호세아 4:20의 Halakhah

It is well known that the majority of the children of Adam have sleeping hearts and theyslumber; they eat with the blood and they spill blood themselves.³¹This whole paragraph, which in Hebrew is all rhymed prose, is a remarkable pastiche of Biblical allusions; nearly every phrase has a Biblical source. See Chavel, who lists as sources Is 11:7; Hos 4:18; Prov 23:30; Ez 48:20; Prov 16:28; Nah 2:5; and Ps 37:4. There are others, including Prov 15:17 (see next note). Like an ox eats straw they eat their bread, and their souls are wasted and devastated, drunk from the wine of lust and not of the wine of intellect; their drink turns on them.³²Hos 4:18. In their quest for more intense stimulation of their senses, their souls are far from the way of truth. There are some, witless and ignorant, or capricious, who enjoy without blessing or neglect blessings. There are some fools who spit the good of the world into their vessels; if they drink from their bowl, they will forget the point of their eating at their tables, and the light of their calm will flash away like lightning. But unique is the one who fears and delights in the Lord even over a dinner of vegetables.³³An allusion to Prov 15:17: “Better a meal of vegetables where there is love, than a fattened bull where there is hate;” and Midrash Mishlei 15:1 (on it), which R. Bahya quotes and discusses at length in his commentary on the Torah (Be’ur, 2:376-7). The midrash’s point is to teach derekh eretz – “good manners.” Even a poor host, who invokes the blessings of God, can make his “meal of vegetables” more palatable to his guest, than a rich host who says the wrong thing, though serving his guest a sumptuous meal. It is worth quoting the whole midrash:
“BETTER A MEAL OF VEGETABLES WHERE THERE IS LOVE, THAN A FATTENED BULL WHERE THERE IS HATE.” (Prov. 15:17) R. Levi said, “About whom did Solomon say this verse? About two men who met him after he had lost his kingdom and was wandering from door to door looking for a job. Two men met him, who recognized him. One of them came up, prostrated himself before him, and said to him, “My lord the king, if it pleases you, take a meal with me today.” Immediately he went with him. He had him go up to the best seat, slaughtered a bull, had many delicacies brought to him, and began to recite to him all the things having to do with his kingdom. He said to him, “Remember how you did such and such a thing on such and such a day when you were king.” But as soon as he reminded him of the days of his kingdom, he began to cry and moan. And so it was for the whole meal until he got up and left having cried himself out. The next day, his host’s companion met him. He began to prostrate himself before him, and said to him, “My lord the king, if it pleases you, take a meal with me today.” He said to him, “Perhaps you seek to do for me as your friend did yesterday?” He said, “My lord, the king, I am a poor man, but if it pleases you, take a meal with me today of the little bit of vegetables I have.” At that very moment he went to his house. The man washed his hands and feet, brought him a little bit of vegetables, and began to console him. He said to him, “My Lord the king, the Holy One Blessed Be He surely swore to your father that the monarchy will never cease from your line, as it is said, “The Lord swore to David a firm oath the He will not renounce, ‘One of your own issue I will set upon your throne’” (Ps. 132:11). It’s just the way of the Holy One Blessed Be He to rebuke and then repent from rebuking, as it said, “For whom the Lord loves, He rebukes, as a father the son he favors.” (Prov. 3:12). But He will restore your kingdom to you.
R. Hiyya said…when Solomon got his kingdom back, he wrote in his wisdom, “’BETTER A MEAL OF VEGETABLES WHERE THERE IS LOVE’ which I ate at the poor man’s home, ‘THAN A FATTENED BULL WHERE THERE IS HATE’ which the rich man who reminded me of my sorrow fed me.”

This is the instruction to one who repents with all his heart with all his soul and with all his might in order to cleave to his Creator.¹Rokeah, ed. Zalkwo, Chapter XX, p. 9b. For each and every transgression which presents itself, he should consider, what if, God forbid, they were to force baptism upon him, he would rather let himself be killed for the Unity of the Name. If this (baptism), which is so difficult (to) withstand he does withstand in His Name, then all other transgressions would be easily put aside. And as soon as one comes to purify himself he is helped from Heaven.²Shabbath 104a. If a man experiences unchaste thoughts about a certain woman during his prayer or other impure fancies, let him dig his thumbs into the earth and let him “hang his body upon them”³Shebuoth 18a. and not lean against a wall and this will dispel the impure fancies. If he is sitting and is unable to rise because of people let him dig his thumbs vigorously into the earth. If a man is in the bathhouse or in a polluted place and thoughts of love possess his heart, or a woman passes before him, let him meditate on matters of Torah⁴Shulhan Arukh, “Orah Hayim,” 85:1. because Torah is good to purify the heart of its evil inclination.⁵Kiddushin 30b. Even though it is permissible to meditate on Torah everywhere except in the bathhouse and privy, nevertheless to withdraw a man from transgression it is permitted.⁶Shabbath 40b. And let a man avoid coming to nocturnal pollution by not drinking more wine then is suited, because it afflicts his heart and turns him aside from God, as it is written, “Harlotry, wine and new wine take away the heart” (Hos. 4:11). And if a transgression presents itself to him, let him pray with all his heart to his Creator that He rescue him. And if the individual were to be visited with tribulations he would presently fast, cry and pray to his Creator, all the more so should a man pray to his Creator that He rescue him from transgression.⁷Kiddushin 71b. And let a man not acquire for himself a prosecutor on the Day of Judgement. All transgressions committed in this world, each and everyone, envelop him and lead him to Judgement Day, as it is written, “The paths of their way do wind” (Job 6:18).

