Sefer Hoshea, Chapter 2. "Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass that in the place where it was said to them, 'You are not My people,' it shall be said to them, 'Children of the living God.'" There is an immense wonder here, which Rashi immediately cites: why are retribution and consolation placed next to each other in a single utterance? In the ninth verse, the one with which we concluded previously, it says: "Call his name Lo-Ammi, for you are not My people, and I will not be yours"; "I will no longer have mercy on the house of Israel"; "I will not save them." And suddenly, "Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand... which cannot be measured nor numbered" - what a wonderful, benevolent prophecy! How can consolation and retribution stand side by side, so to speak, in a single sentence, in one breath?
Chazal were sensitive to this issue, and they explained, as we already saw in the previous chapter, that everything here is essentially a dialogue between Hoshea and the Master of the Universe. The Holy One, blessed be He, as we concluded in the previous chapter, said to Hoshea: Go, divorce your wife. Hoshea said to Him: Master of the Universe, how can I? After all, I have children from her! The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: Her you cannot divorce, and yet you want Me to cast away the people of Israel? The next stage was that Hoshea realized he had erred. Once Hoshea realized his mistake, he began to plead their defense. Thus, immediately following "You are not My people" - which corresponds to "Go divorce her, she is not My people, the child born to you is not yours at all, cast her out" - Hoshea immediately grasped his error. Understanding that he had sinned, Hoshea said: Master of the Universe, I now plead for mercy upon them! "Yet the number of the children of Israel" - he began to bless them - "shall be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered," and so forth. It emerges, therefore, that this plea for mercy on behalf of the Jewish people served as a rectification for the harsh words he had previously spoken about them - suggesting that God replace them with another nation, and using expressions that the Holy One, blessed be He, did not wish to hear from him. Now, he amends his actions through this declaration.
Rashi cites the Sifrei: Rabbi says, there are passages juxtaposed to one another that are nevertheless as distant from one another as east is from west. An example is our passage: "For you are not My people," followed immediately by "Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea." What does one have to do with the other? They are technically adjacent, but conceptually, according to the ideas they contain, they are as far apart as east from west! Thus asks Rabbi, and he explains with a parable: This is comparable to a king who grew angry with his wife and sent for a scribe to come and write her a get (bill of divorce). "Go summon the scribe to write a get for my wife." Before the scribe arrived, the king was reconciled with his wife. In the meantime, they managed to make peace. Everything smoothed over, all was wonderful, and they were like a pair of doves. Reconciled with his wife, the king said: Is it possible for this scribe to leave here empty-handed? The scribe has arrived with his writing implements, fully prepared, ready to write her a get. How can I simply tell the scribe to go home? He will ask: Why did you summon me? Why did you trouble me to come here? That would be improper. The king said to him: Come and write for her that I am doubling the value of her ketubah! A scribe in those days was a sofer, a professional who knew how to write, for not everyone was literate. A get certainly required expert knowledge of specific halachot, but the scribe was a master of the craft. So the king said to him: Ah, you have arrived? Wonderful, I was waiting for you! The scribe asks: Why did my lord the king call for me? The king replies: I summoned you because I was looking for a scribe to double my wife's ketubah. I had pledged one million dollars to her in the ketubah, and now I want to record two million dollars. The scribe is now certain that he was called solely for the ketubah - summoned to double the queen's marriage contract. It never crosses his mind that he was initially called to write a get and that plans were changed only at the very last moment. This is what the Midrash is conveying here.
According to this, understand that subsequently, when the Holy One, blessed be He, did not execute that decree at that time, God had mercy on them. The Holy One, blessed be He, said: What is the prophet doing here? Let the prophet now begin to bless them! The initial direction, as it were, had been to divorce them. But once God had mercy on them, is the prophet to be sent away without purpose? Hoshea is told: No, do not divorce her. Then why am I here? Bless them! I brought you here so that you would bless them. Such was the dynamic here, with the prophecy suddenly overturning for good.
