1 How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince's daughter! the joints of thy thighs are like jewels, the work of the hands of a cunning workman.
2 Thy navel is like a round goblet, which wanteth not liquor: thy belly is like an heap of wheat set about with lilies.
3 Thy two breasts are like two young roes that are twins.
4 Thy neck is as a tower of ivory; thine eyes like the fishpools in Heshbon, by the gate of Bathrabbim: thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon which looketh toward Damascus.
5 Thine head upon thee is like Carmel, and the hair of thine head like purple; the king is held in the galleries.
6 How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights!
7 This thy stature is like to a palm tree, and thy breasts to clusters of grapes.
8 I said, I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of the boughs thereof: now also thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine, and the smell of thy nose like apples;
9 And the roof of thy mouth like the best wine for my beloved, that goeth down sweetly, causing the lips of those that are asleep to speak.
10 I am my beloved's, and his desire is toward me.
11 Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field; let us lodge in the villages.
12 Let us get up early to the vineyards; let us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, and the pomegranates bud forth: there will I give thee my loves.
13 The mandrakes give a smell, and at our gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, new and old, which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved.
<html><b>Turn back, turn back [you] perfect one.</b> They say to me, “Turn back, turn back” from following the Omnipresent. <b>Perfect one.</b> You who are perfect1<i class=“footnote”>According to Rashi שולמית originates from the root שלם [=complete]. Alternatively, it refers to the residents of Yerushalayim, whose original name is שלם. See Targum in Bereishis 14:18. (Gra and Ibn Ezra) </i> in your faith with Him, “turn back, turn back”2<i class=“footnote”>“Turn back” is mentioned four times in this verse, alluding to the four exiles, i.e., the four powers that subjugated the Bnei Yisroel. (Tzror Hamor) </i> to us. <b>That we may observe you.</b> We will appoint [=וְנֶחֱזֶה from you governors and rulers, as in, “And you shall discern תֶּחֱזֶה from all the people.”3<i class=“footnote”>Shemos 18:21. </i> So did Rabbi Tanchuma expound. Another explanation for “that we may observe וְנֶחֱזֶה you,” is that we will ponder what greatness to give you, but she says, “What can you offer the perfect one?” What greatness can you give me, that will equal my greatness, or even the greatness of the banners of the encircling מְחוֹלוֹת encampments4<i class=“footnote”>The Bnei Yisroel’s encampments [=מחנים] were in the form of circles [=מחולות] when they were in the wilderness. (Sforno) </i> in the wilderness? </html>
<html><b>How fair were your feet in sandals.</b> They say to her, “We want you to cleave to us because of the beauty and prominence that we saw in you when you were still beautiful.”5<i class=“footnote”>For Bnei Yisroel to be “beautiful” on Yom Kippur when there is a prohibition against wearing shoes, is not unusual. “How fair were your feet in sandals,” refers to the rest of the year, when people are faced with all sorts of temptations, and if their feet remain nonetheless “fair,” that is truly “beautiful” and praiseworthy. (Chasam Sofer) </i> <b>How fair were your feet.</b> In the festive pilgrimages,6<i class=“footnote”>I.e., in your going up to Yerusholayim to celebrate the three festivals. “פעמיך” alluding to the “three times [פעמים] a year,” mentioned in Devarim 16:16, that pilgrimages were made. See Maseches Chagigah 3a. Alternatively, “פעמיך” refers to “feet” because at times [=פעמים] they are covered with shoes and at times they are bare. (Sefer Dudaim) </i> O daughter of nobles! <b>The roundness of your flanks are like jewels.</b> A collection of gold jewelry is called “חֲלִי כֶתֶם” [=jewels of gold], <i>al chali</i> in Arabic. Our Rabbis expounded that this term is referring to the drainage holes in the [altar’s] foundations for the libations, which existed since the six days of creation, and they are round like a thigh; “כְּמוֹ חֲלָאִים” is a term denoting digging, as in, “that which has been dug out חֻלְיַת of a pit.”7<i class=“footnote”>Maseches Eiruvin 78a. </i> <b>The work of a craftsman.