Chosenness

ByRabbi Suzy Stone

Concepts

שמות י״ט:ד׳-ו׳

אַתֶּם רְאִיתֶם אֲשֶׁר עָשִׂיתִי לְמִצְרָיִם וָאֶשָּׂא אֶתְכֶם עַל כַּנְפֵי נְשָׁרִים וָאָבִא אֶתְכֶם אֵלָי. וְעַתָּה אִם שָׁמוֹעַ תִּשְׁמְעוּ בְּקֹלִי וּשְׁמַרְתֶּם אֶת בְּרִיתִי וִהְיִיתֶם לִי סְגֻלָּה מִכָּל הָעַמִּים כִּי לִי כָּל הָאָרֶץ. וְאַתֶּם תִּהְיוּ לִי מַמְלֶכֶת כֹּהֲנִים וְגוֹי קָדוֹשׁ.

Exodus 19:4-6

You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings, and brought you to Me. Now therefore, if you will hearken to My voice, and keep My covenant, then you shall be Mine own treasure from among all peoples; for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation.

Sforno: “A Kingdom of Priests to the entire human race, so that they may call in the name of God, to serve him together.”

דברים י״ד:ב׳

כִּי עַם קָדוֹשׁ אַתָּה לַיהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ וּבְךָ בָּחַר יְהוָה לִהְיוֹת לוֹ לְעַם סְגֻלָּה מִכֹּל הָעַמִּים אֲשֶׁר עַל פְּנֵי הָאֲדָמָה.

Deuteronomy 14:2

For you are a holy people to Adonai your God, and Adonai has chosen you to be His treasure out of all peoples that are upon the face of the earth.

Rashi: For you are a holy people: Your holiness stems from your forefathers, and, moreover, “the Lord has chosen you.” - [Sifrei]

כי עם קדוש אתה: קדושת עצמך מאבותיך. ועוד, ובך בחר ה':

Bal Shem Tov

G-d gives physical form to the spiritual; the Jew makes spiritual the physical.

דברים ז׳:ז׳-ח׳

לֹא מֵרֻבְּכֶם מִכָּל הָעַמִּים חָשַׁק יְהוָה בָּכֶם וַיִּבְחַר בָּכֶם כִּי אַתֶּם הַמְעַט מִכָּל הָעַמִּים. כִּי מֵאַהֲבַת יְהוָה אֶתְכֶם וּמִשָּׁמְרוֹ אֶת הַשְּׁבֻעָה אֲשֶׁר נִשְׁבַּע לַאֲבֹתֵיכֶם הוֹצִיא יְהוָה אֶתְכֶם בְּיָד חֲזָקָה וַיִּפְדְּךָ מִבֵּית עֲבָדִים מִיַּד פַּרְעֹה מֶלֶךְ מִצְרָיִם.

Deuteronomy 7:7-8

Adonai did not set His love upon you, nor choose you, because you were more numerous than all other people-- for you were fewer than all other peoples-- but because Adonai loved you, and because God would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers-- for Adonai to bring you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

If the Jews are chosen to serve for all eternity as a light unto the nations, it is because God, in the words of the theologian Michael Wyschogrod, “sees the face of his beloved Abraham in each and every one of his children as a man sees the face of his beloved in the children of his union with his beloved.”

ישעיהו מ״ב:א׳-ו׳

הֵן עַבְדִּי אֶתְמָךְ בּוֹ בְּחִירִי רָצְתָה נַפְשִׁי נָתַתִּי רוּחִי עָלָיו מִשְׁפָּט לַגּוֹיִם יוֹצִיא. לֹא יִצְעַק וְלֹא יִשָּׂא וְלֹא יַשְׁמִיעַ בַּחוּץ קוֹלוֹ. קָנֶה רָצוּץ לֹא יִשְׁבּוֹר וּפִשְׁתָּה כֵהָה לֹא יְכַבֶּנָּה לֶאֱמֶת יוֹצִיא מִשְׁפָּט. לֹא יִכְהֶה וְלֹא יָרוּץ עַד יָשִׂים בָּאָרֶץ מִשְׁפָּט וּלְתוֹרָתוֹ אִיִּים יְיַחֵילוּ. כֹּה אָמַר הָאֵל יְהוָה בּוֹרֵא הַשָּׁמַיִם וְנוֹטֵיהֶם רֹקַע הָאָרֶץ וְצֶאֱצָאֶיהָ נֹתֵן נְשָׁמָה לָעָם עָלֶיהָ וְרוּחַ לַהֹלְכִים בָּהּ. אֲנִי יְהוָה קְרָאתִיךָ בְצֶדֶק וְאַחְזֵק בְּיָדֶךָ וְאֶצָּרְךָ וְאֶתֶּנְךָ לִבְרִית עָם לְאוֹר גּוֹיִם.

