A Biblical Love Story

(18) God ה׳ said, “It is not good for the Human to be alone; I will make a fitting counterpart for him.”

(10) And when Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his uncle*uncle Lit. “mother’s brother.” Laban, and the flock of his uncle Laban, Jacob went up and rolled the stone off the mouth of the well, and watered the flock of his uncle Laban. (11) Then Jacob kissed Rachel, raised his voice and broke into tears. (12) Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s kinsman, that he was Rebekah’s son; and she ran and told her father. (13) On hearing the news of his sister’s son Jacob, Laban ran to greet him; he embraced him and kissed him, and took him into his house. He told Laban all that had happened, (14) and Laban said to him, “You are truly my bone and flesh.” When he had stayed with him a month’s time, (15) Laban said to Jacob, “Just because you are a kinsman, should you serve me for nothing? Tell me, what shall your wages be?” (16) Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the older one was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. (17) Leah had weak eyes; Rachel was shapely and beautiful. (18) Jacob loved Rachel; so he answered, “I will serve you seven years for your younger daughter Rachel.”

Some people question that seeing that the righteous marry with a view to producing children, why would Rachel’s exterior appearance have been of interest to Yaakov at all? After all they did not want their wives to be women who would excite their libidos, and it is clear from the fact that Yaakov was willing to delay marriage by seven years was due to his choosing a beautiful bride. He appears to have been angry at Lavan for having given him Leah instead, seeing that Leah was not as attractive as her sister. We have to answer this by saying that in choosing a beautiful woman as their brides, the righteous people had good intentions. They wanted their libidos to be aroused by them in order to produce many children together. Furthermore, they also wanted their children to be handsome like their mothers. Looking at beautiful people helps a person to remain in a joyous frame of mind, something which is a requirement for man for we know that people who are not in a joyful frame of mind cannot serve G’d in the best possible fashion. Even prophets cannot function as such unless they are in a state of joy, and on occasion they require stimulants such as music in order to put them in a more joyful frame of mind (Kohelet 5,19,--compare also Kings II 3,14-15)

(1) Now Dinah, the daughter whom Leah had borne to Jacob, went out to visit the daughters of the land. (2) Shechem son of Hamor the Hivite, chief of the country, saw her, and took her and lay with her and disgraced her. (3) Being strongly drawn to Dinah daughter of Jacob, and in love with the maiden, he spoke to the maiden tenderly. (4) So Shechem said to his father Hamor, “Get me this girl as a wife.”

(17) Saul said to David, “Here is my older daughter, Merab; I will give her to you in marriage; in return, you be my warrior and fight the battles of the LORD.” Saul thought: “Let not my hand strike him; let the hand of the Philistines strike him.” (18) David replied to Saul, “Who am I and ”what is my life-e—my father’s family in Israel—that I should become Your Majesty’s son-in-law?” (19) But at the time that Merab, daughter of Saul, should have been given to David, she was given in marriage to Adriel the Meholathite. (20) Now Michal daughter of Saul had fallen in love with David; and when this was reported to Saul, he was pleased. (21) Saul thought: “I will give her to him, and she can serve as a snare for him, so that the Philistines may kill him.” So Saul said to David, “You can become my son-in-law even now through the second one.”-b

(1) This happened sometime afterward: Absalom son of David had a beautiful sister named Tamar, and Amnon son of David became infatuated with her. (2) Amnon was so distraught because of his [half-]sister Tamar that he became sick; for she was a virgin, and it seemed impossible to Amnon to do anything to her. (3) Amnon had a friend named Jonadab, the son of David’s brother Shimah; Jonadab was a very clever man. (4) He asked him, “Why are you so dejected, O prince, morning after morning? Tell me!” Amnon replied, “I am in love with Tamar, the sister of my brother Absalom!” (5) Jonadab said to him, “Lie down in your bed and pretend you are sick. When your father comes to see you, say to him, ‘Let my sister Tamar come and give me something to eat. Let her prepare the food in front of me, so that I may look on, and let her serve it to me.’” (6) Amnon lay down and pretended to be sick. The king came to see him, and Amnon said to the king, “Let my sister Tamar come and prepare a couple of cakes in front of me, and let her bring them to me.” (7) David sent a message to Tamar in the palace, “Please go to the house of your brother Amnon and prepare some food for him.” (8) Tamar went to the house of her brother Amnon, who was in bed. She took dough and kneaded it into cakes in front of him, and cooked the cakes. (9) She took the aMeaning of Heb. uncertain.pan and set out [the cakes],-a but Amnon refused to eat and ordered everyone to withdraw. After everyone had withdrawn, (10) Amnon said to Tamar, “Bring the food inside and feed me.” Tamar took the cakes she had made and brought them to her brother inside. (11) But when she served them to him, he caught hold of her and said to her, “Come lie with me, sister.” (12) But she said to him, “Don’t, brother. Don’t force me. Such things are not done in Israel! Don’t do such a vile thing! (13) Where will I carry my shame? And you, you will be like any of the scoundrels in Israel! Please, speak to the king; he will not refuse me to you.” (14) But he would not listen to her; he overpowered her and lay with her by force. (15) Then Amnon felt a very great loathing for her; indeed, his loathing for her was greater than the passion he had felt for her. And Amnon said to her, “Get out!”

