meta: {"file": "/data/tomer/Sefaria-Export/txt/Tanakh/Writings/Song of Songs/English/The Rashi Ketuvim by Rabbi Shraga Silverstein.txt"}
text: Song of Songs
  שיר השירים
  The Rashi Ketuvim by Rabbi Shraga Silverstein
  
  
  Song of Songs
  
  
  
  
  
  	The Song of Songs [(All of Scripture is holy; but the Song of Songs, holy of holies)], which is Solomon's. [(Throughout Shir Hashirim, "Solomon" (Shlomoh) is understood as "the King of Peace [shalem]," all of it being compounded of the fear of Heaven and the acceptance of the yoke of Heaven.)]
  	Let Him kiss me [(the Congregation of Israel)] of the kisses of His mouth, for Your love is better than [feasts of] wine.
  	For fragrance Your oils are good. Oil poured forth [(its fragrance spreading abroad)] is Your name; therefore, the "virgins" [(the proselytes, e.g., Yithro, Rachav, etc.)] have loved You.
  	[I have heard You say] "Draw Me [to you. And, accordingly,] after You shall we run [(to be Your bride)]. The King has brought me into His chambers, [and even today] we are glad and rejoice in You. [Even today, in "living widowhood," we mention Your [first] love more than [any feast of] wine. A "straight" [i.e., "unalloyed" love] have they loved You.
  	I may be "black" [(outwardly)], but I am beautiful [(inwardly)], O daughters of Jerusalem — ([black)] like the tents of Kedar; [(beautiful)], like the curtains of Solomon.
  	Do not look at me [scornfully] because I am black; for the sun has scorched me [and I can return to my former beauty]. The sons of my mother [(among whom I was reared and who ascended with me from Egypt as the "mixed multitude”)] have taunted me [(with their idolatries)], making me a keeper of their vineyards [i.e., gods]; my own vineyards I did not keep.
  	[(The Congregation of Israel says to G-d):] Tell me, [You] whom my soul loves, how will You graze [Your flock among these wolves, the nations of the exile]? How will You make [them] lie down in the afternoon [of the exile? (the afternoon being a particularly difficult time for sheep)]. For why shall I be enwrapped [to the lip like a mourner at the plight of my sheep] among the flocks of Your neighbors [i.e., among the hordes of the nations, who rely on other gods]?
  	[G-d responds:] If you do not know [where to graze your sheep (in the absence of My immanence in exile)], you fairest among the women, go forth in the footsteps of the flock [i.e., retrace the steps of your forefathers, return to the Law] and [in reward] you will graze your kids by the shepherds' dwellings [i.e., among the dignitaries of the nations.]
  	With My "squadrons" against the chariots of Pharaoh [(at the Red Sea)] did I silence you [i.e., your cries], My love.
  	Your cheeks are lovely with rows [of jewels (from the "spoils" of the Red Sea)]; your neck, with strings of gems.
  	[My tribunal and I devised that at the splitting of the Sea, by impelling Pharaoh to pursue Israel with all the glories of his treasure houses,] we would provide for you rows of gold along with the studs of silver [that you had already taken from Egypt (the spoils of the Sea being greater than the spoils of Egypt)].
  	[The congregation of Israel responds: All that You say is so. You conferred good upon me and I reciprocated with evil. For] while the King was still at His banquet [(under the Torah "canopy" at Sinai)], my nard "gave forth" [(euphemism for "vitiated")] its fragrance [(in the sin of the golden calf)].
  	[(But, instead of destroying me,)] my Beloved was like a bundle of nard to me [i.e., as if there were a bundle of nard in His "bosom," and He said to me, as it were: Take this bundle. It will give forth even a finer fragrance than the one you "lost." (the analogy:) G-d effects reconciliation between Himself and Israel by finding atonement for the sin of the golden calf in their donations for the sanctuary. "Let the gold of the sanctuary come and atone for the gold of the calf." He assured me that] between my breasts [(the two jutting poles of the ark)] He would lie [i.e., repose His Shechinah.]
  	A cluster of henna [(kofer - an allusion to all of the kapparoth (atonements) granted the children of Israel by the L-rd for their many trials of Him in the desert)] is my Beloved to me in the vineyards of Ein Geddi [(which give forth fruit four or five times a year)].
  	[I was confounded by my shameful acts, but He strengthened me, and forgave me, saying:] Behold, you are fair, My love [viz. Numbers 14:20]; behold, you are fair; your eyes are doves.
  	[Israel responds:] Behold, You are fair my Beloved, exceedingly fair, [(for having forgiven my offenses and having reposed Your Shechinah within me, viz. Leviticus 9:24)]; our "couch," [the sanctuary] too, is fruitful.
  	The beams of our house [(the sanctuary)] are cedars; our rafters are cypress.
  
