Hoshea 12:13–14:10

Mitzvah Performance and Human Respect

We are often faced with mitzvah opportunities that have a perplexing dimension to them. Although the act itself seems to be appropriate, it impacts on the feelings or respect of others. How do we react in such situations and in what manner should we proceed? This week’s Haftarah contrasted by our weekly Torah portion resolves much of our dilemma.

The Splitting of the Jewish Kingdom

The Haftarah records the Jewish nation’s severe plunge into idolatry and focuses on the sad reality that the Judean kingdom began following the repulsive practices of the Samarian kingdom by engaging in foreign worship. That abhorrent conduct traced itself back to the days of the first Samarian king, Yeravam ben Nevat who inadvertently led hism entire kingdom into idolatrous practice and their gravely extended exile.
Shortly before Yeravam’s reign, Shlomo Hamelech relied on his unprecedented wisdom and married excessive numbers of women, many of them from non-Jewish descent. Although the Torah strictly forbids a king from marrying many wives, Shlomo reasoned that the Torah’s prohibition did not apply to him. He based his reasoning on the fact that the Torah clearly relates its prohibition to the wives’ potential influence on the king. Shlomo trusted his unparalleled intellect and believed that he was outside of the realm of women influence and that he would easily reedirect his convert wives to the Torah path. Unfortunately, his plan failed and his wives’ foolish, ingrained idolatrous
mannerisms eventually threatened the moral fiber of the entire Jewish nation. Hashem fiercely responded to Shlomo’s mistaken judgment and to its potential devastating outcome. Therefore, Hashem informed Shlomo that He would remove most of the Jewish kingdom from the Davidic dynasty. (Melachim I 11:4-13) Accordingly, after Shlomo Hamelech’s passing Hashem appointed Yeravam ben Nevat ruler over ten of the Jewish tribes and Shlomo’s son, Rechavam ruler over the remaining tribes of Yehuda and Binyamin. Yeravam began his reign with the best of intention, but he soon became influenced by his royal position and abused its privileges. Ironically, instead of preventing foreign
culture from invading his kingdom he inadvertently led it into abhorrent idolatrous practices and corrupted it beyond return. Hashem ultimately responded to the Samarian kingdom’s abhorrent conduct and exiled the ten Samarian tribes, never to return until the
days of Mashiach. In this week’s Haftarah, Hoshea Hanavi turned to the remaining Judean kingdom and sternly warned it not to follow the corrupt ways of the Samarian kingdom.

Zealousness and Self Absorption

Hoshea alluded in his warning to the people, to the underlying cause of the Samarian kingdom’s rise and fall, and then shared with the remaining Judean Kingdom an invaluable insight into human nature. Hoshea said, “When [Yeravam from] Efraim spoke shivering words he was elevated over Israel; yet he sinned in idolatry and perished.” (Hoshea 13:1) Chazal explain that Hoshea’s shivering words referred to Yeravam’s firm stand against Shlomo Hamelech’s use of the Milo area. His father, Dovid Hamelech had designated the Milo area outside Yerushalyim as a communal plaza for the masses who made their festive pilgrimages to Yerushalyim. After Dovid’s passing, Shlomo Hamelech rededicated that area as living quarters for the service of his new bride, the daughter of Pharaoh. The Jewish people were infuriated by that outrageous act of authority, but they lacked the courage to respond to it. Yeravam took a daring step, and displayed his
religious zeal and fervor by publicly denouncing the king for his outrageous, authoritative act. Hashem rewarded Yeravam for his courageous act and elevated him to the highest position of authority, ruler of the Samarian kingdom. (Sanhedrin 101b) Chazal reveal to us an important insight about his rise to power. In describing Yeravam’s meritorious act in Sefer Melachim, it states , “Yeravam ben Nevat…the
servant of Shlomo raised his hand against the king.” (Melachim I 11:26-27) Chazal interpret this passage to mean that although Yeravam merited the throne because of his courageous stand, he eventually undermined his own reign because of his insensitivity
towards authority. (Sanhedrin 101b) Maharsha explains that Chazal searched for a plausible explanation for Yeravam’s horrendous plunge: Since Yeravam merited the throne because of his meritorious act, what propelled him to inadvertently lead his kingdom into abhorrent idolatrous practice? Chazal answer that the above passage reveals that although Yeravam’s motive for reprimanding Shlomo Hamelech was meritorious, his manner in doing so was far from proper. Indeed, Shlomo Hamelech’s action called for serious objection, but it did not mandate public embarrassment. If Yeravam had been truly concerned about the king’s honor, he would have acted in a more sensitive manner to him and reprimanded the king in private. Chazal reveal that although Yeravam acted out of religious zeal, he was also
self-absorbed in his zeal. They explain that the message here is that Yeravam’s insensitivity towards the king was the root of his corruption and ultimately his forfeiting

his eternal portion in the World to Come. (ad loc.)

