Art of The Song of Songs
- Leann Shamash
- 16 hours ago
- 7 min read
Updated: 2 hours ago
Springtime Greetings To You,
Over the course of a six snowy weeks of this winter a group of us approached the book of The Song of Songs with the thought that its vibrantly colored passages would be a great base for creating art. We understood that the Song of Song for some represents that love of Gd for the Jewish people, and was understood by others to be a love poem.
We spent time with this particular poetry because The Song of Songs is read each year on the Shabbat of Pesach. The art below is the art of our small group. Each of us found challenges for what we wanted to present and particularly how to present it. In a poem with so many rich passages it was difficult to choose and some of us struggled from week to week with the challenge of incorporating text to the art.
Before you look at the work, here is the link to Song of Songs in order to bring you with along with us on our journey. I urge you to read snippets. Even if you choose to read a single chapter, you will immediately be brought into the movement of the piece and its rich references to nature, yearning and beauty.
It is so helpful to read the weekly Torah portion or a poem like Shir Hashirim quietly and intently before it is read in synagogue where the words fly by and one cannot concentrate on the meaning or what the words represent, so I hope you will take a look! You will indeed find beauty and magic.
More than likely there will be a second post this week, so see you later this week, B'li Neder.
Kol Tuv,
Leann
Randi Stein
This class on The Song of Songs gave me an opportunity to explore collage in a more focused way, using snippets of the text , and combining the written words with fragments of paper— in some cases, pieces of earlier drawings. I am encouraged to continue this practice, perhaps using other Jewish texts, or even simply Hebrew letters or single words.
More of Randi's work can be seen at https://randistein.com/
Barbara Frank
Photo: Strong Heart
Inspired by 6:3 “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine.”
This phrase is often used to describe the relationship between an individual and G-d. We want to become one with G-d, creating a spiritual union. When I am seeking to connect with G-d, I am drawn to heart shaped objects hidden in plain view. This could be a heart shaped flower in a garden or as in this photo - a glass paperweight turned upside down. This photo represents the many dimensions of love and how our love for G-d or another human being changes over time, based on what is going on in our lives. Sometimes our hearts are hard glass, sometimes our hearts have holes in them, sometimes our hearts have scars, and sometimes our hearts flow with vibrancy, joy, color and love.
Photo: Ethereal
Inspired by 8:6 “Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is as strong as death…”
I find the phrase, “For love is as strong as death” very comforting as I grieve the loss of my sister-in-law, mother-in-law and the husband of a dear friend. The perfume bottles and the glass hutch in the photo belonged to my sister-in-law, of blessed memory. The perfume bottles remind me of angel wings. The reflections of light seem ethereal – suggesting that love is divine, absolute and transcends this life on earth.
Danila Székely
The photo pieces I created for our Shir HaShirim class reflect the themes of love and longing, and as an avid gardener, the motif of gardens with lush flora and fragrances - both literal and as metaphor for love, beauty, purity, and the spiritual connection between people and God.
Inspiration: Shir HaShirim 6:3
אֲנִ֤י לְדוֹדִי֙ וְדוֹדִ֣י לִ֔י
I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine …
In this piece (original photos) the two roses are leaning in and gazing at each other …
Lady of Shalott rose on the left - deliciously fragrant with the scent of warm tea and hints of spiced apples and cloves, and Love and Peace Rose on the right - with romantic, soft coloring and moderate, sweet, fruity-myrrh fragrance. I chose a Radiant Gold lettering for the Title - a suggestion of the Radiance and Presence of God.
Inspiration: Shir HaShirim 8:6
Place me like a seal upon your heart, like a seal upon your hand.
For love is strong as death.
In this piece (original photo in my garden) I used a mirror image of the Bleeding Hearts so that the larger stems would join at the top to form a heart shape. The mirror image of the green leaves suggests two open hands. With suggestions of Heart and Hand, I also had in mind the Shema. The joined stems also suggest a chuppah, a canopy (3:9,10), or gates to a garden (eg 5:1; 4-5). The two panels also suggest tablets, and doors.
