(א) וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְהֹוָה֙ אֶל־אַבְרָ֔ם לֶךְ־לְךָ֛ מֵאַרְצְךָ֥ וּמִמּֽוֹלַדְתְּךָ֖ וּמִבֵּ֣ית אָבִ֑יךָ אֶל־הָאָ֖רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אַרְאֶֽךָּ׃ (ב) וְאֶֽעֶשְׂךָ֙ לְג֣וֹי גָּד֔וֹל וַאֲבָ֣רֶכְךָ֔ וַאֲגַדְּלָ֖ה שְׁמֶ֑ךָ וֶהְיֵ֖ה בְּרָכָֽה׃ (ג) וַאֲבָֽרְכָה֙ מְבָ֣רְכֶ֔יךָ וּמְקַלֶּלְךָ֖ אָאֹ֑ר וְנִבְרְכ֣וּ בְךָ֔ כֹּ֖ל מִשְׁפְּחֹ֥ת הָאֲדָמָֽה׃
(1) The LORD said to Abram, “Go forth from your native land and from your father’s house to the land that I will show you. (2) I will make of you a great nation,
And I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
And you shall be a blessing. (3) I will bless those who bless you
And curse him that curses you;
And all the families of the earth
Shall bless themselves by you.”
(א) בַּחֹ֙דֶשׁ֙ הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֔י לְצֵ֥את בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרָ֑יִם בַּיּ֣וֹם הַזֶּ֔ה בָּ֖אוּ מִדְבַּ֥ר סִינָֽי׃ (ב) וַיִּסְע֣וּ מֵרְפִידִ֗ים וַיָּבֹ֙אוּ֙ מִדְבַּ֣ר סִינַ֔י וַֽיַּחֲנ֖וּ בַּמִּדְבָּ֑ר וַיִּֽחַן־שָׁ֥ם יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל נֶ֥גֶד הָהָֽר׃ (ג) וּמֹשֶׁ֥ה עָלָ֖ה אֶל־הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים וַיִּקְרָ֨א אֵלָ֤יו יְהֹוָה֙ מִן־הָהָ֣ר לֵאמֹ֔ר כֹּ֤ה תֹאמַר֙ לְבֵ֣ית יַעֲקֹ֔ב וְתַגֵּ֖יד לִבְנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ (ד) אַתֶּ֣ם רְאִיתֶ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָשִׂ֖יתִי לְמִצְרָ֑יִם וָאֶשָּׂ֤א אֶתְכֶם֙ עַל־כַּנְפֵ֣י נְשָׁרִ֔ים וָאָבִ֥א אֶתְכֶ֖ם אֵלָֽי׃ (ה) וְעַתָּ֗ה אִם־שָׁמ֤וֹעַ תִּשְׁמְעוּ֙ בְּקֹלִ֔י וּשְׁמַרְתֶּ֖ם אֶת־בְּרִיתִ֑י וִהְיִ֨יתֶם לִ֤י סְגֻלָּה֙ מִכׇּל־הָ֣עַמִּ֔ים כִּי־לִ֖י כׇּל־הָאָֽרֶץ׃ (ו) וְאַתֶּ֧ם תִּהְיוּ־לִ֛י מַמְלֶ֥כֶת כֹּהֲנִ֖ים וְג֣וֹי קָד֑וֹשׁ אֵ֚לֶּה הַדְּבָרִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר תְּדַבֵּ֖ר אֶל־בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ (ז) וַיָּבֹ֣א מֹשֶׁ֔ה וַיִּקְרָ֖א לְזִקְנֵ֣י הָעָ֑ם וַיָּ֣שֶׂם לִפְנֵיהֶ֗ם אֵ֚ת כׇּל־הַדְּבָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֔לֶּה אֲשֶׁ֥ר צִוָּ֖הוּ יְהֹוָֽה׃ (ח) וַיַּעֲנ֨וּ כׇל־הָעָ֤ם יַחְדָּו֙ וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ כֹּ֛ל אֲשֶׁר־דִּבֶּ֥ר יְהֹוָ֖ה נַעֲשֶׂ֑ה וַיָּ֧שֶׁב מֹשֶׁ֛ה אֶת־דִּבְרֵ֥י הָעָ֖ם אֶל־יְהֹוָֽה׃
(1) On the third new moon after the Israelites had gone forth from the land of Egypt, on that very day, they entered the wilderness of Sinai. (2) Having journeyed from Rephidim, they entered the wilderness of Sinai and encamped in the wilderness. Israel encamped there in front of the mountain, (3) and Moses went up to God. The LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob and declare to the children of Israel: (4) ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Me. (5) Now then, if you will obey Me faithfully and keep My covenant, you shall be My treasured possession among all the peoples. Indeed, all the earth is Mine, (6) but you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the children of Israel.” (7) Moses came and summoned the elders of the people and put before them all that the LORD had commanded him. (8) All the people answered as one, saying, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do!” And Moses brought back the people’s words to the LORD.
