הִנָּךְ יָפָה רַעְיָתִי הִנָּךְ יָפָה עֵינַיִךְ יוֹנִים מִבַּעַד לְצַמָּתֵךְ שַׂעְרֵךְ כְּעֵדֶר הָעִזִּים שֶׁגָּלְשׁוּ מֵהַר גִּלְעָד

Behold, you are fair, my love; behold, you are fair; your eyes are graceful and calming as a pair of doves; they peer out from behind your braid, which rests partly on your face. In the context of God’s song to Israel, these dovelike eyes have been interpreted as an allusion to the willingness to accept a burden without complaint, and to go wherever one is sent. Your hair is like a flock of goats that stream down from the highlands of Gilad, an area of pasture. The goats in this imagery are black, and more active than sheep, evoking the way a young woman’s curly black locks flow down her head.

שִׁנַּיִךְ כְּעֵדֶר הַקְּצוּבוֹת שֶׁעָלוּ מִן־הָרַחְצָה שֶׁכֻּלָּם מַתְאִימוֹת וְשַׁכֻּלָה אֵין בָּהֶם

Your teeth are like a flock of ordered ewes that have come up from being washed, when they are extremely white and clean. As the ewes emerge simultaneously from the water, the entire herd is lined up like white teeth, that are all paired, and there is none missing among them.

כְּחוּט הַשָּׁנִי שִׂפְתוֹתַיִךְ ומִדְבָּרֵךְ נָאוֶה כְּפֶלַח הָרִמּוֹן רַקָּתֵךְ מִבַּעַד לְצַמָּתֵךְ

Your lips are like a scarlet thread, and your speech is lovely. Some people have beautiful mouths but as soon as they open them to speak, their charm fades. In your case, however, your speech complements your physical beauty. Your temple [rakkatekh] is like a pomegranate slice which is exposed behind your braid. The Sages expound rakkatekh based on the word reik, empty. Even the emptiest or most depraved member of Israel is like a pomegranate slice containing numerous seeds, which represent good deeds.

כְּמִגְדַּל דָּוִיד צַוָּארֵךְ בָנוּי לְתַלְפִּיּוֹת אֶלֶף הַמָּגֵן תָּלוּי עָלָיו כֹּל שִׁלְטֵי הַגִּבֹּרִים

Your neck is like the tower of David, long and upright, built magnificently [talpiyot]. This tower of David is not the construction known by that name today, but another tall tower in ancient Jerusalem that no longer stands. Here, the beloved praises the posture of the bride, the nation of Israel. The Sages explain this verse as a reference to the Temple, which stood on the hill [tel] to which all mouths [piyot] turn in prayer. One thousand bucklers are hung upon it, all the shields of the mighty.The mighty men in the fortress would hang their shields on the tower as a show of strength. This tower on which a thousand shields hung resembled the woman’s upright neck decorated with many ornaments.

שְׁנֵי שָׁדַיִךְ כִּשְׁנֵי עֳפָרִים תְּאוֹמֵי צְבִיָּה הָרֹעִים בַּשּׁוֹשַׁנִּים

Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle. The birth of twins is not a particularly common phenomenon among gazelles or deer. When twin fawns stand together, their black noses stand out, which is especially striking when they graze among the white lilies.

עַד שֶׁיָּפוּחַ הַיּוֹם וְנָסוּ הַצְּלָלִים אֵלֶךְ לִי אֶל־הַר הַמּוֹר וְאֶל־גִּבְעַת הַלְּבוֹנָה

In the meantime, until the day is great, or until the hot wind blows, that is, until noon, and the shadows flee, I will go to the mountain of myrrh, the mountain where myrrh grows, and to the hill of frankincense, where the air is fragrant and pleasant. The beloved, who grazes his flock among the lilies and wanders in the mountains, tells his love that he is leaving for a short while and will return home when the sun is at full strength.

כֻּלָּךְ יָפָה רַעְיָתִי וּמוּם אֵין בָּךְ

The beloved concludes his poem with a verse that echoes its beginning: All of you is fair, my love, and there is no blemish in you; you are perfect. When one is in love, one sees no flaw in the object of one’s love. Even if certain blemishes or problems appear, one considers them no more than temporary stains and passing shadows, and the overall picture remains perfect. This holds true even with regard to divine love.

