The Divine Strategy of Dispersion: A D’var Torah on the Parshah & Haftarah of Toldot
In rabbinic thought, Jacob and Esau transcend their biblical narrative to become archetypal representations of the relationship between Jews and the nations. The Midrash (Bereshit Rabbah 63:6) teaches: “It is a halakhah – it is known that Esau hates Jacob,” establishing not merely a sibling rivalry but a cosmic tension. The Talmud (Megillah 6a) declares: “Caesarea and Jerusalem – if one is built up, the other is destroyed,” reading Esau/Edom as Rome, as empire, as concentrated territorial power. The outlook about empires’ and other peoples’ perspective regarding Jews seems dark and endangers us.
Yet, there is complexity and opportunity in the meeting between Israel and the nations. The Zohar notes that Esau’s head is buried in the Cave of Machpelah alongside the patriarchs, suggesting that even in opposition, there remains potential for ultimate reconciliation.
Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin (the Netziv) taught that when the brothers finally meet in Genesis 33, “Esau ran to meet him (Jacob) and embraced him” – the kiss was genuine, a moment when the cosmic opposition yielded to human brotherhood.
This dialectic of separation and connection, particular destiny and universal togetherness, frames how we understand the haftarah’s profound message about Jewish dispersion as divine strategy.
The Haftarah’s Opening Challenge
The haftarah begins with what seems like stark particularism:
Malachi 1:1-3:
“מַשָּׂא דְבַר־ה’ אֶל־יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּיַד מַלְאָכִי׃ אָהַבְתִּי אֶתְכֶם אָמַר ה’ וַאֲמַרְתֶּם בַּמָּה אֲהַבְתָּנוּ הֲלוֹא־אָח עֵשָׂו לְיַעֲקֹב נְאֻם־ה’ וָאֹהַב אֶת־יַעֲקֹב׃ וְאֶת־עֵשָׂו שָׂנֵאתִי…”
“The burden of the word of the Lord to Israel by Malachi: ‘I have loved you,’ says the Lord. But you say, ‘How have You loved us?’ ‘Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?’ declares the Lord. ‘Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated…'”
This declaration establishes an unbridgeable divide – divine love for Jacob/Israel, rejection of Esau/Edom. But Malachi’s prophecy doesn’t end with separation. Instead, it reveals how this particular choice serves universal purposes.
The Geographic Expansion of Divine Recognition – Symbolic of Universal Embrace
The crucial transformation comes in Malachi 1:5:
“וְעֵינֵיכֶם תִּרְאֶינָה וְאַתֶּם תֹּאמְרוּ יִגְדַּל ה’ מֵעַל לִגְבוּל יִשְׂרָאֵל׃” “Your own eyes shall see this, and you shall say, ‘Great is the Lord beyond the borders of Israel!'”
The Radak (Rabbi David Kimchi) comments: “This refers to the time of exile when Jews are scattered from east to west, and wherever they are, they sanctify God’s name. Even among the nations, God’s name becomes great through Israel’s presence.”
Here the prophet reveals the paradox: God’s special love for Jacob doesn’t confine divine greatness to Jacob’s territory. Rather, it ensures that this greatness will be recognized “beyond the borders of Israel.” The dispersion that seems like punishment becomes the mechanism for recognition of the Divine, of a shared destiny wherein each people and territory plays a role in God’s plan.
The Universal Worship Prophecy
Malachi’s vision reaches its crescendo in one of the most stunning universalist prophecies in scripture:
Malachi 1:11:
“כִּי מִמִּזְרַח־שֶׁמֶשׁ וְעַד־מְבוֹאוֹ גָּדוֹל שְׁמִי בַּגּוֹיִם וּבְכָל־מָקוֹם מֻקְטָר מֻגָּשׁ לִשְׁמִי וּמִנְחָה טְהוֹרָה כִּי־גָדוֹל שְׁמִי בַּגּוֹיִם אָמַר ה’ צְבָאוֹת׃”
“For from the rising of the sun to its setting, My name is great among the nations, and in every place incense is offered to My name, and a pure offering. For My name is great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts.”
Rashi offers two interpretations: “Either this refers to converts who will worship God in every place, or to Jews in exile who offer prayers instead of sacrifices in every location.”
The Malbim provides a synthetic reading: “The prophet reveals that the destruction of the Temple and dispersion of Israel serves a higher purpose – to universalize divine worship. What seems like catastrophe (the end of Temple service) actually enables global recognition of God.”
This directly connects to the teaching in Pesachim 87b:
“אמר רבי אלעזר: לא הגלה הקדוש ברוך הוא את ישראל לבין האומות אלא כדי שיתוספו עליהם גרים, שנאמר: ‘וזרעתיה לי בארץ’ (הושע ב:כה). כלום אדם זורע סאה אלא להכניס כמה כורים!”
“Rabbi Eleazar said: The Holy One, blessed be He, did not exile Israel among the nations except so that converts would be added to them, as it is stated: ‘And I will sow her for Myself in the earth’ (Hosea 2:25). Does a person sow a se’ah except to harvest many korim?”
The agricultural metaphor is precise – seeds must be scattered widely to maximize harvest. Concentration in one place limits growth potential. The Maharsha explains: “Just as seeds must decompose in the earth before sprouting, so too Israel must experience the ‘decomposition’ of dispersion to ultimately flourish and multiply spirituality.”
