NOTES for Sol 5:1-16

I slept, but my heart was awake. The mind may sleep, shutting itself off from reality with familiar notions and logical constructs, but the soul perceives many things more deeply; it understands what escapes consciousness. Even when we manage to persuade ourselves that we are doing everything as we should, an uncertainty about it still aches in the depths of the soul.

He knocks at the door, and it must be opened for him; but how great is our love if we find it difficult to leave everything and rush to him? The beloved turns and goes away—is it because the one who is dear to him took too long to respond? Yes, he loves constantly and is glad to meet at any moment, but when rejected he does not impose himself. Sometimes a choice must be made instantly, and we should not be ashamed of the state in which we are found. To be is more important than to appear; love is higher than its outward expressions. But now the bride, too, spares no colors in singing the praises of her beloved. The meeting that did not take place has given her an opportunity to appreciate him more fully.