You have ravished my heart

This poem relies on the long-standing tradition of interpreting the Song of Songs as an allegory of the love between the Jewish people and God, and some of the action of the poem can be clarified by referring to traditional interpretations of figures and individual verses from the Song of Songs. Here, Levi uses motifs drawn from secular love poetry, interspersed with numerous quotations from the Song of Songs, to portray the relationship between Israel and God. God asks after Israel, who responds that she has been in exile, afraid for her life, but still yearning for God and the messianic redemption. Levi’s name appears as an acrostic in the first letters of each line.