The Jews/Hebrews/Israelites Are Not A Race part one: Race and The Chosen

It is often thought and taught by the world and many liberal Jews that the jewish people are a race. Many of the extremist positions that result from this ideology are as follows:

1. We are Gods chosen people which means we have first rank rights for rule and grace above all others in both this life and the next.

2. The knowledge of who one is by bloodline/DNA/seed lineage/race is just as important as the gospel itself. And in some cases is part of The Gospel.

3. The concern for suffering and injustice in the world is first and foremost but must go toward our own people. And in some cases are the only people that matter.

4. The bible is not only known as The Word of God, but it was written by hebrews, for hebrews, and to Hebrews. 

If you do not believe that this kind of thinking has honestly saturated the minds of people, from the sincere to the hurt and offended, then look no further than the Christian Identity, black Hebrew Israelite, and Aryan movements.

So first, we must understand what is meant by the term "race." It is commonly used to describe a group of people who share physical or genetic characteristics and are believed to have descended from a common ancestor. However, this concept is a modern concept and in our case here, lacks biblical support.

Now, let us consider the Jews. While it is true that they share certain physical and genetic traits, this does not necessarily mean that they are a distinct race. Throughout history, the Jewish people have intermixed with other groups and have absorbed different cultures and customs. For example, during the Babylonian exile, many Jews intermarried with the local population and adopted their language and customs. Similarly, after the destruction of the Second Temple, the Jews dispersed throughout the world and intermixed with other groups, leading to a diversity of the Israelite people.

So the concept of an Israelite race is not based on biology or genetics. To be an Israelite is to be circumcised and to adhere to a set of religious beliefs and practices being the old covenant law in order to be a part of a community, and to identify with a particular culture and history. This is why there are converts to Judaism who are not biologically Jewish but are considered fully Jewish by the community.

First let us look to what conservative Jews have to say about the idea of "Race" and simply compare it to the positions of the movements above. 

The following is from jewfaq.org

Race is a genetic distinction, and refers to people with shared ancestry and shared genetic traits. You can't change your race; it's in your DNA. I could never become black or Asian no matter how much I might want to.

Common ancestry is not required to be a Jew. Many Jews worldwide share common ancestry, as shown by genetic research; however, you can be a Jew without sharing this common ancestry, for example, by converting. Thus, although I could never become black or Asian, blacks and Asians have become Jews (Sammy Davis Jr. and Connie Chung).
This has been established since the earliest days of Judaism. In the Torah, you will see many references to "the strangers who dwell among you" or "righteous proselytes" or "righteous strangers." These are various classifications of non-Jews who lived among Jews, adopting some or all of the beliefs and practices of Judaism without going through the formal process of conversion and becoming Jews. Once a person has convertedto Judaism, he is not referred to by any special term; he is as much a Jew as anyone born Jewish.

- http://www.jewfaq.org/m/judaism.htm.

The following is from haaretz.com

A race, whatever that notion really means, is certainly not something that can be joined. The Jewish people can be joined. We might have plenty of arguments among us as to what constitutes a valid conversion, but conversion is certainly possible. Ever since Abraham and Sarah’s legendary outreach program in which the residents of Charan were convinced to journey with them to Israel, almost every generation of the Jewish people has welcomed non-Jews into its midst. In fact, given any contemporary Jew, it is statistically inconceivable that there shouldn’t be a single convert anyway up their family tree. Admittedly, members of the tribe of Levi claim an unbroken patrilineal chain all the way back to Abraham; but there are bound to be converts on some of the maternal branches of their family tree. There is no such thing as a racially pure Jew. We are not a race. The Oxford political philosopher, David Miller, has a fantastic study of Nationality, simply entitled “On Nationality.” He defines a nation in terms of five characteristics; none of these characteristics alone define a nation, but they are certainly jointly sufficient.

- https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.haaretz.com/amp/jewish/jews-are-not-a-race-but-a-nation-1.5178342.                                   

So already you can see that the idea of The Jews being a race must have been pushed as a very modern thought. And not an ancient unanimous one. So let us now turn to the idea of being "Chosen". What did the Jews down through history actually think or believe about it? 

There is an article that I encourageyou to read from bc.edu called “SOME ARE CHOSEN, ALL ARE LOVED” by Rabbi Gilbert S. Rosenthal. Executive Director, National Council of Synagogues

This article shows what I saw as the origins of the idea of “chosenness”. It discusses how the loss of land, temple, and political independence, coupled with the defection of Christianity and Islam, created a challenge for the Jewish people to find their purpose. Both Christianity and Islam preached messages that condemned Jews and Judaism, leading to violent assaults and expulsions.

Obviously that would create a backlash eventually. However, the medieval Jewish sages and philosophers did not all approach this challenge in the same way. Saadia Gaon did not emphasize the notion of chosenness, warning against arrogance and exclusion of others. Maimonides also did not focus on the concept of chosenness, while Yehudah Halevi approached the issue from a racial perspective, stating that only Israelites by birth are eligible to become prophets and that gentiles are of inferior stock. Maimonides, on the other hand, rejected this approach, arguing that prophecy can be found among gentiles and that descent is not the only factor in determining Jewishness. Maimonides once wrote a letter to Ovadiah the proselyte:

“I received your inquiry asking whether you, as a convert to Judaism, are entitled to say in your daily prayers, "Our God and God of our Fathers." I say to you: Indeed, you may say all of these blessings without changing the wording. You are just like any native-born Jew in this regard .... for Abraham is your spiritual father, and our inheritance is yours as well, since there is no racial distinction in our faith”

Further on in the medieval period, some philosophers had different opinions on this concept. Some believed that the idea of being chosen based on race was not a fundamental part of faith, while others saw it as a significant part of Jewish identity.

