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  • Are Jews The Chosen People - My Jewish Learning

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    The idea that the Jews are the “chosen people” and have a special relationship with God is ubiquitous in Jewish sources. However, the nature of this relationship is not without complication and ambiguity.

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    Are Jews the Chosen People_ _ My Jewish Learning

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    The idea that the Jews are the “chosen people” and have a special relationship with God is ubiquitous in Jewish sources. However, the nature of this relationship is not without complication and ambiguity.

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    33 vues2 pages

    Are Jews The Chosen People - My Jewish Learning

    Transféré par

    rxr29
    The idea that the Jews are the “chosen people” and have a special relationship with God is ubiquitous in Jewish sources. However, the nature of this relationship is not without complication and ambiguity.

    Droits d'auteur :

    © All Rights Reserved
    Téléchargez comme PDF, TXT ou lisez en ligne sur Scribd
    Signaler comme contenu inapproprié
    sur 2

    AreJewstheChosenPeople?

    Andwhatdoeschosennessmeananyway?

    TheideathattheJewsarethechosenpeopleandhaveaspecialrelationshipwithGodisubiquitousin
    Jewishsources.However,thenatureofthisrelationshipisnotwithoutcomplicationandambiguity.

    OriginsoftheChosenConcept
    enotionofJewsbeingchosenhasitsrootinseveralbiblicalverses.Oneofthemostprominent,
    Deuteronomy7:6 ,says,Foryouareapeopleconsecratedto Adonai yourGod:ofallthepeoples
    onearthAdonaiyourGodchoseyoutobeGodstreasuredpeople.enexttwoversesprovidethe
    reasonforthischoice.GoddidnotchoosetheIsraelitesbecauseoftheirnumbers;rather,Godchosethe
    IsraelitesandfreedthemfromslaverybecauseGodlovedthemandbecauseGodhadmadepromisesto
    theirancestors,thebiblicalpatriarchs:Abraham,Isaac,andJacob.

    is,ofcourse,begsthequestion:whydidGodchoosethepatriarchs?

    IntheBible,thechoiceofAbrahamisassumedandnoexplanationforitisgiven.In Genesis12 ,God


    appearstoAbrahamwithoutanyintroduction,andcommandshimtoleavehisfathershome.Buta
    rabbinicsourceembracedandembellishedbythe12th-centuryphilosopherMaimonidesasserts
    thatitwasinfactAbrahamwhofoundGod.Abrahamaloneamonghiscontemporariesestablishedthe
    falsehoodofidolatry,a rmingthattherewasonlyoneGodwhoruledtheearth.Itwasonlyafterthis
    thatGodappearedtoAbraham.

    WereJewsActuallyGodsLastChoice?
    ecovenantbetweenGodandthefreedIsraeliteslavesatMountSinaiiscentraltotheideaofbeing
    chosen.ecovenantconcretizedJewishchosennessbyestablishingthattheIsraeliteswouldabideby
    the Torah inreturnforspecialdivineprotection.oughGodchosetheJewsforthispurpose,an
    amazingrabbinicsourceclaimsthattheJewswere,infact,Godslastchoice.

    God rsto eredtheTorahtothechildrenofEsau,thechildrenofAmmonandMoab,andthechildrenof


    Ishmael,butwhentheyweretoldabouttheTorahsprohibitionsagainstmurder,adultery,androbbery,
    respectively,theyturneddowntheo er.OnlyaftergoingtoeverynationintheworlddidGod nally
    o ertheTorahtotheJews.

    AreJewsOnlyChosenifeyKeeptheCovenant?
    istraditionassumesthatchosennessisnotanessentialcharacteristicoftheJewishpeople,butrather
    aresultofthecovenantalrelationship. Exodus19:5 capturesthisview:Nowthen,ifyouwillobey
    MefaithfullyandkeepMycovenant,youshallbeMytreasuredpossessionamongallthepeoples.
    Manylaterthinkersembracedthisconditionalunderstandingofchosenness,butthereisanotherstrand
    ofthoughtwhichmaintainsthatchosennessderivesfromaninherentquality.Perhapsthemostfamous
    proponentofthisviewwasthemedievalphilosopherJudahHaLevi(1086-1145).Accordingtohim,the
    Jewsareendowedwithdivinein uence.istraitispassedongenetically,anditincludesacapacityfor
    prophecyandtheprivilegeofreceivingspecialdivineprovidence.Alltheothernationsoftheworldare
    subjecttoamoregeneralprovidenceandthewhimsofthenaturalworld.

    IsItRacisttoBelieveJewsAreChosen?
    Interestingly,thoughsomehaveseenthispositionasracist,itwasembracedindi erentformsbysome
    modernliberalthinkers.eReformleaderAbrahamGeiger(1810-1874),forexample,believedthat
    Jewishchosennessisre ectedinanativetalentforreligion.ButmanymodernJewshavebeen
    uncomfortablewiththeideaofbeingchosen,particularlythegeneticvariety.

    Somethinkers,in uencedbyegalitarianismanduniversalism,rejectedthenotionofJewsaschosen.
    ForemostamongsuchthinkersisMordecaiKaplan(1881-1983),thefounderofReconstructionist
    Judaism.Kaplanwasahumanistandanaturalist;hedidnotbelieveinasupernaturalGodthatcould
    bestowfavorupononenation,andhebelievedthatitwaspracticallyandmorallyproblematictoposit
    thefundamentalsuperiorityofonepeople.

    Still,mostformsofcontemporaryJudaismhavenotrejectedtheconcept,buthaveplayeddownits
    importanceorstresseditsmorebenigninterpretations.

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