{"id":75813,"date":"2018-07-09T17:48:08","date_gmt":"2018-07-09T14:48:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wall\/wall-1101\/"},"modified":"2022-02-02T19:42:06","modified_gmt":"2022-02-02T17:42:06","slug":"wall-1101","status":"publish","type":"wall","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/wall\/wall-1101\/","title":{"rendered":"weekend-from-20240107-to-20240113"},"parent":0,"template":"","acf":{"type":"weekend","wall_id":"1101","date_from":"20240107","date_to":"20240113","book":"Hosea","books_group":"Prophets","posts":[{"order":1,"id":"47182","color":"#f8ebe3","size":"2","name":"The Scouts: Their Report, Evaluation and Eventual Punishment ","post_title":"The Scouts: Their Report, Evaluation and Eventual Punishment","slug":"the-scouts-their-report-evaluation-and-eventual-punishment","old_id":"47182","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":46171,"post_title":"Avner Moriah","slug":"avner-moriah","old_id":"46171","first_name":"Avner ","last_name":"Moriah ","description":"Avner Moriah is a prolific Israel artist who has addressed a wide range of Jewish and Israeli themes during the four decades of his artistic journey. Currently, Avner is completing a singular artistic and spiritual feat of illuminating the entire Chumash. The unique illuminated books contain hundreds of original drawings that offer a profound, provocative and humorous perspective. \r\nFor the entire weekly portion series, visit: https:\/\/avnermoriahprints.com\/collections\/parasha\r\nFor more of his work visit: https:\/\/avnermoriah.com\/\r\n","short_description":"Avner Moriah is a prolific Israel artist who is illuminating the entire Chumash.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":46173,"alt":"","title":"avner moriah","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/avner-moriah-e1545511134679.jpg","width":1387,"height":1425,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/avner-moriah-e1545511134679-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/avner-moriah-e1545511134679-292x300.jpg","medium-width":292,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/avner-moriah-e1545511134679-768x789.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":789,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/avner-moriah-e1545511134679-997x1024.jpg","large-width":997,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/avner-moriah-e1545511134679.jpg","1536x1536-width":1387,"1536x1536-height":1425,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/avner-moriah-e1545511134679.jpg","2048x2048-width":1387,"2048x2048-height":1425,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/avner-moriah-e1545511134679-1168x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":1168,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/avner-moriah-e1545511134679-409x420.jpg","home_baner-width":409,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"130","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"

Illustration for Chapter 13:<\/p>\r\n

This chapter relates the episode of the twelve spies that Moses sent to Canaan to scout out the land: \u201cAre the people who dwell in it strong or weak, few or many? Is the country in which they dwell good or bad?\u201d (Num. 13:18\u201319). Forty days later they returned carrying wonderful fruits and told of their findings to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Their report was in keeping with what they were asked to do, so why did it evoke such hysteria among the people and God\u2019s anger?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In the painting<\/span> for this<\/span> parasha <\/span><\/i>the solid range of hills in the background marks the border of Canaan, from where the spies were dispatched: \u201cGet up there into the Negev and on into the hill country\u201d (Num. 13:17). On the far right are eight bearded men in striped gowns imaged as a single entity. In front of them we see two men with \u201ca branch with a single cluster of grapes, [so big that] it had to be borne on a carrying frame by two of them\u201d (Num. 13:23). Further to the left we see Caleb with a basket of pomegranates and Joshua with a basket of figs.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The spies face Moses and Aaron standing to the left with all of the Israelites behind them as they report, and the painting figures an account of what was a three-part exchange. The spies first displayed the fruit as a sign of the land\u2019s fertility. They then countered their positive words: \u201cHowever, the people who inhabit the country are powerful and the cities are fortified and very large\u201d (Num. 13: 28). Then Caleb exclaimed: \u201cLet us by all means go up and we shall gain possession of it, for we shall surely overcome it\u201d (Num. 13:30), whereas the ten spies pictured behind him chose to add a frenzied, unsolicited judgment: \u201cWe saw the <\/span>nephilim<\/span><\/i> there\u2026and we looked like grasshoppers to ourselves and so we must have looked to them (Num. 13:33). <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Here the artist gives visual expression to their words with an image on the hilltop of \u201cthe <\/span>nephilim<\/span><\/i>,\u201d<\/span> miniature figures of four of the giants they saw looking down at them. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

The Israelites standing behind Moses and Aaron are depicted as a tightly packed group. The eight spies on the far right of the picture are figured without shoulders and arms, their bodies forming a rectangular block decorated with a meandering ornamentation that seems to hint at their stormy reaction to the spies report. <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Aaron standing next to Moses and Joshua next to Caleb tried to convince them to obey God\u2019s decree and proceed into the land of Canaan, but to no avail; the Israelites refused to go on. Thus, as they were so lacking in faith, the spies and all of the people of Israel were punished: \u201cYou shall bear your punishment for forty years, corresponding to the number of days \u2013 forty days \u2013 that you scouted the land, a year for each day\u201d (Num. 14:34). <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Artwork by: Avner Moriah, by courtesy of the artist<\/p>\r\n

Text by: Dr. Shulamit Laderman, who holds a\u00a0<\/span>PhD in Art History and has published extensively on Jewish and Christian influences on biblical interpretive illustration.<\/p>\r\n

For the entire weekly portion series, please visit: <\/span>https:\/\/avnermoriahprints.com\/collections\/parasha<\/span><\/a><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":47183,"alt":"","title":"Num13-Shelah-Lekha","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num13-Shelah-Lekha.jpg","width":2500,"height":1614,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num13-Shelah-Lekha-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num13-Shelah-Lekha-300x194.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":194,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num13-Shelah-Lekha-768x496.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":496,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num13-Shelah-Lekha-1024x661.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":661,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num13-Shelah-Lekha.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":992,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num13-Shelah-Lekha.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1322,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num13-Shelah-Lekha-1200x775.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":775,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num13-Shelah-Lekha-651x420.jpg","home_baner-width":651,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"The Chapter Illustrated: Shelach","tile_main_caption":"The Scouts: Their Report, Evaluation and Eventual Punishment","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Discouragement, fear and a lack of faith and hope","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":47183,"alt":"","title":"Num13-Shelah-Lekha","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num13-Shelah-Lekha.jpg","width":2500,"height":1614,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num13-Shelah-Lekha-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num13-Shelah-Lekha-300x194.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":194,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num13-Shelah-Lekha-768x496.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":496,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num13-Shelah-Lekha-1024x661.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":661,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num13-Shelah-Lekha.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":992,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num13-Shelah-Lekha.jpg","2048x2048-width":2048,"2048x2048-height":1322,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num13-Shelah-Lekha-1200x775.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":775,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/Num13-Shelah-Lekha-651x420.jpg","home_baner-width":651,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Torah","book":"Numbers","chapter":"13","chapter_main_number":"130","date":"20260226","wall_id":"130"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":[{"term_id":"368","name":"Parasha","old_id":"768"},{"term_id":"807","name":"Spies","old_id":"1207"}]},{"order":2,"id":"76196","color":"#e2f4fa","size":"1","name":"Shelach: What Is Going On? ","post_title":"Shelach: What Is Going On?","slug":"shelach-what-is-going-on","old_id":"76196","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":42813,"post_title":"Covenant & Conversation","slug":"covenant-conversation","old_id":"42813","first_name":"","last_name":"Covenant & Conversation","description":"Covenant & Conversation: Family Edition is a new and exciting initiative from The Office of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks. Written as an accompaniment to Rabbi Sacks\u2019 weekly Covenant & Conversation essay, the Family Edition is aimed at connecting older children and teenagers with his ideas and thoughts on the parsha. Each element of the Family Edition is progressively more advanced; The Core Idea is appropriate for all ages and the final element, From The Thought of Rabbi Sacks, is the most advanced section. Each section includes Questions to Ponder, aimed at encouraging discussion between family members in a way most appropriate to them. We have also included a section called Around the Shabbat Table with a few further questions on the parsha to think about. The final section is an Educational Companion which includes suggested talking points in response to the questions found throughout the Family Edition.","short_description":"Covenant & Conversation: Family Edition is a new and exciting initiative from The Office of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":42814,"alt":"","title":"CCfamilylogo-693x457","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/CCfamilylogo-693x457.jpg","width":693,"height":457,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/CCfamilylogo-693x457-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/CCfamilylogo-693x457-300x198.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":198,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/CCfamilylogo-693x457.jpg","medium_large-width":693,"medium_large-height":457,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/CCfamilylogo-693x457.jpg","large-width":693,"large-height":457,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/CCfamilylogo-693x457.jpg","1536x1536-width":693,"1536x1536-height":457,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/CCfamilylogo-693x457.jpg","2048x2048-width":693,"2048x2048-height":457,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/CCfamilylogo-693x457.jpg","post_full_size-width":693,"post_full_size-height":457,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/CCfamilylogo-693x457-637x420.jpg","home_baner-width":637,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"1101","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"