According to the plain meaning, Rashi explains how the verses connect: God initially told them, "You are not My people, and I will not be yours." This means: I will act as though I do not recognize you. What will happen as a result? You will be exiled among the nations. There, among the nations, you will multiply and flourish, and there you will take it to heart to return to Me. Through that exile, the verse will be fulfilled in you: "And you shall call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God has driven you... and the Lord your God will return your captivity." Then, "the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered." In other words, the prophet is speaking several steps ahead. At first, he speaks of the descent into exile. But God says: After you return from exile, you will return as a renewed people. You will repent, you will understand your mistake, and then the number of the children of Israel will be like the sand of the sea. In plain terms, our verses skip several intermediate stages: the exile, the awakening to repentance in exile, the subsequent gathering of the captivity, and then the text leaps directly to the ultimate outcome - that the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea.
"And it shall come to pass that in the place where it was said to them, 'You are not My people'" - which is what is being said to them right now - "it shall be said to them, 'Children of the living God.'" They will be called children of the living God, because God will restore their captivity and have mercy on them. What does "children of the living God" mean? The Radak explains that in their present state, they are called children of other gods. This means that they and the children they bear do not belong, as it were, to the Master of the Universe. They belong to idolatry, because they believe in idols, worship them, and place their hopes in them. When a child is born, whom does the father thank? The idol, the stars, the constellations. Thus, the child is born, so to speak, under the auspices of idolatry. This is why the verse states: In the place where it was said to them, "You are not My people," it shall be said to them, "Children of the living God." What is a "living God"? Idolatry is called death. In general, the sitra de-muta, the entire realm of the kelipot and impurity, is defined as death. Regarding the kelipot, it is said: "Her feet go down to death" - referring to the Shechinah when it descends into the domain of the kelipot, which is called death. The wicked, even while alive, are called dead. True vitality exists only through the power of Torah. The moment Torah is absent, death automatically ensues. To bring about death, one does not need to perform an active, positive deed; it is enough to cease providing life. Once life is withheld, death follows naturally. Just as a physical body requires a constant supply of fuel to live, like a fire: if you do not supply fuel to a fire, you do not need to take action to extinguish it. Simply stop adding fuel, and it will go out on its own. In plain words, the default state is extinguished; to keep it burning, one must actively fuel it. So too, the kelipot and impurity have no connection to holiness, and are therefore an aspect of death. Thus, when you are attached to idolatry, "you are not My people." But when you return to being connected to the Holy One, blessed be He, you are "children of the living God." Now you are truly alive; previously, you were in an aspect of death. "See, I have set before you life and good, death and evil" - evil is inherently linked to death; they go hand in hand. If one asks: But I see wicked people walking around alive? That is an illusion, a mirage. You see them physically alive, but if the soul departs, you realize there was no spiritual connection whatsoever; it was severed from its Supernal Source long ago. How could such a person have connection? If someone eats forbidden fat, consumes blood, eats chametz on Pesach, or violates the laws of family purity, his soul is spiritually cut off (karet). Even though he appears to be walking and living, a severed lizard's tail also twitches and appears alive, yet we all know it is already dead, undergoing its final spasms. What you see as a living person is merely an illusion; in true reality, he lacks life. This resembles Chazal's definition of a treifah: one who kills a treifah is exempt from human courts, because a treifah is essentially not viable - having a fatal defect that ensures death within a year. He appears alive, but he is not truly alive. Therefore, one who is not connected to the Holy One, blessed be He, is not called living, for all creations live only by virtue of the Cause that animates them. God, however, is alive without any external cause. The celestial spheres do not live by their own power; through whom do they exist? Through the Holy One, blessed be He. No force in creation possesses independent vitality. Who alone possesses self-sustained vitality? El Chai - the living God. Only the Holy One, blessed be He, has life inherently within Himself. The rest of creation, were the divine flow to cease for an instant, would instantly perish. Creation has no independent life; its default state is nonexistence and death.