Isaiah 42:1-6

Behold My servant, I will support him; My chosen one whom my soul delights in, I have placed My spirit upon him, He shall spread justice to the nations....He shall not fail nor be crushed, until he has brought justice to the land....I am YHVH who has called you in righteousness, and grasped you by your hand and in your land I have given you a covenant to be a light unto the nations.

בראשית א׳:כ׳

וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים יִשְׁרְצוּ הַמַּיִם שֶׁרֶץ נֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה וְעוֹף יְעוֹפֵף עַל הָאָרֶץ עַל פְּנֵי רְקִיעַ הַשָּׁמָיִם.

Genesis 1:20

And God said: ‘Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let fowl fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.’

Zohar: Creatures that have a "soul"-- that pertains to the Jews, for they are the Children of God, and from God came their holy souls....And the souls of other nations, from where do they come? Rabbi Elazar says that they have souls from the impure left side, and therefore, they are all impure, defiling anyone who comes near them.

Tanya Ch. 1: The souls of the nations of the world, however, emanate from the other, unclean kelipot which contain no good whatsoever.

"The more extreme, and exclusive, interpretations of the doctrine of election among Jewish thinkers, were partly the result of reaction to oppression by the non-Jewish world. The more the Jew was forced to close in on himself, to withdraw into the imposed confines of the ghetto, the more he tended to emphasize Israel's difference from the cruel gentile without. Only thus did his suffering become intelligible and bearable. This type of interpretation reaches its hight in the Kabbalistic idea that while the souls of Israel stem from God, the souls of gentiles are merely of base material." ~ Lou Silberman, 2008

Isaac Meyer Wise (1819-1900, Prague/US)

"The idea of the Jews returning to Palestine is no part of our creed. We, rather, believe it is God’s will that the habitable world become one holy land, the human family one chosen people." Judaism, he declared, was a world-wide religion: "The Jew’s nationality is not endemic; it is not conditioned by space, land or water. The Jew’s nationality...is not in his blood...It is all intellectual and moral, without any reference to soil, climate, or any other circumstance. The Jewish nationality...has been made portable."

Pittsburgh Platform, 1885

1. We recognize in every religion an attempt to grasp the Infinite, and in every mode, source or book of revelation held sacred in any religious system the consciousness of the indwelling of God in man. We hold that Judaism presents the highest conception of the God-idea as taught in our Holy Scriptures and developed and spiritualized by the Jewish teachers, in accordance with the moral and philosophical progress of their respective ages.

2. We recognize in the Bible the record of the consecration of the Jewish people to its mission as the priest of the one God, and value it as the most potent instrument of religious and moral instruction. We hold that the modern discoveries of scientific researches in the domain of nature and history are not antagonistic to the doctrines of Judaism, the Bible reflecting the primitive ideas of its own age, and at times clothing its conception of divine Providence and Justice dealing with men in miraculous narratives.

6. We recognize in Judaism a progressive religion, ever striving to be in accord with the postulates of reason....Christianity and Islam, being daughter religions of Judaism, we appreciate their providential mission, to aid in the spreading of monotheistic and moral truth. We acknowledge that the spirit of broad humanity of our age is our ally in the fulfillment of our mission, and therefore we extend the hand of fellowship to all who cooperate with us in the establishment of the reign of truth and righteousness among men.

Rabbi Leo Baeck (1873-1956, Germany)

"Jews possess a special genius for ethical monotheism which keeps the idea alive even today. Were the Jews and Judaism to disappear, ethical monotheism would lose its irreplaceable advocate and might itself disappear."