</b> The hands of the Holy One, Blessed Is He,8<i class=“footnote”>I.e., He fashioned these drainage holes. </i> as explained in Maseches Sukkah.9<i class=“footnote”>49a. </i> אָמָּן is the same as אוּמָן [craftsman]. The praise of the Holy One, Blessed Is He, that the [Bnei] Yisroel praise Him [is] from top to bottom. They begin with, “His head is [like] finest gold,”10<i class=“footnote”>Above 5:11. </i> and continuously descend to, “His legs are like pillars of marble,”11<i class=“footnote”>Above 5:15. </i> because they come to appease Him, to draw down His Divine Presence from the heavenly abodes to the earthly abodes. But, He enumerates their praise from bottom to top, starting with, “How fair were your feet פְּעָמַיִךְ,” these are the feet, and He continues and enumerates until, “that which is upon your head is like Mount Carmel,”12<i class=“footnote”>Below 7:6. </i> until He comes to draw them to Him. </html>
<html><b>You navel is like a round bowl.</b> Your navel is like a basin of clear water in which they bathe, and it is made of marble, which in Arabic it is called <i>sahar</i>. Because the navel is shaped like a round hole, [Scripture] compares it to a round basin.13<i class=“footnote”>Alternatively, Scripture compares its roundness to the shape of the moon. The Targum for ירח is סהרא, in Bereshis 37:9. (Metzudas Dovid and Metzudas Tzion) </i> This praise is not in reference to a woman’s beauty as the above praise, because in the above, her beloved praises her, but here, her friends praise her about her deeds, saying, “you are worthy to join us.” And the allegory is: It refers to the Chamber of Hewn Stone, which is situated in the “navel” [i.e., center] of the world.14<i class=“footnote”>I.e., the Beis Hamikdosh. Sanhedrin who convened in this chamber were seated in a semi-circle, like the crescent moon, so they should be able to look at each other and communicate properly; see Maseches Sanhedrin 36b-37a. </i> <b>Which lacks not for mixed wines.</b> Drink will not cease from there; i.e., there will neither fail nor cease from there any words of instruction.15<i class=“footnote”>From the Sanhedrin, for they are a never ending source of wisdom. </i> <b>Your stomach is a heap of wheat.</b> Which everyone needs. <b>Hedged about with roses.</b> Fenced and hedged about with a fence of roses. A light fence suffices her [i.e., Yisroel], and no one breaches it to enter. For example, a bridegroom enters the wedding canopy, his heart longing for the wedding ceremony and for the love of his marriage. When he comes to have relations with her, she says to him, “I have seen a drop of blood like a mustard seed,” so he turns his face to the other side. [Now] no snake bit him, and no scorpion stung him. [Another example,] one is passing along the way and sees freshly ripened fruit at the top of the fig trees. As he stretches out his hand to take, they tell him, “These belong to owners,” and he too withdraws his hand because of theft. This is the meaning of “hedged about with roses.”16<i class=“footnote”>Alternatively, סוגה is in reference to the “fences” [=סיג] enacted by the Rabbis, i.e., the Rabbinic establishment of cautionary rules as a safeguard against the transgression of the laws of the Torah itself. (Metzudas Tzion) </i> </html>
<html><b>Your two breasts.</b> The two Tablets. Another explanation, the king and the <i>kohein gadol</i>.17<i class=“footnote”>Alternatively, the two redeemers, Moshiach Ben Dovid and Moshiach Ben Ephrayim. (Targum) </i> </html>
