(2) Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, For you have fallen because of your sin. (3) Take words with you And return to the LORD. Say to Him: “Forgive all guilt. And accept what is good; Instead of bulls we will pay [The offering of] our lips.-a (4) Assyria shall not save us, No more will we ride on steeds; Nor ever again will we call Our handiwork our god, Since in You alone orphans find pity!”
(5) I will heal their affliction,
Generously will I take them back in love;
For My anger has turned away from them. (6) I will be to Israel like dew;
He shall blossom like the lily,
He shall strike root like a Lebanon tree.-e (7) His boughs shall spread out far,
his beauty shall be like the olive tree’s,
his fragrance like that of Lebanon. (8) They who sit in his shade shall be revived:
They shall bring to life new grain,
They shall blossom like the vine;
His scent shall be like the wine of Lebanon. (9) Ephraim [shall say]:
“What more have I to do with idols?
When I respond and look to Him,
I become like a verdant cypress.”
Your fruit is provided by Me.-a
(10) He who is wise will consider these words, He who is prudent will take note of them. For the paths of the LORD are smooth; The righteous can walk on them,
While sinners stumble on them.
Why do we read this passage on Shabbat Shuvah? What understanding of God does Hosea offer us?
(יג) שִׁמְע֥וּ וְהָעִ֖ידוּ בְּבֵ֣ית יַעֲקֹ֑ב נְאֻם־אֲדֹנָ֥י יֱהֹוִ֖ה אֱלֹהֵ֥י הַצְּבָאֽוֹת׃ (יד) כִּ֗י בְּי֛וֹם פׇּקְדִ֥י פִשְׁעֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל עָלָ֑יו וּפָֽקַדְתִּי֙ עַל־מִזְבְּח֣וֹת בֵּֽית־אֵ֔ל וְנִגְדְּעוּ֙ קַרְנ֣וֹת הַמִּזְבֵּ֔חַ וְנָפְל֖וּ לָאָֽרֶץ׃ (א) שִׁמְע֞וּ הַדָּבָ֣ר הַזֶּ֗ה פָּר֤וֹת הַבָּשָׁן֙ אֲשֶׁר֙ בְּהַ֣ר שֹׁמְר֔וֹן הָעֹשְׁק֣וֹת דַּלִּ֔ים הָרֹצְצ֖וֹת אֶבְיוֹנִ֑ים הָאֹמְרֹ֥ת לַאֲדֹנֵיהֶ֖ם הָבִ֥יאָה וְנִשְׁתֶּֽה׃ (ב) נִשְׁבַּ֨ע אֲדֹנָ֤י יֱהֹוִה֙ בְּקׇדְשׁ֔וֹ כִּ֛י הִנֵּ֥ה יָמִ֖ים בָּאִ֣ים עֲלֵיכֶ֑ם וְנִשָּׂ֤א אֶתְכֶם֙ בְּצִנּ֔וֹת וְאַחֲרִֽיתְכֶ֖ן בְּסִיר֥וֹת דּוּגָֽה׃
(13) Hear [this], and warn the House of Jacob —says my Lord GOD, the God of Hosts— (14) That when I punish Israel for its transgressions, I will wreak judgment on the altar of Bethel, And the horns of the altar shall be cut off And shall fall to the ground. (1) Hear this word, you cows of Bashan On the hill of Samaria— Who defraud the poor, Who rob the needy; Who say to your husbands, “Bring, and let’s carouse!” (2) My Lord GOD swears by His holiness: Behold, days are coming upon you When you will be carried off in baskets, And, to the last one, in fish baskets,
How do we understand the description of God in the Book of Amos compared with Hosea?
(18) Who is a God like You, Forgiving iniquity And remitting transgression; Who has not maintained His wrath forever Against the remnant of His own people, Because He loves graciousness! (19) He will take us back in love; He will cover up our iniquities, You will hurl all our sins Into the depths of the sea. (20) You will keep faith with Jacob, Loyalty to Abraham, As You promised on oath to our fathers In days gone by.
I am now one hundred and twenty years old, I can no longer be active.-b Moreover, the LORD has said to me, “You shall not go across yonder Jordan.”
In verse 31:2, the words literally say, Moses was 120 years, today, I cannot any longer go out or come. And God said to me, you will not cross the Jordan. We'll see that commentators place "hayom" "today" in the first clause and understand it to mean that the day Moses is speaking is his birthday; he is 120 years old on that day. The trope echoes this sentiment, with a small break on the word today.
Most translations use "I can no longer be active" though literally the words say, I can no longer go out and come in. How do you understand "I can no longer go out and come in"? We'll look at some interpretations of this phrase below.
לא אוכל עוד לצאת ולבוא I CAN NO LONGER GO OUT AND COME IN — One might think that this was because his physical strength failed him! Scripture, however, states (Deuteronomy 34:7) “His eye was not dim nor his natural force abated!” What then is the meaning of לא אוכל? It means: “I am not permitted”, because the power (leadership) is being taken from me and given to Joshua. — Another explanation of לצאת ולבוא is: I can no more take the lead in the matter of the Law; this teaches us that the traditions and the well-springs of wisdom were stopped up for him (cf. Sotah 13b).
AND HE SAID UNTO THEM: ‘I AM A HUNDRED AND TWENTY YEARS OLD THIS DAY.’ This was to comfort them concerning his condition [i.e., about his approaching death], as if to say, “I am old and you have no more benefit from me. Moreover, God has commanded me that I should not go over there. Do not dread and do not be fearful, for the Eternal will go over with you; He will not remove His Presence from you on my account [i.e., because of my absence], and Joshua, he shall go over before you in my place.” Now, although Moses our teacher retained his vigor and health, as Scripture testifies, his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated, he told them this [“I am old and you have no more benefit of me”] in order to comfort them [over the transfer of leadership to Joshua].
Now, Rashi wrote: “I can no longer go out and go in, because the Eternal hath said unto me: Thou shalt not go over this Jordan.” But it is not correct. And in the opinion of Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra the expression I can no longer go out and come in means to war, because his powers weakened in his old age. This too, is not correct. And our Rabbis have said: “This teaches us that the well-springs of wisdom were stopped for him.” This was a miraculous event in order that Moses should not be troubled [about the transfer of leadership to Joshua] and [G-d] bestowing honor upon Joshua in his [Moses’] presence.
How do you understand Moses' inactivity?