(א) הֵ֤ן עַבְדִּי֙ אֶתְמׇךְ־בּ֔וֹ בְּחִירִ֖י רָצְתָ֣ה נַפְשִׁ֑י נָתַ֤תִּי רוּחִי֙ עָלָ֔יו מִשְׁפָּ֖ט לַגּוֹיִ֥ם יוֹצִֽיא׃ (ב) לֹ֥א יִצְעַ֖ק וְלֹ֣א יִשָּׂ֑א וְלֹא־יַשְׁמִ֥יעַ בַּח֖וּץ קוֹלֽוֹ׃ (ג) קָנֶ֤ה רָצוּץ֙ לֹ֣א יִשְׁבּ֔וֹר וּפִשְׁתָּ֥ה כֵהָ֖ה לֹ֣א יְכַבֶּ֑נָּה לֶאֱמֶ֖ת יוֹצִ֥יא מִשְׁפָּֽט׃ (ד) לֹ֤א יִכְהֶה֙ וְלֹ֣א יָר֔וּץ עַד־יָשִׂ֥ים בָּאָ֖רֶץ מִשְׁפָּ֑ט וּלְתוֹרָת֖וֹ אִיִּ֥ים יְיַחֵֽלוּ׃ {פ}
(ה) כֹּה־אָמַ֞ר הָאֵ֣ל ׀ יְהֹוָ֗ה בּוֹרֵ֤א הַשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙ וְנ֣וֹטֵיהֶ֔ם רֹקַ֥ע הָאָ֖רֶץ וְצֶאֱצָאֶ֑יהָ נֹתֵ֤ן נְשָׁמָה֙ לָעָ֣ם עָלֶ֔יהָ וְר֖וּחַ לַהֹלְכִ֥ים בָּֽהּ׃ (ו) אֲנִ֧י יְהֹוָ֛ה קְרָאתִ֥יךָֽ בְצֶ֖דֶק וְאַחְזֵ֣ק בְּיָדֶ֑ךָ וְאֶצׇּרְךָ֗ וְאֶתֶּנְךָ֛ לִבְרִ֥ית עָ֖ם לְא֥וֹר גּוֹיִֽם׃ (ז) לִפְקֹ֖חַ עֵינַ֣יִם עִוְר֑וֹת לְהוֹצִ֤יא מִמַּסְגֵּר֙ אַסִּ֔יר מִבֵּ֥ית כֶּ֖לֶא יֹ֥שְׁבֵי חֹֽשֶׁךְ׃
(1) This is My servant, whom I uphold,
My chosen one, in whom I delight.
I have put My spirit upon him,
He shall teach the true way to the nations. (2) He shall not cry out or shout aloud,
Or make his voice heard in the streets. (3) He shall not break even a bruised reed,
Or snuff out even a dim wick.-a
He shall bring forth the true way. (4) He shall not grow dim or be bruised
Till he has established the true way on earth;
And the coastlands shall await his teaching.
(5) Thus said God the LORD,
Who created the heavens and stretched them out,
Who spread out the earth and what it brings forth,
Who gave breath to the people upon it
And life to those who walk thereon: (6) I the LORD, in My grace, have summoned you,
And I have grasped you by the hand.
