Torah Reading is Va-Yetzei (Genesis 28:10-32:3); Haftorah is Hosea 12:13-14:10
By Irv Jacobs, M.D.
LA JOLLA, California — This literary Prophet’s entirely poetic passages are filled with moral castigation of the priestly class. They are set in c. 740 BCE in the Northern Kingdom. They follow well the literary rules of ancient Hebrew poetry. Scholars note that Hosea’s writings reflect traditions about the patriarchs, which diverge from those in Genesis. [1] As with other prophets, he likely is a composite figure.
As an aside, Hosea’s convoluted career story goes such that he was enjoined to marry Gomer, a whore, from which their coupling produced a son and daughter, which is a preceding story to this Haftorah. I suppose the moral of this side-story is that from this, Hosea experienced personal growth in forgiveness and tolerance. Gomer in turn also grew out from her ‘habits’.
In any case, the rather weak link of this Haftorah to the Torah’s Va-Yetzei is that in Va-Yetzei Jacob served years of work time under divine care, for Rachel. As to this Haftorah text, the prophet also offers divine care for the wayward Northern kingdom, without as much as an upfront promise from its priests. [2]
I have used the English translation and interpretations of Emeritus Professor of the Jewish Bible, Robert Alter,Ph.D., of the University of California Berkeley. [3]
Now on to the text:
And Jacob fled to the field of Aram
and Israel labored for a woman,
and for a woman he guarded the flocks. [4]
But by a prophet the LORD brought up Israel (the nation) from Egypt,
and by a prophet it was guarded…[5]
When Ephraim spoke in trembling,
he was a prince in Israel
but he was guilty with Baal and died…
from their silver in their form as idols,
all of it craftsmen’s work…[6]
Therefore shall they be like a morning cloud
and like early dew that melts away,
like chaff whirled out from the threshing floor
and like smoke from a chimney. [7]…
I knew you in the wilderness
in a parched land.
When they grazed and they were sated, [8]
they were sated and grew proud.
Therefore they forgot Me (God).
And I will become to them like a lion,…
I will meet them like a bear robbed of her cubs…[9]
Where is your king, then?…
And your leaders to whom you said,
“Give me a king and nobles.”
But I will give you a king in my wrath
and take him away in My anger.
Ephraim’s crime is bundled up,
hidden his offense. [10]
Birth pangs come upon him,
and the child is not wise.
For now he shall not last [11]…
Though he put forth fruit in meadows,
the east wind shall come, the LORD’s wind…
and his spring shall arid be. [12]…
Turn back, O Israel, to the LORD your God,
for you have stumbled in your crime.
Take words with you
and turn back to the LORD…
Say to Him, “All crime you shall forgive.
And take what is good,
and we shall offer our speech instead of bulls. [13]…
And we shall say no more ‘our God’
to our handiwork, [14]
as in You alone the orphan is shown pity.”…
Now comes the mandatory upbeat ending of the Haftorah.
I will heal their rebellion,
I will love them freely,
for My wrath has turned back from them. [15]
I will be like dew to Israel.
He shall blossom like the Lilly
and strike root like Lebanon. [16]…
His (God’s) fame is like Lebanon wine…
Ephraim—‘Why more should I deal with idols?…
I am like the lush cypress.
from me (Hosea) your fruit is found.
Who is wise and can grasp these things,
discerning, and can know them?
For straight are the ways of the LORD,
and the righteous shall walk on them,
but rebels shall stumble on them.
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I take issue with the rationale that these passages connect to Jacob’s ‘promised’ protection in his escape en route to his grandfather’s country of origin. In fact, Jacob only (arrogantly) agreed to accept God after receipt of demanded protection from Him. In this Haftorah, the promise follows a severe castigation for idol worship, with no actual quid pro quo.
The reasoning here is tenuous, takes a wild, even faulty imagination to make the connection. The rabbis must have strained to justify these passages for connection to the Torah parsha.
The prophetic message here is a strong condemnation of the Northern Kingdom’s diversion to idol worship, particularly its priesthood. It had adopted the pagan ways of their neighbors.
These passages give strong hints to discard altar sacrifices altogether, and become a nation whose sacrifice is prayer. This is quite early in Israel’s history, long before prayer replaced altar sacrifice after the destruction of the Southern Kingdom’s second Temple.
Also, I can’t but take critical note of Hosea’s earlier marriage to a whore, notably on demand from God!
NOTES
[1] Robert Alter, The Hebrew Bible, Prophets Vol. 2, W. W. Norton & Company, New York, 2019, p. 1201-2
[2] Etz Hayim, The Jewish Publication Society, 2001, New York, p. 188
[3] Op. Cit. Alter: pp. 1235-40
[4] Jacob, also called Israel, worked as a shepherd for 14 years to earn his preferred wife Rachel.
[5] ‘Prophet’ is a double entendre, first meaning Moses, then apparently the prophet Hosea.
[6] Ephraim (the Northern Kingdom) was previously God-fearing, but succumbed to pagan worship of idols of Baal.
[7] Here is a series of poetic similes demeaning idol worship.
[8] a metaphor for ‘success bred arrogance’
[9] simile for ‘lethal punishment’
[10] as if hidden/protected inside a womb
[11] strong metaphor for delivery of unwise falsity
[12] double entendre image= invaders shall destroy you, much as the destructive east wind.
[13] Employ prayer, not material sacrifices on the altar.
[14] the idols you created
[15] A metaphor-The sickness of rebellion, I God, will heal.
[16] Lebanon, lush with vegetation, tall cedars, mountains, and rain, was well recognized to the nearby Northern Kingdom Israelites.
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Irv Jacobs is a retired medical doctor who delights in Torah analysis. He often delivers a drosh at Congregation Beth El in La Jolla, and at his chavurah.