The scripture from Hosea 2:21-22 which is said
during tefillin is:
“And I will betroth you to me forever;
yes, I will betroth you to me
in righteousness, and in judgment,
and in mercy, and in compassions.
I will betroth you to me in faith,
and you shall know the HASHEM.”
וארשתיך לי לעולם
וארשתיך לי בצדק ובמשפט
ובחסד וברחמים:
וארשתיך לי באמונה
וידעת את יהוה:
Several questions arise about the use of this scripture
during tefillin which we will answer
in the following order סדר.
1. Why was this scripture chosen to be said
during tefillin, and not another scripture from
the Torah itself, or other parts of the Tanach תנך ?
Answer:
The scripture is a declaration of the reign
of the Messiah the son of David
משיח בן דוד over the individual
who is praying and over all Israel.
2. Why does the verse say
“I will betroth you to me forever”?
וארשתיך לי לעולם
Answer:
The verse uses ‘forever’ here because
it is written:
“whosoever trusts in the Messiah Yeshua
has eternal life חיי עולם .”
Eternal life means life that lasts forever,
so HASHEM betroths the person
to himself forever לעולם .
Isaiah 55:3.
“And I will cut an everlasting covenant with you,
even the sure mercies of David.”
ואכרתה לכם ברית עולם
חסדי דוד הנאמנים:
3. Why are the four attributes
Righteousness צדק, Judgment משפט ,
Mercy חסד, and Compassions רחמים
mentioned after this verse,
and not other attributes?
And secondly, why are they mentioned
in this order?
Answer:
These attributes are a description of
the redemptive work of the Messiah משיח .
They are in this order because
it is the order the Messiah
accomplishes his redemptive
work in the individual.
1. Righteousness צדק.
The Messiah Yeshua kept all 613 commandments
of the Torah, and never broke one of them
all the days of his life on the earth. Thus he
completely fulfilled all the righteousness of the Torah.
Psalm 45:7-8.
“You have loved righteousness
and hated wickedness:
Therefore G-d, your G-d
has anointed you with the oil of gladness
above your fellows.”
אהבת צדק
ותשנא רשע
על כן משחך
אלהים אלהיך
שמן ששון מחבריך:
2. Judgment משפט.
The Messiah Yeshua was stricken of G-d,
smitten for our iniquities.
Isaiah 53:4-6
“Surely he has borne our griefs,
and carried our sorrows:
yet we did esteem him stricken,
smitten of G-d, and afflicted.”
אכן חלינו הוא נשא
ומכאבינו סבלם
ואנחנו חשבנהו נגוע
מכה אלהים ומענה:
“All we like sheep have gone astray:
we have turned every one
to his own way;
and HASHEM has laid (smitten him)
on him
the iniquity of us all. “
כלנו כצאן תעינו
איש לדרכו פנינו
ויהוה הפגיע בו
את עון כלנו:
“But he was wounded
for our transgression,
he was bruised for our iniquities:
the chastisement of our peace
was upon him;
and with his stripes we are healed. “
והוא מחולל מפשעינו
מדכא מעונותינו
מוסר שלומנו עליו
ובחבורתו נרפא לנו:
3. Mercy חסד.
a. HASHEM forgives us of all sin and all iniquity
through the atonement of the Messiah Yeshua.
Isaiah 43:25.
“I, even I, am he
who blots out your transgressions
for my own sake,
and will not remember your sins.”
אנכי אנכי הוא
מחה פשעיך למעני
וחטאתיך לא אזכור
b. Then HASHEM cleanses the person who trusts
in the Messiah Yeshua משיח ישוע
from ALL sin and ALL iniquity
through the blood of th Messiah.
It it written in Leviticus 17:11:
“For the life of the flesh is in the blood:
and I have given it to you upon the altar
to make an atonement for your souls:
for it is the blood that makes
an atonement for the soul.”
כי נפש הבשר בדם הוא:
ואני נתתיו לכם על המזבח
לכפר על נפשתיכם
כי הדם הוא בנפש יכפר:
And also in Isaiah 1:18.
“Come now, and let us reason together,
says the HASHEM:
though your sins be as scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they be red like crimson,
they shall be as wool.”
לכו נא ונוכחה
יאמר יהוה
אם יהיו חטאיכם כשנים
כשלג ילבינו
אם יאדימו כתולע
כצמר יהיו:
c. HASHEM remembers the sins
and inquities no more.
Micah 7:19.
“He will subdue our iniquities; and you will cast all their sins
into the depths of the sea.”
