Behold you are beautiful my beloved. He praised them and appeased them, and their sacrifices pleased Him.

Until the sun spreads. When they sinned before Me,¹ in the days of Chofni and Pinchas.²

footnotes: ¹ The captioned text of Rashi belongs to Verse 6 below; Rashi comments here to inform us until when did the sacrifices please God. ² See I Shmuel 2:12-17.

Your eyes are like doves. Your hues, appearance and characteristics³ are like those of a dove, which cleaves to its mate, and when they slaughter it, it does not struggle but stretches forth its neck; so have you given your shoulder to bear My yoke and My fear. From within your kerchief;

footnotes: ³ I.e., עיניך here does not mean your “eyes” but your “characteristics,” i.e., appearance, as in כעין הבדלח, meaning, “as the appearance of crystal,” in Bamidbar 11:7. (Sifsei Chachomim)

your hair is like a flock of goats. This praise is allegorized as the praise of a woman beloved by her bridegroom [who says to her], “Within your kerchief, your hair is beautiful and shines with brilliance and whiteness, like the hair of white goats descending from the mountains, and whose hair shines from a distance.” And the allegory with which he compares the congregation of Yisroel is as follows: From within your camps and your dwelling places, even the empty ones among you⁴ are as dear to Me as Yaakov and his sons, who trailed down from Mount Gilad when Lavan overtook them there.⁵ Another explanation, like those who mobilized against Midyan beyond the Yardein, which is in the land of Gilad. This version is in Midrash Shir Hashirim.

footnotes: ⁴ See Rashi in Verse 3 below. ⁵ See Bereishis 31:23.

From within. This מִבַּעַד is a term meaning “from within,” for the majority of ‘בְּעַד’ in Scripture refers to something that covers and shields against something else, as in, “and He sealed up וּבְעַד the stars,”⁶ [and as in,] “the earth [closed] its bars against me בַּעֲדִי,”⁷ [and as in,] “Can He judge through הַבְעַד the heavy darkness?”⁸ And ‘מִבַּעַד’⁹ as a prefix. is the thing that is within that ‘בְּעַד’[=covering], therefore, it says ‘מִבַּעַד’[=from within].

footnotes: ⁶ Iyov 9:7. ⁷ Yonah 2:7. ⁸ Iyov 22:13. ⁹ The equivalent of ‘בעד’, with the mem

Your kerchief. An expression denoting an object which confines the hair so that it does not show, and this refers to a kerchief and ribbons. It is impossible to interpret ‘צַמָּתֵךְ’ [meaning] a veil צֹמֶת, where the tav is a radical, for if so, it should have been punctuated with a dagesh when immediately preceding a hey, which makes it in the feminine possessive, or a vav, which makes it in the masculine possessive, like the tav of ‘שַׁבָּת [Shabbos]’, which, when used in the feminine possessive form, is punctuated with a dagesh, as in, “her festival, her new moon, and her Shabbos וְשַׁבַּתָּהּ,”¹⁰ ¹¹ and similarly in the masculine form, “the burnt offering of each Shabbos in its Shabbos בְּשַׁבַּתּוֹ.”¹² But the tav of ‘צַמָּתֵךְ’, is not punctuated with a dagesh, we must perforce conclude that it comes instead of a hey, and the noun denoting kerchief is צַמָּה, and when it is possessive, to render it either in the masculine or in the feminine form the hey is converted to a tav without a dagesh, e.g., שִׁפְחָה [handmaiden] is converted in order to say שִׁפְחָתוֹ [his handmaiden] or שִׁפְחָתָהּ [her handmaiden]. And similarly אָמָה [maidservant] becomes אֲמָתוֹ [his maidservant] or אֲמָתָהּ [her maidservant]. [And similarly,] עֶרְוָה [nakedness] becomes עֶרְוָתוֹ [his nakedness] or עֶרְוָתָהּ [her nakedness]. And similarly in this case, צַמָּה [kerchief] becomes צַמָּתוֹ [his kerchief], צַמָּתָהּ [her kerchief], or צַמָּתִי [my kerchief], צַמָּתֵךְ [your kerchief].

footnotes: ¹⁰ Hosheia 2:13. ¹¹ Bamidbar 28:10. ¹² Vayikra 13:41.

Descending. That were plucked. The word גִּבֵּחַ [bald] is rendered by the Targum as גְּלוֹשׁ.¹³ When the animals descend from the mountain, the mountain becomes bald and bare of them.

footnotes: ¹³ Corresponding to “כעדר הקצובות,” i.e., “like a counted flock.”

Your teeth are like a counted flock, etc. This praise, too, is expressed in terms of a woman’s beauty.

