Haftarah of Parshat
Bamidbar - 5761 Hoshea the Prophet "And I Will Betroth You unto
Me Forever…" (Hoshea 2:21) Introduction The Haftarah this
Shabbat, according to both the Ashkenazic and Sephardic Communities is taken from the Book of
Hoshea,
2:1-22. In the second
chapter of the Book called by his name, we find the Prophet Hoshea working
between clashing extremes. One such pair is "Onesh," Punishment and
"Sechar," Reward. Another is "Lo Ruchama," She who is
denied G-d's Mercy, and "Ruchama," She who has regained G-d's Mercy.
Still another is national rejection by HaShem, "Lo ami atem," You are
not My People; the other end of that extreme is re-identification of Israel
with G-d, "Ami Atah," You are My People. These appear
against a central motif of the faithless wife, on one side; on the other, the
faithful and loyal wife and young bride.
Analysis of Chapter by Sections
Hoshea 2:1-3 Hoshea speaks of
the distant future, the time of the "Mashiach," when the
Jewish People will again be called "My People" and "Sisters who
have regained G-d's Mercy."
Hoshea 2:4-7 The Children of
Israel are urged to chastise their Mother Israel, who has reduced herself to
the level of the unfaithful wife. She behaves impudently, adorning herself for
her false "lovers," endangering herself and her children. Convinced
that her "lovers" will protect her and supply her with all her needs,
she abandons her original husband.
Hoshea 2:8-15 HaShem threatens that He will
punish faithless Israel, until she says "I will return to my first
'Husband,' for it was better for me then than now." He will withhold
her physical sustenance from the earth and the sky. He will eliminate
the spiritual holidays and delights that used to be part of her lifestyle. He will punish her
severely to atone for all the years that she behaved disloyally.
Hoshea 2:16-25 HaShem will
restore the relationship of intimacy between Himself and Israel, and turn all
the harsh punishments into great blessings. Selected
Commentary Hoshea 2:1 RASHI raises the following
question, to which he offers three answers: The first Chapter
ended on a note of punishment; yet, suddenly, at the very beginning of
Chapter 2, we find tremendous blessings issuing from the Prophet's
mouth! What is the link between the chapters? Answer 1)
"Our Rabbis have explained in Masechet Pesachim that Hoshea felt
that he had sinned by suggesting to G-d that He exchange sinful Israel for another
nation (this suggestion is not recorded in the Book of Hoshea itself, bit it is
part of the Rabbinic tradition that Hoshea did in fact make such a suggestion).
To atone for that sin, he here prayed to G-d that He bestow these
blessings upon Israel. Thus, the introductory verse at least of Chapter 2, is
more a Prayer than a Prophecy." Answer 2) "In
the Midrash 'Sifre D'vei Rav' on the Torah Section 'And Israel dwelt in Shitim,' we learned,
'Rebbe (Rabbi Judah the Prince) said, 'There are sections
in the Bible as different from each other as the East is from the West, as
here, 'for you are not My People' followed immediately by 'And the
number of the People of Israel will be as the sand of the sea' - What is the
connection between these two seemingly opposite ideas? One can compare it
to a parable of a King and his wife where the King got angry at his wife and
decided to divorce her. He sent for a scribe to come and write a writ of
divorce (a 'get'). By the time the scribe was about to arrive, the King had
reconciled with his wife and no longer wished to divorce her. Then the King
thought, 'I don't want the scribe to think that I am confused or indecisive,'
so he told the scribe to write a document stating that the King wishes to double
the amounts stated in her 'Ketuvah' (the document in which certain
financial obligations between the husband and the wife are specified)." Answer 3)
"According to the simple interpretation, this is the explanation of the
proximity, 'For you are not My People and I will not be on your side' means 'I
will make it appear as if I am not on your side and I will exile you among the
nations. There you will grow and prosper, and there you will have a change
of heart, and return to Me, as it was said by Moshe (Devarim 30) 'And you will
have a change of heart among all the nations among whom He pushed you away…;' 'And
HaShem your G-d will return your captivity…;' here also we can similarly
explain the proximity of 'And the Children of Yehudah and the Children of
Yisrael will be gathered together…' "
Hoshea 2:2 "And the Children
of Yehudah and the Children of Yisrael will be gathered" - RADAK
(Rabbi David Kimchi) explains that this must refer to the time of the
"Mashiach" because then we will see the return from Exile of
Yehudah and (according to the opinion that the Ten Tribes will return) Yisrael,
while at the time of the return from Babylonia, only the Tribes of Yehudah and
Binyamin returned. "And they
will place at their head one individual" - This refers to the
"Mashiach." "For great
is the Day of Yizre'el" - RADAK explains the word 'great' here as
referring to the length of the time since the "breaking of the bow of
Israel in the Valley of Yizre'el;" that is, the length of the present
Exile has been very great. Metzudat David disagrees, and explains
the word "great" as indicating the honor of the day on which HaShem
will bring back and unite the People of Israel at the time of the
"Mashiach."