אִתִּי מלְּבָנוֹן כַּלָּה אִתִּי מִלְּבָנוֹן תָּבוֹאִי תָּשׁוּרִי מֵרֹאשׁ אֲמָנָה מֵרֹאשׁ שְׂנִיר וְחֶרְמוֹן מִמְּעֹנוֹת אֲרָיוֹת מֵהַרְרֵי נְמֵרִים

With me from Mount Lebanon, my bride, with me from Lebanon, come. Let us wander together in Lebanon and return. Perhaps the beloved is approaching from northern Israel. Look from the peak of Amana, from the peak of Senir and Hermon. Senir is another name for Mount Hermon, perhaps a specific side of the mountain. Look out from the dens of lions, from the mountains of leopards. These forested areas were largely uncultivated expanses in which lions and leopards roamed. The wild regions of Lebanon, with their array of predators, serve as a contrasting background to the gentle bride, the Jewish people, or the soul.

לִבַּבְתִּנִי אֲחֹתִי כַלָּה לִבַּבְתִּנִי בְּאַחַת מֵעֵינַיִךְ בְּאַחַד עֲנָק מִצַּוְּרֹנָיִךְ

You have charmed me, my sister, my love, my bride; you have charmed me with my seeing even just one of your eyes, with even one bead of your necklace. Even the smallest glimpse of you moves me.

מַה־יָּפוּ דֹדַיִךְ אֲחֹתִי כַלָּה מַה־טֹּבוּ דֹדַיִךְ מִיַּיִן וְרֵיחַ שְׁמָנַיִךְ מִכָּל־בְּשָׂמִים

How fair is your loving, or the moistness of your mouth, my sister, my bride. How much better is your loving than wine, and the fragrance of your oils, even the simplest of them, is more delightful than all spices.

נֹפֶת תִּטֹּפְנָה שִׂפְתוֹתַיִךְ כַּלָּה דְּבַשׁ וְחָלָב תַּחַת לְשׁוֹנֵךְ וְרֵיחַ שַׂלְמֹתַיִךְ כְּרֵיחַ לְבָנוֹן

Your lips drip nectar, my bride, honey and milk are under your tongue, your taste is sweet and pleasant, and the scent of your garments is like the scent of Lebanon, a rainy, fertile, and forested region.

גַּן נָעוּל אֲחֹתִי כַלָּה גַּל נָעוּל מַעְיָן חָתוּם

A locked garden is my sister, my bride; a locked fountainhead, a sealed spring. Although your beauty is arresting, it is not in the public domain; it is designated for one man only.

שְׁלָחַיִךְ פַּרְדֵּס רִמּוֹנִים עִם פְּרִי מְגָדִים כְּפָרִים עִם־נְרָדִים

Your branches, your external appearance, your garments and coverings, are like the pleasant sight of an orchard of pomegranates, with delicious fruit, and they are scented like hennas with lavenders, perfumes (see 1:12, 14). You radiate beauty from every angle.

נֵרְדְּ וְכַרְכֹּם קָנֶה וְקִנָּמוֹן עִם כָּל־עֲצֵי לְבוֹנָה מֹר וַאֲהָלוֹת עִם כָּל־רָאשֵׁי בְשָׂמִים

lavender and saffron, lemongrass and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the finest spices. Of the eleven spices blended into the incense used in the Temple, only four are specified by name in the Torah. Almost all of the rest are taken from this list.

מַעְיַן גַּנִּים בְּאֵר מַיִם חַיִּים וְנֹזְלִים מִן־לְבָנוֹן

The singer returns to the image of the bride as a spring in a locked garden: She is a source of life, a garden spring, a well of spring water, and flowing streams from Lebanon. The spring’s source is in the distant and fertile mountain peaks.

עוּרִי צָפוֹן וּבוֹאִי תֵימָן הָפִיחִי גַנִּי יִזְּלוּ בְשָׂמָיו יָבֹא דוֹדִי לְגַנּוֹ וְיֹאכַל פְּרִי מְגָדָיו

Awake, north wind, and come, south wind; blow upon my garden, my bride, and its perfume will spread, or: The sap of its perfumed trees will flow. Unlike many places in the Bible that mention the covenant between God and Israel and its ensuing obligations, this passage expresses the romantic aspect of the covenant. This poem of love and praise is reminiscent of Jeremiah’s invocation of the nuptial love between God and Israel in the wilderness. At the starting point in their shared journey, there was a sense of confidence and mutual commitment regarding the future, a faith that all would be well. The groom is moved by the perfect beauty and loyalty of the bride, and he waits for her lovely scent to spread across great distances. After all this praise by the beloved, the bride responds with a brief, modest invitation: Let my beloved come to his garden and eat his delicious fruits. The garden is not locked to you; the fountain is open before you.