Introduction: From the Parable to the Inner Meaning
We have arrived at the final part of the Malbim's commentary on Shir HaShirim, the section where he reveals a glimpse of what lay hidden beneath the surface throughout the entire book. Until now, the Malbim explained the entirety of Shir HaShirim as referring to the soul of Shlomo: a soul that departs from the body, cleaves to her Beloved and receives prophecy, then separates and returns, repeating this cycle five times corresponding to the five songs. Now the Malbim demonstrates that all of this is merely a mashal, a parable, and that behind it stands a sublime nimshal, an inner meaning: the holy Shechinah, which is Sefirat HaMalchut, seeking to ascend from her place in the lower worlds and unite with her Beloved in the world of Atzilut. Let us first explain the parable within the soul, and then ascend to the nimshal.
The Parable: The Soul at Its Root and the Soul in the Body
We have seen a great difference between two states of the soul. At its root, when it is above by the Holy One, blessed be He, it is a pure intellect detached from matter, entirely spiritual; its powers are boundless, its perceptions are instantaneous, and it contains no natural drives or physical character traits. When it descends below, displaced from its realm and donning garments to act in this world, it enters as if into a vessel that encloses it and constricts its capabilities. Today we do not have the capacity to comprehend everything in an instant, as the soul could grasp beneath the Throne of Glory; we are confined within a body.
Within the body itself there are also distinct levels. The function of intellect, operating in the brain, is closer to spirituality: a person can sit in one place and think from one end of the earth to the other, imagine what is happening in Australia, and even contemplate upper worlds. Thus, even though the soul is imprisoned in the body, the power of spiritual perception remains evident within it. The emotions and desires in the heart are more tied to the physical, yet even there a spiritual force is still discernible: after all, free will - the conscious decision that 'I want this' - is itself something spiritual. Finally, that which resides in the blood, the lowest aspect of the nefesh, is where it is truly confined within the physical body, showing no spiritual expression at all, as this same bodily vitality exists in animals on their level. In the brain and the heart spirituality is still apparent, while deep in the physical bodily functions, nature takes over and the soul's presence is no longer discernible.
Yet all this applies only while it is materialized within a body. When the soul strips away its garments of widowhood and puts on splendid attire - when it divests itself of the physical frame and returns to its supernal source - the bodily powers will cease, and it will return to its Father's house as in its youth. Then it will operate with limitless spiritual power, grasping the Infinite without any boundary. Here, 'man shall not see Me and live' because man is limited; there, it will perceive Divinity without limitation.
The Inner Meaning: The Descent and Ascent of the Shechinah
The same is true regarding the holy Shechinah, which is Sefirat HaMalchut. When it seeks to bestow influence upon the lower worlds, it enclothes itself in vessels and garments: the Malchut of Ein Sof enclothes itself in the worlds below it; the Malchut of Atzilut descends to Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah, continuing its descent down to the lowest world. It descends to the realm of the Throne, which is Beriah, or to the Chayyot, which is Yetzirah, or to the Ofanim. This descent is termed 'wandering from its place,' which is the concept of 'the Shechinah is in exile' - the Shechinah descends from its dwelling in Atzilut, where no evil may abide and only the Holy One, blessed be He, dwells, and from there it bestows its influence downward.
Once it has descended, its governance becomes constricted, as it has become, so to speak, more corporeal. There are many gradations in this process according to the capacity of each world and its vessels, whether they are refined or coarse. When it descends all the way to the world of the Ofanim, the world of Asiyah, everything is seemingly handed over to nature, according to the rotation of the spheres and celestial wheels - this is the concept of the constellations and celestial influences discussed in Judaism as well. The divine bounty descends through physical reality, and just as with the blood in the body, where the soul is not perceptible at all, so too the activity of Malchut is not evident, and it appears as though everything is a natural occurrence and the world functions on its own.
However, when it ascends from the separate worlds, from BY"A (Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah), back to Atzilut, it is like the soul divesting itself of the body. It no longer has the coarser worlds restraining it, and it is united with the Holy One, blessed be He - with Ze'ir Anpin itself in that elevated realm. Consequently, its powers are realized without boundary or end. This is the meaning of 'the Shechinah cleaves to her Beloved face to face': it has departed from the body, which is BY"A, and binds itself to the Ein Sof, blessed be He, in complete union. Then its strength prevails, according to its divine power, to pour forth abundance and boundless additional blessing.