Hoshea 2:3 Metzudat David explains that this
"Passuk" is addressed to the People of the Kingdom of Yehudah at that
time (of the "Mashiach"). "Say to your brothers in the Kingdom
of Yisrael (The Ten "Lost" Tribes) that, even though when they were
exiled, HaShem said about them that they were "Not My People," now
they are welcomed back into the fold, and they are included in 'Ami,'
My People, and the "sister Ruchama," refers to the women
of the returning Ten Tribes. Hoshea 2:4 As explained in
the Introduction, here the individuals making up the Jewish People are told to
chastise the collective Mother Israel for allowing "herself" to fall
into a state of degradation. She has persuaded herself that she is "better
off" with her new "lovers."
Hoshea 2:5 "The day
of her birth" - The reference, according to RADAK, is to the time preceding
Israel's birth as a nation, when they were still slaves in Egypt. "Thirst" - The reference may be to
the thirst for Torah; that HaShem would return them to Pre-Torah status.
Hoshea 2:6 "And I will
not have compassion upon her children" - Metzudat David quotes the Talmud,
where it is stated that when the sin is great enough, even the righteous
are drawn into the general punishment.
Hoshea 2:7 RADAK mentions two possibilities
as to the identity of these "false lovers." One is that the reference
is to "Ashur and Mitzrayim," upon whom Israel relied for military
help in time of danger, instead of relying on G-d. During peace, those nations
could pretend to be real allies, because there were no problems anyway, but
when real danger presented itself, they were of no more help than a
"broken reed." The other
possibility is that the reference is to the sun, the moon and the stars, upon
whom Israel depended, and ultimately worshipped, because they felt that as
providers of light, heat, and astrological signs, they were real gods, and
abandoned the Creator of those elements of Nature. These are indeed false
lovers, as indicated by use of the expression "me'ahavai,"
those who pretend to be my lovers, rather than "ohavai," those
who really love me.
Hoshea 2:8 RADAK explains that HaShem says
that He will, and indeed He did, as it were, "block their path with
thorns," so that they could not escape the sword, and their false
allies/"lovers" failed them in their hour of need.
Hoshea 2:9 "And she will
pursue" - RADAK explains the pursuit in terms of the two
possibilities of the identities of the false "lovers;" Ashur and
Mitzrayim, or the stars and the Signs of the Zodiac. If the first, their
pleadings for military assistance did not help them; if the second, their
attempts to obtain the services of those false "gods" and their
associated false "prophets" to intervene on their behalf, also failed
completely. "And she will
say, 'let me go back to my "First Husband," for it was better for me
then.' " - RADAK explains that "She" (Israel) will not
say this until a long time into their last Exile, as it says, "When you
have suffered, and all these punishments happen to you, at the End of
Days, then you will return to HaShem your G-d."
Hoshea 2:10 "And she did
not understand" - RADAK explains the reason that she did not
understand was that she was misled by her leaders and by the False Prophets
into believing that I had nothing to do with all their blessings. But in fact,
I had everything to do with providing them. So Israel "got
fat and self-satisfied and kicked at the Torah," and donated all their
gold and silver to the cult of Baal.
Hoshea 2:11 "Therefore I
will return" - RADAK explains the meaning as follows:
"Therefore, says HaShem, I will turn all your blessings into curses; the
produce of your fields and vineyards will be reduced to nothing, and the
profits from your business ventures will disappear as if they had been stored
in a room with a hole in the floor." Here, the RADAK
continues, the word "Ve'hitzalti" means that "I will take
away," as when Rachel and Leah say to Yaakov (Bereshit 31:16), "all
the wealth that HaShem 'hitzil me'avinu,' " meaning all the wealth
that HaShem took away from our father, "is ours and our
children's."
Hoshea 2:12 "And no
one will be able to save her from my hand" - RADAK introduces
the idea of "tama zechut avot;" that is, the merit of the
forefathers has run out. By this, he explains that "no one"
is meant to include the "Avot," the forefathers of the Jewish People,
Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov; not even they can save the Jewish People!