And you shall love, etc. Love implies two aspects: (1) Sacrificing one's desires and existence for the beloved. (2) Being deeply attached in thought and intense longing for enjoyment with the beloved. These two intentions are hinted at in this verse. (1) As explained by Maimonides, even in a life-threatening situation, one should not transgress any of these three commandments, as it is stated, 'And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul,' even if He takes your soul. This entails dedicating everything one possesses for the sake of His honor and faith. (2) As also explained by Maimonides, one is commanded to love the revered and awesome God, as stated, 'And you shall love the Lord.' And how does one go about loving Him? This is further explained in the Jerusalem Talmud, where Rabbi Akiva interprets the verse, 'Your compassion has been with me in my heart; Your compassion has been with me in my soul.' This is similar to a woman who is attached to her child from the womb, indicating the intense attachment in love. The main implications of these two aspects are derived from the previous passage, as one who behaves according to the natural course of the world and has not yet reached the level of piety to find a way of attachment to God. In this case, it is explained that one should at least stand firmly in his faith and not change it in any way, even in times of hardship. This is clarified further. On the other hand, for those who are on a higher spiritual level, they are cautioned in the second aspect to immerse their thoughts in love and attachment at the appropriate time to mention God's name in the Shema and prayer. Therefore, it is written 'You shall love the Lord' and not as it is written 'You shall love your fellow.' The latter implies only leaving one's desire for the other, but 'You shall love the Lord' implies mentioning His name and cleaving to Him. The same applies to the later verse, 'And you shall love the Lord,' which refers to the aspect of fulfilling the commandments with love, as explained there. This is also clarified in this way. Thus, this passage will be further explained in the course that leads to this."

(1) [With] An everlasting loveYou loved the House of Israel, Your people. You taught us Torah and commandments, statutes and laws. Therefore, Adonoy, our God, when we lie down and when we rise, we will discuss Your statutes, and rejoice in the words of Your Torah and in Your commandments forever. For they are our life and they lengthen our days, and on them we will meditate day and night. [May] Your love never be removed from us. Blessed are You, Adonoy, Who loves His people Israel.

What is the proper [degree] of love? That a person should love God with a very great and exceeding love until his soul is bound up in the love of God. Thus, he will always be obsessed with this love as if he is lovesick.
[A lovesick person's] thoughts are never diverted from the love of that woman. He is always obsessed with her; when he sits down, when he gets up, when he eats and drinks. With an even greater [love], the love for God should be [implanted] in the hearts of those who love Him and are obsessed with Him at all times as we are commanded [Deuteronomy 6:5: "Love God...] with all your heart and with all soul."
This concept was implied by Solomon [Song of Songs 2:5] when he stated, as a metaphor: "I am lovesick." [Indeed,] the totality of the Song of Songs is a parable describing [this love].

...All the Holy Scriptures defile the hands. The Song of Songs and Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) defile the hands.

Rabbi Judah says: the Song of Songs defiles the hands, but there is a dispute about Kohelet.

Rabbi Yose says: Kohelet does not defile the hands, but there is a dispute about the Song of Songs.

Rabbi Akiba said: Far be it! No man in Israel disputed that the Song of Songs [saying] that it does not defile the hands. For the whole world is not as worthy as the day on which the Song of Songs was given to Israel; for all the writings are holy but the Song of Songs is the holy of holies. If they had a dispute, they had a dispute only about Kohelet...