Twelve men are sent by Moses to check out the Land of Israel before the people journey there. Ten of the men come back with a mixed report. They say that the land is very good but the people are giants and their cities will be impossible to conquer. The other two men, Joshua and Caleb, say that with God's help everything will be fine. But the people are scared by what they have learnt and they beg to return to Egypt.<\/p>\r\n

God becomes angry at the people's lack of faith and threatens to destroy them (and to start again with Moses). Moses prays on behalf of the people and God relents. He decides instead that the people must spend forty years in the desert instead of entering the land immediately and directly. The entire generation will die naturally in the desert and only their children will enter the land.<\/p>\r\n

The parsha also includes a list of laws about sacrifices, challah, and forgiveness for sins committed by mistake. Then this list is interrupted with a short story about a man who breaks Shabbat on purpose. The parsha ends with the laws of tzitzit, the fringes on the corners of garments. These words become the third paragraph of the Shema, which we read every day and every night.<\/p>\r\n

Download the whole parashah guide for Parashat Shelach<\/a><\/p>","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"Family Study Materials","tile_main_caption":"What Is Going On?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"for Parashat Shelach","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":42816,"alt":"","title":"covenant and conversation - Sacks","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","width":723,"height":426,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks-300x177.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":177,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","medium_large-width":723,"medium_large-height":426,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","large-width":723,"large-height":426,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","1536x1536-width":723,"1536x1536-height":426,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","2048x2048-width":723,"2048x2048-height":426,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks.jpg","post_full_size-width":723,"post_full_size-height":426,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/covenant-and-conversation-Sacks-713x420.jpg","home_baner-width":713,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Hosea","chapter":false,"chapter_main_number":false,"date":false,"wall_id":"1101"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":3,"id":"58341","color":"#f6f5de","size":"1","name":"Shelach: The Spies and their Confidence Problem ","post_title":"Shelach: The Spies And Their Confidence Problem","slug":"shelach-the-spies-and-their-confidence-problem","old_id":"58341","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":37754,"post_title":"BimBam","slug":"bimbam","old_id":"37754","first_name":"","last_name":"BimBam","description":"BimBam sparks connections to Judaism through digital storytelling for learners of all ages.","short_description":"","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":37755,"alt":"","title":"bimbam","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bimbam.png","width":218,"height":217,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bimbam-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bimbam.png","medium-width":218,"medium-height":217,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bimbam.png","medium_large-width":218,"medium_large-height":217,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bimbam.png","large-width":218,"large-height":217,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bimbam.png","1536x1536-width":218,"1536x1536-height":217,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bimbam.png","2048x2048-width":218,"2048x2048-height":217,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bimbam.png","post_full_size-width":218,"post_full_size-height":217,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bimbam.png","home_baner-width":218,"home_baner-height":217}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"1050","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"","post_main_content_content":"

Will the Promised Land be flowing with milk and honey, or giants and battles? Check out the Torah portion of the week!<\/p>\r\n

This week's guest narrator, Jay Michaelson invites the spies of Parshat Shelach Lecha to look inside themselves and see what the true story behind the challenges to come is: WE CAN DO IT!!<\/p>","post_main_content_image":"","post_main_content_embedded_video":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/Mf8vE0CqQE8","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"By: Jay Michaelson","tile_main_caption":"Shelach: The Spies And Their Confidence Problem","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"A Bimbam Video","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":"","tile_preview_video":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/Mf8vE0CqQE8","tile_external_link":"","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","old_create_date":"","links":false,"tile_link_for_pay":"0","send_noty":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"I Samuel","chapter":false,"chapter_main_number":false,"date":false,"wall_id":"1050"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":4,"id":"75925","color":"#efefef","size":"1","name":"Introduction To The \"Trei-Asar\" (The 12 Latter Prophets) ","post_title":"Introduction To The \"Trei-Asar\" (The 12 Latter Prophets)","slug":"introduction-to-the-trei-asar-the-12-latter-prophets","old_id":"75925","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":34243,"post_title":"Moshe Sokolow","slug":"moshe-sokolow","old_id":"34243","first_name":"Moshe","last_name":"Sokolow","description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University, and teaches a weekly class in parashat hashavu`a at Lincoln Square Synagogue. He is the author of TANAKH: An Owner\u2019s Manual (Jerusalem: Urim\/Ktav, 2015).\r\n\r\n","short_description":"Dr. Moshe Sokolow is Associate Dean of the Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, Yeshiva University","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":34244,"alt":"","title":"sokolow","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","width":302,"height":300,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow-300x298.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":298,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","medium_large-width":302,"medium_large-height":300,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","large-width":302,"large-height":300,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","1536x1536-width":302,"1536x1536-height":300,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","2048x2048-width":302,"2048x2048-height":300,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","post_full_size-width":302,"post_full_size-height":300,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/sokolow.jpg","home_baner-width":302,"home_baner-height":300}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"501","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Small only in the size of their books\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

This last book of Prophets (Nevi\u2019im) is an anthology of twelve books, which were grouped together allegedly in order to ensure that they would not get lost due to their relatively small size (Baba Batra 14b). For purposes of comparison, Ezekiel, the smallest of the three larger prophetic books, contains 1,273 verses. Obadiah, the smallest of the twelve, has only 21, and the entire anthology, just 1,050.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

While it colloquially bears the Aramaic name <\/span>Trei Asar<\/span><\/em> (for twelve), there are a few Hebrew references to it in rabbinic literature as <\/span>Shneim Asar<\/span><\/em>. Its canonization (inclusion in the Bible) as an anthology occurred relatively early in the Second Temple period (i.e., prior to the Hasmonean dynasty) as attested to by the Book of Ben Sirach 49:10<\/span>: \u201c<\/span>Then, too, the Twelve Prophets\u2014may their bones flourish with new life where they lie\u2014they gave new strength to Jacob and saved him with steadfast hope.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The twelve prophets included herein span an era of about 300 years, from the decline of the northern kingdom of Samaria through the earliest years of the Second Temple. Among the earlier of these prophets were Hosea and Amos, who, along with Isaiah and Micah, prophesied at roughly the same time. Among the latest were Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. The order in which they are arranged within Trei Asar corresponds, overall, to their chronological order; however, since the time frames of several are either unknown or highly speculative (e.g., Joel and Obadiah), it is also possible that there are thematic links between adjacent books, such as Obadiah following Amos because of their mutual focus on Edom , and Jonah following Micah on account of a shared prophecy about Assyria.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

