Rabbi Shmuel Aripol wrote in his commentary Sar Shalom to Shir Hashirim 2:7:
I adjure you, daughters who once lived in Jerusalem, and have now gone out and become scattered in a place of gazelles and deer of the field, i.e. in uninhabited places – still, you must not wake up and arise before the End.
In order words, even if you live in exile in places where the gentiles have relatively little control over you, do not arise from exile.
He explains the double expression “do not arise and do not arouse” as follows:
You yourselves must not arise, and you must not arouse a king or an official with you, to arise with you.
He continues: If we understand the words “gazelles and deer of the field” as being the anchor of the oath (i.e He made them swear by the gazelles and deer), then we can explain the choice of these animals as follows: A gazelle sleeps with one eye open. A deer runs while looking back at its pursuer. G-d warned the Jewish people: Even when you are asleep in exile, keep an eye out for the evil that will come upon you if you rise up before the time.
tags: