The Divulgence of Mysteries and the Appearance of Lights (Commentary on the Song of Songs)

Introduction

We intend to elucidate the [inner meanings of the verses in Song of Songs beyond the content] arrived at by our sages. Heaven forbid that he [the author] had in mind lust, mischief, or shamelessness, [for this is absurd] in [regard to this song]. For it was revealed by the holy spirit, as is the case with Psalms and Ecclesiastes [and the rest of the books of the Prophets,] which come after the Writ of the Almighty. They [i.e., the rabbis] placed it in the third tier [after the Prophets]. Our rabbis said that all books of scripture are holy, but Song of Songs is the holiest [see m. Yadayim 3:5]. They designated it as especially beloved. Had they only considered the plain meaning of the words, they would not have included it in the canon of inviolable scripture; [they would not have considered it] even more [holy] than the other books revealed by the holy spirit were it not for its noble, exquisite inner sense, its [exalted,] pure meaning. Moreover, what the exalted One said [of King Solomon]: I grant you a wise and discerning mind (1 Kings 3:12), and what is further said [of Solomon], that He was the wisest of all men: [wiser] than Ethan the Ezrahite, etc. (1 Kings 5:11) and: The wisdom of Solomon was greater than the wisdom of all the ancients, etc. (1 Kings 5:10) would make no sense were he [Solomon] to have composed a work describing a conversation about love and flirting, between a lover and his beloved. That would be a book promoting sin.

Even had this happened (heaven forbid), our rabbis would have hidden it away as they did with “The Book of Remedies” [see m. Pesaḥim 4:9] when they saw the damage resulting from that. And how would they not do the same with this, which represents greater damage to our youth? So, when we find that they did not hide it away but in fact were pleased to study it, as I have said before, we must conclude that he [Solomon] intended to present its meaning in such expressions to make it appealing to all, and to awaken a desire for it. And although the common people would [be inclined to] take from it only its external meanings, were they to put things together a little, they would think in their minds that it could not be that one such as he [Solomon] would indeed intend [to convey] the plain meaning, the chaff of the words. So it was incumbent on those who came after him, prophets and scholars, to commend it and be pleased with teaching and explicating it. They would not have considered it greater than [the rest of] scripture did it not [in fact] contain noble inner meanings. It beckoned them to meditate on these inner meanings, to seek those who would make it understandable to them. As the exalted One said: Ask your father, he will inform you; your elders, they will tell you (Deuteronomy 32:7).

The Hindus took this same path in their book Kalīla wa-Dimna,¹ which is filled with allegorical conversations between animals and birds; they took great pains to present it so that the public would invest effort in it, enjoy its fables, and find it delightful, so that their intellect would be strengthened and they would find through investigation the knowledge and wisdom contained beneath its surface. [ . . . ]

My beloved is mine, and I am his, who browses among the lilies. (Song of Songs 2:16)

After he praises her, and she praises him, and each of them extols the virtues of the other, she says, “since his virtues and beauty are perfect, and so are mine, no companion suits me but him, and no companion suits him but me, owing to the harmony and compatibility between us. Consequently, I am good only for him. He is good only for me.”

By saying who browses among the lilies, she means that he has a discerning eye, for he dwells among flowers, which are beautiful and fragrant. Lilies is a name for flowers with a strong fragrance. Their fragrance is experienced by people [strolling] in good and beautiful gardens—thus does he experience my love and goodness. And it is possible that she intends lilies to express [the concept of] beauty, and she says, “he shall never cease desiring and longing [for beauty] until he comes to me and takes me to him as a beloved. For he is happier with me than [he is] with any [other] [and] has cast aside all my predecessors.” She says that her lover is happy with her because previously he had been one who browses among the lilies. I mean by this that he examined them and found no one comparable [to her] among them. “Since he is happy with me, I am also happy with him.”

Now, according to the way of my teachers, of blessed memory, it is the conversation between the [Jewish] people and their Creator. She [Israel] says, “He has chosen me from among all the other nations. And I also have chosen His love and devotion.” As it says in the good book: You have affirmed this day . . . And the Lord has affirmed this day (Deuteronomy 26:17, 18).

And she intends [by] who browses among the lilies to say, “who guides the righteous,” who are likened to lilies, as was Abraham our father. It is said regarding this: Like a lily among thorns (Song of Songs 2:2), meaning that he [Abraham] was a righteous person who dwelled among evil ones. [ . . . ] The meaning of this is that His providence is over the righteous, as Jacob said: The God who has been my shepherd (Genesis 48:15).

Now, according to my way, this [verse] is the utterance of the human intellect. For when the active intellect devotes itself to teaching her [i.e., the human intellect], perfecting her, saving her from ruin, and bringing her to joy in the world to come, more than the rest of the faculties, she [the human intellect] recognizes that he is the one who exists for her. So she says: “I am his, obedient to him, in my recognition of his good intentions toward me and his love for me. [I am] grateful to him for that with which he inspired me, and for the illumination of my vision to receive it from him, so that I may learn the truth and acquire knowledge. He has two obligations toward me: inspiring and imparting knowledge. It is right for me to serve him, for he can liberate me from bondage to the body, from oblivion in the ocean of matter. He chose me, so I have chosen him.”

In her statement, who browses among the lilies, she depicts, in terms of flowers, the intelligibles which bring delight, as one delights in viewing flowers, smelling them, and refreshing the soul with them. So she named him one who browses among the lilies, which are the intelligibles, because for his sake and under his auspices, the human intellect delights in them. [ . . . ]

And the meaning of [who browses among the] lilies here could be people of intellect.

And [scripture] calls [the intellect] lily on account of its beauty and nobility over the rest of the faculties [of the soul]. For these are thorns in comparison to them. As [scripture] says: like a lily among thorns.