A curious halakhic consequence of the organization of Trei Asar<\/em> is that while reading a <\/span>haftarah<\/span><\/em> it is prohibited to skip from one prophetic book to another\u2014such as Joshua to Judges or Isaiah to Ezekiel\u2014in the case of the books of Trei Asar it is permissible. Indeed, one of the most solemn <\/span>haftarot<\/span><\/em>,<\/em> that of Shabbat Shuvah (between Rosh Hashanah and Yom HaKippurim) begins in Hosea, continues in Joel, and ends in Micah.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":75926,"alt":"","title":"hos1-the 12","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-the-12.jpg","width":600,"height":384,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-the-12-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-the-12-300x192.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":192,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-the-12.jpg","medium_large-width":600,"medium_large-height":384,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-the-12.jpg","large-width":600,"large-height":384,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-the-12.jpg","1536x1536-width":600,"1536x1536-height":384,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-the-12.jpg","2048x2048-width":600,"2048x2048-height":384,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-the-12.jpg","post_full_size-width":600,"post_full_size-height":384,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-the-12.jpg","home_baner-width":600,"home_baner-height":384}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Introduction To The \"Trei-Asar\" (The 12 Latter Prophets)","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Small only in the size of their books","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":75926,"alt":"","title":"hos1-the 12","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-the-12.jpg","width":600,"height":384,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-the-12-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-the-12-300x192.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":192,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-the-12.jpg","medium_large-width":600,"medium_large-height":384,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-the-12.jpg","large-width":600,"large-height":384,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-the-12.jpg","1536x1536-width":600,"1536x1536-height":384,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-the-12.jpg","2048x2048-width":600,"2048x2048-height":384,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-the-12.jpg","post_full_size-width":600,"post_full_size-height":384,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-the-12.jpg","home_baner-width":600,"home_baner-height":384}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Hosea","chapter":"1","chapter_main_number":"501","date":"20270801","wall_id":"501"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":5,"id":"75928","color":"#f2e9df","size":"1","name":"Gomer, The Silenced Symbol ","post_title":"Gomer, The Silenced Symbol","slug":"gomer-the-silenced-symbol","old_id":"75928","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":74351,"post_title":"Noam Goldberg-Kellman","slug":"noam-goldberg-kellman-2","old_id":"74351","first_name":"Noam ","last_name":"Goldberg-Kellman ","description":"Noam Goldberg-Kellman is a senior at SAR High School and a recipient of Maharat\u2019s Emerging Scholars Award. After spending next year in Migdal Oz, she will attend the University of Michigan. ","short_description":"Noam Goldberg-Kellman is a senior at SAR High School and a recipient of Maharat\u2019s Emerging Scholars Award. After spending next year in Migdal Oz, she will attend the University of Michigan. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":74352,"alt":"","title":"noam goldberg kellman","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/noam-goldberg-kellman.jpeg","width":602,"height":599,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/noam-goldberg-kellman-150x150.jpeg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/noam-goldberg-kellman-300x300.jpeg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/noam-goldberg-kellman.jpeg","medium_large-width":602,"medium_large-height":599,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/noam-goldberg-kellman.jpeg","large-width":602,"large-height":599,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/noam-goldberg-kellman.jpeg","1536x1536-width":602,"1536x1536-height":599,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/noam-goldberg-kellman.jpeg","2048x2048-width":602,"2048x2048-height":599,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/noam-goldberg-kellman.jpeg","post_full_size-width":602,"post_full_size-height":599,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/noam-goldberg-kellman-422x420.jpeg","home_baner-width":422,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"501","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"But she symbolizes the powerless people of Israel\u00a0\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

The names God instructs Hosea to give his, and his wife Gomer\u2019s, children in Hosea 1 represent the degradation of Israel\u2019s relationship with divinity. God commands Hosea to name his children Jezreel; \u201cfor, I will soon punish the House of Jehu for the bloody deeds at Jezreel,\u201d (1:4) Lo-ruhamah; \u201cfor I will no longer accept the House of Israel <\/span>nor pardon them<\/span><\/em>,\u201d (1:6) and Lo-ammi; for you are <\/span>not My people<\/span><\/em>, and I will not be your [God]\u201d (1:9).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Like so many other Biblical characters, Hosea\u2019s children possess names imbued with symbolism. Among dozens of other examples, Eve \u201cbore Cain, saying, \u2018I have gained (<\/span>kaniti<\/span><\/em>) a male child with the help of the LORD\u2019\u201d (Gen. 4:1). And Sarah named her son Isaac (<\/span>yitzchak<\/span><\/em>) because \u201cGod has brought me laughter; everyone who hears will laugh (<\/span>yitzchak<\/span><\/em>) <\/span><\/i>with me\u201d (Gen. 21:6).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

These biblical names, or biblical <\/span>namings<\/span>, <\/span><\/i>provide insight into the mind of the namer. Isaac\u2019s name illuminates Sarah\u2019s excitement and insecurity over birthing a child in her old age in a narrative that doesn\u2019t otherwise supply ink for Sarah\u2019s thoughts. Similarly, Eve is mute after that first sin, except for the two verses naming her sons Cain and Seth. These seemingly trivial namings lend a voice and an opinion to the frequently silenced female characters of the Tanach.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This realization about namings makes Gomer\u2019s absence in Hosea 1 even more troubling. At the beginning of the chapter, God commands Hosea to marry a \u201cwife of whoredom\u201d (1:2). The marriage is, of course, a cosmic metaphor for God and the People of Israel, a whoring nation. The story is disturbing: both because Gomer and her children are used as divine props in a moral directive and because of God\u2019s utter rejection of Israel. God naming Gomer\u2019s children while she remains silent only reinforces her identity (or lack of) as a symbol. Gomer exists as a rhetorical device rather than as a person with thoughts and opinions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

It is appropriate that in the marriage metaphor Israel is represented by a mute \u201cwife of whoredom.\u201d In the divine-human relationship, God is omnipotent and Israel has no power, no voice. How better to represent this dynamic than through the marriage of a man to a woman with no rights, no voice, and no status in the community because of her \u201cloose morals.\u201d And this woman is not even afforded the words to name her own children, the one prerogative of the biblical woman.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This chapter objectifies and silences Gomer in order to convey Israel\u2019s impotence. But as a woman in ancient society, Gomer is powerless before the chapter even starts. The biblical woman lacks a voice in the face of her husband just like Israel lacks power in the face of God.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":75929,"alt":"","title":"hos1-silenced woman","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-silenced-woman.jpg","width":1280,"height":1920,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-silenced-woman-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-silenced-woman-200x300.jpg","medium-width":200,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-silenced-woman-683x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":683,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-silenced-woman-683x1024.jpg","large-width":683,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-silenced-woman.jpg","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-silenced-woman.jpg","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":1920,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-silenced-woman-800x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-silenced-woman-280x420.jpg","home_baner-width":280,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Gomer, The Silenced Symbol","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"But she symbolizes the powerless people of Israel\u00a0","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":75929,"alt":"","title":"hos1-silenced woman","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-silenced-woman.jpg","width":1280,"height":1920,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-silenced-woman-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-silenced-woman-200x300.jpg","medium-width":200,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-silenced-woman-683x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":683,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-silenced-woman-683x1024.jpg","large-width":683,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-silenced-woman.jpg","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-silenced-woman.jpg","2048x2048-width":1280,"2048x2048-height":1920,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-silenced-woman-800x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-silenced-woman-280x420.jpg","home_baner-width":280,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Hosea","chapter":"1","chapter_main_number":"501","date":"20270801","wall_id":"501"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":6,"id":"75934","color":"#f6edf6","size":"1","name":"Our Empathy - And God\u2019s\u00a0 ","post_title":"Our Empathy - And God\u2019s\u00a0","slug":"our-empathy-and-gods","old_id":"75934","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":43030,"post_title":"Alissa Thomas-Newborn","slug":"alissa-thomas-newborn","old_id":"43030","first_name":"Alissa ","last_name":"Thomas-Newborn ","description":"Rabbanit Alissa Thomas-Newborn is a member of the spiritual leadership at B'nai David-Judea Congregation, an Orthodox shul in Los Angeles. She received her semicha from Yeshivat Maharat, and is also a Board Certified Chaplain (BCC) through Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains (NAJC). She is on the board of NAJC and on the board of the Rabbis and Cantors Retirement Plan. She is a member of the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health Clergy Roundtable and the Pico-Robertson Mental Health Neighborhood. A native Los Angelena, Rabbanit Alissa is married to Akiva Newborn.\r\n","short_description":"Rabbanit Alissa Thomas-Newborn is a member of the spiritual leadership at B'nai David-Judea Orthodox Congregation in LA, and is a Board Certified Chaplain. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":43031,"alt":"","title":"alissa newborn","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/alissa-newborn-e1540889356400.jpg","width":185,"height":212,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/alissa-newborn-e1540889356400-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/alissa-newborn-e1540889356400.jpg","medium-width":185,"medium-height":212,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/alissa-newborn-e1540889356400.jpg","medium_large-width":185,"medium_large-height":212,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/alissa-newborn-e1540889356400.jpg","large-width":185,"large-height":212,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/alissa-newborn-e1540889356400.jpg","1536x1536-width":185,"1536x1536-height":212,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/alissa-newborn-e1540889356400.jpg","2048x2048-width":185,"2048x2048-height":212,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/alissa-newborn-e1540889356400.jpg","post_full_size-width":185,"post_full_size-height":212,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/alissa-newborn-e1540889356400.jpg","home_baner-width":185,"home_baner-height":212}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"501","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Empathizing and partnering with us, with unending hope for healing and reconciliation\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

