That feeling isn't new. In fact, our ancient texts wrestle with it all the time. Take the Song of Songs, also known as Shir HaShirim in Hebrew, often considered the most beautiful of biblical books. It’s a passionate love poem, filled with evocative imagery. But it's also, according to Jewish tradition, an allegory for the relationship between God and Israel.
So, what happens when we dive a little deeper?
The verse we're looking at today is from Song of Songs 7:1: "Return, return, O Shulamite; return, return, and we will gaze upon you. Why will you gaze at the Shulamite like at a dance of two companies?” It seems simple enough, a lover calling out to his beloved. But the rabbis of the Midrash, in Shir HaShirim Rabbah, saw something much grander.
Rabbi Shmuel bar Ḥiyya bar Yudan, quoting Rabbi Ḥanina, notices something striking: The word "return" appears four times. Four returns? What could that mean? Their answer: the four kingdoms that will rule over Israel – Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. These are the empires that would exert their power, test Israel's faith, and ultimately, from which Israel would emerge, scarred perhaps, but unbroken. The repetition emphasizes the cyclical nature of exile and redemption, a theme that echoes throughout Jewish history.
But who is this "Shulamite"? The text offers several interpretations, each painting a different facet of Israel's identity.
First, the Midrash suggests the Shulamite is "a nation in whose midst the Eternal One who lives in peace [shalom] moves about." This connects to the verse in II Samuel 7:6, "I have moved about in a tent and a Tabernacle." In other words, the Shulamite is the nation with whom God dwells, the people who carry the divine presence within them. The Tabernacle, that portable sanctuary, resided in four places: Gilgal, Shilo, Nov, and Givon. Sound familiar? Four places, corresponding to the four "returns." It's as if the very presence of God is interwoven with the history and destiny of Israel. As the Maharzu points out, it’s as though the word Shulamite is written with each one of those places.
Another interpretation sees the Shulamite as the nation to whom a blessing concluding with peace is recited daily. Think of the Priestly Blessing in Numbers 6:26: "And grant you peace [shalom]." The Shulamite embodies the yearning for, and the promise of, ultimate peace. Or perhaps, the Shulamite is the nation that God will ultimately settle in "an abode of peace," a vision drawn from Isaiah 32:18: "My people will live in a peaceful abode…" The Shulamite is both the recipient and the embodiment of shalom.
Rabbi Elazar bar Rabbi Maron offers yet another perspective. The Shulamite, he says, is the nation that "completes [mashlemet] the stability of the world," both in this world and in the World to Come. The very existence of Israel, its commitment to God's covenant, is what holds the world together.
Rabbi Yehoshua of Sikhnin, quoting Rabbi Levi, takes it a step further: "A nation that all the good of the word comes only due to its merit." All the blessings, the prosperity, the very dew of the heavens and fat of the earth, as described in Genesis 27:28 and Deuteronomy 28:12 – it all flows through the merit of Israel.
And then comes perhaps the most powerful interpretation of all. Rabbi Shmuel bar Tanḥum and Rabbi Ḥanan, quoting Rabbi Yirmeya, declare that the Shulamite is the nation that "made peace between Me and My world." Without Israel's acceptance of the Torah at Mount Sinai, the world would have returned to emptiness and disorder. As Huna said in the name of Rabbi Aḥa, referencing Psalms 75:4, "The earth and all its inhabitants melt away." The world was on the brink of collapse, but Israel's "Everything that the Lord has said, we will perform and we will heed" (Exodus 24:7) saved it. The Etz Yosef commentary clarifies that God caused the pillars of the world to be firm in the merit of the people of Israel accepting the Ten Commandments.
The moment at Sinai wasn't just a historical event; it was a cosmic turning point. Israel's acceptance of the Torah, beginning with the declaration "undefined – I am the Lord your God" (Exodus 20:2), became the foundation upon which the world rests.
So, what does it all mean? This seemingly simple verse from the Song of Songs, through the eyes of the Rabbis, becomes a profound statement about Israel's role in history and in the cosmos. It speaks of resilience, of divine presence, of the pursuit of peace, and of the awesome responsibility of upholding the world through faith and action.
The next time you feel caught in a cycle, remember the Shulamite. Remember the call to return, the promise of peace, and the enduring power of a people bound to their God. Perhaps, just perhaps, we too can help set the pillars of the world firm.