I created you, and appointed you
A covenant people,-b a light of nations-c— (7) Opening eyes deprived of light,-d
Rescuing prisoners from confinement,
From the dungeon those who sit in darkness.
The Rabbi: Bear with me a little while that I show the lofty station of the people. For me it is sufficient that G-d chose then as His people from all nations of the world, and allowed His influence to rest on all of them. And that they nearly approached being addressed by Him. He even descended on their women, among whim were prophetesses, whilst since Adam only isolated individuals had inspired till then. Adam was perfection itself, because to flaw could be found in a work of a wise and Almighty Creator, wrought from a substance chosen by Him, and fashioned according to His own design… He left many children of whom the only one capable of taking his place was Abel because he alone was like Him. After he has been slain by Cain through jealousy of this privilege it passed to his brother Seth who also like Adam, being (as it were) his essence and heart, whilst the others were like husks and rotten fruit.
The essence of Seth then passed to Enosh and in this way the divine influence was inherited by isolated individuals down to Noah. They are compared to the heart, they resembled Adam and were styled sons of G-d. They were perfect outwardly and inwardly their lives knowledge and ability being likewise faultless. Their lives fix the chronology from Adam to Noah as well as from Noah to Abraham. There were some however among them who did not come under divine influence as Terach, but his son Abraham was the disciple of his grandfather Eber, and was born in the lifetime of Noah.
Thus the divine spirit descended from the grandfather to the grandchildren. Abraham represented the essence of Eber being his disciple and for this reason he was called Ibri. Eber represented the essence of Shem the latter that of Noah. He inherited the temperate some the center and the principal part of which is Palestine, the land of prophecy. Japheth turned towards north and Ham towards south, The essence of Abraham passed over to Isaac, to the exclusion of the other sons who were all removed from the lands, special inheritance of Isaac. The prerogative of Isaac descended on Jacob, whilst Esau was sent from the land which belonged to Jacob. The sons of the latter were all worthy of the divine influence as well as of the country distinguished by the divine spirit. This is the first instance the divine influence descending on a number of people whereas it had previously only been vouchsafed to isolated individuals.
Then G-d tended them in Egypt, multiplied and aggrandized them, as a tree with a sound root growth until it produces perfect fruit resembling the first fruit from which it was planted viz. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Joseph and his brethren. The seed further produced Moses, Aaron and Miriam, Besaleel, Ohaliab, and the chiefs of the tribes, the seventy elders, who were all endowed with the spirit of prophecy, then Joshua, Kalev, Hur, and many others. Then they became worthy of having the divine light and providence made visible to them. If disobedient men existed among them, they were hated but remained, without doubt, of the essence inasmuch as they were part of on account of their descent and nature and begat children who were of the same stamp.
This is the true Torah of G-d that was given to us by the master of all prophets. In the Torah G-d separated us from the rest of the works, as it says “The eternal delighted in your fathers to love them and he chose their seed after them, even yourselves from all peoples as it is this day “ (Deuteronomy 10:16). G-d did not do this because we were worthy of it but because of the kindness and the goodness He bestowed upon us. Our ancestors performed meritorious deeds and recognized the existence of G-d the Creator and worshipped Him as it says “The eternal did not delight in you nor choose you because you were more numerous… but because the eternal loved you and because He intended to keep the oath which he swore to your fathers (Deuteronomy 7:7). And since the Creator set us apart with His commandments and laws and since our special status as such was made obvious by these laws “and what nation is there so great which has mitzvoth and judgments as righteous as all this law which I set before you?” (Deuteronomy 4:8) - therefore all the other nations were extremely jealous of our religion.
The tension between the contrasting biblical and talmudic understandings of chosenness resurfaces in the writings of Judah Halevi and Moses Maimonides, two prominent philosophers . . . Halevi adopts and expands upon the biblical portrayal of the Jews as the passive chosen people, while Maimonides develops the talmudic description of the Jews as active choosers.
