Chapter 1:7-8
Tell me my only love,
Where do you pasture your sheep,
Where do you rest them in the heat of noon?
Why should I wander among the flocks of your companions?
Loveliest of women,
If you wander,
Follow in the tracks of the sheep,
Graze your goats in the shadow of the shepherd’s tents.
Why should I waste my time on anything less than our moments together? Why do I squander my time in worry, regret, scheming, blame or recrimination? It is Your Presence that nourishes and fills me;
Your Light that illuminates and dazzles me; Your Warmth that comforts me.As I wander and stumble upon hidden pathways,
I begin to listen to my body’s message
Urging me towards balance, vitality and wholeness.My animal holiness signals with each moment —
An explosion of impulse. As I purify this impulse and listen
Ever more carefully to its nuanced truth,
I cultivate the courage to follow
And obey… The body doesn’t lie.
My obedience is to this truth —
A Divine voice speaking through Existence.
In the Fever of Love ©2008 Shefa Gold. All rights reserved.
Practice
Chant: Tell Me: Hagida li
Commentary
In this practice, we open a conversation with the Beloved, asking the One we love to respond with Presence, guidance, and intimacy. By chanting these words, we are turning towards the Great Mystery. The answers may come through the silence in the stirrings of the heart or through the portents and wonders of this world. And then we must listen, and open the inner eyes to see. And then we must follow the signs and the glimpses we are given.
Bridge to Torah
As Abraham, I am tested. I am called to open to the Divine Presence that is speaking through this world. Yes, I hear God’s promise of wholeness, continuity, meaning, connection, and prosperity… and then I am called by life’s challenges: illness, divorce, the death of my loved ones, the loss of fortune and loss of meaning. At each turn of this conversation with the Divine that is my life, I must say Hineni, Here I am. Here I am not knowing. Here I am walking in the Mystery, expanding to embrace this paradox, trembling before the awesome contradiction of my faith and my suffering. I pasture my sheep on Mt Moriah, the Mountain of Seeing.
Click to see Genesis 18:1–22:24 in Hebrew and English (JPS 1985) or the associated Torah Journeys page.
Question for Contemplation
Can I open to the Divine Presence that is speaking to me through this world? Can I respond with my life?
Resources
View Love at the Center Resources.
Click to see Song of Songs Chapter 1:7-8 in Hebrew with the English JPS (1985) translation.