The reason is that the behavior of their descendants has been so undeserving
that even the "merit of the forefathers," that might have seemed an
inexhaustible supply of good that could have accrued to the benefit of the
descendants, will be exhausted!
Hoshea 2:13 "… her feasts,
… and all her appointed seasons." RADAK quotes Rav Saadiah
Gaon as explaining that "feasts" refers to the "Shalosh
Regalim," Pesach," "Shavuot," and "Sukkot,"
while appointed seasons refer to Rosh HaShanah,
Yom Kippur
and Shemini Atzeret. Here,
Shemini Atzeret is grouped with Rosh HaShanah
and Yom Kippur, High Holy Days that are associated with Judgment and Atonement,
because it is on Shemini Atzeret that the world is judged for its
supply of life-giving rain.
Hoshea 2:15 "and decked
herself with her earrings and with her jewels" - This continues the
metaphor of the faithless wife, who beautifies herself for her lovers.
Hoshea 2:16 "…I will
allure her…" - RADAK explains that the reference is to the Jewish
People doing "Teshuvah," Repentance, in the "desert"
of the Exile. The "alluring" and "seduction" refer to when
someone convinces another to change his ways, so will HaShem, as it were, put
into their hearts of the Jewish People the idea of returning to Him. As it says
(with reference to the first recorded heart-transplant), "And I will
remove the heart of stone from their body and replace it with a heart of
flesh." Metzudat David says that Hoshea continues
the metaphor of the wayward wife - her redemption comes when her husband leads
her into a "desert," a secluded place, with no other influences, and
speaks soothingly and persuasively to her, convincing her to return to him. Hoshea 2:17 "And I will
give her, her vineyards from there,…" - RASHI, quoting Targum
Yonatan, explains the reference to "vineyards" as referring to
"leaders." And the overall meaning to be that HaShem will use the
"Galut," the Exile, as a purifying place for the Jewish People, where
new leaders will be developed. And he explains
the expression "Valley of Achor," using the idea that
"Achor" connotes sadness and depression, as follows: "from the
depth of the travails of the Exile," the Jewish People will be moved to
return to HaShem. RADAK explains the idea of the
transformation of the "Valley of Achor to a Gateway of Hope" by
reminding us that when the People of Israel first entered "Eretz Yisrael," the Land of Israel, their progress came to a screeching halt at
the Valley of Achor, where Achan took personal items from the
"Cherem," the forbidden booty of war, and HaShem temporarily
abandoned the Jewish army. Here HaShem says that when the time of Redemption
comes, there is no need to fear that anything like that will happen, that will
cause Him to even temporarily abandon the Jewish People (we must hope that we
have not now betrayed HaShem to the extent that He is re-thinking our rights to
His protection in the Land of Israel).
Hoshea 2:18 "…that you
will call Me your husband, and no longer call Me your Master,…" RASHI explains that the word
"Ishi," my husband, the beloved husband of my youth, has the
connotation, when referred to HaShem, of worship out of love, rather
than worship from the motivation of fear, as "Baali," my Master,
does. RADAK adds the idea that the
name "Baal" has a double meaning; namely "husband" and the
idol called "Baal;" therefore, the name "Baal" will no
longer be used, even in the appropriate meaning, lest usage of the name arouse
thoughts of the idol.
Hoshea 2:19 "And I will
remove…" - RADAK comments that this is an example of HaShem
acting in the manner of "HaBa litaher, mesayin oso;" that is, if one wishes
to become purified, he is assisted from above. RADAK quotes Rabbi Saadiah Gaon,
who explains "from her mouth" as referring to the People of Israel,
while "by their name" refers to the nations of the world, who, at the
time of the "Mashiach," will also come to the worship of HaShem.
Hoshea 2:20 "…a covenant
with the beasts of the field…" and "the bow and the sword and war
altogether I will remove from the Land" - RADAK relates these
beautiful prophecies to the prophecies of Yeshayahu in Chapter 11 of his Sefer.
Although actually, this would probably be the earlier prophecy to speak
in these terms, since Hoshea preceded Yeshayahu. In any case, there
is a well-known dispute between the RAMBAM and the RAMBAN as to
the meaning of these promises. According to the RAMBAM, they are not to
be taken literally, but rather the promise of a covenant with the animals of
the field refers to the enemies of Israel, who will forever forswear war
against the Jewish People. According to the RAMBAN, there will actually be a
change in Nature, and the world will return to the way it was at the time of
Creation, in the Garden of Eden.
