Simchat Torah is approaching, and with it, two realizations:
1. I will probably not have another opportunity to speak face to face with the entire congregation until next Rosh Hashanah, so it is time to return to the blog! Forgive the sudden onslaught of posts; there are several pieces I've come across the past few weeks that I want to share. And,
2. It is probably a good time to look at the issue of Jewish chosenness. Most of us are familiar with the midrash which says that God offered Torah to many other peoples before bringing it to the Jews. When at last it was our turn, God (having run low on patience) lifted Mount Sinai over the assembled Jews and said: Accept Torah or I'll drop Mount Sinai right on your heads! There are different strands of thought within Jewish tradition about Jewish specialness, including some which posit an intrinsic distinction between Jews and other nations.
There is also the more secular manifestation of this question when Jews count PhDs as evidence of the inherent genius of the Jews. This is tricky line to take--not least for the complacency it encourages but also--because it does not stand inspection. Here is a post from a couple weeks ago by Daniel Septimus that surveys the arguments.
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