- With whom does G-d make this covenant?
- What are the terms of this covenant?
- If G-d creates a covenant with all the offspring of Abraham, which nations does that include?
- What are the terms of this covenant?
- What are the Israelites "chosen" to do/be here?
- What is their response to being chosen?
(2) For thou art a holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen thee to be His own treasure out of all peoples that are upon the face of the earth. (3) Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing.
1. Why do you think that chosen-ness is referenced along with the laws of Kashrut?
Who is doing the choosing in this source?
(1) Behold My servant, whom I uphold; Mine elect, in whom My soul delighteth; I have put My spirit upon him, He shall make go forth to the nations with laws.
What is the mission of the chosen people in this verse?
(ו) אֲנִי יְהוָה קְרָאתִיךָ בְצֶדֶק וְאַחְזֵק בְּיָדֶךָ וְאֶצָּרְךָ וְאֶתֶּנְךָ לִבְרִית עָם לְאוֹר גּוֹיִם. (ז) לִפְקֹחַ עֵינַיִם עִוְרוֹת לְהוֹצִיא מִמַּסְגֵּר אַסִּיר מִבֵּית כֶּלֶא יֹשְׁבֵי חֹשֶׁךְ.
(6) I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, And have taken hold of thy hand, And kept thee, and set thee for a covenant of the people, For a light of the nations; (7) To open the blind eyes, To bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, And them that sit in darkness out of the prison-house. .
What is the mission of those who are chosen in this source?
What is the mission here?
Is there a price to being chosen?
Talmud Bavli - Shabbat 88a
And they stood under the mount:16 R. Abdimi b. Hama b. Hasa said: This teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, overturned the mountain upon them like an [inverted] cask, and said to them,'If ye accept the Torah, 'tis well; if not, there shall be your burial.' R. Aha b. Jacob observed: This furnishes a strong protest against the Torah.17 Said Raba, Yet even so, they re-accepted it in the days of Ahasuerus, for it is written, [the Jews] confirmed, and took upon them [etc.]:18 [i.e.,] they confirmed what they had accepted long before. Hezekiah said: What is meant by, Thou didst cause sentence to be heard from Heaven; The earth feared, and was tranquil:19 if it feared, why was it tranquil, and if it was tranquil, why did it fear? But at first it feared, yet subsequently it was tranquil,20 And why did it fear? — Even in accordance with Resh Lakish. For Resh Lakish said: Why is it written, And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day;21 What is the purpose of the additional 'the'?22 This teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, stipulated with the Works of Creation and said thereto. 'If Israel accepts the Torah, ye shall exist; but if not, I will turn you back into emptiness and formlessness.'23
Chosen-ness in the Liturgy
"She-lo Asanu K'Goyei Ha'aratzot, V'Lo Samanu K'Mishpechot HaAdamah"
That he did not make us like the people of other lands, and did not grant us like the other families of the land. - Aleinu
"Blessed are you, Lord our God, Who chose us from all the other nations, and gave us his Torah, Blessed are you God who gave us the Torah."
Lurianic Kabbalah
Choseness is mission to do Tikkun Olam by finding sparks.
Modern Approaches
"We have not chosen God; He has chosen us. There is no concept of a chosen God but there is the idea of a chosen people. The idea of a chosen people does not suggest the preference for a people based upon a discrimination among a number of peoples. We do not say that we are superior people. The "chosen people" means a people approached and chosen by God. The significance of this term is genuine in relation to God rather than in relation to other peoples. It signifies not a quality inherent in the people but a relationship between the people and God." - Heschel
"The idea of race or national superiority exercises divisive influences generating suspicion and hatred...we cannot assume that Israel must at all times possess that spirit to a higher degree than other people." "Thank God I had had the courage to go through with the excision of such a cancerous growth from the Jewish consciousness ..." -Kaplan
Barult atah adonay eloheynu meleh ha'olam asher kervanu
la'avodato venatan lanu et torato.
Baruh atah adonay noten hatorah