Using erotically mythic terms, the Zohar identifies God's shekhinah of indwelling presence with knesset Yisrael and the sefirah tiferet and suggests that God cohabits with Israel when they are virtuous while their sinful behavior ruptures that mystical sexual union. Lurianic Kabbalah cast Israel in a newer role, viewing the entire people of Israel as a messianic entity charged with the mission of releasing the sparks of divinity encasing the world via the process of tikkun , mending or repairing society.
The Hasidic school incorporated this and other motifs and in the HaBaD version of Rabbi Shneor Zalman of Liady, founder of the Lubavitch dynasty, "the nations of the world emanate from the unclean kelipot shells which contain no good whatsoever, while Israel possesses a 'Godly soul' rather than an 'animal soul' as is found among the gentiles.
With the modern era, the advancement of science, new philosophical schools, and the Enlightenment, the notion of the Chosen People -- along with other basic tenets such as Divine revelation of Scripture and a supernatural Deity -- were subjected to searing criticism. Chosenness seemed to be outdated and embarrassing.
Worse, it cast other nations in an invidious light. After all, if one people is chosen doesn't that imply all others are rejected? The "enlightened" thinkers among European Jews sough to blunt the argument while preserving a remnant of the notion. Moses Mendelssohn, for example, substituted the idea of mission exhorting that Judaism is the "religion of religions" and it must be propagated and taught by Jews to all humans.
Geiger followed suit and propounded the notion that Jews have a peculiar "genius" for religion and religious life and it is incumbent upon us to spread the word of God. The Reform movement picked up the theme, developing its mission to the gentiles motif but never actually excising the prayer or the idea of chosenness.
Instead, it viewed chosenness as God's mandate to Israel to spread His sacred teachings, of monotheism and morality. Thus Baeck reflected:. Every people can be chosen for a history, for a share in the history of humanity.
Each is a question which God has asked, and each people must answer. But more history has been assigned to this people then to any other people The word of the One God penetrated this people from its beginnings. Martin Buber viewed the idea of election teleologically, effectively espousing the mission of Israel:.
What then is this spirit of Israel of which you are speaking? It is the spirit of fulfillment. Fulfillment of what? Fulfillment of the simple truth that man has been created for a purpose Our purpose is the upbuilding of peace And that is its spirit, the spirit of Israel Abraham Joshua Heschel regarded chosenness as a "spiritual act," for Israel is a "spiritual order" and "in order to be a people we have to be more than a people.
Israel was made to be a 'holy people. 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.
Alone among Jewish theologians and philosophers stood Mordecai M. Kaplan in his assault on chosenness and excision of references in the liturgy to the chosen people. He believed the doctrine to be racially tinged and dangerous as a breeder of contempt for others. Later on, he added that "we cannot assume that Israel must at all times possess that spirit to a higher degree than other people.
Kaplan carried his theory into practice as he expunged references to the chosen people from his Reconstructionist prayerbook. Thus, he reformulated the blessing upon receiving an honor to the Torah to read:. Curiously, many among the new generation of Reconstructionists are urging the restoration of the classic doctrine.
More recent attempts at redefining the idea of election fall into the category of "Covenant Theology. I believe we must supplement human choosing with God's own action if we are to explain to ourselves our fundamental commitment to the continuity of the people of Israel. Yet I believe the traditional view that God "chose us from all peoples and gave us the Torah" clashes too much with our sense of history and reality for us to reaffirm it Covenant theology expresses my belief in an enhanced reciprocity between God and people.
Does the idea of chosenness still serve a function today? Has it still value and meaning? Can it elicit passion from the modern Jew? I believe it is still a vital and compelling component of Judaism for several reasons. First, chosenness recognizes the unique contributions of Jews and Judaism to civilization.
We are, after all, a speck of a people, a mere fraction of the world's population. Yet we spawned two major faiths claiming some two-billion adherents, and we brought the message of monotheism, ethics, social justice, and messianic fulfillment to countless numbers. And we continue to enrich this planet disproportionate to our numbers as evidenced by the list of Nobel laureates.
I think not. Second, we draw inspiration from the notion of election and are urged on to seek to spread God's word to an all-too-often obdurate, indifferent, cruel world. As long as violence, bloodshed, racism, bigotry, exploitation, wars and all the other man-made ills of society continue to afflict us, we are unfulfilled and unredeemed.
There is yet much to be done. There is a teleology to our election: we must become a "kingdom of priests and a holy nation," a people created in the image of the Divine. The rebirth of the State of Israel has added a new dimension to the ancient summons. The State must be a laboratory of the highest Jewish and human values and exemplify the Prophetic ideals by championing righteousness and justice for all citizens of all faiths and ethnic groups.
It must preserve moral and spiritual values and be more than just another nation or political entity. Thus it will serve as a light for the nations and fulfill the Divine mandate and mission and respond to God's charge and challenge. Third, the notion of election offers us a transcendent raison d'etre for remaining Jewish in a gentile society, even as it inured us to withstand the pressures of paganism, Christianity and Islam from ancient times until the modern area.
After all, the ancient question, "Why be a Jew? The only compelling answer, I believe, is: We remain Jews because God elected us to our mission and our task is not yet fulfilled. Fourth, a belief in the chosen people enables us to better handle the subject of the bloody fate of Israel. If we are not the elected Suffering Servant of the Lord, then why continue our perilous journey?
Our bloodied footsteps have stained the terrain of many a land, most recently in the Holocaust. Why not give it all up and enjoy some measure of tranquility as many have done through the ages?
Why not, indeed, except that national suicide would annul forever the charge laid on Abraham and his seed so many millennia ago and erase the Jewish factor from civilization. Finally, the notion of chosen people is a constant goad to us to be loyal Jews and to lead Jewish lives; to champion righteousness and justice, morality and truth, love and peace; to be involved as God's partners in the never-ending process of tikkun ha-olam, mending and repairing our fractured world and building a saner, safer society.
The process is on-going and reciprocal and we are both the chosen and the choosing. God places his charge on us in every generation: will we now repudiate and reject it? If we do, the consequences for Israel and the world would be disastrous. But if we accept the call and persevere in the mission, we will be a blessing to ourselves and humanity We will preserve the uniqueness, the mystery, the majesty of our role in history:.
Your people Israel, a unique nation on earth. Mordecai M. Rabinowitz Jerusalem: Mosad Harav Kook, , pp. Husik 3 vols. Press, ; Ephraim E. God brought us into the promises to Abraham and the calling to bless all the families of the earth. We are to demonstrate what the God of Israel is like. Ironically, the scriptures repeatedly tell us that God viewed Israel as an obstinate, stiff-necked, and stubborn people. If God was choosing a people for himself, He certainly knew what kind of people they would be.
Are there any out there? Perhaps, God chose the nation of Israel precisely because of how they were? Because they were an arrogant, stiff-necked people who constantly turned from the Lord. But why? What if God chose the Jewish people to demonstrate the His character and bless the families of the earth? Maybe He wanted a family in covenant with Him who tested those limits throughout their generations.
He is forever faithful to His promises. Jeremiah states that:. Even with all our modern human space exploration technology, we have not found the edge of the heavens to measure it. According to Jeremiah, it is only when these things happen will God reject Israel for all they have done. The only way we know the depth of these characteristics of God in theory is because, in His infinite wisdom, He has chosen Israel. It was through this family that the Creator chose to reveal Himself and His Son to the world.
If He can show His glory and character through such a people, then there is still hope. Even for our arrogant hearts and our wayward world.
The Bible teaches us that in the end, God still has a plan for Israel. He will take this stiff-necked nation of Israel and changed her heart.
What is more, He will dwell in Jerusalem, in the midst of Israel, for the nations to see. If we are believers in the Lord Jesus, He will take our hard hearts and do the same in us. And for all to see. You are invited that party in Jerusalem! He has chosen Israel for a purpose — to reveal His power, His faithfulness, and loving-kindness to all the earth.
God will have His way with Israel as He will with you. In the meantime, consider yourself in good company. The Tribe is a passionate and faithful group of monthly donors on a mission to transform lives in Israel through the love of Jesus. Join the Tribe today: firmisrael. Estimated reading time: 10 minutes. Why Israel? Still, most forms of contemporary Judaism have not rejected the concept, but have played down its importance or stressed its more benign interpretations.
While some modern Jews have rejected the notion of chosenness altogether, others have reinterpreted it as an ethical mission or a national spirit. The requirements and transcendent possibilities of Jewish law are the bases of Jewish distinctness.
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