In the first chapter of Hosea, we see a shocking command. God instructs Hosea to marry a harlot and build a life with her. Hosea, the prophet, follows God's command without dispute. But this beginning to a prophetic text proves puzzling. Why does God ask such a bizarre and personal commitment of Hosea?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Our rabbis teach that God wants Hosea to put himself in God's shoes-- to know what it is like to be in a relationship with someone who is constantly unfaithful, someone who he knows has a propensity to hurt him, but whom he nevertheless loves and is committed to. God asks Hosea to do this so God has a partner, a person who gets the deep pain God feels about His beloved, Israel. We, like the adulterous spouse, constantly deceive and disappoint God. We turn to idols and false gods instead of to God. And God is left waiting for us with a broken heart.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

And yet...despite all of the heartache and moments of separation and exile along the way...He cannot bring Himself to truly leave us.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Getting personal with Hosea is the only means for God to have a partner in His loneliness. This is a heartbreaking and radical way to view our God, King of kings. And it can even be disturbing to imagine God wanting his creation to suffer just as He suffers. What good can there be in adding another member to the list of the brokenhearted?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

When we suffer, we likely feel the same sense of injustice and ask the same question-- why would God make this personal? Why would God ask me to go through this? It is hard to relate or pray to a God Who wants us to suffer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

I would like to believe that to read our text-- and our personal sufferings-- this way is to miss the point. God does not ask Hosea to marry a harlot because he wants Hosea to suffer. He asks Hosea to empathize and to realize that human sorrow is something God understands and joins us in. When we are lonely, when we are brokenhearted, when we feel lost and abandoned-- God does not cause or want us to feel any of those emotions. Instead <\/span>God is with us in them<\/span><\/em>. Joining, empathizing, and partnering with us with unending hope for healing and reconciliation. In this way, Hosea\u2019s interaction with God brings God into our personal relationships in order to help us feel God\u2019s empathy a little more in our personal lives-- and as a result, to empathize more with God Himself.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

If we read our text with this in mind, we cannot help but feel our own hearts break, longing to repair the wrongs we have committed against our Beloved. True, it is shocking to begin a prophetic book with such an intimate command. But perhaps it is with this request that God cracks open not only His heart, but our hearts as well.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":75935,"alt":"","title":"hos1-empathy","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-empathy.jpg","width":1920,"height":1355,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-empathy-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-empathy-300x212.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":212,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-empathy-768x542.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":542,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-empathy-1024x723.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":723,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-empathy.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1084,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-empathy.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1355,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-empathy-1200x847.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":847,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-empathy-595x420.jpg","home_baner-width":595,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Our Empathy - And God\u2019s\u00a0","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Empathizing and partnering with us, with unending hope for healing and reconciliation","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":75935,"alt":"","title":"hos1-empathy","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-empathy.jpg","width":1920,"height":1355,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-empathy-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-empathy-300x212.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":212,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-empathy-768x542.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":542,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-empathy-1024x723.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":723,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-empathy.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1084,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-empathy.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1355,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-empathy-1200x847.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":847,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos1-empathy-595x420.jpg","home_baner-width":595,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Hosea","chapter":"1","chapter_main_number":"501","date":"20270801","wall_id":"501"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":7,"id":"75988","color":"#e0e9ef","size":"2","name":"An Adulterous Wife, A Raging Husband ","post_title":"An Adulterous Wife, A Raging Husband","slug":"an-adulterous-wife-a-raging-husband","old_id":"75988","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":56282,"post_title":"Dave Yedid","slug":"dave-yedid","old_id":"56282","first_name":"Dave ","last_name":"Yedid ","description":"Dave Yedid is a Jewish educator, wilderness guide, and healer. He is entering his third-year student at the Jewish Theological Seminary, pursuing rabbinic ordination as a Wexner Graduate Fellow and Davidson Scholar.","short_description":"Dave Yedid is a Jewish educator, wilderness guide, and healer.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":56283,"alt":"","title":"david yedid","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/david-yedid.jpg","width":829,"height":829,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/david-yedid-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/david-yedid-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/david-yedid-768x768.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":768,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/david-yedid.jpg","large-width":829,"large-height":829,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/david-yedid.jpg","1536x1536-width":829,"1536x1536-height":829,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/david-yedid.jpg","2048x2048-width":829,"2048x2048-height":829,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/david-yedid.jpg","post_full_size-width":829,"post_full_size-height":829,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/david-yedid-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"502","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Whispered words of loving betrothal are a counterpoint to the violent misogyny\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Hosea 2, filled with passion and violence, reads like a soap opera. The chapter opens with the affirmation that Israel and Judah will love one another and God (1-3). Then, in a sudden turn, Israel is adulterous (4-7), causing God to punish Israel by ruining the harvest because they turned to Baal (8-15), and ends with the prophecy that Israel will once again become God\u2019s wife (16-25). What a rollercoaster!<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In Hosea 2 and elsewhere in the Prophets, Israel is portrayed as the promiscuous wife and God as the betrayed husband. This is paradigm is most evident in verse 4:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cRebuke your mother, rebuke her\u2014 For she is not My wife And I am not her husband\u2014 And let her put away her harlotry from her face And her adultery from between her breasts.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

God casts off Israel for pursuing Canaanite gods like Baal, forgetting the gifts the God of Israel bestowed upon her. As was the custom in the ancient world, a husband must protect the sexuality of the women in his household. This protection is not for the women themselves, but rather for the purity and honor of the husband. When a man is unable to do this and is betrayed, his masculinity and power have been compromised. He is weak, shamed.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Still today, when men feel their power or honor are compromised, they often feel their wrath is justified, and that they are tolerated societally. God\u2019s anger and abuse creates a paradigm for how a man should react to his wife--condemning her sexuality, threatening to withdraw all material sustenance, eternal punishment. As a feminist, I am deeply troubled by this violent misogyny. As someone who believes in an eternally loving God, these verses also challenge my theology. If God can effectively divorce Israel, is the relationship truly eternal?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Burdened with these concerns, I am inspired anew each morning as I wrap my tefillin around my middle finger each morning and whisper these words of betrothal: \u201cAnd I will espouse you forever: I will espouse you with righteousness and justice, And with goodness and mercy, And I will espouse you with faithfulness; Then you shall be devoted to God.\u201d (verses 21-22)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

image: Michal Ben Hamu\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":75989,"alt":"","title":"hos2-holding hands","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos2-holding-hands.jpg","width":1024,"height":683,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos2-holding-hands-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos2-holding-hands-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos2-holding-hands-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos2-holding-hands-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos2-holding-hands.jpg","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":683,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos2-holding-hands.jpg","2048x2048-width":1024,"2048x2048-height":683,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos2-holding-hands.jpg","post_full_size-width":1024,"post_full_size-height":683,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos2-holding-hands-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"An Adulterous Wife, A Raging Husband","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Whispered words of loving betrothal are a counterpoint to the violent misogyny","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":75989,"alt":"","title":"hos2-holding hands","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos2-holding-hands.jpg","width":1024,"height":683,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos2-holding-hands-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos2-holding-hands-300x200.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":200,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos2-holding-hands-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos2-holding-hands-1024x683.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":683,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos2-holding-hands.jpg","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":683,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos2-holding-hands.jpg","2048x2048-width":1024,"2048x2048-height":683,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos2-holding-hands.jpg","post_full_size-width":1024,"post_full_size-height":683,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos2-holding-hands-630x420.jpg","home_baner-width":630,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Hosea","chapter":"2","chapter_main_number":"502","date":"20270802","wall_id":"502"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":8,"id":"76005","color":"#faeed8","size":"1","name":"Unconditional Love ","post_title":"Unconditional Love","slug":"unconditional-love-2","old_id":"76005","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":73524,"post_title":"Yaakov Beasley","slug":"yaakov-beasley","old_id":"73524","first_name":"Yaakov ","last_name":"Beasley ","description":"Yaakov Beasley is the Tanakh Coordinator at Yeshivat Hesder Lev haTorah, the host of the TanachTalks podcast, and the author of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah: Lights in the Valley (Maggid Press, 2020). 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","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":73525,"alt":"","title":"yaakov beasley","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/yaakov-beasley.jpg","width":409,"height":484,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/yaakov-beasley-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/yaakov-beasley-254x300.jpg","medium-width":254,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/yaakov-beasley.jpg","medium_large-width":409,"medium_large-height":484,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/yaakov-beasley.jpg","large-width":409,"large-height":484,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/yaakov-beasley.jpg","1536x1536-width":409,"1536x1536-height":484,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/yaakov-beasley.jpg","2048x2048-width":409,"2048x2048-height":484,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/yaakov-beasley.jpg","post_full_size-width":409,"post_full_size-height":484,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/yaakov-beasley-355x420.jpg","home_baner-width":355,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"502","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Stop relating to God as an idol\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

