The Divine Providence of Galut: A Talmudic Perspective on the Jewish Diaspora As A Shield Against Genocide of the Jewish Nation (Pesachim 87b)

In a recent piece (“Notes on Some Historical Aspects Relating to Chanukah and the Hasmoneans in the Second Temple Period” [December 9, 2023] > “Quietism in Josephus and the Talmud”), I discussed the quietism of Talmudic rabbis and Josephus, the Three Oaths, and the commandment of living in Israel. Here I'd like to touch on the other side of the coin: the perspective of the Talmud on the Diaspora, meaning, Jews living outside of Israel. The Disapora is referred to in the Talmud as galut - literally, ‘exile’.¹

For some perspective on the centrality of this idea in the next 2000 years, compare the major early Zionist idea of “Negation of the Diaspora”. Negation of the Diaspora - Wikipedia: 

“The negation of the Diaspora (Hebrew: שלילת הגלות, shlilat ha'galut, or Hebrew: שלילת הגולה, shlilat ha'golah) is a central assumption in many currents of Zionism. The concept encourages the dedication to Zionism and it is used to justify the denial of the feasibility of Jewish emancipation in the Diaspora. Life in the Diaspora would either lead to discrimination and persecution or to national decadence and assimilation. A more moderate formulation says that the Jews as a people have no future without a "spiritual center" in the Land of Israel.”

My focus here is on a locus of discussion about galut in the Talmud in pesachim 87a, and a fascinating purported discussion quoted there.

Pesachim 87b (sections # 18-19):

אמר רבי אושעיא, 

מאי דכתיב: ״צדקת פרזונו בישראל״, 

צדקה עשה הקדוש ברוך הוא בישראל שפזרן לבין האומות. 

והיינו דאמר ליה ההוא מינא לרבי חנינא: 

אנן מעלינן מינייכו, 

כתיב בכו: ״כי ששת חדשים ישב שם וגו׳״, 

ואלו אנן איתינכו גבן כמה שני ולא קא עבדינן לכו מידי. 

אמר לו: רצונך יטפל לך תלמיד אחד. 

נטפל ליה רבי אושעיא, אמר ליה: 

משום דלא ידעיתו היכי תעבדו, 

תכלינן כולהו — ליתנהו גבייכו. 

מאי דאיכא גבייכו, קרי לכו מלכותא קטיעתא. 

אמר ליה: גפא דרומאי! בהא נחתינן ובהא סלקינן.

Steinzaltz translation and commentary, with adjustments: 

Rabbi Oshaya said:

 What is the meaning of that which is written: “The righteous acts of His rulers [pirzono] in Israel” (Judges 5:11)? 

The Holy One, Blessed be He, performed a charitable deed toward Israel in that He scattered them [pizran] among the nations; had He exiled them to one place, they could have all been destroyed at once. 

And this concept is that which a certain apostate (מינא) said to Rabbi Ḥanina: 

We gentiles are superior to you Jews in that we have patience. 

It is written of you: “For Joab and all Israel remained there six months until he had cut off every male in Edom” (I Kings 11:16), 

whereas we, although you have been with us for several years, are not doing anything to you. 

He said to him: With your consent, let one student deal with your assertion and answer you. 

Rabbi Oshaya dealt with his assertion and said to him:

This is not a sign of your righteousness but is simply because you do not know how to do it, to destroy us. 

If you seek to destroy all of the Jewish people, you cannot because they are not all with you in your kingdom. 

If you destroy only those Jews who are with you in your kingdom, you will be called a severed kingdom for murdering part of its own population. 

The apostate said to him: I swear by Gappa, god of the Romans, with this problem we lie down and with this problem we rise up, for we are constantly struggling with the dilemma of how to eliminate the Jewish people.

Summary and analysis

Before we summarize and analyze the passage in more detail, let’s discuss the identity of R’ Oshaya’s interlocutor. He is referred to as a “min”. On the term “min” in the Talmud, the literature is extensive. See the Hebrew Wikipedia entry for an overview: 

מינות (יהדות) – ויקיפדיה

Steinzaltz here translates it as apostate, which is a reasonable translation. It might also mean a non-Jewish antisemite (to use an anachronistic term), in this context. This in fact seems more likely, from the fact that he swears at the end by “Gappa [god] of the Romans” (גפא דרומאי).²

On R’ Oshaya (variant: Hoshaya), the rabbis cited as disputing the apostate, the Wikipedia entry states, citing Bacher and others (Hoshaiah Rabbah - Wikipedia): 

Hoshaiah Rabbah or Hoshayya Rabbah (also "Roba", "Berabbi", Hebrew: אושעיא בריבי) was a Amora of the Land of Israel from the first amoraic generation (about 200 CE), compiler of Baraitot explaining the Mishnah-Tosefta [...]

