How an intense romantic and erotic narrative between a man and a woman, where the name of God is arguably never even mentioned, got into the Hebrew Bible canon is a story unto itself. It was definitely contested, but the rabbinic powers that be strongly endorsed its addition to the Bible. The famed Rabbi Akiba (40-137 CE) called it “the holiest scroll of all.” Why? Because it was grasped as an allegory of the love between God and Israel, both as persons and as an entire people. That love turns out to be romantic through and through, built on a boundless desire for union, arising from both sides of the equation.
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