"כִּמְעַט שֶׁעָבַרְתִּי מֵהֶם עַד שֶׁמָּצָאתִי אֵת שֶׁאָהֲבָה נַפְשִׁי אֲחַזְתִּיו וְלֹא אַרְפֶּנּוּ עַד שֶׁהֲבֵיאתִיו אֶל בֵּית אִמִּי וְאֶל חֶדֶר הוֹרָתִי" (ג, ד)
(B'nei Yisroel continue...) "It was a very short time after I went past them (Moshe & Aharon, upon finding them and asking them where their Beloved (ה') was - in regards to forgiving them) that I found the One whom my soul loves (ה'). I then held on to Him and I would not let go of Him, until I brought Him into my mother's house, & into the room of the one who conceived me."
Previously in pasuk ג, B'nei Yisroel spoke about their encounter with Moshe and Aharon in the Midbar when they wanted to know where the Shechina was... Our pasuk continues with what happened after coming across the two great tzadikim. Soon after parting from Moshe and Aharon (when they left the world), the forty years in the Midbar came to an end, and Yehoshua Bin Nun led the B'nei Yisroel into Eretz Yisroel. B'nei Yisroel expresses their joy and relief of finding הקב"ה in Eretz Yisroel under the leadership of Yehoshua, through which they established the Mishkan of Shiloh, holding on to the Shechina and not letting go.
The Gematria Connection
The difference in GEMATRIA between: מ' שָׁנָה בַּמִּדְבָּר בְּאַתְרָן וּבְמַטֵּה רַבֵּינוּ (1,522) and יְהוֹשֻׁעַ בִּן נוּן בְּאֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל (1,383) is 139. This is the gematria of the word כִּמְעַט (139).
Here in Shir HaShirim, B'nei Yisroel speak about the quick transition from the Midbar where they pleaded with Moshe and Aharon for details regarding the whereabouts of the Shechina, and the entering of Eretz Yisroel with Yehoshua Bin Nun to build a Mishkan. Once reunited with "the One whom my soul loves," הקב"ה, they committed themselves to never again let go.
In the very beginning of Sefer Yehoshua, ה' says after Moshe's passing: "אַתָּה תַּנְחִיל אֶת הָעָם הַזֶּה אֶת הָאָרֶץ..." (א, ו) "You (Yehoshua) will bring about the inheritance for this nation (Yisroel) of the Land (Eretz Yisroel)..." Through entering the Land and the kedusha it possesses, we merited Divine closeness.
The decree of B'nei Yisroel spending forty years in the Midbar was due to the events of the Meraglim recorded in this week's Parsha. From the twelve spies, it was Yehoshua and Calev who remained loyal, and didn't slander Eretz Yisroel. Upon hearing the Meraglim's evil report - "וַיִּקְרְעוּ בִּגְדֵיהֶם" (במדבר יד, ו) they (Yehoshua + Calev) tore their clothes (to display their contempt [אור החיים הק']). Because they took a stand against the terrible sin of the Meraglim, Yehoshua and Calev were the only ones to enter Eretz Yisroel. They would merit to see the Mishkan, and the reunion of B'nei Yisroel's Beloved...
Calev was told in this week's Parsha that ה' would bring him into the Land: "וַהֲבִיאֹתִיו אֶל הָאָרֶץ" (במדבר יד, כד). The gematria of וַהֲבִיאֹתִיו is 440, which matches the word נַפְשִׁי (440) in Shir HaShirim. This gematria also hints to the number of years that Mishkans stood in Eretz Yisroel: Gilgul (14 years), Shiloh (369 years), and Nov/Givon (57 years) = 440 (זבחים קיח.).
Twelve Meraglim were sent from the Midbar to Eretz Yisroel. Moshe davened that his closest disciple, the Nasi of Ephraim, not be influenced: "וַיִּקְרָא מֹשֶׁה לְהוֹשֵׁעַ בִּן נוּן יְהוֹשֻׁעַ" (במדבר יג, טז). Indeed Yehoshua did not sin, and as we learn in our pasuk in Shir HaShirim, bridged the gap between the decree of the forty years in the Midbar and Eretz Yisroel... He was the one who would lead the people back to הקב"ה as they entered the Land and established the Mishkan in Shiloh.
The gematria of "אֲחַזְתִּיו וְלֹא אַרְפֶּנּוּ עַד שֶׁהֲבֵיאתִיו אֶל בֵּית אִמִּי וְאֶל חֶדֶר הוֹרָתִי" (2,978) matches the pasuk "וַיִּקְרָא מֹשֶׁה לְהוֹשֵׁעַ בִּן נוּן יְהוֹשֻׁעַ י-ה יוֹשִׁיעֲךָ מֵעֲצַת מְרַגְּלִים" (2,978).
For 369 years B'nei Yisroel had Mishkan שִׁילֹה, where they were reunited with their Beloved, הקב"ה. The gematria of שֶׁאָהֲבָה נַפְשִׁי (714) matches the difference between גְּזֵירַת אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה בַּמִּדְבָּר (1,546) and אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל (832). 1,546 - 832 = 714. Together with שִׁילֹה (345) and אֶת שֶׁאָהֲבָה (714), we have 1,428. If we add the word כִּמְעַט (139) here in Shir HaShirim, we have the number 1,567. This number hints to the positive description of Eretz Yisroel stated by Yehoshua and Calev in this week's Parsha: "אֶרֶץ אֲשֶׁר הִוא זָבַת חָלָב וּדְבָשׁ" (במדבר יד, ח) (1,567).
B'nei Yisroel transitioned from the Midbar to Eretz Yisroel, from Moshe & Aharon to Yehoshua, in a fairly sudden process... "A very short time..." This transition is alluded to here in Shir HaShirim in the reference to the Mishkan Shiloh, as Rashi tells us: "אִמִּי" stands for מֹשֶׁה, אַהֲרֹן, יְהוֹשֻׁעַ and "אִמִּי" also stands for מִדְבָּר, אֶרֶץ, יִשְׂרָאֵל.
