“I
have ordered you, daughters of Jerusalem, by gazelles and by hinds of
the field. Stir not up nor arouse the love until she pleases.”
(2:7)
God
speaks to the higher levels of consciousness (the daughters of
Jerusalem) asking them not to force the conscious self (Israel) to
love and manifest love in its ways and attributes as permanently as
this must be, according to what our highest awareness requests from
our intellect, mind, thoughts, emotions, feelings, passion and
instinct.
God
does not force His will on Israel or the nations, for He gave them
free will. However, God commands all to be and do goodness, for it is
the natural expression of love as a material manifestation of His
love in all His creation. God's love bestows His goodness on all, and
sustains them all.
Nevertheless,
God adjures “by gazelles and hinds of the field”. The field
represents life and the goodness it contains, represented by
beautiful and delicate animals as positive traits and trends in human
consciousness. These qualities are summoned by God also as witnesses
of the choices we make in regards to either love's ways and
attributes or ego's fantasies and illusions.
“The
voice of my Beloved! Lo, He is coming, leaping on the mountains,
skipping on the hills.” (2:8)
Israel
answers also by comparing her Beloved to a deer “leaping on the
mountains” (pleased with His ways) and “skipping on the hills”
(happy with His attributes). Mountains and hills are higher places as
higher levels of consciousness in life as the earth where we live.
Those are the “places” where God reveals to us His ways and
attributes, so we come up to them in order to dwell together with
Him.
Israel
hears the voice of her Beloved, not only as her husband and king but
also as her redeemer. God's voice is His love fulfilling the promise
to redeem Israel through His ways and attributes as the mountains in
which He delights.
“My
Beloved is like a deer, to a young one of the harts. Lo this, He is
standing behind our wall, looking from the windows, peering through
the lattices.” (2:9)
Israel
continues referring to God's ways and attributes as the delicate and
vibrant qualities of deer and harts in the fields of life. The first
part of this verse belongs to the previous one. The next sentence
refers to God's presence in the Temple of Jerusalem, that permanently
watches over His people.
We
have to complete the allegory of the deer, gazelles, hinds and harts
as the liberating and redeeming ways and attributes of God's love.
Thus we understand how God cares and watches over us.
These ways and
attributes also include God's commandments as the means He provides
for us to bond and connect with Him. This is anchored in our highest
level of consciousness represented by the Temple of Jerusalem.
God's
presence is not an abstract concept but a concrete principle manifest
as ways and attributes that give meaning and purpose to human life in
general, and to the Jewish people in particular.
The more we attune
and connect with them, the more we experience God's presence in our
lives. They also protect us from ego's fantasies and illusions, for
these oppose and obstruct God's purpose and mission for us; as we
will see in the upcoming verses.
Thus
we understand “our wall”, because God and Israel share the same
house where His love stands within, looking for us from its windows
hoping we come soon to dwell permanently with Him.
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