However, the Re’aya misses her opportunity, specifically because of her having been overcome by impulsive affection. That same inability to suppress her love at the beginning of the Megilla now ruins what would have been the actualization of that love. Just as she could not control her premature passion, which did not correspond to the formative stage of their relationship, so are those same feelings incapable of overcoming the fatigue and indolence which has settled in during the late nighttime hours.
However, in the aftermath of her failure to open the door in time, she learns her lesson and drastically changes her approach. In a dramatic and heroic about-face, the Re’aya now employs for her expressions of love the spiritual images of the Dod. As she pours out her soul in anguish over her mistake, she describes him in totally different terms from the ones she had used earlier. Rather than resorting to purely natural images, she now moves into a world containing a significant artistic element:
His head is finest gold, his locks are curled and black as a raven … His lips are like lilies; they drip flowing myrrh. His hands are rods of gold, studded with beryl; his belly a tablet of ivory, adorned with sapphires. His legs are like marble pillars set in sockets of fine gold; he is majestic as Lebanon, stately as the cedars. (5:11-15)
By blending flowing myrrh and rods of gold, and drawing an appropriate balance between the woods of Lebanon and marble pillars, the Re’aya demonstrates the internalization of her beloved’s secret into her own character, moving towards a more stable, firmly-established relationship.
At this stage in the drama, the critical question is, has the Re’aya missed her chance forever, or will the Dod return once again to actualize their love? Did she lose the opportunity, will their love never be fulfilled, or will her feelings of longing finally be satisfied? Will the Dod continue to hide and peer in through the cracks in the walls, or will he return to his beloved? These questions take on new significance in light of the Re’aya’s change of attitude in the aftermath of her failure, and they form the basis of the second half of the Megilla.
III. The Restoration of Their Love
In order to follow the progress of their relationship after the Dod’s unanswered knocking and subsequent disappearance, we must compare two sections of the Megilla: the section before the missed opportunity, and the one immediately thereafter. In the beginning of chapter 4, the Dod senses that he no longer needs to restrain his emotions – the time for love has arrived. He thus turns to his beloved with a stream of songs and praises that eventually leads him to her home and brings him to passionately knock at her door. Now his speech is firm and confident, bereft of the hesitation and restraint that has characterized his words to his beloved beforehand:
Ah, you are fair, my darling, Ah, you are fair! Your eyes are like doves behind your veil. Your hair is like a flock of goats streaming down Mount Gilead. Your teeth are like a flock of ewes climbing up from the washing pool; all of them bear twins, and not one loses her young. Your lips are like a crimson thread, your mouth is lovely. Your brow behind your veil gleams like a pomegranate split open. Your neck is like the Tower of David, built to hold weapons, hung with a thousand shields – all the quivers of warriors. Your breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle, browsing among the lilies. When the day blows gently and the shadows flee, I will betake me to the mount of myrrh, to the hill of frankincense. Every part of you is fair, my darling, there is no blemish in you! (4:1-7)
The conclusion of this soliloquy testifies to the Dod’s intense affection and his anticipation of his imminent arrival at her home at the dark of night. His songs of praise continue to grow and intensify until eventually he exclaims (4:16), “Let my beloved come to his garden and enjoy its luscious fruits!” With this proclamation, he arrives at the Re’aya’s home. However, as we know, she does not let him in, and he, in turn, flees. She finally gets out of bed to search after him, but all she finds are the city-watchers, leaving us – the readers – confused as to the direction their relationship now tak. Will he return to his beloved, or will he continue fleeing through the mountains?