The Complaint of the Moon and the Descent of Malchut
The divine masters, the Kabbalists, taught that at the time of Atzilut, the sun and the moon served under a single crown. The sun is Ze'ir Anpin, and the moon is the Nukba that receives, and 'a single crown' means that they were of equal stature. For the Nukba has many states: it can be behind Ze'ir Anpin or before him, face to face (panim el panim) or face to back (panim el achor), on the level of a minute point below or at equal height. Everything depends on the nature of the divine transmission, and the higher and more equal it is to Ze'ir Anpin, the greater the influence and the union. 'Serving under a single crown' means that the transmission was at the highest level, in Atzilut and of identical stature.
What happened on the fourth day? The moon lodged a complaint, saying, "It is impossible for two kings to share a single crown." She descended, in the mystical secret of a single point, to the world of Beriah, and immediately returned to her place in Atzilut facing Ze'ir Anpin. Until when? Until the sin of Adam HaRishon, at which point Malchut descended once again. For when we sin, the impact is the descent of the Sefirah of Malchut into the world beneath it; we distance Malchut from the Holy One, blessed be He, and this is the aspect of the exile of the Shechinah.
The Malbim explains the depth of that first descent. Hashem, blessed be He, arranged all the worlds so that all spiritual forces and the order of the heavenly Chariot would depend on human action, in the sense of "Hashem is your shadow at your right hand" - when a person does good, he generates a positive flow across all worlds. On the fourth day the luminaries were hung, and with this the reign of nature began, for until then the hidden light (Ohr HaGanuz) functioned. From that point on, it became possible that we would not be worthy of a supreme spiritual flow from Atzilut, but rather the Shechinah would be in exile as a result of human sins and descend from her dwelling, and the divine governance would not be miraculous but governed by nature: measured, according to what you deserve and according to your actions. In order to establish such a reality in the world, the Holy One, blessed be He, lowered Malchut for a brief moment from Atzilut downward, preparing a place for her in the lower worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah (BY"A), so that when Israel were to stumble into sin, there would be a realm into which she could descend. Therefore, the descent of the fourth day was not an actual fall, since there were as yet no sins or human deeds, but rather the creation of the vessels for a future reality. With the sin of Adam HaRishon, however, Malchut truly descended: from Atzilut to Beriah, and the Malchut of Beriah to Yetzirah, and the Malchut of Yetzirah to Asiyah, and this is the aspect of the Shechinah in exile.
Kenesset Yisrael Has Its Root in Malchut
It is known that from the Malchut of Atzilut, which is the Nukva (the feminine aspect), stems the root of all the souls of Israel, which are collectively called Kenesset Yisrael (the Congregation of Israel). When the Jewish people rectify their deeds, they connect with the holy Shechinah, and Malchut ascends to her place and unites with her Beloved, which is Ze'ir Anpin. Then a divine union takes place, meaning the bestowing of divine abundance from Ze'ir Anpin to Nukva, and this abundance cascades downward into the lower world in the proper and fitting manner. The kingdom of Hashem ascends to its place in Divinity, like a soul divesting itself of the body: just as the soul descends into the body and joins with physicality, so does Malchut in her descent, and when she ascends to unite with her Beloved, she is like a soul shedding the body and rising to the upper worlds. And just as the soul of Shlomo would ascend to receive prophecy, so too the Shechinah ascends to her exalted dwelling to unite with the Holy One, blessed be He, who is represented by Ze'ir Anpin.
Five Songs Corresponding to Five Ascents
According to the Malbim, Shir HaShirim is divided into five songs, rather than the eight chapters established by the Christian division. Each song expresses an instance in which the soul of Shlomo departs to cleave to its Beloved and to the Ein Sof, and these instances are prophecies that Shlomo received from Hashem. Yet all of this is merely the realm of the parable; Shlomo's departure and his cleaving to the Holy One, blessed be He, is an allegory for Malchut ascending and cleaving to Ze'ir Anpin in the world of Atzilut.