For Halevi, the Jews are inherently different from other people. In his most famous work, the Kuzari, he introduces the idea that, at the time of the creation of human beings, God instilled in Adam a certain divine quality, which then passed to Adam’s son Seth and then, through Seth’s line, to the entire Jewish people (1:95). This divine essence, according to Halevi, is unlinked to any human behavior. A Jew who rejects Torah law cannot lose this essence, and a non-Jew who observes the commandments cannot acquire it.
In contrast, Maimonides, in accordance with the rabbinic understanding of chosenness as the result of human action, describes Abraham as a philosopher who is “chosen” only because he discovers God. Similarly, the Jewish people are “chosen” insofar as their acceptance of the Torah grants them a special relati
The Bible terms Israel segulah, a peculiar treasure, but this designation does not imply, as some have falsely interpreted, that Israel has a monopoly of the Divine love and favor, but on the contrary, that God has the sole and exclusive claim to Israel’s devotion and service; that Israel may not render Divine homage to any other being.
Yes I do accept the chosen people concept as affirmed by Judaism in its holy writ, its prayers and its millennial tradition. In fact, I believe every people – and indeed in a more limited way, every individual – is “chosen” or destined for some distinct purpose in advancing the designs of Providence. Only, some fulfill their assignment and others do not.
Maybe the Greeks were chosen for their unique contributions to art and philosophy, the Romans for their pioneering services in law and government, the British for bringing parliamentary rule into the world, and the Americans for piloting democracy in a pluralistic society.
The Jews were chosen by God to be “peculiar unto Me” as the pioneers of religion and morality: hat was and is its national purpose.
God does not condemn humankind; he does not hold it guilty or incapable of good. Instead, he lowers his requirements to the level at which virtue is humanly achievable. Enough, he seems to say, that you honour the sanctity of life and the basic human decencies… God asks one individual – eventually a family, a tribe, a collection of tribes, a nation – to serve as an exemplary role model, to be as it were a living case-study in what it is to live closely and continuously in the presence of God. This is – as Jewish history testifies – a weighty and risk-laden responsibility.
Since God is beyond nature, his people will have a fate that, in conspicuous ways, cannot be explained in natural terms… they receive their constitution in the desert before they have entered their land. Naturally small, weak, and exposed, their survival depends on exceptional dedication to their mission. Indeed, they are the only nation in history, with the possible exception of the United States, to be defined by a mission. Uniquely, their laws and covenant come from God, and their history testifies to a power greater than themselves. Indeed, post-biblical Jewish history exemplifies this even more than biblical history itself, in the way Jewry survived, its identity intact, through almost twenty centuries of dispersion and persecution. Something within points to something beyond.
That is the meaning of 'a holy nation'. The holy, in the bible, simply means God's domain - those points in time and space at which his presence is peculiarly visible. That is what Isaiah means when he says of Israel: 'You are My witness - declares the Lord - that I am God' (Isaiah 43:10)… There is no assertion in the Bible that the Israelites are inherently better or more moral than others. Their vocation represents not a privilege but a responsibility. It confers no material advantages, only the religious life itself…
… Israel's role is to be an example: no more, no less. That is how Maimonides' son Abraham interprets, in his father's name, the phrase 'a kingdom of priests':
The priest of any congregation is its leader, its most honoured individual and the congregation's role-model through whom they learn to follow in the right path. [In calling on Israel to be 'a kingdom of priests' it was as if God said to them], 'Become leaders of the world through keeping my Torah, so that your relationship to [humanity] becomes that of a priest to his congregation, so that the world follows in your path, imitates your deeds and walks in your ways.'
At the outset of the plantation of this people who understand and carried out the idea of God, clearly and purely, in a time when the world was dominated by impure deities, God commanded Abraham to establish a whole nation who would “keep the ways of God and perform righteousness and judgment”.
This is the aspiration which arose from clear awareness, audacity and a lofty moral claim; to uplift humanity from under the awful burden of spiritual and material troubles and to bring it to a free life full of beauty and splendor in the light of the Divine notion, and by this to bring humanity to success.
