Is It Racist to Call Ourselves the Chosen People? 5 Points to Consider

Predator and Prey

One way to recognize that there is a Creator and a "Master Planner" of the wonderful world in which we live is through observing and contemplating the wonders of creation. An interesting example can be seen in the animal kingdom: the Creator of the world provided each animal with the tools they need for survival.

For instance, in the animal world, there are predators and prey. If we observe this phenomenon, we'll find something interesting:

1. Have you noticed that all predators (such as tigers) have eyes on the front of their faces, while prey (like cows) have eyes located on the sides of their heads?

Why is that? Preyed animals chew while their heads are burrowed in the grass or soil. If their eyes were only in the front, they would only see the grass ahead and not be aware of their surroundings. However, since they have sideward-facing eyes, they benefit from a wide field of vision, helping them detect approaching predators and flee for their lives. On the other hand, predators only need to focus on the prey in front of them, as they have no threats from the sides.

2. Have you observed that predators all possess canines and cutting teeth? Why? So they can rip flesh and eat. In contrast, prey need molar teeth since they feed off the grass from the ground!

3. Have you noticed prey animals have erect or mobile earlobes (like rabbits, deer, gazelles)? Why? Because such animals require more spatial awareness, and the movement of the earlobes helps them in locating sounds.

Could it be a coincidence that predators have front-facing eyes and prey have sideward-facing eyes? How did predators "know" to grow cutting teeth, whereas prey developed molars? Who planned this incredible division, thus providing animals with the appropriate "tools"? There is evidence of detailed planning here.

The King and the Architect

Let's start with a parable: A king desires to build a magnificent palace. To this end, he hires a contractor and tells him: "I ask that you build me a palace and follow the instructions of my architect. Whatever he asks of you, you shall do! Please regard the architect's instructions as if they were my own." The contractor listens and acts precisely according to the instructions of the architect appointed by the king.

It's logical for the contractor to act this way, why? Because the contractor knows the architect received a "mandate" from the king and thus follows his guidance without question. Had the contractor "disregarded" the architect's instructions, he would be accountable to the king since the king explicitly commanded him so!

The moral: The Creator of the world authorized the great rabbis of each generation to guide us and act according to their instructions.

If so, how can you explain why some people question the words of sages, the great rabbis of the generation, or even mock them?

I'm not referring to every person with a beard and hat but to rabbis authorized to lead, whether it's the renowned figures such as the late Rabbi Ovadia Yosef or Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky, or the local rav, whom one is obliged to obey. There are also rabbis who, without any official appointment, have vastly contributed and led great positive revolutions among the Jewish people, like Rabbi Zamir Cohen.

Why do some people dismiss the rabbis' words, seeing them only as "recommendations"? And why do some say, "Why listen to rabbis, don't you have your own opinion"?

How do I know that the Creator authorized them? Where does the Torah state the imperative to adhere to the rulings and guidance of the great rabbis of the generation?

The Creator explicitly commands this: "And you shall come unto the priests the Levites, and unto the judge that shall be in those days: and you shall inquire; and they shall declare unto you the sentence of the judgment. And you shall do according to the sentence, which they shall declare unto you from that place which Hashem shall choose: and you shall observe to do according to all that they shall instruct you. According to the law, which they shall teach you, and according to the judgment, which they shall tell you, you shall do: you shall not diverge from the sentence, which they shall declare unto you, to the right nor the left." (Deuteronomy 17:9-11).

Chosen People

A friend of mine read an article defining the Jewish people as a "Chosen People"—a designation expressing the uniqueness and sanctity of the Jewish people as Hashem's people, embodying the chosen nation identity.

He approached me, arguing that there is no difference between the Jewish people and the nations. What the Torah states—that the Creator chose us among all nations, that we are a "Chosen People"—is a racist statement and absolutely incorrect...

I told him that we are indeed a "Chosen People," unique, and we can see the Divine Providence of the Creator over us visibly. We just need to observe a number of astonishing phenomena, completely illogical, that have no reasonable explanation other than Divine Providence on us.