  
  
  	[The congregation of Israel:] I am the rose of Sharon, the lily of the valleys [(even more beautiful than the rose of Sharon)].
  	As a lily among the thorns [(which remains "upright" and beautiful though the thorns constantly prick it)], so is My loved one among the daughters [of the nations, resisting all their blandishments to idolatry].
  	As a flourishing apple tree among the [desiccated] trees of the forest, so is my Beloved among the "sons" [i.e., the idolatries of the nations.] For His shade did I long and I sat (therein), and His fruit was sweet to my taste.
  	He has brought me to the house of wine [(the tent of meeting, where the details and exegeses of Torah were given)], and His banner [(which is still suspended)] over me is love.
  	Support me [here in exile] with cups [of grapes (as the sick are "supported")]; couch me among apples [(for their fragrance)], for I am sick for [His love].
  	His left hand was under my head [in the desert], and His right hand embraced me [i.e., sustained me (all of which I remember, and which makes me yearn for Him in my exile)].
  	I have besworn you, [O nations], the daughters [i.e., neighbors] of Jerusalem [that you would become prey], like the roes and hinds of the field, if you vitiated or protested the love [between me and my Beloved [(by attempting to turn me from Him to you)], so long as it desires [i.e., so long as my love remains fixed in my heart and He desires me.]
  	The voice of my Beloved, behold, it comes, [heralding the redemption], leaping over the mountains, skipping over the hills.
  	My beloved [(in His swiftness)] is like a roe or like a young hind. Behold, [(seeking to redeem us)], He stands behind our wall; He looks in from the windows [(of Heaven to see what is being done to us)]; He peers through the lattices [viz. Exodus 3:7].
  	My Beloved called out and said to me [(through Moses)]: Arise, now, My love, My beautiful one, and go [(viz. Exodus 3:17): "I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt, etc.")]
  	For, behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone.
  	The blossoms have appeared on the earth [(and provide pleasure to the wayfarer)]. The time [(Nissan)] of the song [birds] has arrived; and the voice of the turtle-dove has been heard in our land.
  	The fig-tree has put forth its green figs; and the budding vines have given forth their scent. Arise, now, My love, My beautiful one, and go [(out of Egypt)].
  	My dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the recess of the cliff, let Me see your visage, let Me hear your voice [viz. Exodus 15:10]; for your voice is sweet and your visage is comely.
  	There seized upon us, foxes [the Egyptians)], little foxes, ravagers of vineyards, and our vineyards were yet in unripe bloom.
  	My Beloved [turned] to me [(and to no other nation for the requital of all His needs, e.g., "Sacrifice the Pesach," "Sanctify the first-born," etc.)], and I [turned] to Him [(and to no other gods for the requital of all my needs — to Him,)] who grazes [His sheep] in the lilies [(in a goodly pasture)].
  	["My Beloved turned to me, etc."] — until the sun (i.e., my sins, the golden calf and the spies,)] blackened [me as in the heat of day], and the [protective] shadows [i.e., my merits] fled. [I made] You turn away [from me], my Beloved, like a roe or like a young hind on the distant hills.
  
