The Chosen Nation

Question

Judaism says that Jews have to keep much bigger number of mitzvahs (613) than gentiles (only 7). This is strange because the members of a prestigious and chosen group nor,ally and traditioanlly have fewer obligations than a non-chosen people. For example, noble class people did almost no work, but had big property rights in the time before French Revolution.

So, why do Jews have to keep much more mitzvot than gentiles if Jews are a chosen people?

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Answers

  1. The Just Ask! - AskTheRabbi.org Team

    Judaism teaches that the more noble a person is, the greater are his obligations. That is why the truly great figures in the Orthodox Jewish world are completely accessible to all who seek their advice and their help. Where is this learned from? From none other than Moses. Moses was the greatest person ever to live, and yet the greater he became, the more humble he became, because he understood that he was being granted nobility and prestige in order to help his people. The same is true with the Jewish Nation. The closer we are to God, the greater our responsibilities and obligations are towards God. That is why we need so many more Mitzvot. Seven Mitzvot are exactly what the other nations need to achieve their potential. Whereas the Jews, due to their great spiritual obligations, need so many more Mitzvot to be able to live up to their responsibilities.

    As an aside, just because the nobility lived out their lives at the expense of all those around them does not mean that is the way that it was supposed to be. If the nobility would have learned the lessons of the Torah, they would have understood that their noble status comes with obligations towards all those who are dependent on them and they would have acted very differently than they did.

    Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team