there is a special love here? What is the difference between your love and any other love? The second question, "How is your beloved more than another beloved, that you adjure us so?" relates to the beloved in the sense of the husband and betrothed - how is your beloved different from any other betrothed, that you impose such an oath upon us? After all, this is not an ordinary thing. Evidently there is a unique love here, and there is a unique beloved, and they are asking about both: what is that special love, and who is that unique beloved?
The Maiden's Response: Praise of the Beloved
דּוֹדִי צַח וְאָדוֹם דָּגוּל מֵרְבָבָה. רֹאשׁוֹ כֶּתֶם פָּז, קְוֻצּוֹתָיו תַּלְתַּלִּים שְׁחֹרוֹת כָּעוֹרֵב. עֵינָיו כְּיוֹנִים עַל־אֲפִיקֵי מָיִם, רֹחֲצוֹת בֶּחָלָב יֹשְׁבוֹת עַל־מִלֵּאת. לְחָיָו כַּעֲרוּגַת הַבֹּשֶׂם מִגְדְּלוֹת מֶרְקָחִים, שִׂפְתוֹתָיו שׁוֹשַׁנִּים נֹטְפוֹת מוֹר עֹבֵר. יָדָיו גְּלִילֵי זָהָב מְמֻלָּאִים בַּתַּרְשִׁישׁ, מֵעָיו עֶשֶׁת שֵׁן מְעֻלֶּפֶת סַפִּירִים. שׁוֹקָיו עַמּוּדֵי שֵׁשׁ מְיֻסָּדִים עַל־אַדְנֵי־פָז, מַרְאֵהוּ כַּלְּבָנוֹן בָּחוּר כָּאֲרָזִים. חִכּוֹ מַמְתַקִּים וְכֻלּוֹ מַחֲמַדִּים, זֶה דוֹדִי וְזֶה רֵעִי בְּנוֹת יְרוּשָׁלָ͏ִם. (ה, י-טז) - My beloved is radiant and ruddy, preeminent above ten thousand. His head is finest gold, his locks are wavy curls, black as a raven. His eyes are like doves by water brooks, bathed in milk, fitly set. His cheeks are like a bed of spices, towers of sweet perfumes; his lips are roses, dripping with flowing myrrh. His hands are rods of gold set with beryl; his body is polished ivory overlaid with sapphires. His legs are pillars of marble set upon bases of fine gold; his appearance is like Lebanon, choice as the cedars. His palate is full of sweetness, and he is entirely delightful. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem. (5:10-16)
She gives them a long and detailed description of who this extraordinary beloved is, concluding: "This is my beloved, and this is my friend" - could you ever find another beloved and companion like mine? You ask me, "How is your beloved more than another beloved, O fairest among women?" - why my love is so singular and what is so exceptional about my affections - but I have just described to you how extraordinary my beloved is, and this itself expresses the depth of the love I harbor for him.
It should be noted: in the literal allegory, the Malbim does not explain each of these descriptions one by one; rather, he states generally that she is portraying to them the praises of her beloved. However, in the deeper meaning (nimshal), as we will see later, every single one of these details holds precise significance and an explanation.
In summary:
In the allegory, the fourth song portrays a rift: the maiden forgot her beloved for many days, grew accustomed to the palace, and was no longer attuned to him. The beloved himself initiates the reconnection and knocks at her door, yet she rebuffs him with excuses of personal comfort. When she finally stirs and rises to open, he has already slipped away and gone, and her soul departed upon hearing his harsh words. From that point on, she searches for him, is struck by the watchmen of the walls, and ultimately reveals her secret to the daughters of Jerusalem, adjuring them to inform her beloved that she is lovesick. They ask her two questions - what is unique about her love, and what is unique about her beloved - and she responds with an extensive description of his praises, concluding: "This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem."