fsks@unc.UUCP (Frank Silbermann) (09/30/85)
I've seen a lot of traffic in some other newsgroups debating whether or not the Jews really are "G*d's chosen people". I sense that some gentiles resent what appears to them to be Jewish egotism, without even understanding what we mean when we claim to be chosen. I myself am not sure what it means. What exactly does it mean to be "chosen"? Chosen for what? What is the significance of this description? Does a convert to Judaism become "chosen"? How so? What does it say about the Jews' relationship with G*d? What exactly is the status of the "nonchosen"? What does this imply about G*d's relationship with non-Jews? Frank Silbermann
mls@ittvax.ATC.ITT.UUCP (Michael Schneider) (10/03/85)
> Frank Silbermann writes: > > I've seen a lot of traffic in some other newsgroups debating whether > or not the Jews really are "G*d's chosen people". > > I sense that some gentiles resent what appears to them to be Jewish egotism, > without even understanding what we mean when we claim to be chosen. I myself > am not sure what it means. > > What exactly does it mean to be "chosen"? Chosen for what? The concept of being chosen is simple. In the Torah, G-d gave two set of laws: the 613 mitzvot that must be followed by Jews and the laws of Noach which must be followed by others. We, the Jews, were chosen to be responsible for following the full set of laws. If one happens to be a "mitzvot collector," then having 613 laws is better than having less. In fact not all 613 mitzvot apply to everyone. Some only apply to special groups (such as Cohanim, people living in Israel, men, and women) and some only apply when the Temple exists. From what I know, the situation that permits a person to perform the largest number of mitzvot is the Cohen Godel (the high priest who lives in Israel when the temple exists). This concept of the performance of the mitzvot gives rise to the statement in the morning prayer that men say thanking G-d that they are not women, since women are not required to perform all the mitzvot that are required of men. That is those miztvot that are fixed in time. Michael L. Schneider
goddard@rochester.UUCP (Nigel Goddard) (10/05/85)
Frank Silbermann asks about the meaning of Jews being G*ds chosen people.
While not being Jewish myself, the explanation I have heard from Jewish
friends goes like this:
The Jews are the chosen people in the sense that they have chosen to
follow G*ds law.
This interpretation fits well with the more theological stuff I've
heard from rabbis, and obviously any convert, by choosing to become
a Jew, automatically joins the ranks of those who have chosen.
Anyone else have other views ?
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Rochester, NY 14627fsks@unc.UUCP (Frank Silbermann) (10/12/85)
Re: The meaning of Jews being G*ds "chosen" people. Nigel Goddard writes: > The explanation I have heard friends goes like this: > > The Jews are the chosen people in that they have chosen to follow G*ds law. > > This interpretation fits well with the more theological stuff I've > heard from rabbis, and obviously any convert, by choosing to become > a Jew, automatically joins the ranks of those who have chosen. If this were the explanation, Jews should call themselves the "choosing" people, instead of the "chosen" people. Michael Schneider writes: > > In the Torah, G-d gave two set of laws: > > 1) the 613 mitzvot that must be followed by Jews > 2) the laws of Noach which must be followed by everybody. > > We, the Jews, were chosen to be responsible for following > the full set of laws. Does anybody have any guesses about G*d's motivation for making such a distinction? What would this imply about the differences (if any) between G*d's relationship with the Jewish people, as opposed to His relationship with gentile peoples? Frank Silbermann