He prohibited us from divination - meaning to say, that one moves the faculty of imagination with a type of stimulus, like all of those with abilities to say what will happen before it does. Indeed, it comes true for them - since their imaginative faculty is strong, their words mostly come true. And hence they will rely upon their [predictions], and they will have an advantage with this, like [any] advantage of the personal skill of some people over others in any abilities of the spirit. And it is impossible for any of the people with these imaginative faculties without [first] doing some deed or action with which to stimulate his faculty and to bring his [imaginative] activity into effect. And among them is one who strikes the ground with a stick that is in his hand - repetitive strikes - and yells unusually, ignores his thoughts and stares at the earth a long time until he is visited by effects of a seizure, and tells over what will happen in the future. And I have already seen this a few times in the far West. [Also] among them is one who spreads out sand and shapes forms in it; and this is very famous in the West. And among them [as well] is one who throws smalls stones onto a strip of leather and studies them and afterwards speaks out words. And this is well-known and famous in every place that I have gone. And [also] among them is one who throws a long leather belt to the floor, observes it and reveals hidden things. And the intention in [all of] this is to stimulate the imaginative faculty with it; not that the action does something on its own or indicates the [specific] matter. And the masses err in this. For since some of the reports are correct, they think that these actions are what indicate what will be - [such] that this error comes to them to the point that they think that some of these actions are the cause of what will be, like some of the astrologers think. For astrology involves the same relationship - meaning that [the movement of the stars] are a type of stimulus of the imaginative faculty and arouse it. And hence no two men will be the same in their revealing that which is hidden, even if they are the same in their knowledge of the discipline. And anyone who does any of these acts and other ones that follow in this way is called a diviner; and He said, "Let no one be found among you who is a diviner" (Deuteronomy 18:10). And the language of the Sifrei (Sifrei Devarim 171:6) is, "Which is a diviner? It is one who holds his stick and says whether I should go or whether I should not go." And this was a famous type of stimulus at that time - the prophet said (Hosea 4:12) "My people consults its stick; its rod tells it (what to do)." And one who transgresses this negative commandment and does one of these [things] - meaning one who divines and speaks to people from an action that moves him - is liable for lashes; [but] not the one that asks the diviner. However asking the diviner is very vile. And the regulations of this commandment have already been explained in Tractate Sanhedrin. (See Parashat Shoftim; Mishneh Torah, Foreign Worship and Customs of the Nations 11.)

The root of this commandment is revealed to all that see the sun: that it is a great benefit within the nation that we have a mechanism to remove suspicion about our wives from our hearts and to truly know if she was unfaithful from her husband, which is impossible for any nation or country to have [something] like this among them. And about them, it is stated (Proverbs 30:20), "she eats, wipes her mouth, and says, 'I have done no wrong.'” As who will reveal 'about their daughters if they have been unfaithful, and about their daughters-in-law if they have been adulterous.' But our nation is sanctified with every matter of sanctification, and [so] God gave us a sign to know this matter which is hidden from the rest of the nations. And through this, love and peace between a man and his wife will be augmented and our seed will be holy. And [for] what [reason] should I write at more length about the details of these matters, as all of it is revealed to the heart of anyone with understanding. And therefore in that the reason of the matter is a miracle with our people and a great honor for them, it stopped from the time they became corrupted by sins; as they, may their memory be blessed, said (Sotah 47a), "From when adulterers proliferated, the sotah waters stopped; as it is stated (Hosea 12:4), 'I will not punish your daughters when they are unfaithful, etc.'" And the understanding of the verse is to say that He will [no longer] do this great miracle for them, that the waters should test whether the woman was unfaithful.

And I have already written in the warning (negative commandment) about "do not divine" in the Order of Kedoshim (Sefer HaChinukh 249) what I have known about the reason for these matters. And I saw in the books of the early scholars about the reason for this prohibition, [that it is] because all of these matters mislead the masses. And because some of what the clairvoyants tell them come out to be true, they think that the constellations and powers are the cause of all actions that are in the world. And they can almost be called part of the evil group that say, "The Lord has abandoned the land" (Ezekiel 8:12). And because of this matter which was very famous at the time of the prophets, the prophet said, "My people asks its wood, and its stick will speak to it" (Hoshea 4:12).