On the Level of the Individual
This holds true both on the individual level and on the collective level, and the Malbim begins with the individual, even though it is secondary here. The soul of Shlomo: Shlomo descended from David, and David from Batsheva. David's root is in Malchut, as David's Sefirah is the Sefirah of Malchut, and Batsheva is the "daughter of seven" Sefirot, which is likewise the Sefirah of Malchut. Thus we find that the soul of Shlomo originates in Malchut. Note that every soul (Naran - Nefesh, Ruach, Neshamah) can come from various realms in the upper worlds, and in the case of Shlomo's soul, its root is in the Sefirah of Malchut. If so, when Shlomo elevates himself here below, he creates a corresponding elevation for the Sefirah of Malchut on high: just as Shlomo's soul sings the song down here, so does the Sefirah of Malchut ascend and sing above. And corresponding to all the longing of Shlomo's soul to unite with the Holy One, blessed be He, is the longing of Malchut to unite with Ze'ir Anpin, with the six spatial directions or emotional Sefirot (Chesed, Gevurah, Tiferet, Netzach, Hod, Yesod), thereby completing the number seven.
On the Collective Level: The First Song - The Exile in Egypt and the Giving of the Torah
Even more so, however, these matters are explained on the collective level. When surveying the course of history, one sees that just as the soul of Shlomo departs and detaches from physicality to receive prophecy, and repeatedly separates - four times in all, until on the fifth time there is a complete unification at the moment of his passing - so too, corresponding to this, does the holy Shechinah experience four periods of separation and reunion, leading up to the fifth time in the future to come.
The first occasion: The Shechinah was exiled from her place during the Egyptian exile, and merits to reunite once more with Ze'ir Anpin through the Exodus from Egypt, at the Giving of the Torah, and in the Tent of Meeting (Ohel Mo'ed) - which is an appointed place of meeting and union between Ze'ir Anpin and the Shechinah. The beloved maiden recounts her condition:
שְׁחוֹרָה אֲנִי וְנָאוָה בְּנוֹת יְרוּשָׁלָ͏ִם כְּאׇהֳלֵי קֵדָר כִּירִיעוֹת שְׁלֹמֹה׃ - "I am dark yet comely, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon."
אַל־תִּרְאוּנִי שֶׁאֲנִי שְׁחַרְחֹרֶת שֶׁשְּׁזָפַתְנִי הַשָּׁמֶשׁ בְּנֵי אִמִּי נִחֲרוּ־בִי שָׂמֻנִי נֹטֵרָה אֶת־הַכְּרָמִים כַּרְמִי שֶׁלִּי לֹא נָטָרְתִּי׃ - Do not look down upon me because I am swarthy, for the sun has tanned me; my mother's sons were incensed against me; they made me keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I did not keep.
And then she turns away from the daughters of Jerusalem, which are the lower chambers, and seeks her Beloved, Ze'eir Anpin in the world of Atzilus:
הַגִּידָה לִּי שֶׁאָהֲבָה נַפְשִׁי אֵיכָה תִרְעֶה אֵיכָה תַּרְבִּיץ בַּצׇּהֳרָיִם שַׁלָּמָה אֶהְיֶה כְּעֹטְיָה עַל עֶדְרֵי חֲבֵרֶיךָ׃ - Tell me, you whom my soul loves, where do you pasture, where do you rest the flock at noon? For why should I be like one who veils herself beside the flocks of your companions?
Then the redemption arrives, and the Shechinah merits to ascend and return to her Beloved in the world of Atzilus:
לְסֻסָתִי בְּרִכְבֵי פַרְעֹה דִּמִּיתִיךְ רַעְיָתִי׃ - To a mare among Pharaoh's chariots have I compared you, my beloved.
This represents the redemption of the Exodus from Egypt, the wonders that were performed, and the will of Hashem, blessed be He, that accompanied the Shechinah at the Giving of the Torah. And afterwards came the construction of the Mishkan:
הִנְּךָ יָפֶה דוֹדִי אַף נָעִים אַף־עַרְשֵׂנוּ רַעֲנָנָה׃ - Behold, you are handsome, my beloved, indeed pleasant; our bed is also verdant.
