...there was a king. His name was Sh'lomó, son of Davíd and Bat-Shévą, and he was a very special king indeed. Not only did he build the Temple to the One God in Jerusalem (with his own sumptuous palace next door), but he was the wisest man in the world – he could even understand the languages of the animals! But Sh'lomó had one problem: he couldn't find true love. He married dozens of women and made love to dozens more, but he was never satisfied.
One day King Sh'lomó went to Ęin Gédi, a village in an oasis by the Dead Sea, to buy balsam, a precious perfume that was grown only there and processed according to a recipe so secret that curses were called down on any villager who gave the secret away. There the King saw a woman bathing in a pool. She was black and beautiful – so beautiful that her nickname was "the Shulamít" – the perfect woman. Not only was she beautiful, she owned a balsam plantation of her own which her late father left her. The King ordered his men to take her back to the palace.
Now, the Shulamít had a lover from the village, an expert in the manufacture of balsam perfume (we'll call him the Lover). Of course he couldn't stop the King from taking his girlfriend away, but he followed the entourage up to Jerusalem and snuck into the palace to see what would become of the Shulamít.
In the palace the Shulamít met the Daughters of Jerusalem – the daughters of the Cohanim, Levites and gentry of Judea (we'll call them the DJs for short). The DJs were enchanted by the Shulamít's exotic looks and ways and they soon became fast friends. King Sh'lomó was a very busy man and didn't have much time to spend with the Shulamít, but he did his best to impress her with his riches and glory (although her beauty left him tongue-tied, perhaps for the first time in his life).
The days went by and the Lover slyly came and went, trying to entice the Shulamít out of the palace to the fields and forests where springtime was unveiling its many delights, but to not avail. And although she sometimes let him stay the night she always made him leave before dawn.
So in the meantime the Shulamít had things her way; she enjoyed the pleasures of the palace and the company of her new friends while keeping her faithful Lover on a string. But this played on her conscience. She had a recurring dream in which she awoke in the middle of the night only to find that her Lover was gone. She searched the city for him and when she finally found him she swore she would take him home to Mother and marry him. When she awoke, distraught, she made the DJs swear not to hurry her choice of either the Lover or the King until the time was ripe. Finally the dream frightened her so much that she snuck out of the palace and went back to her Lover. But she soon returned, and the DJs and the King's men, who were supposed to be guarding her, spied her from a window. The DJs teased the men for letting the Shulamít escape, but the men said: No matter, the King is preparing for the wedding. Even the Queen Mother Bat-Shévą approves of her. The Shulamít is going to be Queen of Israel – and hopefully produce a worthy heir.
But King Sh'lomó was troubled. He knew of the Shulamít's comings and goings and he knew that she loved another. Yet he couldn't stand the thought of losing her. One night, while the royal wedding was being prepared, he went to her room to try to win her love. He heaped her with praises until the Lover, who was hiding behind a screen, could take no more. He stepped out and challenged the King, letting him know that the Shulamít was his and always would be. But the King was a master of words and he swept the Shulamít away with his promises. Enthralled, the Shulamít made her choice. She invited the King into her "garden."
Later that night the King came out, boasting of his conquest to his men. But it was a hollow boast. Instead of making her his queen, the Shulamít was now just another concubine. The Lover came to see if she was all right but she was so disheveled that she had to stall for time before she let him in. The Lover, thinking that he wasn't wanted any more, left, dejected. She ran out in search of her Lover but he was gone. The watchmen beat her. She had made her own nightmare come true. Only now that she had lost him did the Shulamít realize how much she truly loved her Lover. She described him in glowing terms to the DJs and then made her mind up to find him, even if he were only to reject her.
The Shulamít went down to Ęin Gédi where she found her Lover tending his plantation. To her surprise, instead of berating her for her folly, he was overjoyed to have her back. Together they returned to the palace to pack her things and move back to the village where they would marry. Only then did the crassness of palace life strike her – the King's men called to her like a harem dancer and King Sh'lomó himself came out, drunk, and with the same sharp wit he'd used to seduce the Shulamít he rudely described her body to all. But when he started to recount their intimacies she cut him off and made her choice clear once and for all. She would return with her Lover to the countryside where springtime was now in full bloom.
The Shulamít and her Lover, accompanied by the DJs, returned to Ęin Gédi arm in arm. For a moment she panicked, worried that jealousy might suddenly seize her Lover. But he reassured her, saying that not even mighty waters could extinguish his love. They met her stepbrothers, who still saw her as an annoying little girl (and who wanted to keep her inheritance in the family) and announced that they would keep her under lock and key from then on. But the Shulamít replied in no uncertain terms that her body and her plantation were her own to do with as she pleased. She and the Lover then recounted their adventures to their friends (sparing the King no disparaging sarcasm), went off by themselves, and consummated their love.
- The End -
This synopsis is based on a simple, literal reading of The Song of Songs itself. The story of the Shulamít bathing is an ancient legend corroborated by the name of the pool – Shulamít's Pool – and the name of the creek – Shulamít Creek, both in Ęin Gédi. King Sh'lomó's ability to understand the language of the animals is from Rashi on Kings I 3:15. The curse on anyone who reveals the secret of the balsam perfume can still be read on the mosaic floor of the ancient synagogue in Ęin Gédi.
