SOURCE: An introduction and "Chapter I," in Commentary on the Song of Songs, translated by Leon A. Feldman, Van Gorcum & Comp., 1970, pp. 50-3, 57-75.

[In the following commentary, written sometime in the fourteenth century, the author provides both a literal interpretation of the Song's "plain meaning," and a parallel "occult interpretation" in which the Song is construed as an allegory of Jewish exile.]

HERE BEGINS THE COMMENTARY OF R. ABRAHAM HALEVI B. R. ISAAC TA MAKH …:

The wise king has said: "Honor not thyself in the presence of a king and stand not in the place of the great." This precept should suffice to keep us from overreaching ourselves, particularly in conjectural matters; so were we instructed by God speaking through the greatest of prophets: "Lest they break through unto the Lord to gaze." It is very dangerous, indeed, to probe into matters which are the very foundation of our faith; it is also presumptuous to write books for the instruction of others when the author is not worthy of the task. However, if one fulfills these two conditions—not to probe into matters of faith and not to delude himself into attempting to instruct others—he may be excused, regardless of his status, for preserving for his own use a record of what he has achieved in interpreting matters which he is likely to forget.

In this manner I have permitted myself to compose, as best I can, a commentary on this matchchless song, the Song of Songs, since I do not know of anyone who has ever written a commentary, containing both the plain meaning and the occult interpretation, which harmonizes the language with the context.

I have humbly set myself the task of establishing the plain meaning in conformity with phraseology and context and of reconciling, to the best of my ability, the occult interpretation with the figures of speech. For each verse I have indicated first its plain meaning and then its occult allusion, except that in a number of instances I have found it necessary to group together the plain meaning of several consecutive verses, postponing the occult interpretation in accordance with the requirements of the relationship of those verses one to another.

I do not pretend to claim originality for all my comments. I have made selections from the most penetrating of my predecessors; I have made additions where they missed a point; I have felt free to make emendations where I disagreed. When I reached a certain level in my comprehension of this poetic song and began to worry about retaining it all in my memory, I wrote down my observations with God's help before I should forget them.

Our Sages (may their memory be for a blessing!) and most of our commentators are in general agreement that the occult meaning of this book alludes to the deliverance of Israel from its [several] exiles. They differ in their interpretations of individual verses, some commentators making ascriptions which are diametrically opposed to those of others. I have consistently pursued my own course when it seemed just and accurate in the face of conflicting opinions. It devolved upon me to reconcile the various sections of the book with the several redemptions of Israel and to harmonize the metaphors with their analogues, after elucidating the former.

I aver that this book is based upon our holy nation's plea to the Creator to deliver us from our present exile and to direct us to do what is right in His sight. God, in leading us along the right path, expresses His assurance that we shall be delivered as He delivered our ancestors from previous exiles. The book describes those redemptions and pledges the start and completion of our own. Such is the book's pattern.

The book has the following divisions:

1:1-1:8 describes our present exile. 1:9-5:1 describes the period from the exodus from Egypt to the end of the First Temple.

5:2-6:9 deals with the period from the end of the Babylonian exile to the end of the Second Temple.

6:10-8:13 speaks of the start and completion of our own deliverance.

8:14, the last verse, repeats the theme of the opening verse—a characteristic of great poetry—and constitutes a plea to the Creator to release us from the pit of our exile and to restore His presence to our Temple (may it be speedily rebuilt in our time!).

1. THE SONG OF SONGS WHICH IS SOLOMON'S [SHELOMO'S]:

We have already indicated in our Introduction that King Solomon—may he rest in peace!—referred in this book to Israel's redemption from both the Egyptian exile, which occurred before his time, and from future exiles, which he foresaw with the aid of the Holy Spirit. And because the children of Israel offer up many songs of praise to the Creator—blessed be He!—for many deeds of redemption, he called it Song of Songs, namely, a song containing the songs of Israel.

"Which is Solomon's" can be interpreted simply as a reference to Solomon's [Shelomo's] authorship of the book and allegorically—as stated in the Midrash—as a reference to God, who is equated with peace [Shalom]. This accords with our statement in the Introduction that these are Israel's songs to God. The author compares the holy nation's love for the Creator to the true love of a maiden for her lover, a love in which there is desire only for the beloved and which values at naught any delights which are not bound up with her beloved. He also likens God's love for the chosen people—when He turns His efforts to redeem them from their exiles as well as during times of peace—to the feeling of a lover for his faultless bride who pleases him above all women. Another reason for calling the book Song of Songs is that, while its obvious subject is love, its chief purpose—the song of its songs—is, as he says, to strengthen the love and desire of the beloved people for their lover. Our Sages have therefore proclaimed it as the greatest of all songs.