The Malbim explains that after the Holy One, blessed be He, turned to Hoshea and told him: Now divorce your wife, for her children are not your children, "you are not My people," and therefore cast them out - Hoshea turned to Him and said: Master of the Universe, that is impossible, as we saw in the previous chapter. He then began to advocate on their behalf. This is what is written here: "Yet the number of the children of Israel..." Hoshea said to God: Master of the Universe, how can You seek to cast away all of Israel? In the future, they will possess such lofty virtues: "the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered." This parallels what occurred at the Exodus from Egypt. The Prosecuting Angel argued: These are idolaters and those are idolaters, so why favor one over the other? What was the defense offered on Israel's behalf? These people are destined to receive the Torah! We see from this a principle: something that may currently lack intrinsic value is nevertheless cherished right now because of the great importance it will attain in the future. We observe this in everyday life as well. Some people live this way to an extreme, keeping their entire house and yard looking like a junkyard because they cannot bring themselves to discard a single screw - thinking that in the future, they might need it. But let us consider a reasonable, sensible person: when he possesses an object and anticipates a definite future use for it - such as sechach for Sukkot - after the festival ends, he airs it out, rolls it up, and stores it in the attic. One might ask: Why are you storing something in your attic that you will not touch for an entire year, letting it take up space? He answers: In another year Sukkot will return, and I will need it. We see that we assign great value to things that presently offer no utility and merely take up space, simply because their preservation is worthwhile for the future. The Holy One, blessed be He, acts toward us in the very same manner: even if we are unworthy at present, since we are destined to receive the Torah in the future, it is worthwhile to preserve us. Even if they currently lack spiritual stature, a glorious future awaits them, and for that alone they are worth keeping. This is the defense that Hoshea presents. After the Holy One, blessed be He, says to him: How can you tell Me to cast away the Congregation of Israel when you yourself are incapable of divorcing your wife? Hoshea responds: Master of the Universe, heaven forbid, how could it enter Your mind to cast away the Congregation of Israel? Previously, God had said: Divorce them; if this nation causes trouble, take another in their place; You are not bound exclusively to Israel, why remain with her? Hoshea now pleads: No, Master of the Universe, how could You cast away the people of Israel when such a magnificent future is in store for them? The number of the children of Israel will be like the sand that cannot be measured nor numbered! In the very place where it is said to them, "You are not My people" - their current reality - they will be called "Children of the living God." Can You give up now on something that will flourish and prosper so gloriously in the future?
The Malbim explains the meaning of the parable: "Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered." What does this convey? Sand, the Malbim notes, does indeed have a finite count. It is impossible for any physical entity in creation to exist without a number. Does anyone imagine that the grains of sand in the world lack a number? Of course they have a number. Only spiritual matters can be described as truly infinite and without limit. For a physical substance, it might take a hundred years or a million years to count every grain, but one cannot say that sand is fundamentally uncountable. Once a finite quantity exists, no matter how immense, it is theoretically countable. Yet even though sand has a finite number, a human being cannot count it. It has a number, but one cannot reach its end; one cannot grasp the total sum. Furthermore, while certain things can be measured - taking a measuring tape, stretching it from end to end, and determining the length - sand cannot even be measured. Why? Because so much of it is hidden from us. There is sand in the depths of the sea; who can descend there to measure it? There is sand deep within the earth; who can reach it? Even measuring it not grain by grain, but in cubic meters, is beyond our capacity, because it remains concealed. Concerning this, the verse says: "Which cannot be measured nor numbered." It cannot be counted individually, nor can it be measured collectively, because it is hidden. The same applies to the Jewish people: they will be impossible to count due to their vast multitude, and because they will be scattered and concealed in the far corners of the earth. Many of the tribes currently considered lost are like sand buried in the depths of the sea. Can you know how many they are? Can you know where they are? Can you know who they are? And then, in the very place where God now commands to say "Lo-Ammi" - what did he name the newborn child? Lo-Ammi, for the people of Israel are not His people - meaning, in the place where God scatters and disperses them into exile, it shall be said to them, "Children of the living God." Everyone will then perceive that the Holy One, blessed be He, watches over them as a living God with wondrous providence. Through this, "their seed shall be known among the nations," and all will recognize that they are the seed blessed by the Lord. It will be evident to all that the Holy One, blessed be He, remains bound to His people Israel.