There are more examples in the Talmud to justify the assertion that Hoshaiah as the representative of Judaism was in constant touch with the early Christians at Caesarea, and particularly with Origen, who was ordained presbyter at Caesarea in 228, and who in 231 opened a philosophical and theological school which was attended by persons from all parts, anxious to hear his interpretation of the Christian Scriptures. Origen died in 254 at Tyre, so that his last twenty-five years were spent in the region in which most of the Amoraim lived. 

The "philosopher" whom the latter mention as controverting Hoshaiah's Biblical interpretations was doubtless Origen himself or one of his students. 

The influence brought to bear by Hoshaiah and others probably induced Origen to formulate the doctrine of the different degrees of dignity in the Trinity, for which Origen was accused as a heretic.

And now a point by point summary of the Talmudic passage:

1. Divine Providence in Dispersal: R’ Oshaya begins with word play on a verse from Judges ("The righteous acts of His rulers in Israel") as an allusion to the scattering of the Jewish people among various nations. This dispersal, rather than a punishment, is seen as an act of divine kindness. The rationale is that had the Jews been exiled to one location, they could have been annihilated entirely. This interpretation reflects a belief in divine protection through dispersion, ensuring the survival of the Jewish people despite adversities.

2. Comparison of Patience between Gentiles and Jews: The passage then narrates an interaction between R’ Ḥanina (likely a scribal mistake, and should say: R’ Hiyya, who was R’ Oshaya’s famous teacher) and a min, who claims that “we” (presumably, Romans or Christians) are superior to Jews because they have shown patience in not destroying the Jews, despite having ample opportunity. This claim is contrasted with a Biblical reference (I Kings 11:16) where Yoav and the Israelites eradicated every male in Edom over six months. The reference to Edom is especially apropos, since the Biblical Edom was interpreted by talmudic rabbis as identical to Rome.

3. R’ Oshaya’s Rebuttal: R’ Oshaya addresses this assertion, arguing that the gentiles' apparent patience is not a sign of moral superiority but rather a consequence of practical and political limitations. He explains that the Jews cannot be entirely destroyed because they are dispersed among many nations. Moreover, if a nation were to destroy the Jews within its borders, it would be seen as a "severed kingdom" (מלכותא קטיעתא), guilty of killing its own subjects. This response highlights the complex dynamics of power, perception, and the geopolitical reality of the Jewish diaspora.

4. The Apostate’s Admission: The apostate concedes this point, revealing that the gentiles are indeed troubled by their inability to resolve what they perceive as the 'Jewish problem'. This admission reflects a deep-seated animosity towards the Jewish people. 

Roman Empire vs. Persian Empire/Babylonia

The sugya continues that this antisemitism (so-to-speak)  is particularly an issue in the Roman world, as opposed to the “Babylonian”, or Mesopotamian society, which at the time was ruled by Persia:

Ibid, section # 20: 

תני רבי חייא, 

מאי דכתיב: ״אלהים הבין דרכה והוא ידע את מקומה״, 

יודע הקדוש ברוך הוא את ישראל שאינן יכולין לקבל גזירות של רומיים, לפיכך הגלה אותם לבבל. 

Rabbi Ḥiyya teaches: 

What is the meaning of that which is written: “God understands its ways and He knows its place” (Job 28:23)? 

The Holy One, Blessed be He, knows the Jewish people, who are unable to withstand the harsh decrees of the Romans. Therefore, He exiled them to Babylonia, whose people are less cruel. 

The Talmud then gives two other reasons why the Jews were exiled to Mesopotamia: 

ואמר רבי אלעזר: לא הגלה הקדוש ברוך הוא את ישראל לבבל אלא מפני שעמוקה כשאול, 

שנאמר: ״מיד שאול אפדם ממות אגאלם״. 

רבי חנינא אמר: מפני שקרוב לשונם ללשון תורה. 

And Rabbi Elazar said: The Holy One, Blessed be He, exiled Israel to Babylonia only due to the fact it is a land as deep as the netherworld, i.e., it is a land of plains and valleys, which alludes to that which is stated: “I shall ransom them from the power of the netherworld, I shall redeem them from death” (Hosea 13:14). 

Rabbi Ḥanina said: It is due to the fact that their language, Aramaic, is similar to the language of the Torah, which enables the Jews who live there to study Torah.

1. The word “diaspora” itself is a neologism in the ancient Greek translation of the Torah (the Septuagint), and until relatively recently was only used for the Jewish Diaspora. See Diaspora - Wikipedia > “Etymology”, and Jewish diaspora - Wikipedia > “Origins and uses of the terms”.

2. This is also stated by Norman Solomon, The Talmud: A Selection (2009) who brings this entire passage, and translates min here as “Roman”, stating in a footnote: “Literally, ‘a sectarian’; the context makes [….] clear that it is a Roman”.

As an aside, Solomon in the previous footnote incorrectly explains the initial talmudic line as that in the pshat and the drash the same root is used. In fact, it is a wordplay, based on metathesis (פרזונו - פזרן).