Hosea's second chapter continues the disturbing and challenging metaphors from the first chapter of the prophet\u2019s unfaithful wife and her children, representing Israel's faithlessness towards its covenant. The poetic and powerful language alternates between Hosea's relationship with his own unfaithful wife and the damaged relationship between God and Israel. The introduction (verses 1-3) is optimistic, describing the eventual undoing of the curses against Hosea's children. However, the prophet then launches into an accusation of adultery brought against his wife Gomer. She is disowned by both her husband and her children, and as punishment for her infidelities, she is sentenced to be left naked in the desert to die of thirst.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Hosea then discusses the dual sins that led to Israel's downfall \u2013 idolatry and hedonism. He cleverly links the two as he describes how the unfaithful wife continued to betray her vows. She sought after gifts, chasing lovers who flattered her with presents in return for her favors. Yet, she never realized that ultimately the gifts came from her husband:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cBut she did not know that I gave her the corn, the wine, and the oil, and I gave her much silver and gold, but they made it for Baal\u201d (10).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

How can a relationship so marred be restored? Hosea consistently presents one answer by repeating an image throughout the chapter \u2013 a return to the desert. Historically, the desert is where the Jewish people and God first began their journey together \u2013 for this reason, this chapter is almost universally read as the haftorah for the parasha of Bemidbar (\u201cIn the Desert,\u201d the first parasha of the book of Numbers). One can view this as a second honeymoon \u2013 a return to their roots.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

However, another approach can be suggested, utilizing the desert's unique qualities as a forum for rectifying the underlying foundations of Israel's sins.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

What ultimately led to Israel's betrayal? She sought to accumulate luxuries and goodness for herself \u2013 all of her relationships were ultimately transactional, for her own benefit. All this disappears in the desert. <\/span>In the words of Rabbi Mosheh Lichtenstein<\/span><\/a>:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cIn the world of the wilderness, a person is satisfied with the minimum, he exploits nature for his real and basic needs, and he is not carried away by the false charms of fashion and pleasure, but rather he worries about his survival in an appropriate manner.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Ultimately, what Hosea is suggesting to the people is a radical re-imagining of the very nature of their relationship with God. Instead of the transactional approach that characterized their connection with the Divine until then \u2013 if I offer this offering, you will bring rain \u2013 Hosea suggests that the people relate to God without guile or expectations, and that God should do the same. In his words (italics are the author's interpretation):<\/span><\/p>\r\n

And it shall come to pass on that day, says the Lord, you shall call [Me] Ishi (<\/span>my husband<\/span><\/em>), and you shall no longer call Me Baali (<\/span>my provider<\/span><\/em>) (v. 18).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: Detail from Religion by Charles Sprague Pearce (1896) \/ 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Between Husband And Owner ","post_title":"Distinguishing Between Husband And Owner","slug":"distinguishing-between-husband-and-owner","old_id":"75984","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":64450,"post_title":"David Curwin","slug":"david-curwin","old_id":"64450","first_name":"David ","last_name":"Curwin ","description":"David Curwin is a writer living in Efrat, and the author of the Balashon blog www.balashon.com","short_description":"David Curwin is a writer living in Efrat, and the author of the Balashon blog www.balashon.com","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":64452,"alt":"","title":"david curwin","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/png","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin.png","width":427,"height":464,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin-150x150.png","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin-276x300.png","medium-width":276,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin.png","medium_large-width":427,"medium_large-height":464,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin.png","large-width":427,"large-height":464,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin.png","1536x1536-width":427,"1536x1536-height":464,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin.png","2048x2048-width":427,"2048x2048-height":464,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin.png","post_full_size-width":427,"post_full_size-height":464,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/david-curwin-387x420.png","home_baner-width":387,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"502","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"But even God wants to change the terminology\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

As did many other prophets, Hosea uses the imagery of husband and wife to describe the relationship between Israel and God. When Israel is faithful to God, the love between them is strong. But when she betrays Him, He becomes jealous and angry:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cFor she is not My wife, and I am not her husband \u2026 I will also disown her children; For they are now a harlot\u2019s brood \u2026 Now will I uncover her shame in the very sight of her lovers, and none shall save her from Me\u2026 Thus will I punish her For the days of the Baalim, on which she brought them offerings; when, decked with earrings and jewels, she would go after her lovers, forgetting Me \u2014declares the LORD\u201d (Hosea 4-15).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

After this harsh depiction, Hosea predicts their future reconciliation:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cAnd in that day \u2014declares the LORD\u2014 You will call [Me] Ishi, and no more will you call Me Baali. For I will remove the names of the Baalim from her mouth, and they shall nevermore be mentioned by name\u201d (Hosea 18-19).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Hosea uses a play on words here. The word <\/span>baal<\/span><\/em>\u00a0is the name of the Caananite deity, but also the Hebrew word for \u201chusband.\u201d So his prophecy describes a time when Israel will not even say the word <\/span>baal<\/span><\/em>\u00a0any more, using the alternative <\/span>ish<\/span><\/em> \u2013 \u201cman\u201d \u2013 instead.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

However, in recent generations, verse 18 has taken on new significance. In addition to <\/span>baal<\/span><\/em>\u00a0meaning \u201chusband,\u201d the word <\/span>baalut<\/span><\/em>\u00a0means \u201cownership.\u201d Understandably objecting to the idea that a husband \u201cowns\u201d his wife, and relying on Hosea\u2019s vision of the future, some Israeli wives prefer to call their husband <\/span>ishi<\/span><\/em>\u00a0instead of <\/span>baali<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

While everyone should call their spouse by whatever term they like best, I think that we should be careful about deducing the nature of the relationship between husband and wife in Judaism based on the words used. This is particularly true here, since <\/span>baal<\/span><\/em>\u00a0means \u201chusband,\u201d but does not mean \u201cowner.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The word for owner in Hebrew is <\/span>baalim<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>(as appears, for example, in Exodus 21:29 and Isaiah 1:3) While <\/span>baalim<\/span><\/em>\u00a0appears to be a plural, it is actually singular. Hebrew has a number of words with the <\/span>-im<\/span><\/em>\u00a0suffix that doesn\u2019t indicate plurality, but emphasis. (Another example is Yom HaKippurim<\/em>.)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Why the emphasis here? According to scholars, it is to show the complete mastery and possession by the owner over the object. So the owner of a company (or a pet) is the <\/span>ba\u2019alav<\/span><\/em>, but a woman\u2019s husband is <\/span>ba\u2019alah<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\r\n

