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From: mls@ittvax.ATC.ITT.UUCP (Michael Schneider)
Newsgroups: net.religion.jewish
Subject: Re: What means "chosen"?
Message-ID: <486@ittvax.ATC.ITT.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 3-Oct-85 08:17:53 EDT
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Posted: Thu Oct  3 08:17:53 1985
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> 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