Komentarz do Ozeasza 2:27

And the number...shall be What is the connection of retribution and consolation juxtaposed in one speech? Our Rabbis explained in Pesachim (87b): Hosea felt that he had sinned by saying, “Exchange them for another nation.” He stood and begged mercy for them (See above 1:2). And in Sifrei Devei Rav, in the section commencing: “And Israel abode in Shittim” (Num. 25) we learned: Rabbi says: Some sections are close to each other yet as far apart as east is far from west. “For you are not My people... And the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea.” What is the connection of one to the other? This can be compared to a king who became angry with his wife. He summoned a scribe to come and write a bill of divorcement. Before the scribe arrived, the king became reconciled with his wife. Said the king, “Is it possible that this scribe should leave here divided?” I.e. his heart should be divided and bewildered, saying, “Why did the king send for me?” He said to him, “Come and write that I am doubling her kethubah.” And according to its simple meaning, this is the reason for its juxtaposition. “For you are not My people, and I will not be yours.” I will show Myself as though I am not yours, and you shall be exiled among the nations, and even there you shall multiply and grow, and there you shall lay it to your heart to return to Me, as it is said through Moses (Deut. 30:1,3): “And you shall lay it to your heart among all the nations where...has exiled you etc. And the Lord your God shall return your captivity.” Here too, “And the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together.”

one head David their king.

for great is the day of Jezreel The gathering of their sowing.

Say to your brethren, “Ammi” To be explained according to the Targum: Return to My Torah, and I will grant clemency to your nation.

Strive with your mother, strive With your nation of today, which is the mother of future generations.

and her adulteries from between her breasts It is customary among the adulteresses that they [i.e., their lovers] squeeze them between their breasts. Jonathan renders: And the worship of idols from among her cities.

as [on] the day she was born Like the day that I found her in Egypt, as is delineated in Ezekiel (16: 4, 5): “And as for your birth, on the day you were born your navel was not cut etc. No eye took pity on you etc. with a loathing of your body.”

like a desert This alludes to the decrees that I decreed upon you (Parshandatha: them) in the desert, viz. that there they should perish and there they would die (Num. 14:35).

and [I will] cause her to die Jonathan renders: And I will kill her.

their mother Their nation.

she who conceived them behaved shamefully Jonathan, who renders: Their teachers are ashamed. The wise men who teach them with instructions are ashamed before the ignorant populace. They tell them, “You shall not steal,” but they steal. “You shall not lend for interest,” but they lend.

after my lovers In the ways of the nations.

behold I will close off Heb. שָׂךְ an expression of closing. Comp. (Isaiah 5:5) “remove its hedge (מְשׂוּכָּתוֹ)”; (Proverbs 15:19) “as though hedged (כִּמְשֻּׂכַת) by thorns.”

your way The ways and paths in which you go.

her lovers Egypt and Assyria, and you will not be able to seek aid from them.

And she shall pursue Heb. וְרִדְּפָה This is one of the intensive conjugations. Comp. (Proverbs 12:11) “and he who pursues empty ones” (porcacier in O.F:, poursuivra in modern French), to pursue. I.e. she will follow them and not overtake them.

and she shall seek them Heb. וּבִקְשָׁתַם, a combination of וּבִקְשָׁה אוֹתָם.

But she did not know She did not lay it to her heart, but showed herself as unknowing.

and I gave her much silver and gold but they made it for Baal.

in its time At the time the produce completes its ripening.

and I will separate [Heb. וְהִצַּלְתִּי] from her.

My wool and My flax. which was to cover her nakedness. Every expression of הָצָלָה in Scripture is an expression of separation and setting apart. Proof of this we find in (Gen. 31:9) “And God separated (וַיַצֵּל) your father’s cattle,” (ibid.:16) “For all the wealth that...separated (הִצִיל).”

and no man shall save her from My hand Even the merits of the Patriarchs have been depleted. [from Shabbath 55a]

And I will lay waste Heb. וַהֲשִׁמֹּתִי, an expression of desolation (שְּׁמָמָה).

hire אֶתְנָה, like אֶתְנָן.

and I will make them a forest where the beasts walk and eat the fruit.

And I will visit upon her the retribution of...

the days of the baalim to whom she burnt incense constantly to them, and this is a present tense.

and she adorned herself with her earrings and her jewelry Heb. וַתַּעַד, an expression of jewelry (עֲדִי). Like a harlot who adorns herself to greet her paramours.

