Chosen?
There's an interesting paradox in Judaism that seems to confuse a lot of people , Jews and non Jews alike.
The concept of a "Chosen Nation".
It's interesting to note that Judaism is the only religion I have found that believes that heaven isn't reserved for members of their faith alone, in fact Jews and non-Jews alike can attain heaven.
So what is it with the "Chosen" thing anyways?
Every religion obviously thinks that they are the one true religion, if they didn't believe this they wouldn't be members of their faith. To believe in a religion is to say that this is the true religion.
So why is it that Judaism is the only one that makes such a fuss about being the "chosen ones".
For years Historians and the such have tried to say that antisemitism is a result of our being an exclusive religion. What is it about Judaism that makes us different?
How does a member of our faith that believes in the righteous gentile that will join us in heaven, explain to the world that although we are G-D's chosen it doesn't mean we are elitists.
I am very confused in this matter, so I'm gonna end this post in the middle.
If I get an answer that makes sense to me I'll complete this later.
The concept of a "Chosen Nation".
It's interesting to note that Judaism is the only religion I have found that believes that heaven isn't reserved for members of their faith alone, in fact Jews and non-Jews alike can attain heaven.
So what is it with the "Chosen" thing anyways?
Every religion obviously thinks that they are the one true religion, if they didn't believe this they wouldn't be members of their faith. To believe in a religion is to say that this is the true religion.
So why is it that Judaism is the only one that makes such a fuss about being the "chosen ones".
For years Historians and the such have tried to say that antisemitism is a result of our being an exclusive religion. What is it about Judaism that makes us different?
How does a member of our faith that believes in the righteous gentile that will join us in heaven, explain to the world that although we are G-D's chosen it doesn't mean we are elitists.
I am very confused in this matter, so I'm gonna end this post in the middle.
If I get an answer that makes sense to me I'll complete this later.
posted by Eli Sp. at 3:58 PM
7 Comments:
now im confused!
My confusion isnt with us being the chosen nation.
My confusion can be looked at from 2 angles
1: Why do we make a bigger deal about being chosen than the other religions that feel they are the "real/right" religion
2: why do people get upset about our claim to being the chosen one more than any other religion
It's non-jews that constantly call us the chosen nation. They're the ones that are always bickering, but they caused the fire.
We on our own constantly know that we far more superior to any nation of the world. We know that we are Hashem's children and we live with that pride. It doesn't mean that we stuff it in everyone's face
Delilah-
A righteous gentile does not go to Jewish Heaven. He may get some share in the world to come, but only through the challenge and OBLIGATION of Torah and Mitzvos can someone fully deserve the ultimate Olam Habaah.
A person who does 613 commandments gets alot further than someone who only does seven.
Nemo: there have been instances where non-jews are told they will share the heavenly portion of a tzadik (holy man) a righteous gentile does get proper heaven.
Hmmmmm good post.
As they say we are told all the time how we are the chosen nation and that is really great, but why does g-d always have to pick on us! j/k
Of the tip of the iceberg.
Truth is though being picked on isnt always easy and we have many more chellenges and as such the reward is greater (and thus we are the chosen ones) but gentiles or any of g-ds creations for that matter are chossen as well in a sense that each and every creation was chosen for a special task in this world, each with its own challenges and capabilities...
Perhaps judaism points out our chossen status as a lift and motivation and also maybe reminder of our resposibilities which we must face up to.
Chossen or not, each creation is entrusted with its own special mission in life and its not really a matter of the elite, but a matter of respecting each creation for their capabilities and trials and achievements, 613 just somehow happens to be a high number;)
Blog ya later.
I work for a Beis Din-
Immediately before a Ger goes into the Mikveh, he goes through a questioning process called Kabbalos Hamitzvos. We ask whether the person is sure that they want to accept the Mitzvos. We inform the prospective Ger that if he remains non-jewish, he can keep the Sheva Mitzvos and recieve reward {Olam Habah} for that. If he should decide to go through with conversion, he will be able to get rewards which are INFINITELY greater than that which he can achieve no. The only catch is that once he becomes obligated in all 613 Mitzvos, he's liable for transgression... Jews can go infinitely higher because the risk is much greater.
hey man i love your blog. i think im going to link to it. i like that you only link to "people who waste time wisely" or something like that.
yeah the whole "chosen nation" trip gets me down alot--im trying to understand exactly what that means myself or perhaps even come to terms with it. exclusivity, otherness, and everything that comes with on the deepest level...what happened to jewish non-duality? or non-duality period? now i think i've gotta write about this one too....
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