  
  
  	On my couch [of grief] in the nights [of my thirty-eight years of rejection], I sought Him whom my soul loved. I sought Him, but I did not find Him [viz. Exodus 33:3].
  	I said: I will arise and go round the city, in the markets and in the thoroughfares; I will seek Him whom my soul loves [viz. Exodus 33:11, 33:20]. I sought Him, but I did not find him.
  	They found me, the keepers of the city [i.e., Moses and Aaron], who go round the city. Did you see Him whom my soul loves? [i.e., Did you receive a prophecy from Him?]
  	I had almost passed them by [i.e., close to their leaving me, at the end of forty years], when I found Him whom my soul loved, [who was with me in the days of Joshua in the conquering of the thirty-one kings]. I held onto Him and did not let go of Him until I had brought Him to the house of my mother and the chamber of my conception [i.e., the sanctuary of Shiloh.]
  	[Wherefore, I have besworn you, [O nations], the daughters [i.e., neighbors] of Jerusalem [that you would become prey], like the roes and hinds of the field, if you vitiated or protested the love [between me and my Beloved [(by attempting to turn me from Him to you)], so long as it desires [i.e., so long as my love remains fixed in my heart and He desires me.]
  	[When the nations saw the pillars of fire and smoke that accompanied me in the desert and removed all destructive agents in my way to pave a path for me, they exclaimed:] Who is this [(i.e., How great must this nation be)] which rises up from the desert as [high and straight as] columns of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense [(an allusion to the incense cloud that rose from the inner alter)] with all the powders of the merchant? [(the spices being crushed into a thin powder)]
  	Behold, the "bed" of Shlomoh [(the tent of meeting and the ark, which they carried in the desert)]. Sixty [i.e., six hundred thousand] heroes roundabout it of the warriors of Israel [(aside from those under twenty years of age and over sixty)].
  	All holding the sword, taught in war [(the war of Torah, as, likewise, the Cohanim surrounding the sanctuary, taught in the order of sacrifices)]; each, his "sword" on his thigh [("his sword"; the tradition and the signs whereby they "pinned down" the received tradition)], from fear in the night [i.e., from fear that it be forgotten and bring misfortune upon them (viz. Psalms 2:12)].
  	A palanquin [(the tent of meeting, affixed in the sanctuary of Shiloh)] did the King, Shlomoh, make for Himself from the trees of the Levanon.
  	Its pillars He made of silver; its base [i.e., the kaporeth (the ark cover)], of gold; its "rider" [i.e., the parocheth (the curtain), suspended and "riding" on columns from pillar to pillar], of purple; its midst inlaid with love: [(ark, kaporeth, cherubs, and tablets)] from the daughters of Jerusalem [(Israel, fearing G-d and whole-hearted with Him)].
  	Go out and see — O daughters of Tziyon [(sons who are distinctive unto Him [metzuyanim, like Tziyon] with milah (circumcision), tefillin, and tzitzith)] — the King, Shlomoh — the crown [(the tent of meeting, "crowned" with distinctive colors)] wherewith His "mother" [(the Congregation of Israel)] crowned Him on the day of His wedding [(the day of the giving of the Torah, when they crowned Him as "King" and accepted His yoke)] and on the day of the rejoicing of His heart [(the eighth day of investiture, when the sanctuary in the desert was dedicated)].
  
  
  
