Torah for Christians: The Song of Songs
TORAH FOR CHRISTIANS
SEASON THREE EPISODE SEVENTEEN
SHIR HASHIRIM
“Oh, let Him give me of the kisses of his mouth for your love is sweeter than wine.”
So begins the most beautiful love poetry in the entire Bible, Shir HaShirim, The Song of Songs. In this episode of Torah for Christians, we’re going to talk about this most exquisite Book of the Bible – and learn why we are talking about it today at all.
I’m Rabbi Jordan Parr and this is Torah for Christians.
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Welcome to Torah for Christians. I’m Rabbi Jordan Parr.
In the early 2nd Century, CE, Rabbi Akiva declared that “All books of the Bible are holy, but The Song of Songs is the holy of holies.” He said this during a Talmudic debate over whether to include The Song of Songs in the Jewish canon. Because of its nature, many rabbis did not want to include Shir HaShirim in the Hebrew Bible; Rabbi Akiva was the one who persuaded them to include it.
Why was the inclusion of Song of Songs so controversial? Certainly, it was one of the latest of the books written but it also was written in Hebrew and was dedicated to God. These were preconditions for inclusion. Also, legend has it that King Solomon wrote the Song of Songs. So, it had a lot going for it. Again, why was it so controversial?
It boils down to content and grammar. To put it bluntly, the Song of Songs is erotic love poetry. In Chapter 2, for example, we read:
He brought me to the banquet room
And his banner of love was over me.
Sustain me with raisin cakes
Refresh me with apples,
For I am faint with love.
His left hand was under my head,
His right arm embraced me.
I adjure you, O maidens of Jerusalem,
By gazelles or by hinds of the field:
Do not wake or rouse
Love until it please!
Chapter Four describes in beautiful detail a human body, including the mouth and breasts. It’s not something I really want to read aloud so check it out for yourself. Throughout the book, we see images of a human, presumably a woman, being seduced by the author of the book. Every chapter gives us such a graphic description of a body; we can assume from our English reading that this is the story of a man seducing a woman.
But that’s not what the Hebrew grammar tells us. Throughout the ages, we have assumed that this is love poetry from a man toward a woman. But in Hebrew, nouns and verbs are gendered, they are either masculine or feminine. When we look at the Hebrew, the object of the author’s affection is often masculine. In other words, this is not just erotic love poetry; some may be homoerotic love poetry, poetry from a man towards another man.
The rabbis and medieval commentators could not bear the thought that this was homoerotic poetry; it had to mean something else. As I said, some of the pronouns are feminine but the text goes back and forth. So, a novel interpretation arose, perhaps as early as the time of Rabbi Akiva.
The interpretation given is that this is a man’s love for God. When masculine endings are used, it refers to God. When feminine endings occur, these are references to the Shechinah, God’s Indwelling Presence within us. Or the whole book might just refer to a woman, gender be damned.
Since The Song of Songs is love poetry, whether erotic or homoerotic, verses appear frequently in prayer, especially on Shabbat Evening and in wedding ceremonies. Twice in Song of Songs, in Chapters Two and Six, we read, “Ani l’dodi v’dodi li,” “I am my beloved and my beloved is mine.” This is a phrase used in wedding ceremonies and is actually engraved on the inside of my wedding ring.
But it is also a key element of the best-known song of Kabbalat Shabbat, the welcoming service for Shabbat on Friday night. Lecha Dodi, which we discussed in our second Shabbat episode, is based on these verses. “Lecha dodi likrat kallah,” “Come, my beloved, let us greet the bride.” In this case, the bride is God, coming every Shabbat to symbolically consummate a marriage between God and Israel. Here in this song, God is the bride; Israel is the groom. This reflects on the idea that God is the third partner in a marriage; weddings are divinely ordained. But in the context of Shir HaShirim, we can easily see the connection between Lecha Dodi and Ani l’dodi.
This is but one example of a verse from Song of Songs being used both for weddings and for prayer. There are many more. But it still begs the question, why are we talking about Song of Songs at all? We’ll find out why after the break. I’m Rabbi Jordan Parr and this is Torah for Christians.
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Welcome back to Torah for Christians. I’m Rabbi Jordan Parr. Before we return to our discussion of Shir HaShirim, The Song of Songs, I want to thank you for listening to this podcast. Please remember to review and rate this episode on Apple, Spotify, Facebook, or whatever service you are using. Also, please go back and listen to previous episodes if you have not done so already. A transcript is also available on our Buzzsprout feed. And now, this and many previous episodes are available on our brand-new YouTube channel. And if you would like to read my weekly Torah Study, please go to Bible Stories They (Never) Taught You in Religious School, available for free on www.Substack.com. I have also started another Substack page called Wednesday Torah, where I share random thoughts on the Jewish experience. Please subscribe to both.
So, why are we even talking about Shir HaShirim? The Song of Songs also celebrates spring when flowers are in bloom and love is in the air. The world awakens to the fresh scents of warmth and renewal; in Israel, April and May are just beautiful spring months, from Mount Hermon in the north to Eilat in the farthest south.
But there is also a tradition whereby Jews read a Megillah at certain holidays. A Megillah is a book of the Bible that is small enough to fit on one roller, unlike a Torah Scroll, which is much larger and bound to two rollers. There are five Megillot and each one is read for a specific holiday. The best-known is Megillat Esther, the Scroll of Esther which is read on Purim. Another well-known Megillah is Ruth, read on Shavuot, seven weeks after Passover. We read the Book of Lamentations on the 9th of Av, our summer remembrance of the destruction of both the 1st and 2nd Temples. The Book of Ecclesiastes is read on Sukkot, our fall harvest festival. And The Song of Songs, our fifth Megillah, is read on Pesach – and then often on Shabbat afternoons between Passover and Shavuot. So now is the time learn about the Song of Songs.
We usually read Song of Songs at the synagogue between the afternoon and Saturday evening services. But Sephardic Jews add another custom; they read the Song of Songs during the Passover Seder. Many Sephardim hold a Seder every night of Passover. While they might not chant Song of Songs every night, they will chant it at least once during a Seder service.
Let us conclude with the last verses of The Song of Songs:
O you who linger in the garden,
A lover is listening;
let me hear your voice.
Hurry, my beloved,
Swift as a gazelle or a young stag,
To the hills of spices.”
Quickly, says the author of Song of Songs, go out and greet God, who loves us and is so deserving of our love. Or, as the coda to the Book says in Hebrew, “We have completed our praises of God, the Creator of the World.” This then is the purpose of the book, to praise God who formed us all.
I want to thank you for listening to Torah for Christians. Please remember to rate and review this, and previous episodes on Apple, Spotify, or other streaming services. You can also like and hear us on Facebook and now, you can subscribe to the podcast on Youtube and read a transcript on Buzzsprout.
On the next episode, we will discuss an interesting minor yet important holiday in the Jewish calendar, L’Ag B’Omer. If you have no idea what this is, you’ll just have to listen to the episode.
Finally, I have begun to publish a weekly Torah Study, called Bible Stories They Never Taught You in Religious School. It’s available for free on www.substack.com. You can also sign up on Substack for the newsletter to appear every Friday in your Inbox. You can also find my new column, Wednesday Torah there, where I offer weekly musings about life, the universe and everything.
Have a wonderful week and remember; Hinei Mah Tov … L’hitra’ot, till we meet again. I’m Rabbi Jordan Parr and this is Torah for Christians.