Of course there is a connection between <\/span>baal<\/span><\/em>\u00a0and <\/span>baalim<\/span><\/em>, but the fact that Hebrew is careful to always distinguish between them indicates a sensitivity to the status of the wife in that relationship. But who knows \u2013 maybe Hosea\u2019s prophecy will come true some day and the word <\/span>baal<\/span><\/em>\u00a0will never be said at all.<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":75986,"alt":"","title":"hos2-ownership","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos2-ownership.jpg","width":1920,"height":1080,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos2-ownership-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos2-ownership-300x169.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos2-ownership-768x432.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos2-ownership-1024x576.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":576,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos2-ownership.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":864,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos2-ownership.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1080,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos2-ownership-1200x675.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":675,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos2-ownership-747x420.jpg","home_baner-width":747,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Distinguishing Between Husband And Owner","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"But even God wants to change the terminology","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":75986,"alt":"","title":"hos2-ownership","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos2-ownership.jpg","width":1920,"height":1080,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos2-ownership-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos2-ownership-300x169.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":169,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos2-ownership-768x432.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos2-ownership-1024x576.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":576,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos2-ownership.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":864,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos2-ownership.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1080,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos2-ownership-1200x675.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":675,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos2-ownership-747x420.jpg","home_baner-width":747,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Hosea","chapter":"2","chapter_main_number":"502","date":"20270802","wall_id":"502"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":10,"id":"75979","color":"#f7e9e9","size":"1","name":"Is The Marriage Salvageable? ","post_title":"Is The Marriage Salvageable?","slug":"is-the-marriage-salvageable","old_id":"75979","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":47905,"post_title":"Natasha Mann","slug":"natasha-mann","old_id":"47905","first_name":"Natasha ","last_name":"Mann ","description":"Rabbi Natasha Mann serves as a rabbi at New London Synagogue and Hatch End\/Mosaic Masorti. Natasha hails from the grassy hills of Hertfordshire, England, and has spent most of her adult life between Los Angeles and the Holy City of Jerusalem. Natasha has worked in Jewish education and the non-profit world, promoting better education and legislation on human trafficking issues. ","short_description":"Rabbi Natasha Mann serves as a rabbi at New London Synagogue and Hatch End\/Mosaic Masorti.","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":47906,"alt":"","title":"natasha mann","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/natasha-mann-e1548150986169.jpg","width":735,"height":954,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/natasha-mann-e1548150986169-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/natasha-mann-e1548150986169-231x300.jpg","medium-width":231,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/natasha-mann-768x568.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":568,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/natasha-mann-1024x757.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":757,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/natasha-mann-e1548150986169.jpg","1536x1536-width":735,"1536x1536-height":954,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/natasha-mann-e1548150986169.jpg","2048x2048-width":735,"2048x2048-height":954,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/natasha-mann-1200x887.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":887,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/natasha-mann-e1548150986169-324x420.jpg","home_baner-width":324,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"502","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"No. But a new one, based on partnership rather than mastery, is possible\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

When the 10 Sayings are carved into two tablets of stone, the second statement \u2018you shall have no other gods\u2019 on the first tablet is parallel with the seventh commandment against adultery, on the second. This is the primary analogy of the Book of Hosea: Israel is cast as God\u2019s unfaithful wife. God wishes to take her back, but only if she will renew their relationship and be faithful.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This brings up a particular issue in Torah law. According to the laws of adultery, a woman who has intercourse with another man is now forbidden to her husband. This throws the analogy into some confusion, because Hosea does take Gomer back, and the Divine also plans to renew His relationship with Israel. Commentators have long debated the place of Hosea\u2019s marriage - some saying that Hosea\u2019s relationship issues were a dream; others saying that he was given leniency around this law due to being a prophet - but fewer have dealt with the implications of the analogy. If adultery and idolatry are truly parallel, does this not mean that Israel is forbidden to God?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Clearly, the adultery\/idolatry parallel only takes us so far in understanding God\u2019s relationship with humanity. There is apparently no end to how far humans can go before <\/span>teshuvah<\/span><\/em> (repentance) is no longer acceptable. But it does call into question the reasoning for the Torah\u2019s stance on adultery: it seems to opine that the marriage is no longer salvageable in the aftermath. If that\u2019s the case, how is it that Israel\u2019s relationship with the Divine is salvageable?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Chapter 2 of Hosea describes the rebuking of Israel and her reunification with God. \u2018And it will be, on that day - declares the Eternal - you will call me Ishi [\u2018my man\u2019], and you will no longer call me Ba\u2019ali [my master]; for I will remove the names of the Ba\u2019alim from her mouth, and they shall nevermore be mentioned by name.\u2019 (verses 18-19). After we are reunified, there will be a change in the language Israel will use to refer to her husband. The text is clear that the reason for the change in language is a pun between <\/span>ba\u2019al<\/em> <\/span>(meaning \u2018master\u2019 or \u2018husband\u2019) and Ba\u2019al, the false god. Israel will so reject idolatry that she won\u2019t even use the word <\/span>ba\u2019al<\/span><\/em> in its non-idolatrous sense.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

However, perhaps there is another layer of meaning here. <\/span>Ba\u2019ali<\/em> <\/span>and <\/span>ishi<\/span><\/em> are not equivalent references for a husband. <\/span>Ba\u2019ali<\/span><\/em>, my master, has connotations of servitude. <\/span>Ishi<\/span><\/em>, my man, has more equal connotations. Perhaps the result of the reconciliation is a fundamental shift in the workings of the relationship. Our previous relationship has crumbled and cannot be put back together in the same shape. Our relationship is only salvageable if we enter it on different grounds. Perhaps the underlying message of Hosea is that our reconciliation with the Divine cannot look identical to our previous relationship; this time, if we are to stay united, we must come to the Divine as a partner.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

 <\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":75981,"alt":"","title":"hos3-partnership","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos3-partnership.jpg","width":1920,"height":1357,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos3-partnership-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos3-partnership-300x212.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":212,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos3-partnership-768x543.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":543,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos3-partnership-1024x724.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":724,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos3-partnership.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1086,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos3-partnership.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1357,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos3-partnership-1200x848.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":848,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos3-partnership-594x420.jpg","home_baner-width":594,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Is The Marriage Salvageable?","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"No. But a new one, based on partnership rather than mastery, is possible","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":75981,"alt":"","title":"hos3-partnership","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos3-partnership.jpg","width":1920,"height":1357,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos3-partnership-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos3-partnership-300x212.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":212,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos3-partnership-768x543.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":543,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos3-partnership-1024x724.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":724,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos3-partnership.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1086,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos3-partnership.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1357,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos3-partnership-1200x848.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":848,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos3-partnership-594x420.jpg","home_baner-width":594,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Hosea","chapter":"2","chapter_main_number":"502","date":"20270802","wall_id":"502"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":11,"id":"76051","color":"#e6f5f3","size":"1","name":"Hosea And The Taming Of The Shrew ","post_title":"Hosea And The Taming Of The Shrew","slug":"hosea-and-the-taming-of-the-shrew","old_id":"76051","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":72765,"post_title":"George Daniel Frankel","slug":"george-daniel-frankel","old_id":"72765","first_name":"George Daniel","last_name":"Frankel","description":"Danny Frankel lives in New York City. He is the author of \u201cDan Shall Judge His People: 5 Essays on Torah im Derech Eretz and the Breuer Community Today.\u201d\r\n","short_description":"Danny Frankel lives in New York City. He is the author of \u201cDan Shall Judge His People: 5 Essays on Torah im Derech Eretz and the Breuer Community Today.\u201d\r\n","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":72766,"alt":"","title":"danny frankel","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/danny-frankel.jpg","width":1822,"height":2743,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/danny-frankel-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/danny-frankel-199x300.jpg","medium-width":199,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/danny-frankel-680x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":680,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/danny-frankel-680x1024.jpg","large-width":680,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/danny-frankel.jpg","1536x1536-width":1020,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/danny-frankel.jpg","2048x2048-width":1360,"2048x2048-height":2048,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/danny-frankel-797x1200.jpg","post_full_size-width":797,"post_full_size-height":1200,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/danny-frankel-279x420.jpg","home_baner-width":279,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"503","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"How do we feel, as Kate?\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

How does one alter the nature of another person\u2014for the better?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Shakespeare confronts this problem in his play \u201cThe Taming of the Shrew.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Petruchio sets out to \u201ctame\u201d his new wife, the shrewish Kate. He bullies and brutalizes her, deprives her of food and sleep, makes her doubt her sanity.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Ostensibly, this regimen is effective. By the end of the play, \u201cKate the curst\u201d, \u201cwaspish\u201d Kate, has become docile and submissive. To prove it, Kate takes to the stage and proclaims to the other women:<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cThy husband is thy lord, thy life, thy keeper\u2026<\/span>
\r\n<\/span> Such duty as the subject owes the prince,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span> Even such, a woman oweth to her husband\u2026<\/span>
\r\n<\/span> I am ashamed that women are so simple<\/span>
\r\n<\/span> To offer war where they should kneel for peace<\/span>
\r\n<\/span> Or seek for rule, supremacy, and sway,<\/span>
\r\n<\/span> When they are bound to serve, love, and obey.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But we the audience are left feeling uneasy: Has Kate really been converted or is she shamming? Is she being passive-aggressive? Or, as some modern critics see her, is she the victim of \u201cStockholm Syndrome\u201d whereby her will is subsumed by her captors?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

