The Chosen People: Thoughts on Parashat Lech Lecha - Rabbi Dr. Donniel Hartman

With Parashat Lech Lecha, our tradition introduces the notion of Jewish election, the revolutionary idea that from among all the nations of the world, God the creator of heaven and earth and all that resides within them, nevertheless choses one particular people, and invites them into a unique covenantal relationship. What does this idea do to the Jewish people, to our sense of self and our relationship with the "non-chosen?" Is the idea of election a catalyst for good, elevating the Jewish people's moral awareness, or an impetus to believe in notions of Jewish superiority and a right to morally detach from the world.

For thousands of years, as a powerless people, chosenness served to elevate Jews pride and immunize us from the fact that others were blessed with power and success. As the chosen people, our humiliation and low status could not be interpreted as a rejection by God. Anger and disappointment, maybe. Rejection no. Chosenness served an engine for hope and belief that one day our condition would change and God would once again embrace us. Notions of Jewish superiority had little adverse impact as for as a powerless people, we lacked the power to affect the lives of those around us. With the establishment of Israel, the transformation in the status of the Jewish people, and our return to power, including the power over others, it is critical that we evaluate the meaning of Jewish election and its potential impact on our individual and collective moral commitments.

As is often the case in the Jewish tradition, we are presented with two options and the responsibility to choose.

Our Parasha teaches that if Abraham responds to God's challenge to go forth from his native land and from his father's house to the land that God will show him, God in elect him and his descendants and bestow upon us four gifts. The first three enhance the Jewish peoples status and standing:

The forth is less clear. "And you shall be a blessing." (Genesis 12:2).

Who are we to be a blessing to? Is this a gift or a responsibility?

Genesis 12:3 offers one interpretation:

The meaning of being a blessing is that henceforth God's blessing will be bestowed on the non-chosen in accordance with their treatment of Israel. To achieve God's blessing, the other nations must treat Israel beneficently. The failure to do so with result in them being the recipients of God's wrath. God the creator of heaven and earth now judges the world in accordance with one criteria: what is good for the Jews.

This principle is applied in real life a few verses later:

The fact that the Canaanites were in the land before us is irrelevant. For God the only question is what is good for the Jews, and as a result, God grants us another people's land as our inheritance. No justification is needed, and certainly no accounting for their rights.

Genesis 18 offers a different path. The fact that

is positioned as a catalyst for Abraham's responsibility to protect and serve the world. This role ultimately leads Abraham to defend the city of Sodom and demand that God treat them justly.

Abraham reminds God that God is not the God of the Jews, but the God and judge of the whole world.

To be chosen, according to Chapter 18, is to be obligated to walk in God's footsteps and to act and demand justice and righteousness for all.

"And you shall be a blessing."

Which direction will we choose. I am with Abraham in Sodom. Our challenge is to ensure that Israeli society makes the same choice.

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