Verse 2: "Then the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall go up out of the land, for great shall be the day of Jezreel." "Then the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together." First, let us address the difficulty we noted earlier: How does the prophet suddenly pivot from misfortune to good? Furthermore, as we read on, the prophet pivots back to misfortune once again! First he spoke of calamity: "Lo-Ammi." Then, "Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea" - suddenly a benevolent prophecy in verse 1. Afterward, in verse 4: "Plead with your mother, plead; for she is not My wife, neither am I her husband; and let her put away her harlotries from her face, and her adulteries from between her breasts, lest I strip her naked..." Once again we return to a prophecy of rebuke, to harsh words. Because some commentators find this double reversal difficult, there are those who explain that no positive reversal occurred here at all, and that the entire passage speaks of calamity. This is the interpretation of the Ibn Ezra. The Radak mentions this in the name of other commentators, though he states that he does not accept it. According to that view, "Then the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall go up out of the land" is also a prophecy of misfortune, as Ibn Ezra explains. We will not delve into that approach, but will follow the majority of commentators, who explain that there was indeed an overturn for the good, followed later by a return to rebuke, which we will explain when we reach it.
The Malbim explains that this is a continuation of "Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea." Hoshea says to the Holy One, blessed be He: You must have mercy on them, for they are destined to be like the sand of the sea that cannot be measured nor numbered. They have a glorious future, and therefore they deserve mercy. In the End of Days, "the children of Judah and the children of Israel shall be gathered together." The children of Judah are those who were exiled during the destruction of the First Temple by Nebuchadnezzar, not all of whom returned in the days of Ezra. The children of Israel are the Ten Tribes exiled by the king of Assyria. All of them will be gathered together from the places where they are scattered, and they will become one single nation. They will also "appoint themselves one head" - this refers to Mashiach ben Yosef, who will initially serve as their leader and head, bringing about the political redemption, while Mashiach ben David will bring about the spiritual redemption. Then, "and they shall go up out of the land" - meaning, from all the lands where they were scattered, they will ascend and gather into the Land of Israel. "For great shall be the day of Jezreel." At that time, the name of the first son, who was called Jezreel - which originally indicated the judgment God would execute upon them, from the concept of God scattering them (zoreh) - will be fulfilled in a different, benevolent manner. Jezreel will turn into a blessing. Instead of "I have scattered them among the nations" - where God dispersed us across the world - Jezreel will mean "I have sown them for Myself in the land," from the word zeriah (planting). Exile, the Malbim explains, is like someone who sows seeds of grain deep in the soil: at first the seeds rot, and it appears that everything has been lost. But afterward, a lush, flourishing field emerges, and it becomes clear that from a small amount of seed, a vast yield has developed, multiplying manifold. So too, from the exiles there will sprout and blossom a mighty nation, numerous as the uncounted sand of the sea, in addition to the converts who will join them. "The day of Jezreel" refers to the day when this planting will be revealed - the day it becomes manifest that this sowing was intended to yield an immense nation. Indeed, it is written that the Holy One, blessed be He, scattered us among the nations so that we might gather the holy sparks dispersed there, along with the righteous converts. The day of Jezreel will be the day when it is revealed that this sowing was entirely beneficial. That day will be great and awesome in its miracles and the grandeur that God will manifest for Israel among the nations.
