Hosea 2:1-22.
This week's haftorah begins with the words, "The number of the
children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea [shore], which can be neither
measured nor counted." An appropriate reading for the first Torah reading of the
Book of Numbers.
Hosea first prophesies about the eventual reunification of the houses of Judah and Israel.
During the Messianic Era, these two perennial antagonists will make peace and appoint
a single leader. Hosea then rebukes the Jewish people for their infidelity,
abandoning their "husband," G-d, and engaging in adulterous affairs with pagan
deities. He describes the punishments they will suffer because of this
unfaithfulness.
Eventually, though, Hosea reassures the Jews that they will repent, and G‑d
will accept then back wholeheartedly. The haftorah concludes with the moving words: "And I will betroth you to Me forever, and I will betroth you to Me with righteousness and with justice and with loving-kindness and with mercy."
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