We wonder too about Petruchio: Does he really want a woman so broken in spirit as Kate now seems to be? Or has he extinguished in her the very qualities that made her attractive to him in the first place?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

God\/Hosea in our chapter must also deal with the problem of converting a woman. The \u201cadulterous wife\u201d must be remade loyal and pure.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

(And even if one considers that this incident never really happened but is only a \u201cmetaphor\u201d, still\u2026a metaphor must WORK!).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Like Petruchio, God\/Hosea devise a program of deprivation. (Has God also made some unrecorded cosmic wager, like He has regarding Job?):<\/span><\/p>\r\n

\u201cFor the Israelites shall go a long time without king and without officials, without sacrifice and without cult pillars, and without ephod and teraphim\u201d (verse 4).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This verse is very odd. It contains both \u201cgood\u201d elements (king, prince, sacrifice, ephod) and \u201cbad\u201c (pillar, teraphim). Does God want the wayward wife to retain some of her flirtatiousness?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Further: To deprive a wife of affection is (if one is faithful) to deprive oneself as well. \u201cNo king without a kingdom.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

One recalls that there is precedent in the Torah for deprivation therapy. In Deuteronomy 21, the captive war bride is made to wait for 30 days before being permitted to her husband. But there, the objective is to make HIM lose interest. It is really aversion therapy!<\/span><\/p>\r\n

We appreciate now the enormous gamble that God here undertakes. After 2000 years of \u201chiding His face\u201d, will the groom still want the bride? Will the bride still want the groom? And will the bride that emerges be the same one that the groom wanted, the one that followed Him into the desert during the days of her betrothal?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

We, the Jewish people, are in the role of the woman here. What are our feelings?<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: Arthur Rackham illustration of Act 5, Scene 2, from Tales from Shakespeare, edited by Charles Lamb and Mary Lamb (1890) \/ wikipedia<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":76052,"alt":"","title":"hos3-shrew","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos3-shrew.jpg","width":800,"height":1112,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos3-shrew-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos3-shrew-216x300.jpg","medium-width":216,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos3-shrew-737x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":737,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos3-shrew-737x1024.jpg","large-width":737,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos3-shrew.jpg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":1112,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos3-shrew.jpg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":1112,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos3-shrew.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":1112,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos3-shrew-302x420.jpg","home_baner-width":302,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Hosea And The Taming Of The Shrew","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"How do we feel, as Kate?","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":76052,"alt":"","title":"hos3-shrew","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos3-shrew.jpg","width":800,"height":1112,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos3-shrew-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos3-shrew-216x300.jpg","medium-width":216,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos3-shrew-737x1024.jpg","medium_large-width":737,"medium_large-height":1024,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos3-shrew-737x1024.jpg","large-width":737,"large-height":1024,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos3-shrew.jpg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":1112,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos3-shrew.jpg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":1112,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos3-shrew.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":1112,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos3-shrew-302x420.jpg","home_baner-width":302,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Hosea","chapter":"3","chapter_main_number":"503","date":"20270803","wall_id":"503"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":12,"id":"76096","color":"#effaea","size":"1","name":"Chesed ","post_title":"Chesed","slug":"chesed","old_id":"76096","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":33877,"post_title":"Marc Bregman","slug":"marc-bregman","old_id":"33877","first_name":"Marc","last_name":"Bregman","description":"Marc Bregman received his Ph.D. from The Hebrew University in Jerusalem in 1991. He taught at the Hebrew Union College (Jerusalem), The Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the Schechter Institute for Judaic Studies in Jerusalem, and at the Ben-Gurion University in Beer Sheba, Israel. During 1993 he was Visiting Associate Professor at Yale University, and during 1996 he was the Stroum Professor of Jewish Studies and Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Washington in Seattle. During 2005, Bregman served as the Harry Starr Fellow in Judaica at Harvard University and was awarded a Teaching Fellowship at the Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He also has served as Forchheimer Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Humanities at The Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He is the author of The Tanhuma-Yelammedenu Literature: Studies in the Evolution of the Versions (Gorgias Press, 2003). In 2006, Bregman was appointed the Herman and Zelda Bernard Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro, where he also headed the program in Jewish Studies, until 2013. Bregman retired from UNCG as of July 31, 2017. He has now returned to Jerusalem where he is continuing his research and teaching activities.","credit":"","image_url":"","short_description":"Marc Bregman is the Herman and Zelda Bernard Distinguished Professor of Jewish Studies emeritus, at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro.","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":33878,"alt":"Marc Bregman","title":"Marc Bregman","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","width":361,"height":488,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-222x300.jpg","medium-width":222,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","medium_large-width":361,"medium_large-height":488,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","large-width":361,"large-height":488,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","1536x1536-width":361,"1536x1536-height":488,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","2048x2048-width":361,"2048x2048-height":488,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman.jpg","post_full_size-width":361,"post_full_size-height":488,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Marc-Bregman-311x420.jpg","home_baner-width":311,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"504","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Covenantal loyalty, goodness, lovingkindness\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

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>\r\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>\r\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>\r\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>","post_main_content_image":{"id":76097,"alt":"","title":"hos4-chesed","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos4-chesed.jpg","width":450,"height":450,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos4-chesed-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos4-chesed-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos4-chesed.jpg","medium_large-width":450,"medium_large-height":450,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos4-chesed.jpg","large-width":450,"large-height":450,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos4-chesed.jpg","1536x1536-width":450,"1536x1536-height":450,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos4-chesed.jpg","2048x2048-width":450,"2048x2048-height":450,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos4-chesed.jpg","post_full_size-width":450,"post_full_size-height":450,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos4-chesed-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Chesed","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Covenantal loyalty, goodness, lovingkindness","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":76097,"alt":"","title":"hos4-chesed","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos4-chesed.jpg","width":450,"height":450,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos4-chesed-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos4-chesed-300x300.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos4-chesed.jpg","medium_large-width":450,"medium_large-height":450,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos4-chesed.jpg","large-width":450,"large-height":450,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos4-chesed.jpg","1536x1536-width":450,"1536x1536-height":450,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos4-chesed.jpg","2048x2048-width":450,"2048x2048-height":450,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos4-chesed.jpg","post_full_size-width":450,"post_full_size-height":450,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos4-chesed-420x420.jpg","home_baner-width":420,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Hosea","chapter":"4","chapter_main_number":"504","date":"20270804","wall_id":"504"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":13,"id":"76091","color":"#f7f7f5","size":"1","name":"Ignorance is Not Bliss ","post_title":"Ignorance is Not Bliss","slug":"ignorance-is-not-bliss","old_id":"76091","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":49926,"post_title":"Binyamin Cohen","slug":"binyamin-cohen","old_id":"49926","first_name":"Binyamin ","last_name":"Cohen ","description":"Binyamin Cohen is a Jewish Studies teacher at Rochelle Zell Jewish High School in Deerfield, IL. He completed his Master\u2019s in Jewish Education through Pardes Day School Educators Program in conjunction with Hebrew College. He is originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba, and currently lives in Chicago.","short_description":"Binyamin Cohen is a Jewish Studies teacher at Rochelle Zell Jewish High School in Deerfield, IL. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":49927,"alt":"","title":"binyamin cohen","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/binyamin-cohen.jpg","width":800,"height":1000,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/binyamin-cohen-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/binyamin-cohen-240x300.jpg","medium-width":240,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/binyamin-cohen-768x960.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":960,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/binyamin-cohen.jpg","large-width":800,"large-height":1000,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/binyamin-cohen.jpg","1536x1536-width":800,"1536x1536-height":1000,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/binyamin-cohen.jpg","2048x2048-width":800,"2048x2048-height":1000,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/binyamin-cohen.jpg","post_full_size-width":800,"post_full_size-height":1000,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/binyamin-cohen-336x420.jpg","home_baner-width":336,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"504","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Now, as then, it is at the heart of corruption and destruction\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

