In the haftara for Parashat Bemidbar, the prophet Hoshea (2:18) predicts that in the future, Benei Yisrael will change the way they refer to the Almighty. Rather than calling God "ba'ali," "my husband," the nation will say instead, "ishi," yet another term for "my husband." What does the prophet mean?
Rashi there distinguishes between two different attitudes towards God. "Ba'ali" denotes a relationship of intimidation, by which the nation serves its "spouse" purely out of fear. "Ishi," by contrast, connotes a far more loving, intimate connection, one which the prophet urges the people to forge with the Almighty.
The Radak, however, associates the word "ba'ali" with the influential, ancient idol worship bearing the same name. Throughout the period of the Nevi'im, we find Benei Yisrael succumbing to the cultural pressures around them and serving the pagan deity "ba'al." The Radak claims that the prophet here alludes to the weaning process intended to once and for all rid the people of this dangerous idol. To this end, they would never so much as mention the name "ba'al," not even in the context of a reference to the Almighty Himself.
Professor Nechama Leibowitz develops a third interpretation, which, like that of the Radak, builds on the association with the idol "ba'al." Benei Yisrael looked upon the Almighty in a manner resembling the pagans' attitude towards "ba'al." This idol was seen as the god of fertility and agriculture, responsible for the successful functioning of the natural process of growth and vegetation. (Recall the "showdown" between Eliyahu and the prophets of "ba'al" during the devastating drought in Achav's time, surrounding the issue of who would provide the much-needed rain.) The prophet here accuses Benei Yisrael of failing to look beyond the external cycle of nature and see the Almighty providing their needs or withholding it from them. Hoshea declares, ".. she [Benei Yisrael] did not know that it was I that have her the grain, the wine and the oil." Even if they didn't call their God by the title "ba'al," their attitude towards the Almighty effectively reduced to the same as the perspective of the pagans. They looked only at the external manifestations before them, failing to appreciate the all-powerful Hand of God governing the entire natural world.
Courtesy of Yeshivat Har Etzion - www.etzion.org.il