On the other hand, the Kabbalah school, a mystical branch of Judaism, had a unique take on this concept. They believed that the people of Israel could unite with God through the study of Torah, which was considered the word of God. They saw the people of Israel as the only group that could bring "fulfillness" to God by following his commandments and being virtuous. However, if they were sinful or separated from God, blessings would be withheld, and God's presence would be removed.

Later on, the Lurianic Kabbalah expanded on this idea and saw all of Israel as having a messianic mission to repair the world and release divine sparks into it. The Hasidic school incorporated this and viewed Israel as possessing a "Godly soul" while the nations of the world were considered to be unclean "shells." … Shells, go figure. I know.

Another part talks about how the concept of chosenness faced criticism during the modern era due to the advancement of science, new philosophical schools, and the Enlightenment. Many thinkers, particularly among European Jews, began to question the idea of chosenness and how it could be reconciled with the new intellectual trends of the time. For some, chosenness seemed outdated and even embarrassing, and it cast other nations in a negative light. After all, if one people is chosen, doesn't that imply that all others are rejected?

To address these concerns, some Jewish thinkers attempted to update the concept of chosenness. For example, Moses Mendelssohn proposed the idea of a Jewish mission, where Judaism would be taught and propagated to all humans, making it the "religion of religions." Similarly, Geiger believed that Jews had a unique "genius" for religion and should share the word of God with others. Even Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, a neo-Orthodox leader, emphasized the idea of a Jewish mission.

The Reformation also grappled with the concept of chosenness, ultimately developing the idea of spreading God's teachings of monotheism and morality to the gentiles as part of their mission. Interestingly, the Reformation never entirely removed the idea of chosenness from its teachings but rather reinterpreted it as a mandate from God for Israel to spread his sacred teachings. These reinterpretations of the doctrine were found in the writings of Kaufmann Kohler, Herman Cohen and Leo Baeck:

“Every people can be chosen for a history, for a share in the history of humanity. Each is a question which God has asked, and each people must answer. But more history has been assigned to this people then to any other people ... The word of the One God penetrated this people from its beginnings.”

Martin Bucer viewed election by giving a special mission to Israel:

“What then is this spirit of Israel of which you are speaking? It is the spirit of fulfillment. Fulfillment of what? Fulfillment of the simple truth that man has been created for a purpose... Our purpose is the upbuilding of peace ... And that is its spirit, the spirit of Israel ... the people of Israel was charged to lead the way to righteousness and justice.”

Abraham Joshua Heschel saw chosenness as a "spiritual act," for Israel is a "spiritual order" and "in order to be a people we have to be more than a people. Israel was made to be a 'holy people.'"

“We have not chosen God; He has chosen us. There is no concept of a chosen God but there is the idea of a chosen people. The idea of a chosen people does not suggest the preference for a people based upon a discrimination among a number of peoples. We do not say that we are superior people. The "chosen people" means a people approached and chosen by God. The significance of this term is genuine in relation to God rather than in relation to other peoples. It signifies not a quality inherent in the people but a relationship between the people and God.”

Another person of focus was Mordecai M. Kaplan. He was a Jewish theologian and philosopher who had some pretty controversial views about the concept of chosenness in Judaism. See, most Jewish scholars and thinkers believed that the Jewish people were chosen by God, which gave them a special status among all other nations. But Kaplan thought this doctrine was problematic and even dangerous.

According to Kaplan, the idea of chosenness was racially charged and could lead to feelings of superiority and contempt towards other people. He argued that we couldn't assume that Israel had a higher spirit than other nations at all times. In fact, he believed that this idea of national superiority could actually be divisive and lead to suspicion and hatred.

Kaplan was pretty passionate about this topic, and in his personal diary, he referred to the doctrine of chosenness as a "cancerous growth" that needed to be removed from Jewish consciousness. He even went so far as to call it "racism and Nazism" in one of his classes, which really upset some of his students.

But Kaplan didn't just talk about his beliefs, he put them into practice too. He removed references to the chosen people from his Reconstructionist prayerbook, which was a pretty big deal considering how important the concept of chosenness was to many Jews. He was a bit of a maverick in the world of Jewish theology and philosophy, but his ideas definitely got people thinking and questioning the traditional beliefs of their faith. He also revised the blessing upon receiving an honor to the Torah to read:

“Blessed are You O Lord our God, King of the universe, who brought us close to His service and gave us His Torah…”

Now, Reconstructionists are urging restoration of the classic doctrine. To be chosen began to be changee into"Covenant Theology." Professor Eugene Borowitz said:

“I believe we must supplement human choosing with God's own action if we are to explain to ourselves our fundamental commitment to the continuity of the people of Israel. Yet I believe the traditional view that God "chose us from all peoples and gave us the Torah" clashes too much with our sense of history and reality for us to reaffirm it ... Covenant theology expresses my belief in an enhanced reciprocity between God and people.”

The article can be read here

https://www.bc.edu/content/dam/files/research_sites/cjl/texts/cjrelations/resources/articles/rosenthal.htm

This concludes the first piece on these topics. From the jews down through history we can see a very different stream of thought and where the later thought of being "Chosen" was a late comer and violently opposed by the Jews. Perhaps it was out of desperation from constantly being exiled from countries that the idea became something the later Jews began to fasten themselves to. As far as race goes, the Jews have always considered themselves a nation as the bible states, but not a race.

Till next time

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