<html><b>Your neck.</b> The Temple and the altar, which are erect and tall, and the Chamber of Hewn Stone,18<i class=“footnote”>The meeting place for the Sanhedrin. </i> which is also there, made for strength and for a shield, “like an ivory tower.” <b>Your eyes.</b> Are like pools in Cheshbon, through which water flows, so are your eyes by the gate of the multitudes. Your sages, when they sit at the gates of Yerusholayim, the city of multitudes, and are involved in the calculation חֶשְׁבּוֹן of the seasons and the signs of the constellations, their wisdom and understanding in the eyes of the nations flow like pools of water. Alternatively, “בְּרֵכוֹת בְּחֶשְׁבּוֹן” can be explained as “doves,” and this is the language of the Mishnah, “One who buys the doves of a dovecote, he must let the first brood בְּרִיכָה fly away,”19<i class=“footnote”>See Maseches Beitzah 10a. </i> <i>kovedes</i> in O.F. <b>Your face is like a tower of Levanon.</b> I cannot explain this אַפֵּךְ to mean a nose, neither with respect to the simple meaning nor in reference to its allegorical meaning, for what praise of beauty is there in a nose that is large and erect as a tower? Therefore, I say that “אַפֵּךְ” means a face, and the reason it is used in the singular form and does not state [the plural form], “אַפַּיִךְ,” is that it speaks of the forehead, which is the main distinguishing feature of the face, as the matter is stated, “The features of their faces testifies against them.”20<i class=“footnote”>Yeshayahu 3:9. </i> And you could prove this, because he continuously praises them from bottom to top,21<i class=“footnote”>See Rashi in verse 2 above. </i> [and] “Your eyes are like pools in Cheshbon,” [was already mentioned,] And so do the nations praise, “and your forehead is strong against”23<i class=“footnote”>A reference to the nose would therefore be out of sequence. </i> the forehead of all who come to harm you and to entice you. Like a tower of Levanon, <b>looking out as far as Damascus.</b> I saw in the Midrash that this is the house of the Levanon forest, which [King] Shlomo made. Whoever stands on it can look and count how many houses there are in Damascus. Another explanation, your face looks towards Damascus, [i.e.,] looks forward to the coming of the gates of Yerusholayim until Damascus, for it is destined to expand as far as Damascus.24<i class=“footnote”>Yechezkeil 3:8. </i> </html>
<html><b>That which is upon your head is like Mount Carmel.</b> These are the phylacteries of the head, about which it is stated, “And all the peoples of the world will see that the Name of Adonoy is proclaimed over you, and they will fear you.”25<i class=“footnote”>See Zecharyah 9:1. </i> This is their strength and they are as awe inspiring as a cliff of the mountains, and Mount Carmel is the most prominent of the mountains. <b>And the braid of your head.</b> The braided hair of your Nazirites are as beautiful with commandments as braided purple wool. <b>And the braid of your head.</b> [It is called דַלַּת because the braid is lifted up [=מֻדְלֵת over the crown of the head. <b>Your King is bound in its tresses.</b> The name of the Omnipresent is bound in the [Nazir’s] locks, as it is stated, “The crown of his God is upon his head.”26<i class=“footnote”>Devarim 28:10. </i> <b>Tresses.</b> <i>Koranz</i> in O.F. This is what they call the girding laces with which they tie the girdles. Another explanation [of], “Your King is bound in its tresses,” the Holy One, Blessed Is He, is bound with love to you through [your fulfillment of His] commandments, and through the swiftness [=רְהָטִים27<i class=“footnote”>Bamidbar 6:7. </i> with which you run before Him. </html>
<html><b>How beautiful and pleasant are you.</b> After having praised each limb in detail, Scripture includes everything [in one phrase], “How beautiful” in your entirety, “and [how] pleasant are you” to cleave to you with a love that is proper to delight in. </html>
<html><b>Such is your stature, likened to a [stately] palm tree.</b> We saw the beauty of your stature in the days of Nevuchadnetzar, when all the nations were kneeling and falling before the image,28<i class=“footnote”>See the last note in 1:17 above. </i> but you stood as upright as this palm tree. <b>And your breasts are like clusters.</b> Daniyeil, Chananyah, Mishaeil, and Azaryah, who were for you like breasts to suck from. They were likened to clusters, which provide drink, so did they provide lavishly and teach everyone that there is no God like your God. Until this point, the nations praised him [i.e., Yisroel]. From here on, are the words of the Divine Presence addressing Yisroel’s exiles, who were among the nations. </html>
