The Torah as the Foundation of All Religions

This is how the Jewish religion 'conquered' all of humanity... It is known that the truth is not always with the majority. Often, the minority is right and the majority is wrong. Nonetheless, there is a rule: ultimately, the truth will prevail. The Torah also says 'follow the majority,' which implies that the majority serves as a certain measure of truth.

It seems that although at a certain time the majority might hold onto falsehood, in the end, the truth must prevail. In light of this, the question often arises, how is it possible that Judaism remained the religion of the few, while other religions conquered most of humanity? If Judaism is the religion of truth, humanity should have recognized its correctness over the years. In reality, Judaism has been and remains the heritage of a small nation, while billions believe in other religions.

A Universal Message

The answer to this question can be divided into two parts: Firstly, Judaism, unlike other religions, never saw itself as a religion for all humanity. The 613 commandments were given only to the people of Israel, and non-Jews are even prohibited from fully observing them. We have no interest in encouraging conversion, and when a non-Jew expresses a desire to join the Jewish people, we are instructed to try and dissuade them, accepting them only if their intention is sincere and strong.

The second part of the answer is that the truth of Judaism has indeed reached all of humanity. There is a part of Judaism that belongs only to the people of Israel, but there is also a universal, humanistic part. The belief in one Hashem and the general commandments, known as the 'Seven Noachide Laws,' are intended for every human on Earth. These truths indeed came to humanity from Judaism.

Approximately 3300 years ago, the event of Mount Sinai occurred, where we received the Torah. It was a time when the world was entirely idol worshippers. The Jewish people were the only ones who believed in one God, a God with no body or form. It was a belief that humanity, at that time, could not accept. Only many years later did other monotheistic religions arise.

They adopted the idea of belief in one God from Judaism and spread it among hundreds of millions of people. Clearly, these religions added their own interpretations and additions to this basic belief, including certain distortions, but in doing so, belief in the Creator of the world became part of everyone.

Thus, truth ultimately triumphed. That universal part of the Jewish religion has indeed reached the consciousness of all mankind. We are no longer few in our belief in one Hashem. The world has already shunned idolatry and recognized the idea of divine unity.

Smoothing the Path

Of course, we do not need the world's support in our belief, but we do have an interest in it. Firstly, at Mount Sinai, we were commanded to bring the topic of the 'Seven Noachide Laws' to the awareness of all humanity. Secondly, this is part of the destiny expected to be fulfilled in the times of the Messiah. One of the things the Messiah is supposed to do is 'correct the entire world to serve Hashem together,' as spoken by Rambam.

As humanity becomes more mature for this idea, we understand that the time of the Messiah's coming is approaching. (It is worth reviewing Rambam's Laws of Kings, Chapter XI, in the uncensored version, about the role of other religions in 'smoothing the path' for the Messianic king). In recent years, we have witnessed the collapse of another obstacle to belief in one Hashem: communism, which emblazoned atheism and absolute heresy on its flag, collapsed like a house of cards. This idol, too, shattered to pieces. Now, the entire world is ready to acknowledge the Creator of the world and its leader, waiting only for the Messiah to complete the task. A mission that began approximately 3300 years ago is on the verge of completion, soon in our days!