One day King Sh'lomó went to Ęin Gédi, a village in an oasis by the Dead Sea, to buy balsam, a precious perfume that was grown only there and processed according to a recipe so secret that curses were called down on any villager who gave the secret away. There the King saw a woman bathing in a pool. She was black and beautiful – so beautiful that her nickname was "the Shulamít" – the perfect woman. Not only was she beautiful, she owned a balsam plantation of her own which her late father left her. The King ordered his men to take her back to the palace.
Now, the Shulamít had a lover from the village, an expert in the manufacture of balsam perfume (we'll call him the Lover). Of course he couldn't stop the King from taking his girlfriend away, but he followed the entourage up to Jerusalem and snuck into the palace to see what would become of the Shulamít.
In the palace the Shulamít met the Daughters of Jerusalem – the daughters of the Cohanim, Levites and gentry of Judea (we'll call them the DJs for short). The DJs were enchanted by the Shulamít's exotic looks and ways and they soon became fast friends. King Sh'lomó was a very busy man and didn't have much time to spend with the Shulamít, but he did his best to impress her with his riches and glory (although her beauty left him tongue-tied, perhaps for the first time in his life).
The days went by and the Lover slyly came and went, trying to entice the Shulamít out of the palace to the fields and forests where springtime was unveiling its many delights, but to not avail. And although she sometimes let him stay the night she always made him leave before dawn.
So in the meantime the Shulamít had things her way; she enjoyed the pleasures of the palace and the company of her new friends while keeping her faithful Lover on a string. But this played on her conscience. She had a recurring dream in which she awoke in the middle of the night only to find that her Lover was gone. She searched the city for him and when she finally found him she swore she would take him home to Mother and marry him. When she awoke, distraught, she made the DJs swear not to hurry her choice of either the Lover or the King until the time was ripe. Finally the dream frightened her so much that she snuck out of the palace and went back to her Lover. But she soon returned, and the DJs and the King's men, who were supposed to be guarding her, spied her from a window. The DJs teased the men for letting the Shulamít escape, but the men said: No matter, the King is preparing for the wedding. Even the Queen Mother Bat-Shévą approves of her. The Shulamít is going to be Queen of Israel – and hopefully produce a worthy heir.
But King Sh'lomó was troubled. He knew of the Shulamít's comings and goings and he knew that she loved another. Yet he couldn't stand the thought of losing her. One night, while the royal wedding was being prepared, he went to her room to try to win her love. He heaped her with praises until the Lover, who was hiding behind a screen, could take no more. He stepped out and challenged the King, letting him know that the Shulamít was his and always would be. But the King was a master of words and he swept the Shulamít away with his promises. Enthralled, the Shulamít made her choice. She invited the King into her "garden."
Later that night the King came out, boasting of his conquest to his men. But it was a hollow boast. Instead of making her his queen, the Shulamít was now just another concubine. The Lover came to see if she was all right but she was so disheveled that she had to stall for time before she let him in. The Lover, thinking that he wasn't wanted any more, left, dejected. She ran out in search of her Lover but he was gone. The watchmen beat her. She had made her own nightmare come true. Only now that she had lost him did the Shulamít realize how much she truly loved her Lover. She described him in glowing terms to the DJs and then made her mind up to find him, even if he were only to reject her.
The Shulamít went down to Ęin Gédi where she found her Lover tending his plantation. To her surprise, instead of berating her for her folly, he was overjoyed to have her back. Together they returned to the palace to pack her things and move back to the village where they would marry. Only then did the crassness of palace life strike her – the King's men called to her like a harem dancer and King Sh'lomó himself came out, drunk, and with the same sharp wit he'd used to seduce the Shulamít he rudely described her body to all. But when he started to recount their intimacies she cut him off and made her choice clear once and for all. She would return with her Lover to the countryside where springtime was now in full bloom.
The Shulamít and her Lover, accompanied by the DJs, returned to Ęin Gédi arm in arm. For a moment she panicked, worried that jealousy might suddenly seize her Lover. But he reassured her, saying that not even mighty waters could extinguish his love. They met her stepbrothers, who still saw her as an annoying little girl (and who wanted to keep her inheritance in the family) and announced that they would keep her under lock and key from then on. But the Shulamít replied in no uncertain terms that her body and her plantation were her own to do with as she pleased. She and the Lover then recounted their adventures to their friends (sparing the King no disparaging sarcasm), went off by themselves, and consummated their love.
- The End -
This synopsis is based on a simple, literal reading of The Song of Songs itself. The story of the Shulamít bathing is an ancient legend corroborated by the name of the pool – Shulamít's Pool – and the name of the creek – Shulamít Creek, both in Ęin Gédi. King Sh'lomó's ability to understand the language of the animals is from Rashi on Kings I 3:15. The curse on anyone who reveals the secret of the balsam perfume can still be read on the mosaic floor of the ancient synagogue in Ęin Gédi.