Song of Songs (Shir ha-Shirim)שיר השירים

"The Holy of Holies" of all scripture, ruled Rabbi Akiva — a love-duet with no plot and no God mentioned, which the tradition reads as the romance of the Holy One and the Shekhinah (or the soul). The Zohar is drenched in its imagery: gardens, gazelles, the beloved knocking at night, "I sleep but my heart wakes." The erotic core of the whole tradition, unembarrassed.