  	Behold, you are fair, My love [viz. Numbers 14:20]; behold, you are fair; your eyes are doves. Behind your (strings of) beads, your hair [sparkles] like a flock of goats sliding down Mount Gilead.
  	Your teeth are like a choice flock [(of ewe lambs, selected for their wool)], rising from the washing, all perfect, no blemish among them.
  	As a thread of scarlet are your lips, and your speech is comely. Like a pomegranate-half is your cheek-top behind your beads.
  	Like the tower of David [i.e., majestic] is your neck, built for beauty. The "teaching of the shield" is hung upon it, all the quivers of the mighty [(i.e., the disciples)].
  	Your two breasts [(which "nurse" you, i.e., Moses and Aaron)] are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle, grazing in the lilies [(a "goodly pasture")].
  	[(And this idyll between Me and you will persist)] until the sun is bared and the shadows are fled [(viz. 2:17) i.e., until the desecration of the sanctuary of Shiloh in the days of Chofni and Pinchas (viz. I Samuel 1), when] I will leave [this sanctuary and go] to the mount of myrrh [(Mount Moriah)] and to the hill of frankincense [(the Temple)].
  	[and there, again — ] "You are wholly fair, My love, and there is no blemish in you" [(and I will again desire your offerings)].
  	[And when you are subsequently exiled for your sins] — with Me from the Levanon [(the Temple), My bride — with Me from the Levanon shall you come [i.e., I shall share your exile with you.] Look from the top (also, "first")] of Amanah: [When I gather in your exiles, reflect upon the reward owing you for the "first" of your emunah (faith) in Me: your following Me in the desert, your journeying and encamping at My command; look] from the top of Senir and Chermon, from the dens of lions [(Sichon and Og)], from the mountains of leopards.
  	You have drawn My heart, My sister, My bride with [even] one of your eyes, with [even] one link of your necklace [i.e., with even one of your many mitzvoth and virtues; how much more so with all of them!]
  	How fair are your loves [i.e., all the places where you showed your love for Me [(Gilgal, Shiloh, Nov, Giveon, the Temple in Jerusalem)], My sister, [My] bride. How much better are your loves than wine, and the fragrance of your oils [(your good name)] than all spices.
  	They drip [(with Torah "sweets")] like the honeycomb, your lips, my bride. Honey and milk are under your tongue, and the fragrance of your garments [i.e., the fragrance of the mitzvoth affecting your garments [e.g., tzitzith, tcheleth (the blue fringe), the priestly vestments, sha'atnez (the interdiction of an admixture of wool and linen)] is as the fragrance of the Levanon.
  	A locked garden [i.e., chaste] is My sister, [My] bride, a locked gate, a sealed spring.
  	Your dry fields [i.e., even the "mediocre" among you] are like a [fruitful] orchard of pomegranates, with choice fruits, henna and nard.
  	Nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices.
  	A pool of gardens, a well of living waters [(allusions to the ablutions of the daughters of Israel)] and [crystal-clear] drippings from Levanon.
  	[G-d says:] Awake, O north [wind], and come, O south [wind]. Blow [upon] My garden [and let the fragrance of] its spices be wafted [afar and gather in the exiles.] [Israel responds:] Let my Beloved come to His garden and eat His choice fruits. ["If You are there, all is there!"]
  
  
  
