Pesach
Exodus 33:12-34:26
Numbers 28:19-28:25
Ezekiel 37:1 — 37:14
Special reading: Song of Songs
Of the five megillahs in the Bible, the scroll we’re reading this Shabbat has no famine or sad farewells (the Book of Ruth, read on Shavuot), no destruction or mourning (Lamentations, read on Tisha B’Av), no summary of life’s futilities (Ecclesiastes, read on Shabbat Sukkot) and no threat or struggle for survival (Esther, read on Purim). Of all five megillahs (scrolls), this one is a poem — it has no beginning or end, its pace seems like a dance. And it’s all about love.
Why is this Shabbat different from all others?
We just went from bondage to liberty. Up until now, our relationships with our task masters were based on force, fear, despair — and hate. From now on, our relationship with our Master will be based on free will, respect, hope — and affection. Some commentators parallel the story of the Exodus to a birth, coming out of a womb through “narrow straights” (the Hebrew word for Egypt, Mitzrayim, means “a narrow place”) and water (with the splitting of the Sea) to an open space (the desert) where one can explore and create a new life. On this new page we write a love story.
Shir HaShirim, the Song of Songs, can be understood to be one grand song or as series of songs within a single song. Even its name is a mystery. Likewise, its content has been debated since time immemorial. Just when you think you understand it to be one thing, it’s that, and another. It’s private yet general; it’s most physical yet spiritual.
It’s a very personal description: a dialogue between a man and a woman, lovers who meet each other, lose each other and find each other. And yet, at the same time, it’s an allegory for the relationship between Israel and God, between the Soul and the Divine. According to Maimonides, the noted 12th century doctor and Torah commentator, “just as when a man loves a woman, he cannot remove her from his thoughts, with the same intensity should a person love God.”
Rashi, the famous commentator who lived in France during the 11th century, cites the rabbinic comment that all the references to Shlomo in the megillah refer (not only) to King Solomon but also to the King of the Universe. The name Shlomo is related to the word shalom, peace, one of the Jewish names for God. He too continues to show the megillah as an allegory of a young and beautiful woman who becomes engaged to and then marries a king. His love for her remains strong, passionate and intimate, and in times of trouble, distance and even unfaithfulness he continues to watch over her (sometimes from behind the scenes), protect her and await her complete return to him with a love that is fully restored.
The relationship between the God of Israel and the people of Israel has seen many ups and downs, just like each of us does in our personal and spiritual life, but it remains a love song.
Rabbi Shefa Gold suggests that there are actual commandments in this book, applicable today, like “exploring intimacy … being playful … opening to the power of yearning for God … learning to perceive the perfection behind this seemingly imperfect world” and more. She bases it on Rabbi Akiva who argued (Mishnah Yadayim 3:5) for the inclusion of Shir HaShirim in the sacred canonized scripture of the Tanach: “All the other Books of the Bible are holy, and Shir HaShirim is kodesh kodashim, the Holiest of the Holy.” He added that “Had the Torah not been given, we could live our lives by the Song of Songs.”
What does it mean to live our lives by Shir HaShirim? Maybe treating our life as if it’s a love song: playfully, seriously, happily. Indeed, this is true freedom.
Michal Kohane is the director of the Israel Center of the S.F.-based Jewish Community Federation. She has served in leadership roles throughout Northern California and holds advanced degrees in studies of Israel, psychology and education. Contact her at [email protected].