Our Treasured Obligation
By Rabbi David Polsky

Before the Torah is given, God relays an important message to the Jewish people. If the Jewish people listen to God, they will be God’s “treasure among the nations, for the entire earth is Mine.” They will also be a “kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:5-6). At first glance, this seemingly chauvinistic language suggests that God’s loves only the Jewish people.

The medieval Italian bible commentator Rabbi Ovadia Seforno suggests that such a reading misinterprets these verses as well as the nature of the Jewish peoples’ choseness. In his analysis, God considers the other nations to be treasures as well, since all human beings are created in His image. While the Jewish people are more treasured than other peoples, it is a difference in degree, not in kind.

“The entire earth is mine” similarly teaches that the entire human population has the ability to become righteous and belong to God. Since God loves all people, our special relationship with God does not confer greater privilege but greater obligation. Our role as the “kingdom of priests and a holy nation” requires us to represent God to the rest of the world. Rather than inspiring us to hate, our selection by God should lead us self-perfection.