The Priesthood Transformed
The haftarah’s second chapter redefines religious leadership for a dispersed people:
Malachi 2:6:
“תּוֹרַת אֱמֶת הָיְתָה בְּפִיהוּ וְעַוְלָה לֹא־נִמְצָא בִשְׂפָתָיו בְּשָׁלוֹם וּבְמִישׁוֹר הָלַךְ אִתִּי וְרַבִּים הֵשִׁיב מֵעָוֹן׃” “True instruction was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with Me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity.”
The phrase “ורבים השיב מעון” – “turned many from iniquity” – extends influence beyond the Jewish people. The Talmud (Makkot 24a) reads this as referring to converts influenced by exemplary Jewish behavior. But as Rabbi Jonathan Sacks notes in Future Tense: “Malachi’s vision of God’s name being great among the nations is not about conversion to Judaism but about Jewish influence on civilization. Ethical monotheism, the concept of human dignity, the Sabbath as social institution – these Jewish ideas have indeed spread from sunrise to sunset.”
Contemporary Resonance
Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook in Orot presents a mystical understanding: “The dispersion of Israel serves a cosmic purpose. Just as light must be refracted through a prism to reveal its full spectrum, so too the divine light within Israel must be dispersed through the nations to reveal its universal dimensions. The converts who join are not additions but revelations of sparks that were always meant to be gathered.”
Emmanuel Levinas in “Difficult Freedom” engages this philosophically: “The Talmud’s agricultural metaphor subverts the tragedy of exile. To be sown is to be given purpose beyond mere survival. The Jew in exile is not homeless but planted. The encounter with the Other – the potential convert – is not incidental but essential to the Jewish mission. We do not simply endure exile; we transform it into ethical encounter.”
The Hasidic masters read this passage mystically – every Jew in exile elevates sparks of holiness trapped in that particular place. The ‘converts’ are these sparks returning to their source. Exile becomes a divine mission and not a punishment. The Jew in Manhattan, Mumbai, or Melbourne is there to gather specific sparks that only they can reach.
The Esau-Jacob Dynamic Reconsidered
Through the lens of divine dispersion, the Jacob-Esau relationship in the haftarah takes on new meaning. Esau represents the model of concentrated territorial power – building kingdoms, amassing strength in specific locations. Jacob represents a different model – influence through dispersion, power through ideas rather than armies, transformation through presence rather than conquest.
The divine “hatred” of Esau might be understood not as emotional rejection but as rejection of the model that sees concentrated territorial power as the sole path to significance. Rabbi Norman Lamm observed: “Malachi’s prophecy of worship ‘in every place’ could only be fulfilled through dispersion. The Temple’s destruction, traumatic as it was, enabled Judaism to become portable, universal in reach while particular in practice.”
Promise of Connection
The haftarah’s vision finds remarkable fulfillment in our contemporary moment. When Jews in Buenos Aires study Torah with teachers in Jerusalem via Zoom, when a physician in Mumbai applies Jewish medical ethics to her practice – they fulfill Malachi’s prophecy of divine service “from the rising of the sun to its setting.”
The divine strategy of dispersion creates a worldwide network of mutual enrichment. As Rabbi David Hartman wrote: “This text suggests that Jewish particularism serves universal ends. The dispersion ensures that Jewish values and insights engage with diverse cultures. The ‘converts’ need not be understood literally as those who formally convert, but as all who are influenced by Jewish ethical monotheism in its various cultural incarnations.”
The Hope of Turning
The haftarah’s promise that religious leadership will turn “many from iniquity” speaks to our contemporary moment with particular power. In an era of rising antisemitism, we also witness remarkable allies – those who stand with Jewish communities who are threatened by terrorist-sympathizers and attacked on university campuses.
Rabbi Sharon Brous captures this contemporary reality: “The global Jewish response to recent challenges demonstrates that our dispersion creates a worldwide network of mutual support. The ‘converts’ today might be understood as allies who stand with us against antisemitism because they’ve witnessed Jewish values in action in their communities.”
Conclusion: The Blessing of Global Presence
Malachi’s prophecy transforms our understanding of Jewish dispersion from exile to mission, from punishment to purpose. Every Jewish community worldwide, whether in the thriving centers of Israel or the smallest minyan in the most remote location, participates in this divine strategy. We are positioned for maximum influence.
The tension between Jacob and Esau, between particularism and universalism, between concentration and dispersion, need not be resolved but rather held in creative balance. As Rabbi Jonathan Sacks taught: “The passage need not be read as preferring exile to sovereignty. Rather, it teaches that even involuntary dispersion can serve redemptive purposes. In our era, when we have both Israel and a strong diaspora, we can see this as describing not either/or but both/and. Israel is the heart; diaspora communities are the limbs – both necessary for a living body.”
The divine promise echoes through Malachi’s words – God’s name will be great “among the nations,” not through conquest but through encounter. Jewish literacy and living in a Jewish way become personal joys and civic engagement. The blessing of dispersion is to insist that together with our brothers and sisters – Jacob and Esau – we can flourish together under the the Sukkat Shalom, the sukkah of peace that God will spread over us as we work to fulfill the vision of our prophets.
“Great is the Lord beyond the borders of Israel!”
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Bolton