Chapter 1:5-6
I am dark and beautiful, Oh Daughters of Jerusalem
Dark as the tents of Kedar, lavish as Solomon’s tapestries.
Do not see me only as dark,
for the sun has stared at me,
My brothers quarreled with me,
They made me guard the vineyards;
I have not guarded my own.
My dark beauty shines in the life that I have lived, the mistakes that I have made.
This dark beauty shines in my regrets, in the tears that I have shed for love lost.
I have been weathered.
Each wrinkle on my face shows a road on the map.
And the circuitous journey is etched on my soul.Yet my darkness is still a mystery which I offer up to the fires of awareness.
I have quarreled with my life.
My argument with the World is exhausting.
Yet you see me.
You harvest the fruit of my unguarded vineyard.
I open the gate wide and wider still, to receive You.
In the Fever of Love ©2008 Shefa Gold. All rights reserved.
Practice
Chant: Dark and Beautiful
Commentary
This practice explores our shame and leads us to glory. We live in a world that turns dark skin into a humiliation. Through love and dignity, we overcome that mistreatment, heal the wounds that have been inflicted by oppression, and step into our unique beauty and power. We proclaim that glory to the world through the “Daughters of Jerusalem,” who witness us with love, and reflect back to us our truth.
The music of the chant moves back and forth from a minor to a major key expressing the complexity of this journey to self-realization, which is, ultimately, God-realization.
Bridge to Torah
It is only when I have begun to release shame, regret, fixation on the past — defining me or others’ (my quarreling brothers’) projections — that I can hear the call of Lekh Lekha, which has always been calling. That call happens in the timeless present, and I respond to it by leaving everything that I know, in order to step into the unknown. I step into my power which is my unique beauty. My step onto the path of love is fueled by a miraculous faith. Trusting in the power of that beauty, I step forth and engage with the unknown that is calling.
Click to see Genesis 12:1 – 17:27 in Hebrew and English (JPS 1985) or the associated Torah Journeys page.
Question for Contemplation
Can I release shame, blame, guilt, or regrets about the past and open up to the gift of this day?
Resources
View Love at the Center Resources.
Click to see Song of Songs Chapter 1:5-6 in Hebrew with the English JPS (1985) translation.