Your teeth. Are fine and white and arranged in their proper order like wool and like the order of a flock of ewes, selected from the rest of the flock by count and number,¹⁴ and are assigned to a clever and capable shepherd to be careful with their wool, because they make them into fine woolen garments. They watch them from the time of birth, that the wool should not become soiled, and they wash them daily.¹⁵

footnotes: ¹⁴ Corresponding to “שעלו מן הרחצה,” i.e., “who have come up from the washing.” ¹⁵ Tehillim 38:4.

All of which are perfect. An expression of perfection, [as in,] “There is no perfection מְתם in my flesh,”¹⁶ i.e., “whole” תְּמִימוֹת=מַתְאִימוֹת, entires in O.F.

footnotes: ¹⁶ See Bamidbar 31:1-7.

And [none are] blemished. There is no miscarriage or defect among them. This allegory was stated in reference to: The mighty men of Yisroel, who cut down and consume their enemies surrounding them with their teeth, and yet they distance themselves from robbing from [Bnei] Yisroel and from lewdness, so that they should not become sullied with sin. This praise was stated concerning the twelve thousand men who mobilized against Midyan with a count and a number,¹⁷ of whom not one was suspected of lewdness, as it is stated, “and not a man among us is missing.”¹⁸ And even for improper thoughts they brought atonement offerings. Also, they were not suspected of theft, for Scripture attests regarding them, “And they took all the spoils... and they brought it to Moshe and to Elazar the kohein, etc.,”¹⁹ and not one of them concealed even one cow or one donkey.

footnotes: ¹⁷ Ibid. 31:49. ¹⁸ Ibid. 31:11-12. ¹⁹ Yehoshua 2:18.

Like a scarlet thread are your lips. Beautiful to promise and to keep their promise, as the spies did to Rachav Hazonah. They said to her, “[you shall bind] this line of scarlet thread, etc.,”²⁰ and they kept their promise.²¹

footnotes: ²⁰ Alternatively, your lips were thin and red as a scarlet thread, a sign of beauty in a woman. (Metzudas Dovid) ²¹ Yechezkeil 33:30.

And your speech. Your speech, and this is from the structure of, “who speak הַנִּדְבָּרִים against you near the walls,”²² [and as in,] “Then the God fearing men spoke נִדְבְּרוּ,”²³ parlediz in O.F.

footnotes: ²² Malachi 3:16. ²³ See Rashi in Maseches Avodah Zarah 30b.

Your cheeks. This is the upper part of the face, called pomels in O.F., next to the eyes. And in the language of the Talmud, it is called “ the pomegranate of the face.”²⁴ It resembles the split half of a pomegranate from the outside, which is red and round. This is a praise in terms of a woman’s beauty. Our Rabbis explained the allegory as follows: Even the worthless²⁵ ones רֵיקָנִים among you are full of mitzvos as a pomegranate.²⁶

footnotes: ²⁴ ‘רקתך’, from ‘רק’, meaning empty; see Bereishis 37:24. ²⁵ See Verse 1 above. ²⁶ Iyov 35:11.

From within your kerchief. From within your kerchief.

Your neck is like the Tower of Dovid. An erect posture is a sign of beauty in a woman. The allegorical meaning is: “Like the Tower of Dovid,” i.e., the fortress of Tzion, is a place of strength, stronghold, and a fortress. So is “your neck,” i.e., the Chamber of Hewn Stone, which was Yisroel’s strength and fortification, and that tower was built as a model of beauty, so that everyone should look at it, to study its forms and the beauty of its architecture. The word תַּלְפִּיּוֹת is of the grammatical structure of, “He teaches us מַלְּפֵנוּ more than the beasts of the earth,”²⁷ and the first tav in תַּלְפִּיּוֹת is [a prefix] like the first tav in תַּרְמִית [deceit] and תַּבְנִית [construction].²⁸

footnotes: ²⁷ Whose radicals are respectively רמה and בנה. ²⁸ Yirmiyahu 51:11.

A thousand shields are hung upon it. It was the custom of the princes to hang their shields and their quivers on the walls of the towers.

Quivers. Quivers in which they place arrows, as in, “Prepare the arrows, fill the quivers הַשְּׁלָטִים,”²⁹ and it corresponds to the Chamber of Hewn Stone, from where instruction goes forth, for the Torah act as a shield to Yisroel.³⁰ It is also possible to render that אֶלֶף הַמָּגֵן is the same as מָגֵן הָאֶלֶף, the shield of the thousand, alluding to, “the word [of the Torah] He commanded for a thousand generations.”³¹

footnotes: ²⁹ I.e. Teaching [אלף] the Torah acts as a shield [המגן]. ³⁰ I Divrei Hayamim 16:15. ³¹ Alternatively, שלטי are shields. (Metzudas Tzion)

All the quivers of the mighty. We find that disciples are described as arrows and quivers,³² as the matter is stated, “Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of youth. Fortunate is the man who has filled his quiver with them.”³³

footnotes: ³² The shields represent the great scholars of each generation. (Gra) ³³ Tehillim 127:4-5.