The Radak explains: What is meant by "for great shall be the day of Jezreel"? The Radak says that the day of Jezreel characterizes the terrible day mentioned earlier, when God commanded to name the first child Jezreel because their bow was broken in the Valley of Jezreel. "Great shall be the day of Jezreel" means: since their bow was broken, a very long day has elapsed. In plain words, they have lingered for many long years in that "day of Jezreel" - the day their power was shattered, the day they were exiled, the day their agonizing plight began. That harsh reality has accompanied them for an exceedingly long time. "Great is the day of Jezreel" - this time has extended beyond measure, and the time has arrived to redeem them. Alternatively, as the Radak explains in the name of his father, it refers to the duration of their being sown among the nations: "great is the day," meaning this period of time has dragged on for so long that the time has now arrived to redeem them.
"Say to your brethren, 'Ammi' [My people], and to your sisters, 'Ruhamah' [She who has obtained mercy]." The Targum renders: The prophet says here, say to your brethren, My people, return to My Torah; and to your sisters, Ruhamah - meaning, upon your congregation, the Congregation of Israel, I will have mercy. The Radak explains in the name of Rav Saadia Gaon that the prophet is addressing the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. He says to them: Your brethren, the Ten Tribes, were called Lo-Ammi because they did evil in the eyes of God; now, you, Judah and Benjamin, say to your brethren, "Ammi." When the Ten Tribes return, you can call them "My people." Previously they were Lo-Ammi and were scattered, but now they return to being Ammi. "And to your sisters, Ruhamah" - since the prophetic metaphor used both a son and a daughter, Lo-Ruhamah and Lo-Ammi, the verse here mentions both the brother and the sister. The commentators note a grammatical point: the verse should seemingly have said ve-achayoteichem (plural sisters), rather than ve-achoteichem. Why? Because achichem refers to many brothers (your brethren). Achotchem would refer to a single sister. Yet the verse says achoteichem, using a singular root with a plural suffix, rather than the double-plural form achayoteichem. Just as you speak of multiple brothers, you should speak of multiple sisters! The Malbim explains that this is indeed true, but one should not be surprised, for we find similar scriptural usages where the text suffices with a single plural form, such as "and your sister [ve-achotech] Sodom and her daughters," or "and its fifths [ve-chamishitav]," and other places cited by the Malbim. Therefore, this formulation presents no difficulty.
The Malbim explains that after the number of the children of Israel becomes like the sand of the sea, God commands the sons and the daughter: Say to your brethren, those whom I intended to call by the name Lo-Ammi, that they are Ammi; and to those whom I intended to call Lo-Ruhamah, that they are Ruhamah - meaning, I am destined to have mercy upon them. Notice how Hoshea argues against God: Master of the Universe, You wish to send away Your wife, the Congregation of Israel, and divorce her, so that they are called Lo-Ruhamah and Lo-Ammi? Master of the Universe, it is destined to be said to them, "You are My people," and to your sister, "Ruhamah" - so why do You seek to divorce them? This was the defense Hoshea offered for the Jewish people, turning directly to the Master of the Universe: Master of the Universe, it is unfitting to do what You intended by casting them out! As we explained, this was precisely what God wanted to hear from Hoshea: Find a defense for them, articulate a reason why they should not be cast out! Instead, you initially told Me to divorce them? Now Hoshea, so to speak, regains his proper bearing and says what God truly desired to hear - offering a passionate defense for the people of Israel.