2. LET HIM KISS ME WITH THE KISSES OF HIS
  MOUTH,
FOR THEY LOVE IS BETTER THAN WINE:

We have stated earlier that whereas the revealed subject of the book is the relationship between the lover and his beloved, its allegorical content is Israel's turning towards God and His response. This verse describes the beloved's yearning for reunion with her lover. She praises his love for its two chief delights—one physical, the other spiritual—which she compares to wine and fragrance. These delights round out man's nature, or, in the words of our Sages, "wine and fragrance make one wise" because "wine maketh glad the heart," strengthens the natural warmth, develops the body, prolongs its creative powers, and turns food and drink into healthful blood, while fragrance sustains the spirit. She praises her lover because his love possesses these two important qualities; therefore thy love is better than wine and thine ointments have a goodly fragrance. This is the simple meaning.

The occult interpretation of this verse is an expression of the chosen people's deep desire, their prayer that the Divine Presence join them as of old, although they live in exile at the present time. In the past they knew how much better was [God's] love than wine—a simile which contains an allusion to the seventy nations of the world. It is better for them to please God than to please the entire world. The Targum likewise interprets the verse as meaning: Your love is better for us than for the seventy nations.

3. THINK OINTMENTS HAVE A GOODLY
 FRAGRANCE;
THY NAME IS AN OINTMENT POURED FORTH;
THEREFORE DO THE MAIDENS LOVE THEE:

Thine ointments have a goodly fragrance, whoever longs for the fragrance, i.e. the good, let him betake himself to the goodly ointments, the fragrant ointments which the Psalmist calls "precious oil." One obtains pleasure from the oil's fragrance only when it is poured forth, for only then is its odor wafted to the nostrils. Therefore the verse stresses thy name is an ointment poured forth.—(Incidentally, oil [Shemen] occurs here in the feminine gender, something not found elsewhere; house [Bayit], always masculine, appears as a feminine noun on one occasion: "For her house sinketh down unto death.")—A good name is compared to precious oil, as it is written, "Better fame than precious oil." Our Sages, in a comment on the verse, "I shall make thy name great," compare a good reputation to a flask of foliatum oil.

There are some who regard turaq as the name of a city; they interpret the phrase to mean, "thy name is like an ointment from Turaq," a particularly fine ointment. Others make no distinction between turaq and huraq.—(Cf. tukku which is equated by some commentators with hukku.)—The simile is completed by a phrase which gives the reason for the lover's appeal, therefore do the maidens love thee, since his love is so desirable, it is not surprising that the young ladies long for him.

4. DRAW ME AFTER THEE; LET US HASTEN; THE KING HAS BROUGHT ME INTO HIS CHAMBERS; WE SHALL BE GLAD AND REJOICE IN THEE; WE SHALL CELEBRATE THY LOVE MORE THAN WINE; RIGHTLY DO THEY LOVE THEE:

The beloved's voice is now heard: When you draw me, that means, by your promise of love, I shall then hasten towards you. The king has brought me into his chambers, when this has come to pass, my joy of you will be complete. We shall celebrate thy love more than wine, this is a return to the wine simile above. Rightly have they loved thee: this is an additional reason for her love; it is not because of her desire alone that she loves him, but because of his qualities and his righteousness. It is well known that all lovers of righteousness are attracted to him. The author uses the term rightly to indicate that they are acting under the influence of righteousness, that they themselves are the symbol of righteousness.

The occult interpretation is that the [Israelite] people are praying to God to extricate them from the depth of their exile; that they will come running toward him to rejoice in the Sacred One of Israel by entering His rooms and temple. Thus they will remember His love, namely, His redemptive acts. Rightly do they love thee: Rightly [Mesharim] is a reference to the patriarchs; cf. the words of the Sages: What is the Book of Yashar? It is the book of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who are called righteous [Yesharim]. From them have we inherited the love of God. In this verse Israel reminds God of the patriarchs' merit [in loving Him].

