{"id":76096,"date":"2020-06-16T10:46:27","date_gmt":"2020-06-16T07:46:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=76096"},"modified":"2020-06-16T10:46:27","modified_gmt":"2020-06-16T07:46:27","slug":"chesed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/chesed\/","title":{"rendered":"Chesed"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Our chapter is a relentless accusation of Israel by God, beginning: \u201cHear the word of the Lord, O people of Israel! For the Lord has a case against the inhabitants of this land, because there is no truth and no goodness and no knowledge of God in the land\u201d (Hosea 4:1). The word translated here \u201cgoodness\u201d is the key Hebrew term <\/span>chesed<\/span><\/em>, which appears five more times in Hosea (2:21, 6:4 and 6, 10:12 and 12:7) and in a positive sense 246 times altogether in the Hebrew Bible. In 1927, the noted archaeologist Nelson Glueck published his German doctoral dissertation on this one term, which appeared in English as <\/span>Hesed in the Bible<\/span><\/em> (1967). Glueck emphasized that <\/span>chesed<\/em> <\/span>often expresses a covenantal relationship, perhaps best defined as \u201ccovenantal loyalty\u201d, particularly between God and man, a translation that well suits the use of <\/span>chesed<\/em> <\/span>in the context of Hosea 4:1. However, the Hebrew word <\/span>chesed<\/em> <\/span>is so multivocal that its meaning and translation is highly dependent on the specific context in which this term appears (see Brown, Driver and Briggs, pp. 338-339; Ben-Yehudah, <\/span>Dictionary<\/span><\/em> [1959], pp. 1661-1663).<\/span><\/p>\n

Midrash Leqah Tov to Deuteronomy 11:13 (ed. Buber, p. 31) preserves a surprising tradition based on an interpretation of <\/span>chesed<\/em> <\/span>in Hosea 4:1. Israel was punished more severely for neglect of the study of Torah than for the neglect of the performance of the commandments. For it says: \u201cThe Lord has a case against the inhabitants of this land, because there is no truth and no goodness and no knowledge of God in the land\u201d (Hosea 4:1). \u201cTruth\u201d (<\/span>emet<\/span><\/em>) refers to Torah, as it says: \u201cBuy truth and never sell it\u201d (Proverbs 23:23). \u201cGoodness\u201d (<\/span>chesed<\/span><\/em>) refers to Torah, as it says: \u201cYour goodness (<\/span>chesed<\/span><\/em>), O Lord, fills the earth. Teach me Your laws\u201d (Psalms 119:64). \u201cKnowledge\u201d (<\/span>da\u2019at<\/span><\/em>) refers to Torah, as it says: \u201cMy people suffered exile for their lack of knowledge (<\/span>da\u2019at<\/span><\/em>)\u201d (Isaiah 5:13)\u2026And just as Israel was punished more severely for neglect of the study of Torah than for the neglect of the performance of the commandments, so too the reward for study (<\/span>talmud<\/span><\/em>) precedes the reward for performance (<\/span>ma\u2019aseh<\/span><\/em>), as it says: \u201cAnd you shall teach them to your children\u2026\u201d (Deuteronomy 11:19). Only after which it says: \u201c\u2026to the end that you and your children may endure in the land\u201d (Deuteronomy 11:21).<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Mishnah Pe\u2019ah 1:1, among those commandments, for the performance of which one enjoys partial reward in this world, but the principal reward remains to be enjoyed in the World to Come, are honoring one\u2019s father and mother, making of peace between one person and another and \u201cacts of <\/span>chesed<\/span><\/em>\u201d (<\/span>gemilut chasadim<\/span><\/em>). But study of Torah outweighs them all!<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Talmud Bavli Sotah 14a, the Torah begins and ends with \u201cacts of <\/span>chesed<\/span><\/em>\u201d (<\/span>gemilut chasadim<\/span><\/em>), exemplified by God\u2019s benevolence to Man: God made garments for Adam and Eve (Genesis 3:21) and God Himself buried Moses (Deuteronomy 34:6).<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":76097,"id":76097,"title":"hos4-chesed","filename":"hos4-chesed.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos4-chesed.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/chesed\/hos4-chesed\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"hos4-chesed","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":76096,"date":"2020-06-16 07:43:53","modified":"2022-04-11 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