PETER S. KNOBEL
man’s voice in the relationship is as prominent as the man’s. The rabbinic interpretation of Song of Songs as an allegory about the relationship between God and Israel only heightens the religious meaning of sexual intimacy. Love is the dominant emotion . The lovers freely choose one another.
Feminist readings suggest that it provides a model for a loving relationship in which neither partner is dominant. The feminist theologian Judith Plaskow writes:
Unabashed by their desire, the man and the woman in these poems delight in their own embodiment and the beauty surrounding them, each seeking the other out to inaugurate their meeting, each rejoicing in the love with our dominion that is also the love of God .”
The relationships of Jonathan and David and of Ruth and Naomi are marked by covenantal promises. Jonathan and David's is described as brit and is marked by a ceremonial gift.* Although neither relationship is a marriage, it illustrates the transfer of primary loyalty from the family of origin to another family. Each has elements of risk and sacrifice. Fidelity is its primary characteristic. The absence of a sexual component distinguishes it from marriage. The love and friendship it represents is paradigmatic for the ideal marriage.
Human love is also the love of God . Proper marriage has deep spiritual dimension. The shekhinah is present in the couple’s sexual intercourse. This is further reflected in the text from Hosea (2:21-22)”“I will espouse you forever. I will espouse you with righteousness and justice and loving kindness and compassion. I will espouse you in faithfulness and you shall know God. ”* The bride
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