Chapter 2:16-17
My beloved is mine and I am his.
He pastures among the lilies.
Before the day blows on,
And the shadows flee,
Turn away, my love,
And be like a gazelle, a wild stag
On the jagged mountains.
Oh Mystery, You who dwell in the depths,
At the center of my every molecule,
At the heart of my being.You glow beneath the brittle shallow surface of the world,
You burn inside the shadow.
You are shining through the dark with so much love…
’Til darkness itself shines.
In the Fever of Love ©2008 Shefa Gold. All rights reserved.
Practice
Chant: My Beloved Is Mine
Commentary
With this practice, I am asserting the truth of mutuality. We belong to one another. The Divine Mystery is giving itself to me to explore, nurture, and embrace. I make myself vulnerable to his gaze, his touch, his searching interest in the inner beauty of my soul. I open to the God’s loving attention and in opening I can know myself truly.
And this sense of mutuality can extend to all my relations, as I acknowledge the Tzelem Elohim, the Divine image, that is engraved in the heart of all Creation.
Bridge to Torah
Our journey to Freedom begins with a song. As we stand at the sea and celebrate the miracle of our crossing, we remember that God has freed us so that we might know ourselves as the Beloved. We surrender to this journey of transformation and open to this primal relationship with the Divine which will fuel every step along the way. We are sent on this journey by the harsh memory of slavery and by the promise of freedom. We turn away from the shadows of Egypt and turn towards the peril and beauty of the jagged mountains of the wilderness before us.
Click to see Exodus 13:17–17:16 in Hebrew and English (JPS 1985) or the associated Torah Journeys page.
Question for Contemplation
Can I fully inhabit my vulnerability so that I might be completely seen, known and loved by the Great Mystery who is touching me through the beauty of this world?
Resources
View Love at the Center Resources.
See also SHS Commandment 6.
Click to see Song of Songs Chapter 2:16-17 in Hebrew with the English JPS (1985) translation.