Comentários de Citação sobre Oséias 11:3

AND THEY ‘TUKU.’ This is like ‘huku’ (and they were smitten)⁴⁹The tav in the word tuku replaces the letter hei [huku], and as explained further on: “‘they were smitten’ and endured all hardships because they followed You wherever You took them.” Rashi explains that the word tuku is derived from the word toch (middle) — “and they placed themselves in the middle.” According to this interpretation the tav cannot be in place of a hei. [at Thy feet], as Scripture says ‘tirgalti l’Ephraim’ (I taught Ephraim to walk)⁵⁰Hosea 11:3. in place of hirgalti.⁵¹Here, too, the tav replaces a hei. Similarly the feminine hei is exchanged for a thav in the following expressions: I will not give ‘sh’nath’ (sleep) to mine eyes;⁵²Psalms 132:4. The word sh’nath is in place of sheinah (sleep). The letter thav thus replaces a hei. a sinner doeth evil ‘m’ath’ (a hundred times),⁵³Ecclesiastes 8:12. The word m’ath is in place of meiah (a hundred). and there are many such examples. He is thus stating that “‘they were smitten’ with every plague in the wilderness by following You wherever You went; they cared not for hunger, thirst, the affliction of serpents and scorpions. They only followed Thy feet and ran after You.” This is similar to what is stated, I remember for thee the affection of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, thy going after Me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.⁵⁴Jeremiah 2:2.

והם תכו ברגלך, ”and they planted themselves at Your feet.” They always feel drawn to the site of the Holy Ark which symbolises Your Presence, which they perceive as הדום רגלך, “the footstool for Your feet.” The word תכו is the same as הכו, the letter ת being a substitute for the letter ה. This letter is used interchangeably in a similar manner in Kohelet 8,,12 where the words עושה רע מאת should normally have been עושה רע מאה, “doing evil one hundred times.” Or in Psalms 132,4 we find the words אם אתן שנת לעיני “if I will allow my eyes to sleep,” when we would have expected the psalmist to write אם אתן שנה לעיני. [The author quotes more such examples. Ed.] We sometimes find the ת replacing the letter ה, whereas on other occasions the letter ה replaces the letter ת. In the phrase (verse 11) commencing with ישימו קטורה, “they shall prepare incense,” etc., the letter ה, I believe, is also a substitute for the letter ת in the word קטורת, incense. I believe this is a rule in grammar, seeing that the letter ה normally symbolizes the feminine gender, such as in אמרה, שמרה, קראה,, as well as in all the other verbs; the letter ת seeing that it is the final and last letter in the aleph bet, also symbolizes something feminine, passive. This is the reason it was made the last letter. The letter ה at the end of the third person of the verb is also reminiscent of the last letter of the tetragrammaton. The letter ת is used in many forms of the verb in the third person feminine future. In other words, the function of the letter ת and the letter ה frequently overlap, so that we need not be surprised to see them used as alternate spelling for each other.

follow There is no other word related to this word. There are some who say that it comes from “from within”, as if to say, “they go forth from within Your feet”. Others say that the tav appears in place of a heh (like the tav in “I taught Efrayim to walk” [Hosea 11: 3]), as if to say, Even though they be “beaten” on Your account, they shall not abandon Your words. But this is far-fetched. The correct interpretation of the word is similar to “they are drawn”, meaning, they will go to the place where the Ark is situated, which is “God ’s footstool” [cf. Psalms 99: 5]. This blessing, then, is that God will be a wall of flame surrounding Israel, and that His beloved, along with the Levites, will forever teach the Torah.

ויאמר קחם נא אלי ואברכם AND HE SAID, BRING THEM, I PRAY THEE, UNTO ME, AND I WILL BLESS THEM — It is to this that the text alludes, (Hosea 11:3) “And I, תרגלתי לאפרים taking them (קחם) upon his arms”, meaning, I made My Spirit once again a familiar thing (תרגלתי) in Jacob for Ephraim’s sake until he took them (him and Manasseh) upon his arms (cf. Midrash Tanchuma, Vayechi 6).

ויבא בין מחנה מצרים AND IT CAME BETWEEN THE CAMP OF EGYPT — A parable: it may be compared to one who is proceeding on a journey, his son walking in front of him. If, now, brigands come to capture him (the son), he takes him away from in front of him and places him behind himself. If a wolf then comes behind him he places him again in front. If brigands come in front of him and wolves behind him, he places him on his arm and fights against them. Thus did God do for Israel, as it says, (Hosea 11:3) “I led Ephraim — He took them upon His arms” (Mekhilta).