Haftorah Commentary Bamidbar
BAMIDBAR
Hoshea 2:1–22
Hashem’s Perpetual Love for His People
This week’s Haftarah reveals Hashem’s boundless love for His people and displays how it transcends all barriers. In fact, even when Hashem reacts angrily to His people, His reaction is but a momentary disguise of His true feelings towards them.
From Total Rejection to Double Commitment
Hoshea Hanavi opened our Haftarah and showered boundless blessing on the Jewish people. He said in Hashem’s name, “The Jewish people will be likened to the sand of the sea that cannot be measured or counted.” (2:1) He then said, “And in place of [previously] conveying to them ‘You are not My people’, it will be conveyed to them [the title of] ‘The sons of Hashem.’” (ibid.) This subtle digression reflects that the Jewish people previously forfeited their coveted status of “Hashem’s people.” Indeed, the preceding verse displays this fact. Hashem instructed Hoshea to name his son according to the Jewish people’s status at that time. Hashem said, “Name him ‘not My people’ because they [the Jewish people] are not Mine and I am not theirs!” (1:9) Yet immediately following this, we read in our Haftarah about a total reversal. Instead of rejection, Hashem blessed His cherished people in an unlimited capacity and even elevated them to the cherished status of “sons of Hashem.” As we read these words, we are dumfounded by this sudden, drastic change from total rejection to unparalleled acceptance. We wonder what brought about this change and what lesson can we derive from it?
Chazal raise this question and answer it with the following analogy. A king became enraged over the queen’s abhorrent behavior, and he summoned a scribe to produce a divorce document. Yet, before the scribe arrived at the palace, the king changed his mind and retracted his plan. The king, unwilling to expose his drastic change of nature faced a serious dilemma. How could he permit the scribe to come to the palace without creating a royal document? He resolved his problem and, when the scribe arrived, he requested a revised marriage contract that doubled his previous financial commitment to the queen.
Conflicting Prophecy
Chazal conclude that Hashem reacted in a similar manner to the Jewish People. He initially sent Hoshea to deliver them a severe message of rejection. Yet, even before Hoshea conveyed his prophecy to the Jewish People, Hashem retracted His message and replaced it with a boundless blessing replete with their new beloved status, ”sons of Hashem.” (Yalkut Shimoni 517)
What do Chazal convey here with their analogy? If the Jewish people deserved Hashem’s sharp words of reprimand, why did He immediately retract them? In addition, one notices an apparent discrepancy between the analogy and the Jewish People’s experience. In the analogy, the queen never learned of her intended rejection, but the Jewish people received Hoshea’s rejection message, immediately followed by their qualitative status increase. What did Hashem expect them to understand from these severely conflicting signals?
Reading Between the Lines
We can uncover Chazal’s message through the following observation. As we study their analogy we sense the king’s affection for his wife. Although her behavior truly called for the king’s harsh reaction, he could not remain angry with her for more than a moment. Therefore, within a short period of time, he was appeased and his true affection for her shone forth. Apparently, to compensate for his rash attitude towards his beloved queen, he resolved to strengthen his relationship with her and to double his marriage commitment to her.
The queen undoubtedly understood her husband’s peculiar behavior. She was fully aware that her outrageous behavior did not deserve any positive overture from him. She therefore realized that the king had entertained doing something very severe but that he quickly retracted from it. At that moment, his deep feelings for her must have surfaced and he must have sought to compensate for his severe reaction to her. We can safely assume that the king’s startling display of affection evoked reciprocal feelings from his wife and that she resolved to increase her devotion to him in response to his kind, selfless gesture to her.
Chazal’s analogy reflects Hashem’s deep affection for the Jewish people. Indeed, during Hoshea’s era they severely strayed from the Torah path and plunged into abhorrent idolatrous practices. Hashem became ‘enraged’ at His people and therefore summoned Hoshea to deliver them their rejection message. However, Hashem’s harsh response to His beloved people evoked a counter-response of incredible compassion for them and He immediately retracted His rejection statement.
Increased Affection After Intended Rejection
With this, we place Chazal’s lesson in perspective. Hashem was gravely angered by the Jewish people’s conduct and He subsequently instructed Hoshea to convey to them his intended rejection of them. But Hashem’s angry reaction did not interfere with His boundless love for them, and He immediately retracted His harsh words of rejection. In addition to His retraction, He resolved to intensify His relationship with His people. Since it was important for them to understand the severity of their actions and to realize Hashem’s incredible level of compassion for them, Hashem instructed Hoshea to tell them the entire story and to expose both their intended rejection and their subsequent elevation.