Your two breasts. Which nourished you. This refers to Moshe and Aharon.

Like two fawns, twins of a gazelle. It is a gazelle’s nature to bear twins, similarly, they [Moshe and Aharon] are equal, this one to that one.³⁴ Another explanation, “Your bosom,” is a reference to the Tablets, “twins of a gazelle,” they are equal with one measure; five commandments on this one and five on the other, each commandment corresponding to the other.³⁵ “I [am Adonoy...],” אָנֹכִי,³⁶ corresponds to, “You shall not murder,” לֹא תִרְצַח,³⁷ for the murderer diminishes the image of the Holy One, Blessed Is He. “You shall not have other gods,” לֹא יִהְיֶה לְךָ,³⁸ corresponds to, “you shall not commit adultery,” לֹא תִנְאָף,³⁹ for one who commits idolatry is like an adulterous woman who takes strangers while bound to her husband. “You shall not take לֹא תִשָּׂא⁴⁰ [the name of Adonoy your God in vain],” corresponds to, “You shall not steal,” לֹא תִגְנֹב,⁴¹ for one who steals will eventually swear falsely. “Remember [the day of Shabbos],” זָכוֹר אֶת יוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת,⁴² corresponds to, “You shall not bear [false witness],” לֹא תַעֲנֶה,⁴³ for one who profanes the Shabbos testifies falsely against his Creator, saying that He did not rest on the Shabbos of Creation. “Honor [your father and mother],” כַּבֵּד אֶת אָבִיךָ וְאֶת אִמֶּךָ,⁴⁴ corresponds to, “You shall not covet,” לֹא תַחְמֹד,⁴⁵ for one who covets⁴⁶ will eventually beget a son who [unknowingly] slights him and honors one who is not his father.

footnotes: ³⁴ This is in accordance with Rashi in Shemos 6:26 who states “there are places where the Torah sets Aharon ahead of Moshe and there are places where it sets Moshe ahead of Aharon, to tell you that they were equal.” ³⁵ I.e., the five commandments on one side of the Tablets correspond to the five commandments on the other side of the Tablets. ³⁶ Shemos 20:2. ³⁷ Ibid. Verse 13. ³⁸ Ibid. Verse 3. ³⁹ Ibid. Verse 13. ⁴⁰ Ibid. Verse 7. ⁴¹ Ibid. Verse 13. ⁴² Ibid. Verse 8. ⁴³ Ibid. Verse 13. ⁴⁴ Ibid. Verse 12. ⁴⁵ Ibid. Verse 14. ⁴⁶ His friend’s wife.

Who pasture. Their sheep among the roses and guide them on a tranquil and straight path.

Until the sun spreads. Until the sun spreads.

And the shadows flee. That is the time of intense heat, the hottest time of the day. I will save you, and you are pleasant to me.

The sun. הַיּוֹם here means] “the sun,”⁴⁷ and similarly, “in the direction of the sun הַיּוֹם,”⁴⁸ and similarly, “for behold, the sun הַיּוֹם comes, burning like a furnace,”⁴⁹ and once the sun has spread, “I will go to Mount Moriyah,” into the eternal Temple, [from] Bereishis Rabbah,⁵⁰ i.e., from when they sinned before Me by profaning My sacred offerings and by spurning My meal offerings in the days of Chofni and Pinchas.⁵¹ I will leave you and I will abandon this Tabernacle, and I will choose for Myself Mount Moriyah, into the eternal Temple. And there, “you are completely beautiful ... and you are without blemish,”⁵² and there I will accept all your sacrifices.

footnotes: ⁴⁷ Usually it means “the day.” ⁴⁸ Bereishis 3:8. ⁴⁹ Malachi 3:19. ⁵⁰ Bereishis Rabbah 55:7. ⁵¹ See I Shmuel 2:12-17. ⁵² Below Verse 7.

With me [will you come] from Levanon O bride. When you are exiled from this Levanon [Beis Hamikdosh], with Me you will be exiled, for I will go into exile with you.

With me from Levanon will you come. And when you return from the exile, I will return with you, and also throughout the exile, I will be distressed in your distress.⁵³ Therefore, [Scripture] wrote, “with me from Levanon will you come.” When you are exiled from this Levanon, you will come with Me, and [Scripture] does not write, “With me to Levanon will you come,” to denote that from the time of your departure from here until the time of your return, I am with you wherever you will go and come.

footnotes: ⁵³ See Yeshayahu 63:9.

