Haftarat Parshat Vayetze: God’s Unending Love

Despite variations in the choice of verses, all traditions – Ashkenazim, Sefaradim, and Teimanim – read from the closing chapters of Hoshea for the haftorah of Parshat Vayetze. Taken together, these traditions give us the opportunity to hear the message of the prophet Hoshea, the first of the minor prophets, in addition to identifying the connection to our parsha.

What is most striking about Hoshea’s prophecies is the juxtaposition of his stern rebuke of the people alongside his belief in God’s unyielding love for them. The prophet witnesses and bemoans the sinfulness of the people as they demonstrate infidelity to God and injustice to their fellow men and women.

“Ephraim surrounds Me with deceit, the House of Israel with guile” (Hoshea, 12:1). Hoshea gives language to God’s fury at such behavior: “Like a bear robbed of her young I attack them, and rip open the casing of their hearts; I will devour them there like a lion, the beasts of the field shall mangle them” (13:8).

Yet despite the threat of destruction, Hoshea shares with us God’s insistence on continuing to love us. “I will heal their affliction, generously will I take them back in love; for My anger has turned away from them” (14:5).

This prophetic orientation, insisting on divine love even in the midst of divine disappointment, stands out in Hoshea’s prophecies. “Hosea came to spell out the astonishing fact of God’s love for man. God is not only the Lord who demands justice; He is also a God Who is in love with His people.” (Heschel, The Prophets, 44)

And in the midst of these prophecies, we meet Yaakov, who also plays a central role in our parsha. In passing, Hoshea mentions Yaakov’s flight to Aram, where he worked in order to be granted a wife. As the hook from the haftarah back to the parsha, it is easy to overlook the relevance of the verse within the broader scope of the prophetic message.

Hoshea is rebuking the people for their trickery in business, which they deny constitutes real wrongdoing. “A trader who uses false balances, who loves to overreach. Ephraim thinks, “I have become rich; I have gotten power! All my gains do not amount to an offense that is real guilt” (12:8-9).

It is here that God reminds the people of Yaakov, whose story abounds in accusations of trickery, and who is eventually fooled by Lavan into first marrying Leah before wedding Rachel. Here, the people are being reminded that Yaakov, on the heels of fleeing the brother with whom he’s had an uneasy relationship, himself becomes the victim of trickery. 

Yet all this fits within the broader flow of Hoshea’s message – that even in the face of sinfulness, God does not forsake the people, but rather God desires our eventual return. 

The closing verses of the haftarah make a second appearance on Shabbat Shuva, as Hoshea pleads with us, on God’s behalf, to return to God and mend our ways, assuring us that God “will be like dew to Israel, who will blossom like a lily” (14:6). This is the message we need to carry with us – always, and especially in this moment. 

God does not forsake us, and God’s love for us NEVER expires. Even when we fall short of divine expectations, the door towards return is never shut, and the invitation is never rescinded. It may take seven years of toil or more, but there is always a way back to the all-loving God.