"Plead with your mother, plead; for she is not My wife, neither am I her husband; and let her put away her harlotries from her face, and her adulteries from between her breasts." "Plead with your mother, plead." Following Hoshea's words of defense, God now speaks: If so, after all you have said to Me about the glorious future awaiting the people of Israel, making them worthy of mercy, then you, the children, must plead with your mother! Rebuke the mother for her harlotry. For as long as "she is not My wife" - meaning, she strays after others - "neither am I her husband." And if I am not her husband, a doubt is cast upon the children: if she is not My wife and I am not her husband, then the children are, heaven forbid, born of harlotry. Therefore, it is incumbent upon you, the children, to contend with your mother so that she mends her ways. This is God's answer to Hoshea: You, Hoshea, ask for mercy upon the Congregation of Israel based on their future; therefore, it is your responsibility to bring the Congregation of Israel to repentance! "Plead with your mother, plead" - go and return the Congregation of Israel to repentance. Regarding what? "Let her put away her harlotries from her face." There were two categories of sin: the sin of idolatry, and the sin of forbidden relationships (arayot). Concerning both, the Holy One, blessed be He, instructs the prophets to rebuke the mother, the Congregation of Israel. "Plead with your mother, plead." First: "Let her put away her harlotries from her face" - she worships idols openly and publicly; this is termed "from her face." A person might have a hidden blemish that remains unseen, or a concealed birthmark that is not noticeable. But if it is on one's face, it stands out conspicuously. Thus, "let her put away her harlotries from her face" refers to idolatry. As we explained, idolatry is defined as harlotry, because the relationship between the Congregation of Israel and the Holy One, blessed be He, is like a marriage; when Israel strays after her lovers - namely idolatry, the stars, and the constellations, as we will see - she acts unfaithfully toward God, seeking paramours. First, contend with her: you, the prophets, must rebuke the Congregation of Israel, the Jewish people. "Let her put away her harlotries from her face" refers to idolatry; "and her adulteries from between her breasts" refers to the lust for adultery, situated "between her breasts" as an allusion to her heart being drawn after it - the inclination for idolatry and the inclination for forbidden relationships.
The Malbim notes: Pay attention to the phrasing, "rivu be-imchem" (plead with your mother). This is an unusual expression, because the verb riv (to contend or plead) typically appears with the preposition im (with), et (with), or le- (for). To contend le-ploni means to plead on someone else's behalf: "Will you contend for Baal [hatetem terivun la-ba'al]?" - meaning, do you wish to plead in Baal's stead? Or "let Baal contend for himself [yariv lo]." When the verb is joined with the preposition el, it means presenting arguments against someone: "Why do you contend with Me [terivu elai]?" or "Righteous are You, O Lord, when I plead with You [ariv eilecha]" - meaning, I lay out arguments and counter-proofs. But when the verb riv is joined with the letter beit (be-), the Malbim explains, it means contending over a wrong that I have suffered from you, over damage you have caused me. As in: "And Jacob contended with Laban [vayarav be-Lavan]... Why have you hotly pursued after me?" The beit in be-Lavan signifies that he contended with him over the injury Laban caused him. The same applies here: "Rivu be-imchem" - you, the children, suffer direct harm from your mother's straying. Her unfaithfulness causes you to acquire a terrible reputation, making you appear as children of harlotry. Who, then, must contend here? You, the children whose reputation is ruined. Therefore, "plead with your mother, plead" - go and contend with your mother over the harm caused to you on her account.
The verse states: "And let her put away her harlotries [zenuneha] from her face, and her adulteries [na'afufecha] from between her breasts." The Malbim asks: What is the difference between them? Zenut (harlotry), the Malbim explains, describes leaving the husband's domain into lawlessness, abandoning oneself to others; zenunim refers to public, shameless promiscuity. In contrast, ni'uf (adultery) denotes the actual lust and illicit intimacy itself. Here, as explained, harlotry serves as a metaphor for the inclination toward idolatry, while adultery denotes the passion for forbidden relationships. Furthermore, the text does not simply say ni'ufeha, but na'afufecha. The Malbim explains that this indicates persistence and intensity, as the letter pei is doubled. Had it written ni'ufeha, it would denote a single act. Na'afufecha features a doubled letter, and we have explained several times that in Lashon HaKodesh, when a root letter doubles, it signifies the intensification and repetition of the action. If I say vayarotz et rosho, it means he fractured his head once; if I say vayeratzez, it denotes repeated, crushing blows. Likewise, patz means he broke, while potzetz means he shattered into tiny fragments through repeated crushing. The same applies to every doubled root, such as porer, which means crumbling repeatedly, crumb by crumb. Any term appearing in a duplicated form indicates the strength and repetition of the act. Here too, while ni'uf refers to the act of adultery itself, na'afufim denotes the intensification, habituation, and persistence of that lust.