“God has spoken once, twice I have heard this” (Psalms 62:12). From one verse, emerge several explanations. [However] in conclusion, a verse does not depart from its literal sense and meaning. Although the Prophets have employed metaphors, let each metaphor be explained simply, each statement fitting its context.

“I say that king Shlomo saw prophetically that in the future, Israel will undergo exile after exile, destruction after destruction, and they will mourn in exile for their original glory, remembering the original love by which they was separated from all other peoples, and they will say, ‘I will go and return to my first husband, for then I fared better than now’, and they will remember His kindnesses and their own value, and the goodly things promised to them in the eschaton. And Shlomo wrote this sefer prophetically, in the language of a widowed woman who longs for her husband, ‘who clings to her beloved’, remembering how she loved him in her youth, and [she] admits her failings. And even her Beloved is pained by her pain, and remembers the kindness of her youth, the comeliness of her beauty, and the quality of her deeds, in which he was bound up with her in intense love, and He tells her that He does not willfully bring her grief, and nor has she been sent away permanently, for she is still His wife, and He her husband, and he will return to her in the future.”

(1) The number of the people of Israel shall be like that of the sands of the sea, which cannot be measured or counted; and instead of being told, “You are Not-My-People,” they shall be called Children-of-the-Living-God. (2) The people of Judah and the people of Israel shall assemble together and appoint one head over them; and they shall rise from the ground the day of Jezreel (3) call your brothers “My People,”
And your sisters “Lovingly Accepted!” (4) Remonstrate your mother, remonstrate her
For she is not My wife And I am not her husband And let her put away her whoredom from her face
And her adultery from between her breasts. (5) Else will I strip her naked
And leave her as on the day she was born:
And I will make her like a wilderness,
Render her like desert land,
And let her die of thirst. (6) I will also disown her children;
For they are now a whore’s brood, (7) In that their mother has played the whore,
She that conceived them has acted shamelessly—Because she thought,
“I will go after my lovers, Who supply my bread and my water, My wool and my linen, My oil and my drink.” (8) Assuredly,
I will hedge up her רoads with thorns
And raise walls against her,
And she shall not find her paths. (9) Pursue her lovers as she will, She shall not overtake them; And seek them as she may,
She shall never find them. Then she will say, “I will go and return To my first husband, For then I fared better than now.” (10) And she did not consider this: It was I who bestowed on her The new grain and wine and oil; I who lavished silver on her And gold—which they used for Baal. (11) Assuredly, I will take back My new grain in its time And My new wine in its season,
And I will snatch away My wool and My linen That serve to cover her nakedness. (12) Now will I uncover her shame In the very sight of her lovers, And not one of them shall save her from Me. (13) And I will end all her rejoicing: Her festivals, new moons, and sabbaths— All her festive seasons. (14) I will lay waste her vines and her fig trees,
Which she thinks are a fee She received from her lovers; I will turn them into brushwood,
And beasts of the field shall devour them. (15) Thus will I punish her For the days of the Baalim, On which she brought them offerings; When, decked with earrings and jewels, She would go after her lovers,
Forgetting Me
—declares GOD. (16) Assuredly,
I will speak coaxingly to her
And lead her through the wilderness
And speak to her tenderly. (17) I will give her her vineyards from there,
And the Valley of Achor . as a plowland of hope. There she shall respond as in the days of her youth,
When she came up from the land of Egypt. (18) And in that day
—declares GOD—
You will call [Me] Ishi,l And no more will you call Me Baali.(19) For I will remove the names of the Baalim from her mouth,
And they shall nevermore be mentioned by name.
(20) In that day, I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, the birds of the air, and the creeping things of the ground; I will also banish” bow, sword, and war from the land. Thus I will let them lie down in safety. (21) And I will espouse you forever: I will espouse you with righteousness and justice, And with goodness and mercy, (22) And I will espouse you with faithfulness; Then you shall be devoted to GOD. (23) In that day, I will respond —declares GOD—
I will respond to the sky, And it shall respond to the earth; (24) And the earth shall respond
With new grain and wine and oil,
And they shall respond to Jezreel.p (25) I will sow her in the land as My own;
And take Lo-ruhamah back in favor;
And I will say to Lo-ammi, “You are My people,” And he will respond, “[You are] my God.”