You will look from the peak of Amanah. When I gather your dispersed ones, you will look and ponder what is the reward of your actions from the beginning of your faith [=מֵרֹאשׁ אֲמָנָה that you believed in Me, [e.g.,] your following Me in the wilderness,⁵⁴ and your travels and your encampments at My command,⁵⁵ and your coming to the peak of Snir and Chermon, which were the lions’ dens, Sichon and Og. Another explanation, “מֵרֹאשׁ אֲמָנָה” [=from the peak of Amanah], this is a mountain on the northern boundary of Eretz Yisroel, named Amanah. In the language of the Mishnah,⁵⁶ [these are] the mountains of Amnon [or] Mount Hor, about which it is stated, “from the Great Sea you shall draw a line extending to Mount Hor.”⁵⁷ When the exiles gather and arrive there, they will look from there and see the boundary of Eretz Yisroel and the air of Eretz Yisroel, and they will rejoice and offer thanks. Therefore, it is stated, “תָּשׁוּרִי [=You will sing] from the peak of Amanah.”

footnotes: ⁵⁴ See Yirmiyahu 2:22. ⁵⁵ See Bamidbar 9:17-23. ⁵⁶ Maseches Gittin 8a. ⁵⁷ Bamidbar 34:7.

You captured my heart. You have drawn My heart to you.

With but one of your eyes. Of the many good characteristics that you possess, if you had only one, I would love you dearly, and all the more so with all of them. And similarly, “with one necklace of your necklaces,” with but one of the chains of your necklaces. These are the adornments of commandments through which the [Bnei] Yisroel are distinguished. Another explanation of “בְּאַחַד עֲנָק,” with one of your forefathers, [the one] referred to as, “was one,”⁵⁸ the one singled out, and this is Avrohom, who is called עֲנָק [=a giant], “the greatest man among the giants בַּעֲנָקִים.”⁵⁹

footnotes: ⁵⁸ Yechezkeil 33:24. ⁵⁹ Yehoshua 14:15.

How beautiful is your love. Every place where you showed me affection is beautiful in My eyes; Gilgal, Shiloh, Nov, Givon, and the eternal Temple. That is what the [poet] from Bavel composed, “A resting place and other meeting places,” “resting place” refers to Yerusholayim, and “other meeting places” refers to each place where the Divine Presence met with Yisroel.

And the fragrance of your oils. Your good name.

Honey. [Which is] sweet.

Your lips drip. [With] explanations of Torah.

And the fragrance of your garments. The proper commandments pertaining to your garments; ritual fringes, blue thread, the garments of a kohein, and the prohibition of sha’atnez [=wool and linen].

A locked garden. This refers to the modesty of the daughters of Yisroel, who are not of loose morals.⁶⁰

footnotes: ⁶⁰ Alternatively, ‘גן’ refers to the Pentateuch which has fifty-three sidros, the numerical value of ‘גן’. (Gra)

A locked up spring. This can be explained as a term referring to a fountain, as in, “upper fountains גֻּלּוֹת,”⁶¹ and it can also be explained as a term referring to a gate, and it is an Aramaic term in the Talmud, “lock the gates גַלֵּי.”⁶²

footnotes: ⁶¹ Yehoshua 15:19. ⁶² Maseches Berachos 28a.

Your arid fields. Dry land is called בֵּית הַשְּׁלָחִין [=thirsty land], and it necessary to irrigate it constantly; a field watered by rain [=בֵּית הַבַּעַל is superior to it.⁶³ Here he praises the arid field, “Your arid fields” are replete with all good like a pomegranate orchard. This is said of the smallest of Yisroel, who are succulent with good deeds like a pomegranate orchard.

footnotes: ⁶³ The Mishnah in Bava Basra describes בית הבעל as a field in the valley that is moist and does not require irrigation. (Sifsei Chachomim)

Henna with spikenard. These are types of spices.

You are a garden spring. All this refers back to, “Your arid fields,” and he praises them like a fountain which irrigates them. The allegory is: It refers to the immersions of purification which the daughters of Yisroel immerse themselves.

And flowing streams from Levanon. From a place of cleanliness, without the murkiness of mud.

Awake, wind from the north, and come, wind of the south. Since they are pleasing to me— your fragrance and the beauty of your dwellings, I command the north and south winds to blow upon your garden so that your good fragrance should spread afar. The allegory is: It refers to the ingathering of the exiles, and from all the nations they will bring them as an offering to Yerusholayim, and in the days of the rebuilding [of the Beis Hamikdosh], the [Bnei] Yisroel will be gathered there for the festivals and for the pilgrimages, and Yisroel will reply, “Let my Beloved come to His garden,” for if You are there, all are there.