The Mishkan is called an eres (couch), and an eres is a place of union, a place where Ze'eir Anpin unites with Nukva. Whenever unions in the upper worlds are mentioned, the reference is to the bestowal of divine flow from the male aspect to the female aspect, which is why it is expressed through the metaphor of union. The separation occurred through the Sin of the Golden Calf, when the Shechinah was once again driven from her abode; she then adjures the daughters of Jerusalem not to disrupt the love, for she is destined to return and dwell with her Beloved:
הִשְׁבַּעְתִּי אֶתְכֶם בְּנוֹת יְרוּשָׁלַ͏ִם בִּצְבָאוֹת אוֹ בְּאַיְלוֹת הַשָּׂדֶה אִם־תָּעִירוּ וְאִם־תְּעוֹרְרוּ אֶת־הָאַהֲבָה עַד שֶׁתֶּחְפָּץ׃ - I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, by gazelles or by the hinds of the field, that you not awaken or arouse love until it pleases.
The Second Song: Shiloh, Nov, and Giv'on
The second song is another occasion in which the Shechinah unites with her Beloved after having been expelled from her house of delights, and this occurred after the flocks were gathered and arrived in Eretz Yisrael. In his vivid language, the Malbim says: they rolled the stone from upon the mouth of the well and the supernal land, the Land of the Living (as the Shechinah is called "land"), was prepared to unite mishpat and tzedek. The Malbim speaks in allusions: in the books of the Kabbalists, mishpat (justice) and tzedek (righteousness) are allusions to Ze'eir Anpin and Nukva - mishpat is Ze'eir Anpin and tzedek is Nukva - and "to unite mishpat and tzedek" means that a union was formed in the upper worlds, and the Shechinah returned to her place in Atzilus.
קוֹל דּוֹדִי הִנֵּה־זֶה בָּא מְדַלֵּג עַל־הֶהָרִים מְקַפֵּץ עַל־הַגְּבָעוֹת׃ - The voice of my beloved! Behold, he comes, leaping upon the mountains, bounding over the hills.
כִּי־הִנֵּה הַסְּתָו עָבָר הַגֶּשֶׁם חָלַף הָלַךְ לוֹ׃ הַנִּצָּנִים נִרְאוּ בָאָרֶץ עֵת הַזָּמִיר הִגִּיעַ וְקוֹל הַתּוֹר נִשְׁמַע בְּאַרְצֵנוּ׃ - "For behold, the winter has passed, the rain is over and gone. The blossoms have appeared in the land, the time of singing has arrived, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land."
Which era does this refer to? The period of Shiloh, Nov, and Giv'on. There was a Mishkan before the Beit HaMikdash was built, but it was a temporary dwelling, and the presence of the Shechinah was temporary and unsettled. The Mishkan moved from place to place, and periodically the people were delivered into the hands of their enemies; this was not the Shechinah in its permanent resting place. Therefore:
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 hidden places of the cliff, show me your appearance, let me hear your voice; for your voice is pleasant and your appearance is comely."
It is explained in the writings of the Kabbalists that the dove represents the sefirah of Malchut, and when it unites with Tiferet, which is Ze'ir Anpin, it is described as being "in the clefts of the rock." Thus, there is a connection here with her Beloved, but only a temporary one. Therefore, the Beloved periodically returns over the mountains of Betar, departing and returning again:
עַד שֶׁיָּפוּחַ הַיּוֹם וְנָסוּ הַצְּלָלִים סֹב דְּמֵה־לְךָ דוֹדִי לִצְבִי אוֹ לְעֹפֶר הָאַיָּלִים עַל־הָרֵי בָתֶר׃ - "Until the day cools and the shadows flee, turn, my Beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young hart upon the mountains of Betar."
