Where has your beloved gone O fairest among women? Where has your beloved turned that we may seek him with you?⁷⁹

footnotes: ⁷⁹ The nations taunt and harrass Israel, “Why has Your God forsaken you?”—Rashi

My beloved has gone down to his garden, to the beds of spices;⁸⁰ to graze in the gardens and to gather roses.⁸¹

footnotes: ⁸⁰ According to Rashi, garden refers to the Temple, and beds of spices to the incense—altar. When the Temple is built, God’s Divine Presence will return to us. ⁸¹ In the meantime, He rests His Divine Presence in the synagogue and at the houses of study where He listens to those who converse in Torah, gathering their merits [roses] and recording them in a Book of Remembrance before Him.—Rashi

I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine, who grazes among the roses.

You are beautiful, my beloved, as Tirzah,⁸² comely as Jerusalem, awesome as the hosts [of angels].

footnotes: ⁸² Rashi, quoting the Sifri, interprets תִרְצָה not as a place but as a form of the word רְצוּיָה pleasing, desirable. Accordingly, God praises Israel saying; “You are fair my beloved, when you are desirable to Me.” When Israel performs the mitzvos which God desires, she is beautiful in His eyes.

Turn your eyes away from me, for they made me haughty;⁸³ your hair is like a flock of goats descending from Mount Gilead.⁸⁴

footnotes: ⁸³ God declares that it will be impossible to return the Ark, the Ark Cover and the Cherubim to the Second Temple because they inspired Him to manifest a special love for Israel which caused them to take Him for granted and led them to betray Him. ⁸⁴ See note 45.

Your teeth are like a counted flock which have come up from the washing; all of which are perfect and none are blemished among them.⁸⁵

footnotes: ⁸⁵ See note 46.

Like a slice of pomegranate⁸⁶ are your cheeks from within your kerchief.

footnotes: ⁸⁶ See note 47.

There are sixty queens and eighty concubines, and young maidens without number.⁸⁷

footnotes: ⁸⁷ According to Rashi, the sixty queens refers to the heads of family who were the descendants of Avrohom: sixteen of Keturah, Yitzchok and his two sons, Yishmael and his twelve family heads, the twelve sons of Yaakov and the sixteen family heads of Eisav. The eighty concubines refers to Noach and his offspring until Avrohom. [The count of all the offspring of those who were saved in the Ark totaled eighty.] And just as queens are superior to concubines, so are Avrohom and his descendants more esteemed than all others.

But she is unique, my dove, my perfect one, she is unique to her mother, she is pure to her who begot her;⁸⁸ daughters saw her and acclaimed her, queens and concubines, and they praised her.

footnotes: ⁸⁸ This refers to the perfect integrity of Yaakov’s children who were without blemish [ מִטָתוֹ שְׁלֵמָה ].

Who is this that gazes down like the [breaking] dawn, beautiful as the moon, bright as the sun, awesome as the hosts [of angels]?⁸⁹

footnotes: ⁸⁹ When Israel marched forth from Egypt surrounded by the Pillar of Cloud and Fire, they were awesome in the eyes of the nations.

I went down to the garden of nuts,⁹⁰ to see the moist plants of the valley; to see whether the vine had blossomed, if the pomegranates had sprouted.

footnotes: ⁹⁰ When one looks at a nut, he sees only a shell but its contents are not visible. Similarly, Israel is modest, her scholars are unpretentious; but when they are examined they are found to be full of wisdom.—Rashi

I did not know,⁹¹ my soul set me like chariots of a noble people.⁹²

footnotes: ⁹¹ Israel exclaims that she did not know how to guard herself from sin. ⁹² I brought these evils upon myself through groundless hatred and controversy, and thus became like a chariot ridden upon by the nobles of other nations.