Firstly, how is it that such a small nation as ours, and yet, the nations of the world incessantly talk about us? There are about 15 million Jews in the world, constituting only about 0.5%(!) of the global population. Is there any other minority nation like the Jews, at the center of the world's attention, so heavily criticized and protested against?

Secondly, the Jewish people (the sheep) stand in the midst of danger, surrounded by Arab nations (the wolves) that do not shy away from declaring their hatred and desire to annihilate the Jewish people. We are talking about no less than 350 million Muslims around the State of Israel! What prevents these Arab nations today from merely uniting against us and annihilating us? Outwardly, in such a scenario, we would have no chance of surviving against them?

Thirdly, how can it be that the Arabs, who wish to annihilate and destroy us, the Jews, and who view our presence in the Land of Israel as a thorn in their side—they are the ones who serve us and even build our country... This defies all logical reasoning! How does it happen?

Fourthly, how is it that the Jewish people received the Land of Israel—a piece of land situated in the most attractive geographical location in the world? It defies all logic! To the best of my knowledge, expensive real estate is not granted "as a gift," and certainly not to a persecuted and abandoned minority like the Jewish people......

Finally, against all odds, despite being a persecuted and tormented minority dispersed throughout the world, how have the Jewish people managed to survive so many attempts at extermination and antisemitism over thousands of years?

Do these phenomena not necessarily attest to us being a "Chosen People"?

Fasting on Holocaust Day?

Every year in Israel, the official Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day is observed on the 27th of Nisan, where Israeli citizens bow their heads and stand in silence during the two-minute siren in memory of the six million perished.

A new initiative gaining traction online calls for as many people as possible to fast every Holocaust Remembrance Day, in memory of the victims who perished in the great and terrible disaster that befell the Jewish people.

A secular acquaintance told me about this initiative; I replied that one should not fast on this day since mourning customs are not observed in the month of Nisan. I informed her that the Chief Rabbinate of Israel had already established the Fast of the Tenth of Tevet as devoted also to the memory of Holocaust victims.

She didn’t accept this argument, expressing disdain towards religion and rabbis who didn't legitimize the initiative.

I asked her: "You insist on fasting on such a day as a sign of solidarity with Holocaust survivors and their suffering. It's a commendable initiative, but do you fast on the Fast of Gedaliah, when his assassination extinguished the surviving spark of Israel, following the destruction of the First Temple, leading the remnant of Judah to exile from the Land of Israel, with thousands of Israelites killed? Do you fast for the massacres during the Chmielnicki Uprising, where over 100,000 Jews were killed, and a third of Jewish communities in Poland and Ukraine were destroyed? Do you fast for the millions of Jews slaughtered in the Crusades and by the Inquisition? Jewish history is filled with murders of Jews for no sin of theirs. Why then don’t you fast as a sign of solidarity in these events as well? Is their blood less significant than the blood of the millions of Jews murdered in the Holocaust?"

Her response: "I feel less connected to those events..."

No further words needed...

Withstanding Pressure

Imagine an immense pressure weighing on your body, so great that the force exerted on you equals the weight of several cars!

This description is not imaginary at all. It is reality.

Our bodies bear the weight of many tons. This is the weight of the air surrounding us, exerting immense pressure on our bodies. Air presses on our bodies.

But does air have weight? Most of us mistakenly think air is weightless, because if air had weight, we would feel it!

Friends, air has considerable weight: on every square centimeter of our body, there is a pressure of one kilogram of air! This is the power of the air pressing on us at all times. So, why aren’t we crushed under such immense pressure, and why don’t we feel it?

Because within our body exists an incredibly complex mechanism that creates internal pressure, equalizing and balancing the external pressure, ensuring we do not feel the weight of this air envelope.

In opposition to the immense weight of the air, there is counter pressure within our bodies: air is also inside us, exerting outward from the inside, counteracting the air pressure on us from the outside. This counter pressure balances the external pressure. When air pressure changes, for instance, when traveling from a high place to a low place, we feel it in our body, noticeable as pressure in the ears when traveling to the Dead Sea.

The human body does not collapse under air pressure due to the pressure balance between internal body pressure and air pressure. A similar phenomenon occurs with fish, subjected to pressure from ocean water layers, yet they are not crushed... an incredible wonder!