הנביא מרבה לתאר את חומרת הענישה, כדי שהעם יפנים את המציאות הקשה העומדת לפתחו, ואולי ישוב אל ה' ויצליח לבלום את הרעה.

מדוע בחר הושע להתעמת דווקא עם סיפור יעקב מספר בראשית?

הרמיה והבוגדנות נמצאות אצל העם גם במישור האישי - בינם לבין עצמם וגם במישור הלאומי - בינם לבין עמים אחרים. הדרך לתיקון המציאות הזו היא על ידי שיבה אל ה'.

     The story of Rivka’s selection as a bride for Yitzchak begins an unmistakable pattern of marriage partners being found and/or chosen specifically at the site of a well.  Later in Sefer Bereishit (29) we read of Yaakov’s arrival at the well outside Charan, where he meets Rachel, whom he eventually marries.  The third instance is Moshe’s encounter at the well in Midyan, where he rescues Yitro’s daughters from hostile local shepherds.  Later, of course, he would marry one of the women he had rescued (Shemot 2).

       Parashat Chayei-Sara tells of the marriage of Yitzchak and Rivka.  Rashi, in the beginning of Parashat Toledot (25:20), famously cites the comment of the Seder Olam Rabba that Rivka was all of three years old when she married Yitzchak.  The exegetical basis of this startling theory is the series of verses that follows the account of akeidat Yitzchak(22:20-24), which tells that Avraham learned of the birth of his brother’s children and grandchildren.  The list of Avraham’s brother’s offspring concludes with Rivka, and according to the Seder Olam Rabba, this

    The opening section of Parashat Chayei-Sara records a perplexing exchange between Avraham and the members of the Chittite tribe in Chevron revolving around Avraham’s quest for a burial site for his deceased wife, Sara. A close reading of the text will help clarify what precisely it was that Avraham and the Chittites were negotiating, and what their discussion was really about.

Who is Ketura, and what is the significance of Avraham's marriage to her?

 Rivka, it seems, wanted to begin her marriage with Yitzchak on “equal footing,” avoiding even the impression of superiority. 

       Parashat Chayei Sara tells the story of Yitzchak’s marriage to Rivka, the daughter of his first cousin.  Avraham assigned his servant the task of finding a suitable mate for Yitzchak, and upon the servant’s return with Rivka, they encountered Yitzchak, who had gone out into the field “la-su’ach” (24:63).  The Gemara in Masekhet Berakhot (26b; see also Bereishit Rabba 60:14) interprets this term as a reference to prayer, and thus infers from this verse that Yitzchak instituted the afternoon mincha service.  A verse in Tehillim (102:1), as the Gemara cites, s

        Parashat Chayei-Sara begins by telling of Sara’s death and Avraham’s subsequent purchase of Me’arat Ha-makhpela as a burial site.  Ibn Ezra (23:19) comments that this story is recorded in the Torah in order to demonstrate “the greatness of the Land of Israel for both the living and the dead.”  Seemingly, this means that Avraham’s efforts to secure a burial plot for Sara in the Land of Israel shows the importance he afforded to the value of residing in Israelnot only during one’s lifetime, but even after death.  (Ibn Ezra further comments that this incident is significant in