What Does it Mean to be a Chosen People?

How Jewish Image and Role are Defined by the Torah and Midrash

Oct 17, 2009

The Tanakh and Talmud state that there is a covenant between God and the Jewish People that entails a special responsibility - but why are Jews called the chosen ones?

References to Jews being a "Chosen People" abound in both the Tanakh and Judaism’s Oral Law, the Talmud.

One of the references to this concept is in the Torah and can be found in Deuteronomy 14.2, which states, “For you are a holy people to your God, and God has chosen you to be his treasured people from all the nations that are on the face of the earth.” Other sections of the Torah echo this claim.

References to Chosen People

This premise is repeated numerous times throughout other sections Jewish literature as well, including the weekly prayer book, the siddur and the machzor that is used during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

There are varying interpretations among rabbis, but just about every branch of Judaism has addressed this concept.

Some rabbis have summarized the Jewish people’s responsibility as a "Chosen People as amounting to integrity and Jewish faith, “… to be a ‘kingdom of priests and a holy nation,’” says Rabbi Nissan D. Dubov on the Chabad.com website. He bases his explanation on God's conversation with Moses in Exodus 19:3-6.

Rabbi Dubov notes that his comparison to priests isn’t meant to refer to the Kohanim, the high priests who were believed to be descended from Aaron, but to the idea that “through being holy and dedicated to Torah and mitzvot in our private lives we can be successful ambassadors to the outside world. Our impact on the outside world is intrinsically related to our dedication to Torah and mitzvot.”

In other words, explains Rabbi Dubov, the “chosen” status is related to the Jewish People’s responsibility to be, in the prophet Isaiah’s words, “a light unto the nations” (Book of Isaiah, 42:6)

Conservative View of a Light Unto the Nations

Conservative Judaism follows this point of view as well. Rabbi Jerome Epstein, in a published presentation to a joint convention of the Conservative Movement in 2002, described the story of Isaiah, who lived in the 8th century, and who “challenged the people of Israel to take responsibility for human transformation.” Isaiah, said Rabbi Epstein, inspired his people to become an “or l’goyim,” a “light unto the nations” that could, through positive behavior and the mitzvot of Tzedakah and other acts, become an example of moral character before the rest of the world.

Rabbi Moshe Rosenberg, of Congregation Etz Chaim, in New York State, brought this point into a more contemporary setting in a 2009 editorial on Forward.com, in which he made reference to some of the recent stories of financial scandal concerning prominent Jewish community leaders.

He said, “Children need to be taught in school that engaging in disreputable activities endangers the entire Jewish people and subverts our mission to be a 'light unto the nations.' They must be told not only that such behavior is utterly forbidden by Jewish law but that those who engage in it will be abandoned by the Jewish community.”

A Chosen People in Service, not Superiority

The expression has not been without controversy. Some critics have suggested that Jews are placing themselves above other creeds in suggesting they belong to a "Chosen People" and are somehow “better” than non-Jews. Humanistic Judaism rejects the concept of chosenness as well. Reconstructionist Jews object to the expression because they feel it opens Jewish communities to racist attacks.

In fact, the expression has nothing to do with stature and everything to do with one’s role in life, and one’s relationship to God. During the blessing of wine on festival evenings, observant Jews acknowledge the strong bond with both God and their service through mitzvot (commandments): “Praised are You, Lord our God, King of the universe who has chosen and distinguished us from among all others by adding holiness to our lives with His mitzvot.” Jews are called to recognize their chosenness through Tzedakah and other acts of loving kindness.

The 613 Mitzvot Given to the Jews

According to the Talmud, seven mandatory laws were given to all of mankind, while 613 were given to the Jews. The seven laws, which were delivered to Noah after the flood, read much like the Ten Commandments, while the 613 mitzvot underscore the spiritual concept of a "Chosen People" whose role is to lead in example and in character.

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