Beit Midrash

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קטגוריה משנית
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To dedicate this lesson
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Hoshea (in this week’s haftara) had a unique solution for Am Yisrael – they were to be sent to the desert (2:16). Most prophets warned against things that could lead to the need for exile and set as the goal, returning to the Land and making its desolate places blossom. Hoshea prophesied when the nation was still in Eretz Yisrael, and its most acute problem was the idol worship of the Ba’al (literally, the husband). The Ba’al, and its wives, Asheira and Annat, turned promiscuity into a way of life. This matter finds expression throughout the haftara.

Hoshea was commanded to do extremely difficult things: 1. He was to marry a zona and have children of questionable standing (Hoshea 1:2), as a metaphor for the spiritual adultery of the nation. 2. He was to rebuke the people by comparing them to an adulteress (ibid. 2:4,7). 3. He was to compare the people to a woman who receives pay for her promiscuous actions (ibid. 14).

The followers of the Ba’al believed that the more they engaged in promiscuity, the more rain would fall and produce would flourish. Thus, a solution for the sinful nation was to return the nation to the desert, a place where rain is pointless, as nothing grows there anyway. When Bnei Yisrael left Egypt, they lived in the desert, where they were purified of sin and accepted the Torah.

When they entered the Land, the first place they were to conquer was Yericho, a city with a famous house of the zona Rachav. The goal was to make Rachav repent and destroy the city. The ruins of Yericho were a public statement: "We, Bnei Yisrael, entered our Land in order to demonstrate that we are a holy nation." The one who misappropriated the remains of Yericho was Achan. Yehoshua took him to be executed and called him an ocher (one who polluted the nation) and named the place of his execution: Emek Achor (Yehoshua 7:24-6).

The optimistic conclusion of the prophecy of the haftara (Hoshea 2:17-22) is that Hashem will appease us after our separation from Him, return us (like Hoshea’s wife) from the desert, and turn Emek Achor into petach tikva (the opening of hope). There is a linguistic hint (too difficult to transmit in English) that the idol Annat will be replaced by Miriam. The section ends with the p’sukim we say when we wrap the tefillin’s retzuot around our fingers – "I will betroth you forever …" The relationship between Hashem and Bnei Yisrael will be like that of husband and wife. This is why the Rabbis chose these p’sukim to represent the closeness to Hashem that we should feel when putting on tefillin.

More than a century ago, pioneers from Jerusalem decided to build an agricultural settlement near the location of the original Emek Achor (in the desert near Yericho) and call it Petach Tikva in order to fulfill the prophecy of Hoshea. After bitter failure, they used their great dedication to build, on swamps along the Yarkon River, what is now an important city in Israel.

May all positive elements of Hoshea’s prophecy be fulfilled in our days!


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Lessons
  • Rabbi Zalman Baruch Melamed
    Rabbi Zalman Baruch Melamed
  • Rabbi Yehoshua Shapira
    Rabbi Yehoshua Shapira
  • Rabbi S. Yossef Weitzen
    Rabbi S. Yossef Weitzen
  • Rabbi Elyakim Levanon
    Rabbi Elyakim Levanon
  • Rabbi Mordechai Greenberg
    Rabbi Mordechai Greenberg
  • Rabbi Chaim Drukman
    Rabbi Chaim Drukman
  • Rabbi Shabbtai Sabbato
    Rabbi Shabbtai Sabbato
  • Rabbi  Yosef Tzvi Rimon
    Rabbi Yosef Tzvi Rimon
  • Rabbi Chaim Steiner
    Rabbi Chaim Steiner
  • Rabbi Hershel Schachter
    Rabbi Hershel Schachter
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    Beha'alotcha

    The Consolation of Lighting the Menora - Rav Kook at the Third Shabbat Meal

    15 Sivan 5784
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    Beha'alotcha

    Why Was Miriam Punished?

    Rabbi Yosef Tzvi Rimon | 5777
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    Prayer

    ?How we should dress for Prayer

    Chapter five-part two

    Chapter five-part two

    Rabbi Eliezer Melamed | 5775
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    Prayer

    Who Can Be Counted in a Minyan?

    Chapter Two-part three

    Can every ten men be a Minyan or are there other conditions?

    Rabbi Eliezer Melamed
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    P'ninat Mishpat

    Historical View of Rav Mordechai Yaakov Breish (Chelkat Yaakov)

    Various Rabbis | 5775
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    Happy Occasions

    Fasting and Feasting on a Yahrzeit

    “My father’s yahrzeit falls during the week of sheva brachos for my grandson. May I attend the sheva brachos?” "My yahrzeit falls on Shabbos this year. Do I fast on Friday or Sunday instead?" "I usually fast on my father’s yahrzeit, but someone is honoring me with sandaka’us on that day. Do I fast, and do I need to be matir neder in the event that it is permitted to eat?"

    Rabbi Yirmiyohu Kaganoff
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    Revivim

    Halakha on Abortion of Fetuses with Severe Abormalities

    A fetus is considered a living entity in regards to certain laws, but there is no penalty of death for taking its life. What do the rabbinical decisors say?

    Rabbi Eliezer Melamed
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    Jewish Holidays

    The Twentieth of Sivan

    "I noticed that the back of my siddur contains a large section devoted to selichos for the 20th of Sivan, yet I have never davened in a shul that observed this day. What does this date commemorate?"

    Rabbi Yirmiyohu Kaganoff | Sivan 17 5780
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    The Giving of the Torah

    The Day of the Rains and the Giving of the Torah

    According to our Sages, The Day of the Rain is as great as, or even greater than the day of the Giving of the Torah. The basis for this comparison is discussed in depth, as well as additional aspects of the connection between the rains and the Torah.

    Rabbi Uzi Kalchaim zt"l | 5770
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    The Torah Perspective

    Secular Zionism in the Eyes of Rav Kook.

    How can we understand the rebellion against religion over the past century? What does the world gain spiritually from this rebellion which was foreseen in the mishna 1,800 years ago as part of the period preceding the mashiach? Only after we understand the rebellion can we glean the benefit and relate to our brothers properly.

    Rabbi Ari Shvat | 5769
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    Redemption - Geula

    When Moshiach Comes

    A summary of the different Brachot we will bless when the Moshiach will walk through the door.

    Rabbi Yirmiyohu Kaganoff | Iyar 5768
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    Marriage and Relationships

    The Role of Parents in Marriage

    Today, parents can fulfill the commandment of marrying off their children by providing them with a good education at prestigious schools, supporting them so that they be able to learn a profession, and clothing them in attractive attire.

    Rabbi Eliezer Melamed | 5764
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