Hoshea’s two-sided message helped the Jewish people discover both the severity of their conduct and Hashem’s boundless love for them. They realized that their actions warranted severe rejection, but that Hashem’s compassionate ways did not permit that. They discovered that Hashem’s compassion for them knew no bounds and they realized that Hashem in order to compensate for their intended rejection increased His commitment to them to display His affection to them. The Jewish people undoubtedly reciprocated and eventually became worthy of their newly beloved status, “sons of Hashem.”
Compassion Beyond Forgiveness
The above experience has its parallel in this week’s Parsha. The Jewish people camped at the foot of Mount Sinai for close to a year. During that time, they developed an intense relationship with Hashem, received His Torah and witnessed incredible revelations. Unfortunately, their relationship with Hashem was severely threatened by their inexcusable involvement in the infamous golden calf that their Egyptian converts produced. Hashem became enraged with them over their abhorrent behavior and immediately summoned Moshe Rabbeinu to deliver them their rejection papers. He informed Moshe of His intent and Moshe pleaded on behalf of the Jewish people. Moshe followed immediately and sensitized the people to their severe wrong-doing, and they sincerely repented for their inexcusable behavior. In Parshas Ki Sisa we read that Hashem accepted their repentance and reclaimed His beloved people. In addition we find there that His compassion extended far beyond their forgiveness, and He therefore increased His relationship with them.
The Vilna Gaon explains that the Jewish people initially merited that the Divine Presence accompanied them through His cloud of glory after they left Egypt. However, that experience was temporary and lasted until they reached the Sea of Reeds. In addition, the ability to perceive Hashem’s Presence within those spiritual clouds was limited to those who attained the lofty status of prophecy. This was their original status with Hashem.
However, after they committed their serious offense and afterwards sincerely repented for their wrong-doing, Hashem returned His Divine Presence to them and even intensified His relationship with them. Tomar Devorah explains that this is Hashem’s virtuous policy with anyone who returns to Him through repentance and who subsequently increases his commitment to fulfilling Hashem’s will. (Aderes Eliyahu to Parshas Ki Sisa; Tomer Devorah 1:7)
Encircling the Divine Presence
Yet, in this week’s Parsha we discover an additional facet of Hashem’s compassionate ways. In truth, the Jewish people only asked Moshe to intercede on their behalf for Hashem to rest His Divine Presence amongst them to which Hashem responded quite favorably. But their inner desire to identify with Him extended much further. Chazal explain that during their receiving of the Torah they prophetically envisioned Hashem’s throne of glory and the camps of angels surrounding Him and they yearned to be granted a similar privilege. (Bamidbar Rabba 2:3)
Ibn Ezra explains that when the Torah states, “I will rest My Presence inside the Bnei Yisroel”, (Shemos 29:46) it refers to their encampment structure surrounding Hashem’s Divine Presence. The innermost camp was dedicated to the Tabernacle that housed Hashem’s Presence and its courtyard. The middle camp was comprised of Aharon and sons who served in the Tabernacle together with the Levites who respectfully stood guard around it. The outer camp was comprised of the Jewish people divided into four assigned groups. (Ibn Ezra ad loc)
Chazal explain that although the Jewish people never dared express their innermost yearning to resemble the angels that surround Hashem’s Glory, He nevertheless responded to it and afforded them the privilege of encircling His Presence. Regarding this, Chazal cite the verse in Tehillim that says, “Let us sing of your salvation and in the name of our Hashem let us be elevated.” (Tehillim 20:6) They explain these words to refer to Hashem’s granting the Jewish people the supreme privilege to identify themselves as “His camp.” (Radal ad loc)
The enormity of this encampment was evidenced through the sanctity that permeated their camp. Chazal explain that sacrificial offerings were permitted to be eaten within their encampment and were regarded as eaten in the Divine Presence that their camp encircled. Indeed, Hashem’s sanctity emanated from the Tabernacle and extended to the borders of their encampment. (Zevachim 55a)
This supreme privilege evoked an incredible feeling of affection from Hashem, tantamount to Hashem’s embracing them, as they affectionately proclaim in Shir Hashirim “His flag was upon me, an expression of love.” (Shir Hashirim 2:4) Chazal explain that “His flag” refers to the flags of their respective camps. (Shir Hashirim Rabba 2:4)
This shows the extent of Hashem’s love for His people and clearly displays how even during moments of rejection His true affection for His people is never affected. The lesson for us is that if we truly seek to repair our side of our relationship with Hashem, He will undoubtedly reciprocate in His fullest measure. May we soon merit the fulfillment of Hashem’s promise stated in Yeshaya (62:5), “As a groom rejoices…over his bride, Hashem will rejoice over you [Jewish people].”
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Date: May 28, 2025
