The Jewish Messiah

Question

The messiah is obviously Jewish. Is it because Jews are wise and smart? Is it because Jews are righteous and holy? Why did HaShem decide that the messiah would be Jewish?

 

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Answers

  1. The Just Ask! - AskTheRabbi.org Team

    No, it is not because the Jews are “wise and smart”. It is because Hashem chose the Jewish Nation to be His Chosen People.

    Contrary to popular belief, the Torah does not maintain that Jews are necessarily better than other people simply because they are Jews. Although we are Hashem’s chosen people, we do not believe that Hashem chose the Jews because of any inherent superiority.

    According to the Talmud, Hashem offered the Torah to all the nations of the earth, and the Jews were the only ones who accepted it. The Talmud then continues that the Jews were offered the Torah after each nation had rejected it and in the end we only accepted it because Hashem held a mountain over our heads!

    Another traditional approach suggests that Hashem chose the Jews because they were the lowliest of nations, and their success would be attributed to Hashem’s might rather than their own ability. Clearly, these are not the ideas of a people who think they are inherently better than other nations.

    Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team