5. I AM DARK YET COMELY, MAIDENS OF   JERUSALEM;
DARK AS THE TENTS OF QEDAR,
COMELY AS SOLOMON'S CURTAINS:

The young maiden always addresses her remarks to the most exalted young women because she, too, is of high rank. Therefore she uses the phrases maidens of Jerusalem or daughters of Zion, since they are known for their high qualities. She tells them that, although she is dark, they should not be surprised by her lover's desire for her because she is also comely. Her form is attractive and her appearance is as fine as the tents of Qedar, which, although black without, are full of precious stones and pearls; cf. the statement in the Midrash. Like Solomon's [Shelomo's] curtains, they are also more beautiful within than without in order to provide delight when lying down.

The occult interpretation has the chosen people declare that although they are blackened with exile—from lack of effort in performing their proper tasks and may—seem to be rejected by God, they possess the beauty of complete faith in Him, i.e., they are willing to suffer afflictions and even self-sacrifice for His sake. Lack of effort is compared to blackness, which is temporary, while strength of faith is like beauty of form and appearance, which is a permanent bodily characteristic. Like the tents of Qedar, like Solomon's [Shelomo's] curtains, my outward actions may not seem as perfect [Shalem] as my inner beliefs, but my heart's strong faith in God is as beautiful in His sight as the tents of Qedar and Solomon's curtains.

6. DO NOT SCORN ME BECAUSE I AM DARK, FOR THE SUN HATH TANNED ME; MY MOTHER'S SONS WERE SO ANGRY WITH ME THAT THEY MADE ME KEEPER OF THE VINEYARDS; BUT I DID NOT LOOK AFTER MY OWN VINEYARD:

Do not scorn me [tir'uni] is derived from the same root as "to gaze upon thee with scorn." The young woman says to the aforementioned maidens, do not scorn me because I am dark;—(this is a repetition, in stronger terms, of her previous remark. The second and third letters of the root are repeated … to strengthen its meaning. Sometimes, however, the repetition of the letters weakens the root…).

The maiden explains that they should not scorn her for her color, because it is not her natural hue; she was tanned by the sun—a temporary blemish. My mother's sons were angry with me, those who should have acted fraternally were angry with me and alienated me. They made me keeper of the vineyards, because of this labor and the sun's scorching rays, I did not look after my own vineyard, since I was not permitted to guard my own.

According to the occult interpretation, the people apologize for their lagging, which was caused by the punishing rays of the sun of their exile. My mother's sons were angry with me is a plain allusion to their exile in the lands of Edom and Ishmael, who are their kin and who should therefore have dealt kindly with them; then they would not have departed from God's ways. But they became angry with them and made them keeper of the vineyards; they forced them into foreign worship so that they were unable to perform their own duty in the service of God.

7. TELL ME, MY BELOVED, WHERE THOU FEEDEST
  THE FLOCKS, WHERE THOU MAKEST THEM LIE
  DOWN AT NOON: WHY SHOULD I BE
  EMBARRASSED AMONG THEY COMPANIONS
  FLOCKS?

It is the practice of shepherds to pasture their flocks in the morning and in the evening and to have them lie in the shade at noon, the hottest part of the day. The maiden asks her lover to tell her where he will feed his flock and where he will take them for their noontime rest; she will meet him there. Should she wander among strangers' flocks, she would be embarrassed by their suspicion that all is not well between the lovers.—The term 'otia, literally, to be "veiled," is used instead of mitbayeshet, because the one who is embarrassed veils his face from everyone's gaze.)

Its occult meaning is that the people pray to their Redeemer to teach them His ways so that they may follow them and find Him. Why should they suffer shame in their exile among the foreign nations?—(Thy companions' flock is, of course, a simile.)—Up to this point we have heard, on the one hand, the maiden speaking to her lover, and, on the other, the chosen people's prayer to God.

8. IF THOU KNOWEST NOT, O FAIREST OF
  WOMEN,
FOLLOW THE SHEEP TRACKS AND PASTURE THY
  KIDS BESIDE THE SHEPHERDS' TENTS:

Reciprocating her love, the lover responds to her plea, with which she is completely preoccupied, and says to her, "if you do not know where I am, follow the flocks and look for the shepherd who seeks the highest ground; there you will find me." He speaks of her kids—and not of her flocks—because, being delicate and gentle, she cannot feed a large flock; she tends several kids only for pleasure.

The occult interpretation is that this is God's response to the prayers of His people: If you do not know the Lord's ways, follow those of the Holy Flock, i.e., the patriarchs in their wanderings.

