Chapter 7:12-14
Come, my beloved,
Let us go out to the field
And lie all night among the flowering henna,
Let us go early to the vineyards
To see if the vine has budded,
If the blossoms have opened,
And the pomegranates are in bloom,
There I will give you my love.
The mandrakes yield their fragrance
And at our doors are all kinds of precious fruits,
Both newly picked and long-stored,
I have hidden them away for you.
Come, my beloved, Let us go out to the field.
Come my beloved, let us leave the comfort of familiar habit; let us challenge these walls, fling open these doors; explode definition; shatter this outgrown identity. Let us dare to disagree with the wardens of Time and Space; let us step outside possibility.
Come my beloved, let us go down into the valley, to see if the cottonwood has budded its new green, to caress the feather of mountain mahogany, and breathe in the butterscotch of pine-sap flowing. My precious fruits, both newly picked and long-stored, have been hidden away too long. Whatever I don’t give away will decay and fester and become misery.
Where spaciousness can untie my tangles,
Where tantalizing fragrance can inspire my curiosity,
Where I can lose my apprehension, find my humor,
Play in the soil of the Ancestors,
bury treasures for my descendants,
And open to my true desire.
In the Fever of Love ©2008 Shefa Gold. All rights reserved.
Illustrations ©2009 Phillip Ratner, courtesy of the Dennis & Phillip Ratner Museum and the Israel Bible Museum collection. All rights reserved.
Practice
Chant: Come, My Beloved (L’cha Dodi)
Commentary
These are words that invite us into Shabbat Consciousness, a place of spacious, relaxed receptive presence. It is only in that wide open field, that love can reveal herself, express her full beauty , flourish, thrive and blossom into her mature and powerful form.
In responding to this invitation, I find my purpose, because finally, I am in a place where my love can be received. There I will give you my love; there I will give you my all.
By stepping into Shabbat Consciousness, I am letting go of my attachments to judgment, opinions, control, fixed identity and all the rigid complications of my struggle. I am stepping into trust, unknowing and endless possibility.
Bridge to Torah
The Torah of Shoftim defines the status and lays out the functions of judges, royalty, priests, Levites and prophets. These outer roles also point to the inner landscape where the voices of our many-layered personality vie for our attention. How can we listen carefully, with discernment, as we raise up, honor and refine these functions within us?
The Song of Songs offers us the spacious, loving awareness that will make that listening possible. It sends us to the “field”, a place of wide open unconditioned possibility. And the Song of Songs reminds us of why we are doing this work of judge, King, priest, artist and prophet. “There,” through all of my efforts and roles, “I will give you my love.” The Song provides the context and the motivation for all the holy work we do, guiding us to the place of pure BEING, that will become the source of all our DOING.
Click to see Deuteronomy 16:18–21:9 in Hebrew and English (JPS 1985) or the associated Torah Journeys page.
Question for Contemplation
Can I open to Shabbat consciousness as the underlying field of spacious awareness that is always available?
Resources
View Love at the Center Resources.
Click to see Song of Songs Chapter 7:12-14 in Hebrew with the English JPS (1985) translation.