And חֶלְיָתָה is an Arabic term meaning jewelry.

Therefore, behold I will allure her I will persuade her to be drawn after Me (losanjier in O.F., to flatter or cajole). Other editions read: atrayray in O.F. (attirerai). I will lure, attract. And what is the allurement? and lead her into the desert In exile, which is to her like a desert and a wasteland. And there she will lay up to her heart that it was better for her when she performed My will than when she rebelled against Me.

her vineyards Jonathan rendered this as an expression of managers and leaders. Comp. (Job 24: 18) “he will not face the way of the vineyards,” meaning that the people of the generation of the flood had made up their mind not to follow the righteous leaders, such as Noah and Methusalah. And so, (Song 1:6) “my vineyard I did not guard.” The allusion is to the worship of idols instead of worshipping God, the Leader. Another explanation: and lead her into the desert To the desert of Sihon and Og, and with the same expression Ezekiel prophesied (20:35, 38), “And I will bring you there to the desert of the peoples, and I will contend with you there, etc. As I continued with your forefathers etc., and I will bring them into the tradition of the covenant. And I will purge you of those who rebel...” but the righteous I will keep alive. That is the intention of “her vineyards.” [from Ruth Rabbah 5:6, Pesikta d’Rav Kahana 49b].

and the depth of trouble Heb. עֶמֶק עָכוּר. The depth of the exile where they were troubled I will give her for a door of hope (an expectation of hope), for, out of those troubles, she will take heart to return to Me.

and she shall dwell there Heb. וְעָנְתָה, an expression of dwelling. Comp. (Nahum 2:12) “a den (מְעוֹן) of lions.” [from Machbereth Menachem p. 135]

as in the days of her youth when she dwelt in Egypt a long time.

and as the day of her ascent, etc. as Israel cried out to me in Egypt because of the subjugation and I redeemed her, so also now.

you shall call [Me] Ishi, etc You shall worship Me out of love and not out of fear. Ishi is an expression of marriage and the love of one’s youth.

Baali An expression of mastership and fear. And our Rabbis (Pesachim 87a, Kethuboth 71b) explained: Like a bride in her father-in-law’s house, and not like a bride in her father’s house.

and they shall no longer be mentioned I.e. Israel shall no longer be mentioned by the name of the baalim. Or, the baalim shall no longer be mentioned by the name of Israel, saying that they are their gods. Or, the name of the baalim shall no longer be mentioned, as it is stated. (Isa. 2:18) “And the idols shall completely pass away.”

with the beasts of the field for I will destroy harmful creatures from the world. And so Scripture states (Isa. 11:9): “They shall neither harm nor destroy etc.”

with righteousness and with justice which you practice.

and with loving-kindness and with mercy which will come to you from Me because of them. Concerning our father Abraham, it is written (Gen 18:19): “For I love him since he commands etc. to perform righteousness and justice.” And, corresponding to them, He bestowed upon his children loving-kindness and mercy, as it is said (Deut. 13:18): “And He shall grant you mercy”; (ibid. 7:12) “And the Lord your God shall keep for you the covenant and the loving-kindness.” When they ceased to perform righteousness and justice, as it is said (Amos 5:7): “Those who turn justice into wormwood, and righteousness they leave on the ground,” also the Holy One, blessed be He, took away from them the loving-kindness and the mercy, as it is said (Jer. 16:5): “for I have gathered in My peace from this people, says the Lord, the loving- kindness and the mercies.” And when they will return to perform righteousness and justice, they shall be redeemed immediately, as it is said (Isa. 1:27): “Zion shall be redeemed through justice, and her penitent through righteousness.” And the Holy One, blessed be He, will add mercy and loving- kindness to them and make a crown of all four of them and place it on their head.

And I will betroth you to Me with faith For the reward of the faith, for, while in exile, you believed in the promises through My prophets. [from Mechilta 14:31 with variations]

I will answer the heavens to pour upon the clouds from the rivulet of good that depends on My word. They will, in turn, answer to pour water upon the earth.

Jezreel The people of the exile who were scattered and then in gathered.

And I will sow her for Me in the land As one who sows a se’ah in order to gather many korim, so will many proselytes be added to them. [from Pesachim 87b]