  	I came to My garden [(in the days of the investiture of the sanctuary, My sister, [My] bride. I gathered My myrrh with My spice [(the incense offered by the princes of the tribes)]. I ate [i.e., consumed] My honeycomb with My wine [(in My "overflowing" love for them)]. I have drunk My wine [(the libations)] with [i.e., which are sweeter and purer than] milk. Eat, [your portions, My] friends, [(Aaron and his sons, in the tent of meeting)]; drink deep, [My] loved ones, [(Israel, who ate the flesh of the peace-offering at the investiture of the Sanctuary)].
  	I [(the Congregation of Israel, in the period of the first Temple)] was asleep [i.e., negligent in the service of the L-rd], but my "Heart" was awake [(to guard me and to confer good upon me)]. The voice of my Beloved knocks. [(He reposes His Shechinah on the prophets and exhorts me through them constantly;)] Open to Me, [(Do not cause Me to depart from you)] My sister, My love, My dove, My innocent one. For my head is filled with [the] dew [of blessings and reward, if you return to Me] — but My locks with the drops of night [i.e., punishments, if you spurn Me].
  	[(Israel responds:)] I have taken off my cloak [(after my trysts with my other lovers, [viz. Jeremiah 44:18])]; how can I put it on [(to "open" for You)]? I have washed my feet; how can I sully them?
  	My Beloved sent forth His hand from the opening [of the door], and my innards throbbed for Him [to return to Him].
  	I arose to open for my Beloved, and my hands dripped myrrh, and my fingers, flowing myrrh, on the handles of the lock [(in anticipation of greeting Him)].
  	I opened for my Beloved — but my Beloved was hidden and gone from me. My soul went out at His word: ["I will not enter your house, for in the beginning you refused to open."] I called Him; but He did not answer me.
  	They found me, the watchers, who go about the city. They struck me. They wounded me. They divested me of my adornments, the watchers of the walls.
  	I have besworn you, O daughters of Jerusalem [(the oppressing nations)]. If [in time to come] you find my Beloved, [summoning you for testimony on the day of judgment as to my deportment, [viz. Isaiah 43:9], what shall you tell Him? That I was sick with love for [for Him, i.e., that I suffered all kinds of afflictions for sanctification of the Name.]
  	[(The nations ask Israel:)] How is your Beloved different [from other gods, that you expose yourselves to burning and crucifixion on His behalf?] How is your Beloved different from [any] beloved [god] that you have besworn us thus [to testify to your love for Him]?
  	My beloved is white and ruddy, distinguished among legions.
  	His head is [lustrous as] fine gold; his locks are waves, black as the raven.
  	His eyes, [when he gazes] at the [sparkling] water-courses are as [beautiful as] those of doves, [(His eyes)] washed in milk, floating on [their] sockets.
  	His cheeks are like a bed of spices, perfumers' compounds. His lips are lilies, dripping flowing myrrh.
  	His hands are wheels of gold, set with emeralds; His midst is polished ivory, adorned with sapphires.
  	His legs are pillars of marble, set in pedestals of fine gold. His stature is [tall,] as [the cedars of] the Levanon. He is distinctive [among the men] as the cedars [among the other trees.]
  	His palate is sweet [(i.e., His words are sweet)] and He is altogether desirable. This is my Beloved and this is my Love, O daughters of Jerusalem.
  
  
  
  	[The nations taunt Israel:] Where did your Beloved go, you loveliest among the women" [Why has He left you widowed and forsaken?] [When He returned and reposed His spirit on Koresh (who permitted the rebuilding of the Temple), when they began to build, they came and said to them:] Whither has your Beloved turned? [If He is returning to you,] let us seek Him with you [(their intention being to subvert the building of the Temple, viz. Ezra 4:2)].
  	[And Israel replies:] My Beloved has gone down to His garden [(He has commanded us to rebuild His sanctuary, and He will be there with us)], [He has gone down] to the beds of spices [(where the incense is burned.) And He has further gone down] to graze [His flock] in the "gardens" [of exile whither they are dispersed, to repose His Shechinah in the synagogues and the study halls] and to gather "lilies" [i.e., to savor their Torah converse, viz. Malachi 3:16. And, as to your wishing to seek Him with us],
  	I am my Beloved's, and my Beloved is mine, who grazes His flock among the lilies [(and you shall not build the house of our G-d with us in Jerusalem, viz. Ezra 4:3)].
  	[G-d says:] You are beautiful, My love, when [you are thus] reconciled [to Me], fair as Jerusalem [of yore], awesome [to the enemy] as [angelic] hosts.
  	Turn your eyes away from Me, for they emboldened Me [in the first Temple] to show you too much love, wherefore you were faithless to Me (so that in this Temple I cannot restore to you the ark, the kaporeth [the ark-lid], and the cherubs, which intensified this "emboldenment")]. Your hair [i.e., the "slightest" among you] (sparkles) like a flock of goats sliding down [Mount] Gilead.
  	Your teeth are like a flock of ewe-lambs, rising from the washing, all perfect, no blemish among them.
  	Like a pomegranate-half is your cheek-top behind your beads.
  	Sixty are the queens [(Abraham and his descendants)]; and eighty, the concubines [(Noach and his sons, the generations of those who left the ark)]; and young maidens [i.e., the families which descended from them], without number.
  	[But] one [i.e., unique] is My dove, My perfect one; one to her mother, clear [i.e., without blemish] to her begetter. Daughters [i.e., the nations] saw her [(Israel in her grandeur)]; queens and concubines [saw her], and they praised her.
  	Who is this that is seen [(rising gradually in splendor)] like the morning star [(an allusion to Israel's ascent from subjugation to dominance during the second Temple period)], beautiful as the moon, clear as the sun, awesome among the legions?
  	To a nut-garden [(the second Temple)] did I go down, to see the flowering of the stream [i.e., what good deeds "flowed" within you] — Had the vine [i.e., Torah scholars, scribes, and teachers] blossomed? Had the pomegranates [i.e., doers of mitzvoth] bloomed?
  	[Israel responds:] I did not know my soul [i.e., I could not keep from sinning]. It [(my soul)] made me the chariot of a patronizing people (Rome) [i.e., it made me tributary to them, to receive their doles.]
  