The Third Song: The First Temple - The Moon in Fullness
The third stage represents the most complete union, during the building of the Beit HaMikdash: "I have surely built a house of habitation for You." The Shechinah descended and established its resting place in the lower realms. This is *sehara be'ashlemuta* - the moon shining in its fullness. It is taught in the holy books that there are three levels of the resting of the Shechinah, referred to as *sehara* (moon), *yam* (sea), and *techelet* (sky-blue): *sehara* is a state without blemish, where Malchut stands equal with Ze'ir Anpin at its highest level; the dimension of Beriah is called *yam*; and when it descends into Yetzirah, it is called *techelet*. *Sehara be'ashlemuta* is the highest level, where the Shechinah resides in the world of Atzilut. The earthly Beit HaMikdash was built, and corresponding to it the heavenly Beit HaMikdash, meaning that the Shechinah is in constant union like Abba and Imma. Therefore, the third song characterizes a permanent dwelling of the Shechinah, wherein we see the palanquin (*apiryon*), the sacrifices, and the permanence of the Divine Presence, as the holy Zohar notes in several places:
אַפִּרְיוֹן עָשָׂה לוֹ הַמֶּלֶךְ שְׁלֹמֹה מֵעֲצֵי הַלְּבָנוֹן׃ - "King Shlomo made himself a palanquin from the trees of Lebanon."
The Fourth Song: The Second Temple - "I Am Asleep"
The fourth stage is the era of the Second Temple, which came after a severing of the bond, following the sins at the end of the First Temple period that brought about the destruction. At that point, the Shechinah is in a state of sleep:
אֲנִי יְשֵׁנָה וְלִבִּי עֵר קוֹל דּוֹדִי דוֹפֵק פִּתְחִי־לִי אֲחֹתִי רַעְיָתִי יוֹנָתִי תַמָּתִי שֶׁרֹּאשִׁי נִמְלָא־טָל קְוֻצּוֹתַי רְסִיסֵי לָיְלָה׃ - "I am asleep, but my heart is awake. The sound of my Beloved knocking: 'Open for me, my sister, my love, my dove, my perfect one, for my head is filled with dew, my locks with the drops of the night.'"
In the mashal, this represents Shlomo after he was drawn after the foreign wives he brought into his palace, Pharaoh's daughter and everything that followed - a state of decline. So too in the nimshal: the Shechinah distances Herself; *Shechinata ihi begaluta* (the Shechinah is in exile), distanced from Her house of delight and, as it were, driven out from Atzilut. Her soul clings to the dust in the Babylonian exile, and She is in the aspect of sleep. This matter connects deeply to Purim, for during Purim Ze'ir Anpin was in a state of slumber, what Kabbalists term *dormita*. This is why Achashverosh thought, and Haman thought, that they would be able to act against the Jews, for if the Holy One, blessed be He, is, as it were, in a state of *dormita*, there is an opening to strike without the Shechinah and the Holy One standing at Israel's right hand. This is the meaning of "There is (*yeshno*) a certain people," which Chazal expounded as "They are asleep (*yashnu*) from the mitzvot," alluding to what the Arizal explains: that on high, there was an aspect of slumber. And just as Ze'ir Anpin was in a state of *dormita* and only then the *nesirah* (separation) took place, so too here the Shechinah is in a state of sleep. She was unwilling to rise from the dust, and indeed, the Shechinah did not rest fully in Her place during the Second Temple, and none of the signs indicating the full presence of the Shechinah were found there, as cited in the Zohar (Shemot 9b), because that redemption was not a complete redemption.
פָּתַחְתִּי אֲנִי לְדוֹדִי וְדוֹדִי חָמַק עָבָר נַפְשִׁי יָצְאָה בְדַבְּרוֹ בִּקַּשְׁתִּיהוּ וְלֹא מְצָאתִיהוּ קְרָאתִיו וְלֹא עָנָנִי׃ - I opened to my beloved, but my beloved had turned away and was gone; my soul departed when he spoke. I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he did not answer me.
We see here a state of grievance and distance. The Holy One, blessed be He, as it were, seeks us out, which aligns with the Malbim's explanation that the Second Temple era was a trial period: the Holy One, blessed be He, wanted, so to speak, to test whether Israel would cleave to Hashem and walk in the proper path, in which case the Third Temple would be built. Thus, the Second Temple was merely a testing period before the Third Temple, and because we failed the test, we are still in the years of exile. The closeness was not absolute, the Shechinah did not rest in its full place; there was a will from Above, but the Jewish people did not prepare themselves properly. Corresponding to this is the fourth song.
The Fifth Song: The True Redemption
The fifth song is the true Redemption. Then "the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of the seven days," "a woman of valor is the crown of her husband," a perfect union between Ze'ir Anpin and Malchut, the holy Shechinah. Then Jerusalem will shake off the dust and dwell in the heights of its strength, and about this the fifth song was sung. Then Knesset Yisrael will arise, and the fallen sukkah of David will fall no more.