In clipped and angry phrases, the prophet describes the depth of the sins of Israel. This chapter contains many short verses, succinct phrases, lists of short words. The reader feels the rush of the words, the anger in the prophet\u2019s tone, as his furious message spills from his lips.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Throughout the chapter, the prophet describes the negative ways the people have acted. Their sins are manifold: not just sins against God, but, and in fact even primarily, sins against other human beings. \u201cThere is [false] swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery; they break all bounds, and blood leads to blood\u201d, says God (v.2). Their corruption runs deep, it is self-perpetuating, it is systemic.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Furthermore, they have reached this lowly state for a specific reason: lack of knowledge (verse 6). The ignorance, even stupidity of the Israelites is emphasized in verses 12 and 13: they talk to trees, and the trees talk back? They worship in the shade because they <\/span>enjoy<\/span><\/em> the shade? You can feel the sarcasm dripping from these lines, you can sense the derision which the prophet feels for their stupidity.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The most common Hebrew root in this chapter is the root \u05d6.\u05e0.\u05d4., <\/span>zana<\/span><\/em>, which means fornication or harlotry. However, those translations soften the intensity of this word, the ferocity it holds, that makes it such a powerful epithet. It is not just about sex or selling oneself; it\u2019s about wantonness and immorality, a depravity that is used to impugn both the behavior and character of the nation perpetrating these acts of <\/span>zenut<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Ignorance is exceedingly powerful. Contrary to the implications of the clich\u00e9 \u201cignorance is bliss\u201d - the bliss of ignorance is a destructive illusion. The prophet reminds us that just because they are ignorant of just how corrupt their society is, doesn\u2019t mean that Israelite society isn\u2019t corrupt. In fact, says the prophet, the depth of their corruption and ignorance are to be the <\/span>cause<\/span><\/i> of their destruction. There is to be no bliss for the ignorant.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Much of Western society is currently at a moment of reckoning with its ignorance and corruption. Ignorance of the complexity and profundity of systemic racism, and the corruption that causes and perpetuates it. The final verse of the chapter (v.19) frames the current moment: we are caught up in the winds of change, and will look back at our sinful actions with shame.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But it is only through shedding our ignorance that we root out our corruption.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>","post_main_content_image":{"id":76094,"alt":"","title":"hos4-ignorance","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos4-ignorance.jpg","width":1920,"height":1440,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos4-ignorance-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos4-ignorance-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos4-ignorance-768x576.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":576,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos4-ignorance-1024x768.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":768,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos4-ignorance.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1152,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos4-ignorance.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1440,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos4-ignorance-1200x900.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":900,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos4-ignorance-560x420.jpg","home_baner-width":560,"home_baner-height":420}},"post_main_content_embedded_video":"","post_main_content_video_duration":"","post_main_content_show_fb_comments":"1","post_main_content_credit_media":"","tile_top_caption":"","tile_main_caption":"Ignorance is Not Bliss","tile_main_caption_size":"1","tile_sub_caption":"Now, as then, it is at the heart of corruption and destruction","tile_preview_embedded":"","tile_preview_image":{"id":76094,"alt":"","title":"hos4-ignorance","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos4-ignorance.jpg","width":1920,"height":1440,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos4-ignorance-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos4-ignorance-300x225.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":225,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos4-ignorance-768x576.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":576,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos4-ignorance-1024x768.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":768,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos4-ignorance.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1152,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos4-ignorance.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1440,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos4-ignorance-1200x900.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":900,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/hos4-ignorance-560x420.jpg","home_baner-width":560,"home_baner-height":420}},"tile_preview_video":"","tile_external_link":"","tile_link_for_pay":"0","tile_tile_gallery_items":"","tile_credits":"","alternate_tile_top_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption":"","alternate_tile_main_caption_size":"1","alternate_tile_sub_caption":"","alternate_tile_hide_media":"0","tile_group_preview_image_url":"","tile_group_main_caption":"","tile_group_sub_caption":"","tile_group_popup_package_extra_content":"","tile_group_read_time":"","home_color":"","home_gallery_top":"","home_gallery_middle":"","home_gallery_book":"","home_gallery_bottom":"","seo_seo_title":"","seo_seo_description":"","seo_seo_default_title":"","seo_seo_default_description":"","links":false,"chapter_info":{"books_group":"Prophets","book":"Hosea","chapter":"4","chapter_main_number":"504","date":"20270804","wall_id":"504"},"link_for_pay":false,"tags":false},{"order":14,"id":"76140","color":"#eceffa","size":"2","name":"The Caring Yet Punishing God? ","post_title":"The Caring Yet Punishing God?","slug":"the-caring-yet-punishing-god","old_id":"76140","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":{"id":74351,"post_title":"Noam Goldberg-Kellman","slug":"noam-goldberg-kellman-2","old_id":"74351","first_name":"Noam ","last_name":"Goldberg-Kellman ","description":"Noam Goldberg-Kellman is a senior at SAR High School and a recipient of Maharat\u2019s Emerging Scholars Award. After spending next year in Migdal Oz, she will attend the University of Michigan. ","short_description":"Noam Goldberg-Kellman is a senior at SAR High School and a recipient of Maharat\u2019s Emerging Scholars Award. After spending next year in Migdal Oz, she will attend the University of Michigan. ","credit":"","image_url":"","hide_writer":false,"link_for_pay":false,"image":{"id":74352,"alt":"","title":"noam goldberg kellman","caption":"","description":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/noam-goldberg-kellman.jpeg","width":602,"height":599,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/noam-goldberg-kellman-150x150.jpeg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/noam-goldberg-kellman-300x300.jpeg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":300,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/noam-goldberg-kellman.jpeg","medium_large-width":602,"medium_large-height":599,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/noam-goldberg-kellman.jpeg","large-width":602,"large-height":599,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/noam-goldberg-kellman.jpeg","1536x1536-width":602,"1536x1536-height":599,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/noam-goldberg-kellman.jpeg","2048x2048-width":602,"2048x2048-height":599,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/noam-goldberg-kellman.jpeg","post_full_size-width":602,"post_full_size-height":599,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/noam-goldberg-kellman-422x420.jpeg","home_baner-width":422,"home_baner-height":420}},"tags":false},"related_cahpter":"505","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content_description":"Wrath vs. randomness: theological quandaries\r\n\r\n","post_main_content_content":"

If I\u2019m being honest, I\u2019m a little tired of the whole \u201cIsrael has committed unforgivable sins\u201d and \u201cGod has turned His back on Israel\u201d doom of Hosea. After a whole book of Ezekiel\u2019s bleakness, I just don\u2019t have any more optimistic things to say about God punishing Israel.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

This chapter felt particularly harsh. God proclaims that even when Israel brings sacrifices \u201cTo seek the LORD, they will not find Him. He has cast them off\u201d (5:6). God describes Himself as a \u201clion to Ephraim, Like a great beast to the House of Judah; I, I will attack and stride away\u201d (5:14). What happened to the God that <\/span>protects<\/span><\/i> the people \u201cAs a lion\u2014a great beast\u2014 Growls over its prey?\u201d (Isaiah 31:4) Where is the God who will not abandon us even as we \u201cwalk through the valley of death?\u201d (Psalms 23:4)<\/span><\/p>\r\n

When I began writing for 929 a little over a month ago, I was happy to read between the lines of Ezekiel for the \u201cpositive take\u201d on God hating us. I waxed poetic about the human relationship with divinity and the beautiful, if problematic, marriage between God and Israel.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

But it\u2019s becoming increasingly harder for me to accept the Prophet\u2019s theological approach. How can I argue that bad things are the results of our sins and God\u2019s subsequent wrath? I mean, where does that leave us today amidst global pandemic, a failing economy, and civil unrest? Subscribing to the prophetic approach feels like choosing the lesser of two evils. By rationalizing terrible things by saying God hates us, at least we\u2019re keeping God in the picture. It\u2019s better to have an angry, jealous God than a world that belongs to chaotic randomness. There\u2019s even comfort in the notion that amidst tragedy, God may be punishing us, but He hasn\u2019t deserted us.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

I cannot imagine creating a narrative around the pandemic that portrays God unleashing COVID-19 onto the world out of anger, jealousy, or spite. But that doesn\u2019t mean I think God is out of the picture. Perhaps there\u2019s a way to combine the Prophet\u2019s perspective<\/span>\u2014<\/span>God cares, albeit that caring manifests in punishment<\/span>\u2014<\/span>with my modern sensibilities that refuse to judge the character of the entire world based on the pandemic that plagues us. Maybe there\u2019s a way to still <\/span>cry out<\/span><\/i> to God in our suffering without attributing it to divine retribution.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Image: John Martin, The Great Day of His Wrath, 1851-53 \/ 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