  
  
  	[The nations, to Israel:] Turn away, turn away [from G-d], O Shulamith [(you who are perfect [shalem] in faith with Him)]. Turn away, turn away [to us] and we will seek out [(high positions] for you. [Israel responds:] What can you seek out for Shulamith like [i.e., equal in grandeur to] the [flag] encirclement [of the desert]?
  	[The nations respond: We desire you to cling to us because of the beauty and the prominence we beheld in you in your pristine glory, viz.:] How beautiful are your steps in sandals [(in the festival pilgrimages to the Temple)], O daughter of princes! The recesses of your thighs are like jewel-work, the work of the Master.
  	Your navel is like the basin of the moon, not lacking the [exact] measure. Your belly is a swell of wheat, hedged about with lilies.
  	Your two breasts [(the tablets)] are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle.
  	Your neck [(the sanctuary, the altar, and the Lishkath Hagazith [the Chamber of Hewn Stone)] is like an ivory tower. Your eyes [i.e., your sages] are like the pools of Cheshbon above the gates [of judgment] of the many-peopled city [i.e., Jerusalem]. Your forehead is like the Tower of the Levanon, which overlooks the face of Damascus.
  	[The phylacteries of] your head [lie] upon you like the [(strength of the] Karmel [viz. Deuteronomy 28:10)]; and the [Nazirite] gathering [of your hair into locks lies on] your head, like [royal] purple, like the King bound in locks. [viz. Numbers 6:7]
  	How fair and how pleasant [it would be to cleave to you] with a love [worthy of] delights!
  	This, your [exalted] stature can be likened to a [stately] palm, and your [bountiful] breasts to [grape] clusters.
  	[G-d, to Israel in exile:] I said: I will go up into the palm-tree; I will take hold of its leaves [i.e., I will be sanctified by you among the nations]. And, now, let your breasts be as grape clusters, and the fragrance of your face like apples [i.e., Let your sages affirm your unswerving dedication to Me in the exile.]
  	And let your palate [i.e., your affirmation to the nations] be [(apt)] like goodly wine! [And Israel in the exile responds: I shall tell them that I shall be steadfast in my faith. My words] will stream straight [from the heart] for my Beloved, titillating the lips of the sleepers [i.e., My fathers in the grave will rejoice in my words and give thanks for their lot. And these shall be my words:]
  	I am my Beloved's and unto me is His yearning!
  	Come, my Beloved, let us go out to the field, let us lodge in the villages.
  	Let us rise early to the vineyards [(synagogues and houses of study)]. Let us see if the vine [(an allusion to Scripture scholars)] has flowered, if the grape-blossoms [(Mishnah scholars)] have opened, if the pomegranates [(Talmud scholars)] have bloomed. There I will show You my loved ones [(my sons and daughters)].
  	The baskets of figs [viz. Jeremiah 24:1-3 (one basket of good figs [the righteous]; the other, of bad figs [the sinners])] have given forth a fragrance [ — all are seeking You]. And at our doors are all manner of delicacies [i.e., reward for many mitzvoth], new [i.e., originated by the Scribes] and old [ordained by Scripture] alike. My Beloved, I have stored them [in my heart] for You.
  