This parallels the soul of Shlomo separating from the body to unite with the Holy One, blessed be He: the Shechinah, too, as it were, separates from the body, from the lower worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah (BY"A), and unites exclusively with the world of Atzilut. This is truly a separation from the body, for Atzilut is in the aspect of soul relative to the lower worlds, which are in the aspect of body. So too is it explained by the Kabbalists, that each world serves as a soul to the world beneath it, and the world beneath it serves as its body, and so on through all the levels.
In this state, all the worlds yearn to be united with the Shechinah, yet she leaves them and ascends to unite with her Beloved in Atzilut. This is the debate we saw in the allegory between the soul and the daughters of Jerusalem:
מַה־דּוֹדֵךְ מִדּוֹד הַיָּפָה בַּנָּשִׁים מַה־דּוֹדֵךְ מִדּוֹד שֶׁכָּכָה הִשְׁבַּעְתָּנוּ׃ - What is your beloved more than another beloved, O fairest among women? What is your beloved more than another beloved, that you have so adjured us?
They asked her: Why do you desire so much to leave us? After all, can your entire ascent not take place only here? So too in the nimshal: the lower worlds desire the resting of the Shechinah within them and do not want her to leave them and unite with the world above them, with Atzilut. Yet ultimately everything ascends, and all the worlds are elevated; even the ruach and nefesh of the lower worlds, which are the aspect of the Lower Gan Eden, ascend in holiness. This is the aspect of the "Song of the Thousand," when all worlds are refined, even their vessels and their externality. For whenever we speak of the worlds, we speak of vessels and lights - the lights are the inner dimension and the vessels are the outer dimension - and when the light of Mashiach is revealed in the complete Redemption, even that which is today in the aspect of vessels will become like lights, an exceptionally refined and elevated state. Then the kelipot will pass away and the spirit of impurity will completely vanish.
אָחוֹת לָנוּ קְטַנָּה וְשָׁדַיִם אֵין לָהּ מַה־נַּעֲשֶׂה לַאֲחֹתֵנוּ בַּיּוֹם שֶׁיְּדֻבַּר־בָּהּ׃ - We have a little sister, and she has no breasts. What shall we do for our sister on the day when she is spoken for?
"We have a little sister" refers to the lower levels of Shlomo's soul that remained down here in the Lower Gan Eden, and the elder sister asks that they too be elevated to the higher worlds and receive the Upper Gan Eden. Corresponding to this in the nimshal: the lower worlds also seek to ascend to the worlds above them and be refined, as it will be in the Future to Come when there are no longer forces of impurity - "He will swallow up death forever," impurity will completely vanish, and all wickedness will dissipate like smoke. Then there will be a unification of all the worlds, the light of the moon like the light of the sun, a perfect union between the Holy One, blessed be He, and His Shechinah, and divine influence will descend in full abundance without any deficiency to the lower worlds. The Malbim notes: these paths are paved for anyone who treads upon the threshold of the house of the Zohar and its teachings, as well as in the Midrashim and Aggadot. One who studies a bit of Zohar is familiar with these concepts; we do not study it and are not familiar, but we rely on him, for he knows and is familiar.
Allusions of Chazal: Knesset Yisrael Is the Shechinah
The Midrashim throughout Shir HaShirim interpret the bride as Knesset Yisrael and the beloved as the Holy One, blessed be He, and such is their approach everywhere. The Malbim says: Come and see how everything we explained according to the esoteric dimension (sod) was hinted at by Chazal in their poetic expressions, without openly speaking of sod. This is the way of Chazal: they do not speak in kabbalistic secrets directly, but hint at them in their Aggadot, just as we cited regarding the Mishnah on dreams. And here the allusion is clear: the holy Shechinah is called Knesset Yisrael. Therefore, when Chazal speak of Knesset Yisrael yearning to unite with her Beloved, in the simple understanding it is the Jewish people seeking to cleave to the Holy One, blessed be He; but in the deeper understanding, every mention of "Knesset Yisrael" in the Midrashim refers to the holy Shechinah, the sefirah of Malchut, seeking to unite with the Holy One, blessed be He. One can speak of the Shechinah Above, or one can speak of Knesset Yisrael below, and whoever speaks of the Jewish people in earthly terms is ultimately speaking, in the nimshal, of the Shechinah seeking to unite with her Beloved.