This piece is for my Dad, Carl Bloom, z”l, who passed away 9 months ago in 2025 and whose birthday is in March. He loved nature and seeing my photos, and he knew that my garden(s) is my happy place.
Judith Stein
I have been so touched and inspired by reading Shir Ha-Shirim. This beautiful book of
love poetry is filled with fiery passion, mutual adoration, deep longings, lustful fantasies,
and luscious metaphors of delicious fruits, fertile gardens, sweet fragrances and
spacious surroundings. Whether this book is a description of a passionate love affair
between a man and a woman or is a metaphor for the loving relationship between
Hashem and the Jewish people, reading the poetry has been an uplifting, joyous, and
heartfelt experience. With the invitation to create art in response to the poetry, I have
been most inspired by the vivid descriptions of a woman’s yearning for intimacy, her
willingness to express her wants openly and her determination to pursue what her heart
desires. My two artworks speak to those themes. The painting, With All My Heart and
Soul, highlights the woman’s passion for her lover and her determination to satisfy her
desires. The text is from Chapter 3:4. The second piece, Yearning for Connection, is a
collage that suggests that the woman may be longing for her lover in the garden as well
as seeking a spiritual connection to Hashem.
More of Judi's work can be found at https://www.judithsteinart.com/
Ellen Krueger
Inspiration, I’ve learned, comes from everywhere. There’s no such thing as a single muse for me. Seeing what’s in front of me, and then, either digging down, or layering on, has helped me find what I want to say. And I’m learning so much from others so I am growing while I’m learning. Shir Hashirim is so filled with imagery and passion, and depth, it made me think about what all those things meant to me. My photographs, going back years or taken just this week can be combined to say something entirely new when meshed with another photograph, something found on paper, or the Internet, or added with a crayon from my desk. It’s fun to be literal in an ingenious way. By adding on, or taking away, new worlds open up. And the study of Song of Songs has added so much to a magnificent poem for me.
Sheryl Ishai
My painting seeks to visualize the profound "Seal upon the heart" (Song of Songs 8:6) that defines this sacred union. Set within a lush impressionistic private garden, the couple celebrates their love and devotion. Their dreamlike gaze expresses the wellknown phrase "I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine" (Song of Songs 2:16). A strong spiritual connection of their souls suggests a divine presence. By blending impressionistic values with metaphors from biblical scripture, a radiant love is captured "that many waters cannot quench" (Song of Songs 8:7)
Amy Solomon
I typically work with layers of paint, exploring the medium to find my direction and refine. This class was a different experience for me, as we began with a poem and evolved the process from there. These pieces are the results.
Amy's work can be found at @amysolomon_studio
Iris Alpert
In these sketches inspired by Shir haShirim, I stretch the voice we hear and see so readily in the poem and expressed in the first sketch, to embrace an image of the bonds of old age.
An old Jewish couple walk through the street belonging to one another no less than the young love described in the poem.
I used two small figures my dad gave me for the second sketch, and a background I found in Roman Vishniac’s A Vanished World . The first sketch is from my imagination.
Leann Shamash
The Song of Songs spoke to me of deep colors and rich hues. I was taken by the constant movement and searching of these young people. There were a few passages that helped me to begin my work, Song of Songs, 1:10.
Your cheeks are comely with plaited wreaths,
Your neck with strings of jewels.
The string of jewels became my original design and I continued building from there.
Pomegranates are but one of the many references to fruits, flowers and trees .
Your lips are like a crimson thread,
Your mouth is lovely.
Your brow behind your veil
[Gleams] like a pomegranate split open.
Song of Songs 4:3
Jerusalem is mentioned a number of times as "the daughters of Jerusalem" are addressed. I tried to recreate an ancient version of Jerusalem using more subdued tones.
I adjure you, O maidens of Jerusalem,
By gazelles or by hinds of the field:
Do not wake or rouse
Love until it please!
My beloved spoke thus to me,
“Arise, my darling;
My fair one, come away!
Song of Songs 2:10
עָנָ֥ה דוֹדִ֖י וְאָ֣מַר לִ֑י ק֥וּמִי לָ֛ךְ
רַעְיָתִ֥י יָפָתִ֖י וּלְכִי־לָֽךְ׃