Shir Hashirim in Hebrew - English Linear Transliteration and Translation
On Shabbat Chol HaMoed, the Shabbat that occurs during the Intermediate Days of the Holiday, or on the Seventh Day of that Holiday when Shabbat coincides with that day, the reading of the Megilah of Shir HaShirim is incorporated into the Services in most synagogues in the Jewish world.
As mentioned above, this Megilah is an allegory for the relationship between G-d and Israel in terms of the love of a man for a woman. The Mashal, or the metaphor, focuses on the man and the woman; the Nimshal, or referent, is the relationship between HaShem and the People of Israel. According to the Rambam, a twelfth-century Torah giant of the Jewish People, the highest form of relationship between a human being and HaShem is the relationship based on love, Ahavat HaShem, even higher than the relationship built on fear or reverence, Yirat HaShem. theֲ Rambamֲ continues, Just as when a man loves a particular woman, he cannot remove her from his thoughts, with just such intensity should a person love HaShem.
