말라기 1:11의 인용 해설

And there they became a ‘great’ nation - This teaches us that Israel became distinctive there: Like its English counterpart, the word “Gadol” ‘great,’ has two meanings; it can mean “large” in a physical sense or it can also mean “great” in a qualitative and spiritual sense. In this verse it is not clear in which sense “Gadol’ is being used. Did Israel become physically great by increasing in number or did they become a great nation by vitrue of the character and integrity? The Maggid understands ‘great’ in the second sense of the word but it is not clear how he arrives at this conclusion. Rabbi Epstein explains that the Maggid arrives at this interpretation based on the use of the word “Am” instead of the word “Goy” for nation. Although these two words mean nation they have different connotations. The word “Am” implies a large nation and is often used in a disparaging way in the Bible. (See Rashi, Numbers 11:1.) When Israel is referred to as a “Goy,” it is usually used in a more complimentary way, such as Samuel 11, 7:23, “Israel is a unique nation on earth,” and Genesis 25:23, “There are two nations in your womb,” implying that the two sons to which Rebecca would give birth would each be the father of a great nation. The fact that the verse calls Israel a “Goy Gadol” implies that they are a great nation and not just a large nation....

This promise is like a tree which has many branches. We are told in Shabbat 63 that if a Jew intends to perform a commandment and is prevented from doing so by forces beyond his control he is nonetheless given the reward applicable to a person who has fulfilled this commandment. If, however, the same Jew (or another Jew) intended to violate one of G'ds' commandments and was fortunate enough to have been prevented from doing so by forces beyond his control, he is not punished, i.e. his evil intention is not culpable. This is a halachah which defies logic. Interestingly, the same halachah rules that the very opposite holds true in the case of Gentiles. Whereas a good deed intended but not actually performed is not rewarded, the intention to commit a sin though not carried out is nonetheless punishable. Logic, or "nature" would have dictated that we either judge someone according to his intent or according to his deeds. How can one apply such a double standard? We are taught in Sanhedrin 59 that if a Cuti (non-Jew who has adopted many Jewish laws) studies the Torah and as a result observes the Sabbath (in the manner Jews do), he is guilty of the death penalty. He is not even supposed to observe the other commandments which G'd gave the Jewish people exclusively. How could this be so seeing that performance of these commandments is something G'd approves of as a good deed or He would not have commanded the Jewish people to perform such commandments? The Torah answers such questions by promising "you will be a treasure for Me from amongst all the nations," i.e. the Torah has accorded to you the key to determine which deed is a good deed based on the laws of the Torah. Seeing כי לי כל הארץ, that the whole earth is Mine, I G'd have the right to let you determine what is a good deed and what is not and under what circumstances such a deed is good. When G'd said מכל העמים, this means that should people at large claim that such special treatment of the Jewish people is totally unjust and that as long as the members of the other nations are but willing to conform to the laws of the Torah they should also be the beneficiaries of such observances, G'd says: "the whole earth is Mine," i.e. I can choose who I wish to treat as someone special. Since we know from Sifri on Deut. 33,2 that the other nations rejected the Torah when G'd offered it to them, and as a result G'd could not demonstrate that He treated us as a treasure by allowing us credit for things the Gentiles do not get credit for, how does G'd demonstrate that we are His special treasure? G'd answers this by saying: "the whole earth is Mine.," G'd indicates with these words that there are people in every nation who do recognise His being the Supreme G'd. This fact is spelled out in greater detail by the prophet in Maleachi 1,11 who describes that members of all nations from where the sun rises to where it sets, offer incense and pure gift offerings to the Lord, etc. G'd states that the members of those nations do not receive a reward from Him for doing so, their pious deeds do not make an impact on G'd. It is clear therefore that Israel's being a סגולה amongst all the nations has a great deal of practical meaning.

ועתה לא יבצר מהם, in view of these circumstances, if left alone, they would complete what they have set out to do, so that this form of idolatry they have agreed on would henceforth be something embraced by all of mankind. Not a single one of them would turn to the Creator of the universe and realise that He, and He alone, is the Creator of the entire universe. On the other hand, the opposite will occur if discord will break out among them regarding the supremacy of any of the deities versus the competing ones. In such a scenario, every nation would believe that there is one deity that is superior to all the various national deities, whose concern is only with the particular nation worshipping that deity. All the minor deities would have to subordinate themselves to the power of that super-deity. The prophet Maleachi 1,11 expresses this in the following words: ”for from where the sun rises to where it sets, My name is honoured among the nations;” כי ממזרח שמש ועד מבואו גדול שמי בגוים.