Hoshea 2:21 "…And I will
betroth you unto Me in righteousness and in justice, and in lovingkindness
and in compassion." When the Jewish
People neglect righteousness and justice, HaShem holds back on lovingkindness
and compassion. We see the neglect in Amos (5:7), "You who turn justice
to wormwood, and cast righteousness to the ground," and the holding
back in Yirmiyahu (16:5), "for I have taken away My peace from this
People, even My lovingkindness and compassion." But when they
return to doing justice and righteousness, as it says in Yeshayahu
(1:27), "Zion will be redeemed in justice and those who return, in righteousness,"
HaShem will return lovingkindness and compassion to them. And HaShem will
sew these four attributes together into a crown, and place it on the head of
Israel. Perhaps the placement of this "crown" will represent
the return of their "Jewelry," to the People of Israel, that they had
been commanded to remove after they worshipped the Golden Calf at the foot of
Mt. Sinai. As we read in
Shemot (33) first that the Children of Israel, after having heard G-d's anger
against them, felt themselves that they were no longer entitled to the
"Jewelry" and in Shemot (33:4) it says, "And the People heard
this bad news and they went into mourning and no one put his Jewelry on."
HaShem made this curse official when He said in the next verse, "…and now,
take off your Jewelry, and I will know what to do with you." And finally,
it says there Shemot (33:6), "The Children of Israel stripped themselves
of their Jewelry , at Mt. Chorev." And perhaps
also, it is because the removal of Jewelry is mentioned three times
there, and it is also mentioned here in Hoshea 2:15, when the wayward People of
Israel put on its jewelry for the wrong reason, as it says, "And she
decked herself with her earrings and her jewels," that HaShem says in
these "p'sukim"/verses that He will betroth Israel to Himself three
times. RADAK explains the three-fold
occurrence of "And I will betroth you unto Me" as corresponding to
the three Exiles into which Israel has gone over its long history; namely, the
Exile of "Mitzrayim," Egypt, the Exile of "Bavel,"
Babylonia, and the Exile in which we currently and for the last two thousand
years have found ourselves. Each time that HaShem redeems us from one of those
Exiles, the aspect that is missing from that Redemption is added to the Final
Redemption. Thus, when we were redeemed from Egypt, it was not a permanent
Redemption, for we were exiled again. Therefore, the aspect of
"permanence" was added to the final Redemption. Similarly, when we
were redeemed from "Bavel," it wasn't because we had adopted the
characteristics of "Justice" and "Righteousness,"
"Kindness" and "Compassion." Because we were still pretty
much in the Galut mentality, and came back as desecrators of the Shabbat,
married in many cases to non-Jewish women, maintaining our fellow Jews as
slaves and appropriating their property. Therefore, HaShem says that before the
final Redemption, we will do "Teshuvah," as Moshe says twice to the
People of Israel in his final address to them at the Plains of Moav on the eve
of their entry into the Land of Israel (Devarim 4:30 and 30:2), "And
you will return to HaShem your G-d." And then HaShem
will be able to say (Hoshea 2:21), "I will betroth you unto Me in Righteousness
and Justice, in Kindness and Compassion."
Hoshea 2:22 "…And you
will know HaShem." RADAK and
Metzudat David explain that at that time, the time of the Final Redemption, there will
be a tremendous increase in the "Knowledge of HaShem," Who will
return His Divine Presence to the world, and a far greater understanding of
Torah will be found among young and old alike.
Hoshea 2:23 - Hoshea 2:25 In the final
"p'sukim" of this Chapter, Hoshea closes powerfully with a mighty
resonance according to RASHI and with a similar dialogue, according to
the RADAK. And we'll close with the Metzudat David. RASHI says that HaShem will call
to the heavenly stream of water, that is called the "Peleg," that is
suspended by an Utterance, (referred to in "Tefilat
Geshem,"
the Prayer for Rain that is said on Shmini Atzeret), to pour water into
the heavens, and the heavens will respond by pouring rain onto the earth. And
the earth will respond by producing grain, wine and oil for blessing for Yizrael/Israel and for the whole world. RADAK explains the meaning of
"answering" in these "p'sukim" as that HaShem brings His
Will into synchronization with the "will" of the heavens, which is to
drop rain, and with the "will" of the earth, which is, according to
the plan of Creation, to produce grain, wine and oil for a blessing. Metzudat David says that HaShem will, as
it were, plant the Jewish People in its own Land, in contrast to being
planted in the Exile. He will pour His Mercy and Compassion upon the nation
that He previously called "not pitied." And He will once again say to
the nation that He once called "not My People," You are My People,
and that People will respond, "You are my G-d."
Rabbi Pinchas Frankel Rabbi Frankel is an Educational Coordinator at the OU |