Cutting Ties with the Bais HaMikdash

Chazal continue and show how Yeravam’ s character flaw expressed itself on a much broader scale. They explain that he was insecure about his authority in the eyes of the people, and he feared that the Jewish pilgrimage to Yerushalyim would cause him to lose his devout following. He based his fear on the halachic restriction for anyone to sit inside the Beis Hamikdash proper except for the royal descendants of Dovid Hamelech. Yeravam reasoned that if his followers would take note of that distinction, namely his standing inside the Beis Hamikdash while Rechavam was sitting there, it would be a poor reflection on his ordained royal authority, and it would publicly display him as
secondary in status to Rechavam. In order to combat that perception, Yeravam established alternate sites of worship spanning the Samarian kingdom and restricted his people from visiting the Beis Hamikdash. Those drastic measures eventually led the Samarian kingdom to sever all ties with the Judean kingdom, to refrain from their pilgrimage to Yerushalayim and the Beis Hamikdash, and to adopt, in the absence of a
tangible link with Hashem, their own form of worship. We learn from this the devastating nature of arrogance and insensitivity. When studying
Yeravam’s behavior one cannot help but wonder, couldn’t Yeravam have shown a scion of Dovid his due honor and respect without threatening Yeravam’s own reign? Why couldn’t Yeravam justify Rechavam’s unique privilege to sit in the Beis Hamikdash as a display of
honor to Hashem’s chosen one, Dovid? The unfortunate reality was that Yeravam could not humble himself to display any overt respect to Rechavam. He conceivably reasoned that a Jewish king must display his absolute authority and that he may never be perceived
as secondary to any other human being. Although this may have been Yeravam’s rationale, Chazal reveal that his mistaken reasoning was rooted in his personal arrogance and unwillingness to show others their due honor and respect. Yeravam’s severe character flaw produced his perverted approach to royal authority and propelled him to alienate his entire kingdom from the remainder of the Jewish people.
The Samarian kingdom’s tragic plunge and devastating end displays how one Jewish person’s indifference to royalty and human honor developed into the total split of our nation. Yeravam did perform a meritorious act, but he did so in an insensitive manner.
Hashem granted Yeravam his well-earned authority, but at the same time, He tested Yeravam in his ability to manage it. Yeravam succumbed to his silent drive for autonomy and could not forgo his personal honor under any circumstances. That quiet but persistent drive severely blinded Yeravam and eventually led him to undermine his own power and to destroy himself and his kingdom. Unfortunately, we learn from this the devastating effect of a character flaw and how one person’s arrogant attitude towards others literally split our people and exiled the bulk of the Jewish nation until the era of Mashiach. (Maharzu to Vayikra Rabba 12:5)

Superhuman Sensitivity

This lesson is apropos to this week’s Parsha wherein the Torah depicts our matriarch Rachel as the paradigm of human sensitivity. Although she undoubtedly realized the immeasurable spiritual benefits of her exclusive relationship with her pious husband Yaakov, she did not become absorbed in her religious pursuit. Even her powerful drive for spiritual greatness and perfection could not eclipse her sensitivity to her sister, Leah. Therefore, when the time called for it, she personally secured her sister’s marriage to her own pre-ordained groom, Yaakov. Rachel conceivably ruled that her exclusive relationship with Yaakov was of no spiritual value if it would bring Leah pain and
embarrassment. She, unlike Yeravam, overcame her religious fervor and was transfixed on her sister’s inevitable pain. Because of Rachel’s sensitivity towards Leah, she opted to disclose Yaakov’s secret signals to her sister and enabled her to conceal her true identity during her forced wedding ceremony and bond with Yaakov. Rachel’s superhuman display of sensitivity and self-sacrifice became the hallmark of the Jewish people’s conduct, and it constantly inspires them to work towards perfection in their interpersonal relationships.
Chazal reveal to us that in the merit of Rachel’s sensitivity Hashem warmly responded to her heartfelt plea on behalf of her children. When the Judean Kingdom’s abhorrent, idolatrous behavior caused them to be exiled to Bavel, Hashem led them out of their homeland by way of Rachel’s tomb. They readily grabbed their opportunity and entreated Rachel to plead to Hashem on their behalf. Rachel began weeping to Hashem and beseeched Him to forgive her children in her merit. She argued that if she — albeit human — acted in a superhuman way and willingly forfeited her perfect, pre-ordained relationship with Yaakov out of sensitivity towards her sister Leah, then Hashem could
certainly forgo His truly deserved honor and forgive Rachel’s children for their disrespect to Him. Hashem warmly responded to Rachel’s plea and He pledged, in the merit of her incredible display of sensitivity, to forgive the Jewish people for their abhorrent insensitivity towards His glory. (intro. to Eicha Rabba) In summary, we learn that although the Judean Kingdom’s painful exile was in effect an outgrowth of outrageous insensitivity towards the ordained rights of others, Rachel’s everlasting meritorious display of sensitivity atoned for that severe flaw. We can
conceivably explain that since Rachel’s superhuman display of self-sacrifice and sensitivity helped shape the character of the Jewish people’s sensitivities, therefore Hashem promised, in her merit, to return her children to their homeland after their seventy-year exile.

Final Redemption

Chafetz Chaim reminds us that our seemingly endless exile is rooted in our insensitivity towards our fellow man, and that we will not merit to return to our homeland until we rectify our flaw. (intro. to Chafetz Chaim) Let us internalize our matriarch, Rachel’s lesson and display proper sensitivity towards others, even when doing mitzvah acts. Let us always remember that our first priority is our Jewish brethren’s well-
deserved honor and respect and let us not permit our religious fervor and zeal to eclipse the true needs and feelings of others. Let us remember our matriarch Rachel’s ruling that no mitzvah act, regardless of its magnitude, can be of value unless it takes the
feelings of others into full consideration. May our nation soon merit Hashem’s return to His beloved people and the reunification of all its precious members.