יכבש עונותינו
ותשליך במצלות ים
כל חטאתם:
Jeremiah 31:34
“For I will forgive their iniquity
and I will remember their sin no more.”
כי אסלח לעונם
ולחטאתם לא אזכר עוד:
4. Compassions רחמים.
HASHEM pours out his Spirit upon the person
who trusts in the Messiah Yeshua המשיח ישוע ;
and he seals that person to be in
the resurrection of the just.
The person prophesies or
speaks in other tongues.
Concerning prophesying,
the prophet Joel says in Joel 2:28:
“And it shall come to pass afterward,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh;
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy:”
והיה אחרי כן
אשפוך את רוחי
על כל בשר
ונבאו בניכם ובנתיכם:
Concerning speaking in other tongues
the prophet Isaiah says in Isaiah 28:11:
“For with stammering lips and another tongue
will He speak to this people.”
כי בלעני שפה
ובלשון אחרת
ידבר אל העם הזה:
This fulfils the desire of Moses,
the man of G-d, for all Israel.
Numbers 11:29
“And Moses said to him,
Are you jealous for my sake?
Would G-d that all the people of HASHEM
were prophets ,
and that the LORD would put
his Spirit upon them!”
ויאמר לו משה
המקנא אתה לי
ומי יתן כל עם יהוה
נביאים
כי יתן יהוה
את רוחו עליהם:
Concerning the compassions of HASHEM
and the sealing of the person for
the resurrection of the just,
the prophet Isaiah says in Isaiah 54:7-8:
“For a small moment
I have forsaken you;
but with great mercies
will I gather you.
In a little wrath I hid my face
from you for a moment;
but with everlasting kindness
will I have mercy on you,
says HASHEM your redeemer.”
ברגע קטן עזבתיך
וברחמים גדולים אקבצך:
בשצף קצף
הסתרתי פני רגע ממך
ובחסד עולם רחמתיך
אמר גואלך יהוה:
4. After the four attributes,
why does HASHEM say
‘I will betroth you to me
in faith אמונה ?’
Answer:
Because all the words
of HASHEM are sure.
He will certainly establish them
upon the person
that He betroths to himself.
It is written in Numbers 23:19.
“G-d is not a man,
that he should lie;
neither the son of man,
that he should repent:
has he said,
and shall he not do it?
or has he spoken,
and shall he not make it good?”
לא איש אל ויכזב
ובן אדם ויתנחם:
ההוא אמר ולא יעשה
ודבר ולא יקימנה:
Also Faith is a characteristic
of the judgment and
the acts of HASHEM.
It it written in Psalm 96:13:
“He shall judge the world
with righteousness.
and the people
with his faith .”
ישפט תבל בצדק
ועמים באמונתו:
5. Why does the HASHEM say
I will betroth you to me
three times?
Isn’t one time enough?
Answer:
When HASHEM says something twice,
then it is established.
Genesis 41:32.
“And because the dream
was doubled to Pharaoh twice;
it is because the thing
is established by G-d,
and G-d will shortly bring it to pass.”
ועל השנות החלום
אל פרעה פעמים
כי נכון הדבר מעם האלהים
וממהר האלהים לעשתו:
When HASHEM repeats something
three times,
it has the additional force of an oath.
Eternal life is established by HASHEM
in the life of the person who trusts
in the Messiah Yeshua משיח ישוע.
6. Why does he say
“And you shall know the HASHEM?”
Answer.
This phrase is used because
the person comes into an
INTENSE PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP
with HASHEM as a result
of all of the above events.
This is the personal relationship
of a marriage.
It refers to the promise
in Jeremiah 31:34.
“And they shall teach no more
every man his neighbor,
and every man his brother,
saying Know the HASHEM:
for they shall all know me,
from the least of them
to the greatest of them,
says the HASHEM.”
ו לא ילמדו עוד
איש את רעהו
ואיש את אחיו לאמר
דעו את יהוה
כי כולם ידעו אותי
למקטנם ועד גדולם
נאם יהוה:
Because of the intense personal
relationship that the person
has with HASHEM through the
work of the Messiah Yeshua משיח ישוע
which lasts forever,
the person can fulfill the
great mitzvah המצוה הגדול
given to us after the Shema:
Deuteronomy 6:5:
“And you shall love
the HASHEM your G-d
with all your heart,
and with all your soul,
and with all your might.”
ואהבת את
יהוה אלהיך
בכל לבבך
ובכל נפשך
ובכל מאדך: