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The "Chosen People"

The Kiddush proclaims in most elegant terms the praise of the Jewish people. It does so by emphasizing Israel's chosenness. This is a concept that is often misunderstood by gentiles -- as well as by Jews. The chosenness of Israel and its designation as a holy people -- at least as understood and interpreted by Maimonides -- are based solely upon its observance of God's commandments. There is no inherent notion of superiority -- genetic or otherwise-- in Israel's being the chosen people. The Jews were chosen for special responsibility and obligation, not for special privileges. Instructive is Maurice Samuel's response to the anti-Semitic jingle, "How odd of God to choose the Jews": "It was not at all odd; the Jews chose God."

Because the Jews recognized and acknowledged the Almighty, He favored them as His people and chose them to carry out the mission to teach His ways to the world. This concept lies behind the famous midrashic legend that just before the Revelation at Sinai, God went from nation to nation asking each to accept His Torah. The response was always the same: what was in the Torah? When God mentioned "Thou shalt not commit adultery" or "Thou shalt not steal", each nation rejected the Torah because it was not ready to accept such restrictions. When the Almighty offered the Torah to Israel, it declared without inquiry, Na'aseh ve-nishma - "we shall do and [then] we shall understand". Because Israel chose God and His Torah, the Almighty chose Israel (see Avodah Zarah 2b and parallel passages).

Chosenness for the people of Israel has not been an unadulterated boon. Indeed much of our suffering can be attributed in part to this special status. Besides the enmity and envy engendered by this label among the gentiles throughout history, we have suffered by not living up to the responsibilities that attend the notion of chosenness. Thus the prophet Amos proclaimed: "Only you have I loved from all the families of the earth; therefore do I visit upon you all of your sins" (Amos 3:2). The price Israel pays for Divine revelation is its responsibility to live up to it. Nevertheless, if there is any concept which has maintained Jewish identity throughout the generations, it is this notion of our Divine election.

Mendele Mokher Seforim (1835-1917) tells a poignant story of a Jewish dairyman, a milchiker, who was traveling with his little son in a broken-down wagon drawn by a very hungry horse. As they travel, the father attempts to teach his son Bible, but the youth seems far more interested in the passing scenery than in the Hebrew verses of the text. Suddenly the magnificent carriage of the poretz, the landowner, drawn by two magnificent horses, thunders by in a cloud of choking dust. The poretz himself, big-bellied, well-fed, well-dressed, rings covering his fingers, an expensive watch in his vest-pocket, smoking a big cigar, sits in the back. The Jew, in tattered, torn clothing, turns in desperation to his son and exclaims, "I want you to learn Torah because, God forbid, if you don't, you will look like that gentile over there." No matter what the world thought about the Jews, they reveled in the belief that they were closer to the Almighty.

James Baldwin once wrote that he might be able to forgive white people for persecuting Blacks but he will never forgive them for making Blacks feel inferior. In two thousand years of persecution, pogrom, and exile, we Jews have never allowed ourselves to feel inferior. We always believed that we were the bearers of God's law. No idea played a more important role in protecting our national pride and our unique destiny.

This essay has been excerpted from the Ann Belsky Moranis edition of "A Haggadah Happening: An Artistic Passover Haggadah with a Traditional yet Contemporary Commentary". For more information on how to obtain this Haggadah, please contact artcenter@ohrtorahstone.org.il.

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