Pasture thy kids, teach the youth who are ignorant of God's ways. Beside the shepherds' tents, the teachings of the shepherds, the pious scholars of old, who follow His ways. There is also an allusion here to God's guidance and supremacy.

9. I COMPARE THEE, MY LOVE, TO A MARE IN
  PHARAOH'S CHARIOTS:

The lover tells his beloved that he compares her rich ornamentation to that observed on Pharaoh's own mare, the best of all horses—Egyptian in origin—which drew Pharaoh's chariots.

The occult interpretation is that here—as mentioned—begins the story of the deliverance from Egypt. In speaking of Pharaoh's mare, this verse identifies the country from which Israel was delivered, and adds that the people were adorned by possessing important and distinguished personalities.

10. BEAUTIFUL ARE THY CHEEKS WITH CIRCLETS,
THY NECK WITH STRINGS OF PEARLS:

Here are mentioned several of the maiden's jewels. These jewels also allude to distinguished personalities, viz. Moses, Aaron and his sons, Joshua, and the tribal chiefs.

11. CIRCLETS OF GOLD SHALL WE MAKE FOR
 THEE,
WITH STUDS OF SILVER:

"Since these circlets and other jewels are so becoming to you," says the lover, "I shall bedeck you with even more beautiful ornaments—of gold, for richness and beauty, with insets of silver, for attracting attention."

According to the hidden meaning, God decides to complete the people's praiseworthy act of obedience to their leaders by bestowing upon them the perfection of the Torah. The commandments themselves are compared to gold and the narrative portions to silver insets which attract the reader's attention.

12. WHILE THE KING IS AT HIS TABLE,
MY NARD SENDETH FORTH ITS FRAGRANCE:

The maiden, upon finding her lover and sensing his desire for her, draws nearer to him so that he may breathe her fragrance and be even more attracted to her. She calls him king, as before, because of her admiration for him.

The occult interpretation is that when the people became aware of God's interest in them, they drew nearer to Him through their good deeds and prayers. Their fragrant nard was their promise that "all that God hath spoken we shall do."

13. MY BELOVED IS UNTO ME LIKE A CLUSTER
 OF MYRRH THAT LIETH BETWEEN MY BREASTS:

The maiden assures her beloved that his delight in her fragrance need never cease; the bouquet of myrrh is always between her breasts, even while she sleeps.

This is an allusion to the people's promise to obey God's will and to God's assurance to Moses—in His omniscience—that the people's faith in Him and in Moses will continue forever.

14. MY BELOVED IS UNTO ME LIKE A CLUSTER
 OF HENNA FROM THE VINEYARDS OF EIN-GEDI:

The maiden repeats the theme of the previous verse, varying the name of the flower and its source, which is unequaled. She tells her lover that she has a cluster of henna which she picked from the vineyards of Ein-Gedi because there is none better than what is found there.

The occult interpretation follows the Targum. This is an allusion to the people's practice, during their sojourn in the wilderness, of pressing the libation wine from the grapes of Ein-Gedi.

15. THOU ART BEAUTIFUL, MY BELOVED, THOU
 ART BEAUTIFUL;
THINE EYES ARE LIKE DOVES:

A short while ago her beloved praised her by stating how her ornaments brought out her beauty. This is not, however, the highest form of praise for a woman. Now that they are so close, his awareness of her beauty compels him to praise her for her own, unadorned self. His praise of her dove-like eyes is a metaphor describing their power to awaken love in his heart, a metaphor more applicable to doves than to any other creatures.

Its occult interpretation: In praising the virtues of the holy nation, God had singled out its leaders, who are its adornments. Now He praises the people for themselves, because their virtues are part of their nature and they do not have to learn them from their leaders despite their greatness and importance. These leaders are their eyes, as stated in Scripture: "From the eyes of the community." It was they who aroused the people's love for God, just like the doves who evince great activity in matters of love.

16. THOU ART HANDSOME, MY LOVER, AND
 PLEASANT;
AND OUR COUCH IS LEAFY:

The maiden reciprocates her lover's endearments, praising him, too, in order to consummate their mutual desire, implied in the ending of the verse.

17. THE BEAMS OF OUR HOUSES ARE CEDARS,
 OUR PANELS CYPRESSES:

The beams are the heavy supports for the lighter panels which rest on them.—The latter word is derived from the root "to run," because they run across the beams; cf. the Targum and the Midrash: Rabbi Yohanan stated that the Torah teaches us to use cedars for supporting the roof, costly though they are, and cypresses, which are less expensive, for panels.)—