For ... is dearer. Your love [is dearer] to me than any banquet of wine or than any pleasure and joy. In the Hebrew language, every feast of pleasure and joy is called after the wine, as the matter is stated, “to the house of the wine feast,” [and as in,] “They shall not drink wine with song,” [and as in,] “And there were harp and lute, tambourine and flute, and wine at their drinking parties.” This is the explanation of its apparent meaning. And according to its allegorical meaning: It was said in reference to when He gave them His Torah and spoke to them face to face. And that love is still more pleasant to them than any pleasure, and they are assured by Him that He will appear to them again to explain to them the secret of its reasons and its hidden mysteries, and they beseech Him to fulfill His word. This is [the meaning of], “Let Him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth.”

(2) Like the fragrance of good oils. That those dwelling at the ends of the earth smelled, [i.e.,] those who heard of Your good reputation when You performed awesome deeds in Egypt. ( (4) Therefore young maidens love you. Yisro came upon hearing the news and converted; also Rachav Hazonah said, “For we have heard how Adonoy dried up, etc.”14Yehoshua 2:10. And because of this [she proclaimed], “For Adonoy your God, He is God in heaven, etc.”15Ibid. 2.11. According to this Rashi, “maidens” represent proselytes, and because of the plural expression [עלמות], Rashi mentions two proselytes, Yisro and Rachav. (Sifsei Chachomim) (5) Young maidens. Virgins, since the text compares Him to a young man whose beloved holds him dear. And according to the allegory: The “young maidens” are the other nations.

(1) Draw me we will run after you. I heard from your messengers a hint that you said to draw me, and I said, “We will run after you,” to be as a wife to you.16Alternatively, You initiate, by drawing us after You and to return to You as it is stated, “Bring us to You Adonoy and we will return,” in Eichah 5:21. (2) The king has brought me into his chambers. And even today, I still have joy and happiness that I cleaved to you. (3) We recall your love. Even today, in living widowhood, I always recall your first love [for me] more than any banquet of pleasure and joy. (4) They loved you sincerely. A strong love, a straightforward love, without deceit or intrigue, that my ancestors and I loved you in those days. This is its simple meaning according to its context. According to its allegorical meaning: They mention before Him the loving kindness of [their] youth, the love of [their] nuptials, their following Him in the wilderness, a land of drought and darkness, and they did not even prepare provisions for themselves, but they believed in Him and in His messenger. And they did not say, “How can we go out into the wilderness, which is neither a land of seed nor food?”18See Yirmiyahu 2:2. But they followed Him, and He brought them into the midst of the chambers of the envelopment of His clouds. With this, they are still joyful today and happy with Him despite their afflictions and distress; and they delight in the Torah, and there they recall His love more than wine, and the sincerity of their love for Him.19Their love for You is much higher than the love of wine from which pleasure is derived. (Sforno)

(2) Your eyes are like doves. There are righteous among you who clung to Me like a dove, that once it recognizes its mate, does not allow him to mate with another.58Even when its mate is not there. Similarly, Bnei Yisroel do not abandon God even during the period when the Divine Presence is “hiding” from making its presence felt. (Sefer Duda’im) Similarly, “and all the sons of Leivi gathered around him,”59Shemos 32:26. and they did not err with the [golden] calf. Another explanation [of הִנָּךְ יָפָה, behold, you are beautiful through the construction of the Tabernacle, as it is stated, “and behold, they had done it, etc. And Moshe blessed them;”60Ibid. 39:43. he praised them for that.

(1) You are handsome, my beloved, most handsome. The beauty is not mine, but Yours; You are the handsome one. (2) Most handsome. For You overlooked my transgressions and caused Your Shechinah to rest in our midst. This is the praise61By Yisroel to God. of the descent of the fire, “and all the people saw and shouted for joy.”62Vayikra 9:24. (3) Indeed our bed is fresh. Through your pleasantness, behold our couch is fresh with our sons and daughters, all of whom gather unto You here, as it is said, “and the assembly was gathered, etc.”63Vayikra 8:4. The Tabernacle is called a bed, as it is stated, “Behold the bed of Shlomo,”64Below 3:7. and similarly, the [Beis] Hamikdosh is called a bed, as it is said concerning Yo’ash, “in the bed chamber” which was in the “House of God,”65II Divrei Hayomim 22:11, 12. because they are the source of Yisroel’s fruitfulness and procreation.

