Through a Window, Through a Slit

This Dvar Torah is taken from my father's writings.

… behold, he stands behind our wall, he looks in through the windows, he peers through the slits.                                                                               Song of Songs 2:9

            Our Sages taught that the entire Song of Songs is an allegory of the love between the Holy One, blessed be He, and Israel, His chosen nation, thus the subject of our verse can be understood to be God Himself and the word “he” to be capitalized. At times, the Almighty looks after His people through the window, at times He merely peeks through a relatively small slit.

            When God looks at us through a window, we can “see” Him just as He sees us, but when He looks through a slit, He can see us, but we cannot see Him. Yet, whether or not we see Him, God always looks after His people. Even when He looks after Israel only through a slit, those who are interested will be able to perceive His presence and providence. Only one who closes his eyes and does not seek at all will fail to perceive God’s direct providence over the Children of Israel. One who truly looks will be able to see God’s guiding hand, even if only through a slit and not a window.