  
  
  	Would that You were as a brother to me [(coming to console me)], sucking the breasts of my mother. I would find You [i.e., Your prophets] outside. I would kiss You; nor would they spurn me.
  	I would lead You. I would bring You to the house of my mother [(the Temple)]. You would teach me [(as You did in the tent of meeting)]. I would give You spiced wine [(the libations)] to drink, the sweet wine of my pomegranate.
  	His left hand was under my head, and His right hand embraced me. [see 2:6]
  	I have besworn you, O daughters of Jerusalem — Why would you vitiate and why would you protest the love so long as it desires? [see 2:7]
  	[G-d and His tribunal say about the Congregation of Israel:] Who is this who rose [exalted] from the desert [and who still sits in the exile], yearning for her Beloved, [saying:] Under the "apple" [(Mount Sinai, in the shape of an apple)] I awakened You [(for love)]. There Your mother [(the Congregation of Israel)] travailed with You; there, she who bore You travailed.
  	[And for that love,] set me as a seal upon Your heart [(that You will not forget me)], as a seal upon Your arm. [And You will see] that strong as death is love [i.e., The love I have for You will countervail the death threats of the nations, and I will give my life to sanctify Your Name]; hard as Sheol is rancor [(the rancor of the nations against me for worshipping You)]. Its [(Gehinnom's)] coals are coals of the fire of the flame of the L-rd.
  	Many waters [(the nations)] cannot put out the love [of Israel for the L-rd], and rivers [(their princes and kings)] cannot flood it over [(with force or enticement)]. [G d and His tribunal testify about Israel:] If a man gave all the wealth of his house for the love [you bear Him], he would be utterly scorned.
  	We have a little sister [(Israel)] and she has no breasts [i.e., the time for her redemption has not yet arrived, viz. Ezekiel 16:7]. What shall we do for our sister on the day she is spoken against" [i.e., when the nations conspire against her to destroy her, viz. Psalms 83:5].
  	If she [fortifies herself against them in her faith (by refusing to intermarry with them, standing firm)] like a wall [of brass], then we shall build upon her a fortress of silver [i.e., we shall rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple in all its splendor]. But if she is like a door [turning on its hinges (i.e., intermarrying with the nations)], we will fashion upon her panels of cedar [(which are subject to corrosion and decay)].
  	[Israel responds:] I am a wall [(strong in the love of my Beloved)], and my breasts are as towers [(an allusion to the synagogues and houses of study, which "nurse" Israel with words of Torah)]. Then, [(when I said this)], I was in His eyes as [a bride who is found unblemished and] who finds peace [in her husband's house].
  	Shlomoh had a vineyard [(the Congregation of Israel, viz. Isaiah 5:7)] in Ba'al Hamon ("the plain of the multitude," i.e., Jerusalem). He gave the vineyard to [stern] watchers [(Bavel, Madai, Yavan, and Edom)]. Each came for his fruit [i.e., to extort all kinds of taxes] — a thousand silver [pieces].
  	[On the day of judgment, G-d will bring these nations before Him and will say:] My vineyard [(though I put it into your hands) is Mine [and] before Me [has come the accounting of all your depredations. And they will answer:] The thousand is yours, Shlomoh [and we will return it, and we will add] two hundred for the watchers of His fruit [(i.e., the leaders, sages, and disciples of Israel, viz. Isaiah 60:17, Ibid. 23:18)].
  	[G-d, to Israel in exile:] You, who sit in the gardens [i.e., who graze in the gardens of others and sit in the synagogues and the houses of study], [your] friends [(the ministering angels, "sons of G-d,” like you)], listen for your voice in the houses of prayer, and [only] afterwards sanctify the Name, viz. Job 38:7]; let Me hear [it].
  	[And Israel responds:] Flee, my Beloved [from this exile, and redeem us from it], and liken Yourself [in Your swiftness] to a gazelle or to a young hart [to repose Your Shechinah] on the mountain of spices [(Mount Moriah and the Temple. May it be speedily rebuilt in our days, Amen!)]