Thou shalt explore intimacy, allowing thyself to be drawn by Mystery and be open to the power of yearning for God.
Oh, give me the kisses of your mouth,
For your sweet loving is better than wine… Song of Songs 1:2
The very first words of Song of Songs send us on the journey of relationship. We don’t ask to hold hands or turn our face for a peck on the cheek. We are commanded to pucker up; to meet the fullness of Life and Love, to explore the bundaries of our separate self, and to keep challenging those boundaries. Every word of Song of Songs can be read as both the word that I speak to God and the word that God speaks to me. As we ask for Love, we must also rise to its challenge.
Each relationship in our lives opens the door to a whole new universe. This relationship can be with a beloved other, with a parent, friend, or with the world around us. Glimpsing ourselves through the eyes of this “other” allows us to escape from the confining prison of self. Once free and yet connected, we are drawn by the Mystery of innumerable galaxies, swirling around each other, also interconnected.
As we stand in awe of this vast cosmic drama, we experience it all unfolding within a great Oneness, the Unity that embraces us all. That great Echad is supremely conscious and supremely loving.
In a moment of loving we can feel ourselves inside that Oneness. This moment is fleeting, but once it is gone, is replaced with a new feeling: Yearning. Once we have tasted of this Oneness, we long for more and the power of Yearning is unlocked. This is the power that inspires us to free ourselves from separateness and propels us into the arms of the Beloved.
See also Shir HaShirim (Bereshit).