(1) The voice of my beloved. The poet returns to the earlier topics, like a person who was brief with his words and later says, “I did not tell you the beginning of these events.” He started by saying, “The king has brought me into his chambers,”15Above 1:4. but did not tell how He had remembered them in Egypt with an expression of affection. And now he returns and says, “this attraction that I told you about, that my Beloved drew me and I ran after Him, happened as follows: I had despaired any redemption until the completion of the four hundred years that were [fore]told [in the Covenant] Between the Parts,”16See Bereishis 15:13. and— (2) The voice of my beloved! Behold, he comes. Before the end of the appointed time, as one skipping over the mountains and jumping over the hills.17God, as it were, skipped and jumped over the barriers of time and redeemed the Bnei Yisroel one hundred and ninety years before completion of the prophecy of the four hundred years of bondage.

(1) The fig tree has produced its green figs. [To be understood] according to its apparent meaning. (2) And the grapevines with tender grapes. When the blossom falls, and the grapes become separated from one another, and each grape is discernible by itself, it is called “סְמָדַר.” This entire section, according to its simple meaning, is an expression of a loving seduction, by which a young man appeals to his betrothed to follow him; so did my beloved do to me. (3) My beloved spoke. Through Moshe. (4) And said to me. Through Aharon. (5) Rise up. Hurry yourself, “and let each man borrow from his neighbor.”22Shemos 11:2. (6) For behold, the winter is past. These are the four hundred years of [exile]. I skipped them by counting them from Yitzchok’s birth.23See Rashi in Bereishis 15:13. (7) The rain. Which is the hardship of winter, is over and gone, i.e., eighty-six years of harsh slavery were decreed upon you, and they have passed. From the time that Miryam was born, the Egyptians intensified the bondage upon Yisroel; and therefore, she was called Miryam [= מִרְיָם, because they made it bitter [=מַר for them.24See Shemos 1:14. (8) The blossoms have appeared on the land. Behold Moshe and Aharon are available for you to fulfill all your needs. (9) The time of singing has come. For you are destined to recite a song by the [Reed] Sea.25See Shemos 15:1-19. (10) And the voice of the turtledove. The voice of the great guide [=תַּיָּר.26Moshe Rabbeinu. Another explanation: “קוֹל הַתּוֹר” means the tiding [=קול that the time [=תּוֹר27See Esther 2:12, where Rashi explains that תור means time [= זמן]. has arrived for your exodus from Egypt. (11) The fig tree has produced its green figs. The time to bring the first fruits has arrived, for you will enter the land [of Yisroel]. (12) And the grapevines with tender grapes. The time of the wine libations has drawn near. Another explanation: The worthy among you ripened and produced good deeds before Me and emitted a pleasant fragrance. (13) Arise [my beloved] go forth. A superfluous yud לָכְי is written, meaning, “rise up to receive the Ten28The numerical value of yud is ten. Commandments.” (14) Another explanation—The fig tree has produced its green figs. These are the sinners of Yisroel, who perished during the three days of darkness.29See Rashi in Shemos 10:22. “פגים” are unripened figs, and refer to the wicked among the Bnei Yisroel who spurned redemption, i.e., those who perished during the three days of darkness. And the grapevines with tender grapes (15) have emitted fragrance. These are the ones who remained of them;30Shemos 14:10. they repented and were accepted. So it is interpreted in Pesikta.

(1) On my bed at night. In my distress, when I lived in the darkness1 for the entire thirty-eight years2After the sin of the spies it was declared that the Bnei Yisroel would wander in the wilderness for forty years. Since two years had already past, they had to wander for another thirty-eight years and during this time the Divine Presence was hidden from them. that the [Bnei] Yisroel were under reproach. (2) I sought him but did not find him. “For I will not go up in your midst,”3Shemos 33:3. This was on account of the golden calf. [and] “for I am not in your midst.”4Devarim 1:42. This was on account of the spies. (1) I will rise now ... I will seek. “And Moshe prayed,”5Shemos 32:11. [and] “I will go up to the Adonoy.”6Ibid. 32:30.

(1) Your two breasts. Which nourished you. This refers to Moshe and Aharon. (2) Like two fawns, twins of a gazelle. It is a gazelle’s nature to bear twins, similarly, they [Moshe and Aharon] are equal, this one to that one.34 Another explanation, “Your bosom,” is a reference to the Tablets, “twins of a gazelle,” they are equal with one measure; five commandments on this one and five on the other, each commandment corresponding to the other. will eventually beget a son who [unknowingly] slights him and honors one who is not his father. (3) Who pasture. Their sheep among the roses and guide them on a tranquil and straight path.