Why does the word "Aholo" end with a 'Hey' (instead of with a 'Vav')?
Rashi: This hints at the Ten Tribes, whose capital city was Shomron - also known as Aholah (spelled with a 'Hey' - Yechezkel 23:4), who would later be exiled because they indulged in excessive wine-drinking, 1 as stated by the Navi (Amos 6:6).
See Ba'al ha'Turim.
QUESTIONS ON RASHI
Rashi writes: "... this hints to the Ten Tribes... who were exiled due to wine..." What connection does this have with the simple meaning of the verse?
Gur Aryeh #1: Our verse hints at two disastrous results of wine; (a) physical disgrace of the body ("va'Yisgal" - lit. "he became exposed"); (b) losing one's senses of knowledge and intelligence. The latter leads to exile (Galus), because a person is comparable to a tree, but upside-down - his roots connect upward to Heaven through knowledge of HaSh-m. When a person gets drunk he loses that connection, and can be uprooted and displaced. 1
Gur Aryeh #2: Exile also involves exposure, vulnerability and disgrace; the two ideas are connected. 2
