(Stein Atle Vere. ©2012. But Chosen for What? brakha.blogspot.com.)
Jews are “chosen”. But chosen for what?
God chooses Jews to do Tora. Tora. Thats it. Tora. Nothing more, and nothing less.
Most Nonjews dont want to do Tora. So there is no reason to resent this choice by God. Of course, if there are Nonjews who want to do Tora, they can convert to Judaism.
Nonjews dont need to do Tora. But Jews do.
God chooses Jews to do Tora.
Notice Yhoshua (Historical Jesus) also desires Jews to do Tora. Yhoshua commands his own Jewish students: “The Sofrim (scribes) and the Prushim (Pharisees) sit in the [Judgment] Seat of Moshe (Moses). Therefore do whatever they say.” (Matt 23'2-3.)
With regard to the commandments by God that are in the first five books of the Bible - the Tora of Moshe - the Prushim and Sofrim are the ones who inherit the authority (“the judgment seat”) to define how Jews must do these commandments.
The Prushim are the successors of the ancient “seventy elders” who share the spirit that God gave to Moshe. (Numbers 11'16-17,24-25.) Here Yhoshua corroborates the Rabanim (Rabbis) who trace the transmission of this authority from Moshe to Yhoshua Ben Nun to the seventy elders, and so on all the way to Hilel, who is one of the Prushim. (Mishna, Pirke Avot 1'1-.)
Jews must do Tora in whatever way the Prushim and their successors define it.
Moreover Yhoshua instructs his own students, it isnt enough to just do the commandments of the Tora. They must do them with the proper intention: do the commandment with love, compassion, mercy, and forgiveness.
Jewish spirituality considers proper intention to be a vital requirement to fulfill a commandment by God.
Yhoshua wants Jews to do Tora.
Of course, Nonjews dont need to do these commandments in Tora. But Yhoshua believes Jews do them.
