{"id":76348,"date":"2020-06-21T23:52:49","date_gmt":"2020-06-21T20:52:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=76348"},"modified":"2020-06-21T23:53:50","modified_gmt":"2020-06-21T20:53:50","slug":"grapes-of-wrath-grapes-of-wonder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/grapes-of-wrath-grapes-of-wonder\/","title":{"rendered":"Grapes Of Wrath, Grapes Of Wonder"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[],"acf":{"old_id":"76348","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":33877,"related_cahpter":"509","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Grapes can be beautiful on the outside, but a whole other thing on the inside\u00a0\r\n\r\n","content":"

In our chapter, Hosea details the punishment that shall befall Israel for repeatedly falling into apostasy. This prophecy contains a curious simile: \u201cI found Israel as grapes in the wilderness. Your fathers seemed to Me like the first fig to ripen on a fig tree\u201d (verse 10). This seems to be a positive note, in line with the characterization of grapevines, figs and fig trees elsewhere in Scripture (see Num. 13:23-24, Deut. 8:8 and I Kings 5:5).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, grapes also sometimes have a negative association (see Deut. 32:32). Indeed, Hosea\u2019s comparison of Israel to \u201cgrapes in the wilderness\u201d continues: \u201cBut when they came to Baal-Peor, they turned aside to shamefulness. Then they became as detested as they had been loved.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Midrash Tanhuma Buber Lekh Lekhah 21 elaborates on Scripture\u2019s multivalent characterization of grapes. \u201cI found Israel as grapes in the wilderness.\u201d This verse describes Israel at Mount Sinai as resembling grapes. Just as grapes are attractive on the outside but unattractive on the inside, so was Israel when it stood at Mount Sinai. Though they responded: \u201cAll the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will obey\u201d (Exodus 24:7), this was spoken only with their mouth, but their heart was not steadfast. As David said: \u201cYet they deceived Him with their speech, lied to Him with their words….They were not true to His covenant\u201d (Psalms 78:36-37).<\/span><\/p>\n

However, just as grapes provide both food and drink, so too in Israel there are both \u201cchildren of Torah\u201d (i.e. scholars) and \u201cchildren of action\u201d (i.e. those who keep the commandments without studying them). But, on the other hand, just as grapes contain seeds, so Israel included \u201criffraff (asafsuf) in their midst\u201d (Numbers 11:4).<\/span><\/p>\n

The verse from Hosea also plays a role in the Rabbis\u2019 approach to dreaming. According to Bavli Berakhot 56b, one who sees grapes in a dream should rise early and immediately recite the verse: \u201cI found Israel as grapes in the wilderness\u201d\u00a0 (understood as referring to God\u2019s love of Israel), lest another verse first comes to mind: \u201cThe grapes for them are poison\u201d (Deut. 32:32 \u2013 referring to Israel\u2019s transgressions). This statement is part of the extensive Talmudic discussion of how to deal with dreams (Bavli Berakhot 55a-57b), which includes a prayer to be said along with the Priestly Benediction: Lord of the World! I am Yours and my dreams are Yours\u2026if they are good dreams, confirm them and reinforce them [and may they be fulfilled]\u2026 This prayer, referred to as Tefillat Hatavat Chalom<\/em> (\u201cPrayer for Improving a Dream\u201d) remains a Jewish tradition to our time (see Mishnah Berurah 130 and <\/span>The Oxford Dictionary of the Jewish Religion<\/span><\/i>, pp. 207-208 s.v. \u201cDreams\u201d).<\/span><\/p>\n

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