Chosen People?? Time to Tweak.

וְעַבְדִּ֖י אֲשֶׁ֣ר בָּחָ֑רְתִּי

The prophet Isaiah would be the first to agree that some sacred cows and hallowed visions have to go in order for us to grow and build a better world, as individuals and as nations. In today’s chapter of his prophecies, as this marathon of reading and talking back to the entire Hebrew Bible continues we examine a big landmine that shows up and needs to be carefully discussed - and dismantled.

“There is probably nothing in Judaism that has attracted so much attention and generated so much controversy as the biblical idea that the Jews are the chosen people.”

When it comes to the big question of the Chosen People - way back then and right now - Prof. Jon Levenson is right in arguing that this is a big issue that deserves renewed attention and possibly a new frame with which to discuss. He goes on to frame what’s at stake: 

“..Anti-Semitism has historically focused on alleged Jewish clannishness and has charged that Jews' absorption with their own group leads to lack of concern for others.

In response, many Jews have stressed the universalism that they perceive in prophetic ethics, downplaying evidence of Jewish particularism in the Bible.

..Given this long history of polemics and apologetics, it is no easy task to sort out the biblical material on universalism and Jewish particularism in a scholarly way. But such an exercise is needed, not only to help Non-Jews overcome confusion and bigotry about Judaism, but also to enable Jews to understand their own biblical heritage and its contemporary implications, for, as we shall see, the all-too-common contrast between "Universal" and "particularistic" religion is, in every instance, simplistic, grossly misleading, and even dangerous.”

Jon D. Levenson, The Universal Horizon of Biblical Particularism

What does Isaiah mean when he talks to the Judean exiles in Babylon and assured them that they are the favorite children of their deity? Among so many other minorities and religions - does he mean that his people are the only ones favored by the Creator of all or that they have a unique role to play among all other important players?  And what may we be making of his words through our needs and perspectives all these centuries later? 

The prophet of consolation focuses on the hope of redemption in this chapter, promising the return home, to Zion, from all four corners of the earth. This will be done because of the immense love of YHWH to Israel, a love that almost knows no bounds but does require love in return. In this case the love required is to witness YHWH’s glory as a way to love god back: 

אַתֶּ֤ם עֵדַי֙ נְאֻם־יְהֹוָ֔ה וְעַבְדִּ֖י אֲשֶׁ֣ר בָּחָ֑רְתִּי לְמַ֣עַן תֵּ֠דְע֠וּ וְתַאֲמִ֨ינוּ לִ֤י וְתָבִ֙ינוּ֙ כִּֽי־אֲנִ֣י ה֔וּא לְפָנַי֙ לֹא־נ֣וֹצַר אֵ֔ל וְאַחֲרַ֖י לֹ֥א יִהְיֶֽה׃    

“My witnesses are you

—declares YHWH —

My servant, whom I have chosen.

To the end that you may think,

And believe in Me,

And understand that I am the One:

Before Me no god was formed,

And after Me none shall exist.” 

Isaiah 43:9-10

This is one of the references to the notion of chosenness, repeated by Isaiah again and again. 

Is this still a useful trope in a world of both/and options? In a global world in which we honor each nation’s gift and unique role in the world? 

Is it possible that like other archaic notions that are affiliated with Patriarchal culture this one too can maybe be seriously questioned and perhaps reframed or reduced? 

There is an aspect of the chosnness that reflects on the Divine as an irresponsible parent that favors one child over others, creating dysfunction and discord. What kind of petty god is that? 

There is a dangerous aspect to this idea when it becomes supremacy and racism, nationalistic narrative and hostile hatred towards those who are not us.  While this idea has persisted throughout Jewish history it was often a more minimal and held idea - no longer the case when Jews have power and this ideology is what’s at the core of Israel’s growing majority and now forms the government.  Like many others in Israel I grew up reading Yehdua Ha’Levi’s mandatory (!) 12th century polemical text book The Kuzari in which he argues for an ethnic difference between those born Jewish and those not.  I was not taught to read it with a critical perspective. 

But like many others worldwide, I reject this notion, and don’t celebrate ethnic uniqueness or religious idealogical supremacy of any sort. The liturgy I use has been amended to honor our place among all people and to walk the talk of everybody-friendly in a deeply sacred way, reflecting our evolution. 

What would Isaiah say? 

I think he might agree. The idea of chosenness that he keeps coming to is that we are in service of the big idea of a unified sense of sacred - a divine that transcends all divides - and it’s on to spread the message. That’s where Christians took this notion, on their terms, to a new level. Jews don’t do the missionary thing a lot - Chabad, with all respect, is an interesting and problematic exception - but this, I think, is what Isaiah wanted us to do. Our chosen role is to be in service to the spirit - not to claim our superior chosen role which only becomes a colossal headache. If we have to hold on in some way to the old meme of Chosen People - this is the closest format that can serve us best and still continue the prophetic spirit. 

There’s support for this evolving of a message that’s also found in today’s chapter. When he offers hope to his people Isaiah counsels them not just to recycle the familiar past but to also look beyond the known and imagine a new horizon: 

“Do not recall former occurrences and do not contemplate earlier events. Behold, I am bringing forth something new! Now it will sprout, and you will surely know it!”

Isaiah 43:18-19

The rearview mirror is a helpful tool, taught our beloved Rabbi Zalman_Schachter-Shalomi - but when you drive you have to look at what’s ahead. 

Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson writes about this chapter:

“What if we made a choice not to straitjacket our future into the confines of our past? What if, instead, we imagined the future as it might be, rather than as it must be when it is merely an extension, a continuation, of what has already been? The past does not exist unless you carry it with you in the present. And the future need not depend on the traumas of yesterday. Instead, we can welcome the Divine as a source of an open future, one that beckons us to choose from among many possible destinies and asks us to partner in creating the best possible tomorrow.

..Just because something has always been doesn’t mean it must always be. It just means that habit and culture are hard to break. But every first time is an impossibility until someone does it, and every great dynasty was launched by someone who saw themselves not as a descendant, but as an ancestor.”

And as the brilliant futurist, my friend and teacher Adah Parris asks and teaches:

“What sort of ancestors do you want to be?” 

Let’s talk with Isaiah’s visions of the past and choose to co-create the chosen option for the future - we are proud of our heritage, reckon with our past, glad that we are chosen with all other people, each with our gifts, together called up on to survive and thrive and leave behind a brighter, bolder, to the future generations. Choose to choose better. Choose to live with love.

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