A Parable Within a Parable: The Pearl and the Hide
The Malbim explains: I have come only to show you in a general way what lies hidden beneath the covering, for the words of the Wise King, peace be upon him, were spoken as a parable within a parable, and a parable within a parable - much like the nesting doll analogy we mentioned. It is like someone concealing a precious pearl inside a golden apple, overlaid with silver filigree (based on the verse, "Golden apples in silver filigree"), covered by a garment of techelet, and over that a covering of raven's hide. A coarse, materialistic person comes along, and when asked what he sees, he replies: "I see raven's hide." One possessing refined sensitivity comes along, and when asked what he sees, he replies: "Deep down, I see a pearl." Therefore, all those who approached Shir HaShirim with their coarse materialism, their defilement, and their earthly mindset claimed that it is a love song. But one who understands that this entire raven's hide serves only to conceal the garment of techelet and the silver filigree, beneath which lies the golden apple containing the precious pearl, does not gaze at the exterior, but rather at the interior, and beholds great light.
Seemingly, after the Malbim explained the entirety of Shir HaShirim in detail regarding the soul of Shlomo, we should now begin studying the entire book anew regarding the holy Shechinah and Her separation from Ze'ir Anpin, regarding the sefirah of Malchut and Her yearning to emerge from exile and reunite in the world of Atzilut. Regarding this, the Malbim says lest one think he lacks a precise explanation for every single detail: the details of these matters are concealed with me, but anyone wise of heart will understand them. Whoever has entered even slightly into the esoteric wisdom of the Zohar will study Shir HaShirim and realize that everything explained regarding the soul of Shlomo seeking to unite with her Beloved can likewise be explained regarding the sefirah of Malchut seeking to unite with Ze'ir Anpin. "And every wise-hearted person will understand them, and one of understanding will acquire wise counsel."
The Malbim's Closing Prayer
The Malbim felt that he had departed here from his usual path, for nowhere else does he speak of Kabbalistic matters so explicitly, but rather alludes to them. This was so even though he possessed an immense mastery of Kabbalah; it is related that he studied Kabbalah, and sources even record from whom he learned and who his teachers were. Therefore, he concludes by saying: "And if I have trespassed because I did not remain concealed, and spoke with my tongue, and cut out windows for myself - meaning that I opened a window to lofty matters facing the sun and the moon, an allusion to Ze'ir Anpin and Nukva - and my love has not given forth fragrance and is like blowing dust - meaning, if I did not intend properly or explain properly - to Hashem I call and to my Master, may He overlook my iniquity, work for me a sign for good, and show me wonders from His Torah. How I love Your Torah; act with me according to Your lovingkindness, do not let me stray from Your commandments, and do not hide Your commandments from me, Amen, Selah."
In Summary:
Just as the soul in its root was spiritual and boundless, and upon descending into the body became contracted to the point that in the blood it is not discernible at all, and upon departing from the body returns to her father's house as in her youth, so too is the holy Shechinah, the sefirah of Malchut: in Her descent into Beriah, Yetzirah, and Asiyah (BY"A), She is in exile and Her guidance operates through a constricted natural order; but in Her ascent to Atzilut, She clings to Her Beloved face to face and pours forth boundless abundance. The five songs of Shir HaShirim - which in the mashal are the five departures of Shlomo's soul - are in the nimshal five eras: the Egyptian exile, the Redemption, and the Giving of the Torah; the days of Shiloh, Nov, and Givon; the First Temple when the moon shone in its fullness; the Second Temple in the state of "I am asleep"; and the fifth - the complete Redemption, when the light of the moon will be like the light of the sun, the spirit of impurity will pass away, and there will be the perfect union of the Holy One, blessed be He, and His Shechinah. And all of this is concealed within a parable within a parable, like a pearl beneath a golden apple, silver filigree, a garment of techelet, and raven's hide: the coarse person sees only the exterior, while the person of refined soul sees the pearl and the great light. May it be His will that we merit to learn and to teach, to safeguard, to perform, and to fulfill, Amen and Amen.