In order to achieve this, the people of Israel must have their own social and political state and a national kingdom with its own culture – “a people wise and clever, and a great nation.” Furthermore, this absolute Divine notion would govern there and sustain the people and the land. In order that this kind of nation can teach the world that living in the way of God is available not just to the very wise, the zealous, nazirites and holy people who live according to this Divine notion privately, but that it is accessible to entire peoples sophisticated in culture and matters of state: entire nations, incorporating all classes of people from the intelligentsia to socialists and political economists, to the proletariat and even the lower classes, are able to live in the way of God and become upright and moral.
[Our] destiny was to create a society that would honour the proposition that we are all created in the image and likeness of God. It would be a place in which the freedom of some would not lead to the enslavement of others… Judaism is the code of a self-governing society. We tend to forget this, since Jews have lived in dispersion for two thousand years, without the sovereign power to govern themselves, and because modern Israel is a secular state. Judaism is a religion of redemption rather than salvation. It is about the shared spaces of our collective lives, not an interior drama of the soul… because Judaism is also the code of a society, it is also about the social virtues: righteousness (tzedek/tzedakah), justice (mishpat), loving-kindness (chessed) and compassion (rachamim). These structure the template of biblical law, which covers all aspects of the life of society, its economy, its welfare systems, its education, family life, employer–employee relations, the protection of the environment and so on… None of this was possible without a land…
Judaism is the constitution of a self-governing nation, the architectonics of a society dedicated to the service of God in freedom and dignity. Without a land and state, Judaism is a shadow of itself. In exile, God might still live in the hearts of Jews but not in the public square, in the justice of the courts, the morality of the economy and the humanitarianism of everyday life. Jews have lived in almost every country under the sun. In four thousand years, only in Israel have they been a free, self-governing people. Only in Israel are they able, if they so choose, to construct an agriculture, a medical system, an economic infrastructure in the spirit of the Torah and its concern for freedom, justice and the sanctity of life. Only in Israel can Jews today speak the Hebrew of the Bible as the language of everyday speech. Only there can they live Jewish time within a calendar structured according to the rhythms of the Jewish year. Only in Israel can Jews live Judaism in anything other than an edited edition. In Israel, and only there, Jews can walk where the prophets walked, climb the mountains Abraham climbed, lift their eyes to the hills that David saw, and continue the story their ancestors began.
[Our] destiny was to create a society that would honour the proposition that we are all created in the image and likeness of God. It would be a place in which the freedom of some would not lead to the enslavement of others… Judaism is the code of a self-governing society. We tend to forget this, since Jews have lived in dispersion for two thousand years, without the sovereign power to govern themselves, and because modern Israel is a secular state. Judaism is a religion of redemption rather than salvation. It is about the shared spaces of our collective lives, not an interior drama of the soul… because Judaism is also the code of a society, it is also about the social virtues: righteousness (tzedek/tzedakah), justice (mishpat), loving-kindness (chessed) and compassion (rachamim). These structure the template of biblical law, which covers all aspects of the life of society, its economy, its welfare systems, its education, family life, employer–employee relations, the protection of the environment and so on… None of this was possible without a land…
Judaism is the constitution of a self-governing nation, the architectonics of a society dedicated to the service of God in freedom and dignity. Without a land and state, Judaism is a shadow of itself. In exile, God might still live in the hearts of Jews but not in the public square, in the justice of the courts, the morality of the economy and the humanitarianism of everyday life. Jews have lived in almost every country under the sun. In four thousand years, only in Israel have they been a free, self-governing people. Only in Israel are they able, if they so choose, to construct an agriculture, a medical system, an economic infrastructure in the spirit of the Torah and its concern for freedom, justice and the sanctity of life. Only in Israel can Jews today speak the Hebrew of the Bible as the language of everyday speech. Only there can they live Jewish time within a calendar structured according to the rhythms of the Jewish year. Only in Israel can Jews live Judaism in anything other than an edited edition. In Israel, and only there, Jews can walk where the prophets walked, climb the mountains Abraham climbed, lift their eyes to the hills that David saw, and continue the story their ancestors began.