<html><b>I said, I will ascend the palm tree.</b> I boast of you among the heavenly hosts, that I will be exalted and sanctified through your actions in the earthly abodes, when you will sanctify My Name among the nations. <b>I will grasp its branches.</b> And I will grasp and cleave to you; “סַנְסִנִּים” are branches. <b>And now let your breasts.</b>. And now, make true My words, that you will not be enticed to follow the nations, and may the good and wise among you be steadfast in their faith, to retort to those who entice them, so that the lesser ones among you will learn from them. </html>
<html><b>And let your speech be like good wine.</b> Be cautious with your answers that they should be like the best wine.29<i class=“footnote”>See Daniyeil, chapter 3. </i> <b>It flows for my beloved in sincerity.</b> I am careful to answer them that I will remain steadfast in my faith, and my speech will go before my Beloved with sincere love, which comes from the heart, and not with deceit and guile. <b>Like good wine.</b> Which makes the lips of the sleeping murmur. Even my ancestors in the grave will rejoice with me and give thanks for their lot.30<i class=“footnote”>I.e., your answers should be clear and potent. </i> “דּוֹבֵב” [means] causing to move, <i>fromier</i> in O.F. and its root, is an expression of speech. And this is the answer, “I am my Beloved’s and He longs for me.”31<i class=“footnote”>The comparison to wine is because the taste of wine remains in one’s mouth long after drinking it. The mere mention of the words of the departed sages, causes their lips to murmur in their graves. See Maseches Yevamos 97a and Rashi there. </i> </html>
<html><b>Come, my beloved, let us go out to the field.</b> Our Rabbis expounded in [Maseches] Eruvin, that the congregation of Yisroel said, “Master of the Universe, do not judge me like dwellers of cities, where there is robbery and immorality, but32<i class=“footnote”>Below, verse 11. </i> like the open village dwellers, who are craftsmen and are occupied in the study of Torah amidst hardship.”33<i class=“footnote”>Maseches Eruvin 21b. </i> <b>Let us lodge in the villages.</b> Let us lodge among the disbelievers [=כּוֹפְרִים. Come and I will show You Eisav’s descendants, upon whom You have lavished prosperity, but who do not believe in You.34<i class=“footnote”>Sifsei Chachomim amends Rashi’s text to read…“but let us go out to the field and I will show You Torah scholars who are occupied in the study of Torah amidst hardship.” (Sifsei Chachomim) </i> </html>
<html><b>Let us rise early for the vineyards.</b> These are the synagogues and the study halls. <b>Let us see if the vine has blossomed.</b> These are those who are versed in Scripture. <b>If the tender grapes have appeared.</b> When the blossom falls off and the grapes are discernible, that is the appearance of the tender grapes. And he compares those versed in the Mishnah to them, because they are nearer [than those versed in Scripture] to derive pleasure35<i class=“footnote”>Alternatively, let us eat manna. “בכפרים” is derived from כפר [=frost] which is the manna’s description, in Shemos 16:14. Free us from having to earn a living and we will dedicate ourselves to you. (Tzror Hamor) </i> in the instruction of the Torah. <b>If the pomegranates are in bloom.</b> When they are ripe, and the flower around them falls off; “הֵנֵצוּ” means “its flower falls off.” He compares those versed in the Talmud to them, for they are at the level of maturity in [Torah] wisdom that is worthy to teach. <b>There I will give my love.</b> There I will show You my honor and glory of my sons and daughters.36<i class=“footnote”>Than those who are versed in Scripture. </i> </html>
<html><b>The baskets emit fragrance.</b> The baskets of the good and the bad figs, as the matter is stated, “Adonoy showed me, and behold, two baskets of figs, etc. one basket of very good figs, etc., and the other basket of very bad figs, which were inedible.”37<i class=“footnote”>Maseches Eruvin 21b. </i> These are the sinners of Yisroel. Now, both of them emit their fragrance; they all seek Your countenance. <b>And at our door are all luscious fruits.</b> In our possession there is the reward for fulfilling many commandments. <b>Both new and old.</b> Those which the Sages innovated, as well as the old ones, which You wrote for me. <b>I have kept them for you.</b> For Your Name and for Your service I have kept them in my heart. Another explanation, I kept them to show You that I have fulfilled them.</html>