Reform Platform, 1976

Religious Practice -- Judaism emphasizes action rather than creed as the primary expression of a religious life, the means by which we strive to achieve universal justice and peace. Reform Judaism shares this emphasis on duty and obligation. Our founders stressed that the Jew's ethical responsibilities, personal and social, are enjoined by God. The past century has taught us that the claims made upon us may begin with our ethical obligations but they extend to many other aspects of Jewish living, including: creating a Jewish home centered on family devotion: lifelong study; private prayer and public worship; daily religious observance; keeping the Sabbath and the holy days: celebrating the major events of life; involvement with the synagogues and community; and other activities which promote the survival of the Jewish people and enhance its existence.

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Prophets (1962)

"The ultimate purpose of a prophet is not to be inspired but to inspire people; not to be filled with a passion, but to impassion the people with understanding for God."

בראשית י״ז:ז׳-ט׳

(ז) וַהֲקִמֹתִ֨י אֶת־בְּרִיתִ֜י בֵּינִ֣י וּבֵינֶ֗ךָ וּבֵ֨ין זַרְעֲךָ֧ אַחֲרֶ֛יךָ לְדֹרֹתָ֖ם לִבְרִ֣ית עוֹלָ֑ם לִהְי֤וֹת לְךָ֙ לֵֽאלֹהִ֔ים וּֽלְזַרְעֲךָ֖ אַחֲרֶֽיךָ׃ (ח) וְנָתַתִּ֣י לְ֠ךָ וּלְזַרְעֲךָ֨ אַחֲרֶ֜יךָ אֵ֣ת ׀ אֶ֣רֶץ מְגֻרֶ֗יךָ אֵ֚ת כָּל־אֶ֣רֶץ כְּנַ֔עַן לַאֲחֻזַּ֖ת עוֹלָ֑ם וְהָיִ֥יתִי לָהֶ֖ם לֵאלֹהִֽים׃ (ט) וַיֹּ֤אמֶר אֱלֹהִים֙ אֶל־אַבְרָהָ֔ם וְאַתָּ֖ה אֶת־בְּרִיתִ֣י תִשְׁמֹ֑ר אַתָּ֛ה וְזַרְעֲךָ֥ אַֽחֲרֶ֖יךָ לְדֹרֹתָֽם׃

Genesis 17:7-9

(7) I will maintain My covenant between Me and you, and your offspring to come, as an everlasting covenant throughout the ages, to be God to you and to your offspring to come. (8) I assign the land you sojourn in to you and your offspring to come, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting holding. I will be their God.” (9) God further said to Abraham, “As for you, you and your offspring to come throughout the ages shall keep My covenant.

Sir Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Dignity of Difference (Chapter 3, 2002)

“By reversing the normal order, and charting instead a journey from the universal to the particular, the Bible represents the great anti-Platonic narrative in Western civilization. Against Plato and his followers, the Bible argues that universalism is the first, not the last, phase in the growth of the moral imagination.

Judaism has a structural peculiarity so perplexing and profound that though Christianity and Islam took much else from it, they did not adopt this: is is a particularist monotheism. It believes in one God but not in one exclusive path to salvation. The God of the Israelites is the God of all mankind, but the demands made of the Israelites are not asked of all mankind....[as the Rabbis say]: 'The pious of the nations have a share in the world to come.' (MT Hilchot Teshuvah 3:5)

God the creator of humanity, having made a covenant with all humanity, then turns to one people and commands it to be different, teaching humanity to make space for difference. God may at times be found in human other, the one not like us. Biblical monotheism is not the idea that there is one God and therefore one gateway to God's presence. On the contrary, it is the idea that the unity of God is to be found in the diversity of creation."

Leviticus Rabbah 23:3

"A lily among the thorns," (Song of Songs 2:2). Rav Azariah said in the name of Rav Judah son of Rav Simon, cited a parable of a king who had an orchard planted with a row of figs, a row of grapevines, a row of pomegranate tress, and a row of apple trees. The king turned the orchard over to a keeper and went away. After a while, the king came back and inspected the orchard to see how it had done, and found it overgrown with thorns and thistles. So he summoned woodcutters to raze the orchard. But when he saw there a rose colored lily, he picked it up and breathed in its fragrance, and his spirit was calmed. The king said, 'Because of this lily, let the entire orchard be spared."

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

רש"י על שמות י״ט:ד׳:ד׳

(ד) ואבא אתכם אלי. כְּתַרְגּוּמוֹ:

Rashi on Exodus 19:4:4

(4) ואבא אתכם אלי AND I BROUGHT YOU UNTO MYSELF — Explain this as the Targum does: “and I have brought you near to My service”.