A Jewish colleague of mine in another country wrote to me some work-related letter, and then added some things about life, the Torah portion and more. A discussion followed, and each of us contributed something to it. Then, I wrote something about Deuteronomy 4:6. That colleague asked questions about the wisdom referred to in this verse and how each of us can manifest it. And this was my reply (unedited) - I think it can be worthwhile to post it here as well:
You are asking about the wisdom referred to in Deut. 4:6, it's meaning and the purpose of our being designated as a chosen nation. The way I view it, these two things go hand in hand. Every nation and every single individual on this planet have a purpose and are here to serve - serve others, serve humanity. We were chosen for a specific purpose - and that is to bring the light of faith in G'd to the world. Nothing else. Other nations surpass us in almost everything - but this gift, the gift of faith in the one G'd, is our mission here and for that we were chosen, and for that we have suffered terribly throughout history (and we keep suffering as we speak, as antisemitism in on the rise again). The verse in Deut. 4:6 refers not to our intellectual capabilities but to the laws and statutes that we observe (Deut. 4:5). That is, it refers to a wisdom much higher and much greater than our own - to that of G-d's. This wisdom is seen through us when we follow these laws, and through the observance of these laws we have benefited and dramatically changed the life for almost all of humanity. Here are some examples:
- Monotheism: The very exile that started our bitter suffering around the world has also benefitted the world greatly. When you come to think about it - every region to which Jews were exiled, became monotheistic, while world regions to which we were not exiled - remained pagan. It's an interesting insight - think of Northern Africa, the Middle East, Europe - these were the territories to which we were exiled, and see what happened there: in a matter of very few centuries, these regions have discarded their idol-worship and adopted or developed a monotheistic religion. They pray to G'd (the same G'd who gave us the Torah) and they talk about His laws. Christians read the Hebrew Bible and study it. If you read the Quran (I have read a few Surahs) you'd find out that a lot of it talks about "the People of the Book", that's us, and our relationship to the land of Israel, and most astonishing of all - the laws of the Quran are an adaptation of our own. I know some Muslims here - they live a modified version of the laws of the Torah. None of this would have come about without the influence of our observing the laws of the Torah among their midst. Some people may say that this is not necessarily a positive influence, citing the terrible terror attacks or wars happening in the name of Islam or Christianity. The answer to that is that wars have happened with or without religion. At least with religion, some people are trying to find truth and better ways of being and the world is a work in progress, it is still evolving. Now look, for comparison, at regions to which we were not exiled in significant numbers, such as in central or west Africa, China, Japan, Papua New Guinea and other remote regions - these nations have remained in their paganism until recently and some are still pagan. If you go to Japan or Hong Kong, you will see very intelligent, successful, normative people bowing down to statues and looking for their salvation from them. Yes, Christianity is very slowly developing there, but in relatively small numbers (South Korea is the most Christian country in the Far East, but it is relatively recent and Christians are only 30% of the population).
- Shabbat: Our ordained day of rest has been an immense blessing for humanity. Before Judaism, most parts of the world did not have the concept of a day of rest. They just worked and worked until they died. Until this very day there is a disease, unique to Japan as far as I know, called Kuroshi - death of hard work. It's not like they build pyramids, but many of them work at offices, and to gain favor with their superiors they do it also on weekends, until some of them just die. The concept of a week with one day of rest is now prevalent throughout the world and has literally taken people out of bondage, and it wouldn't have been so if we hadn't kept this commandment.
- Kashrut, rites, holidays: A few years ago I visited friends in Scandinavia and gave some non-formal talks about Judaism and Israel in front of Christian congregants in my friends' homes. Of course, they were serving food and refreshments, most of which I couldn't eat because I keep Kosher. Needless to say, I felt highly uncomfortable and I had to explain again and again to everyone who asked me why I do not eat this or that. A year later, I got an email from a friend of mine, asking if I remember a certain lady who was present in one of these meetings. I did. I think she was recovering from an illness. My friend said that this lady was coming to Israel with her two boys and would like to meet me. That was a huge surprise. So I met her here in Israel. And she told me that when she saw me observing the laws, when she saw how I was eating ("like Daniel from the Book of Daniel"), it made her realize that "while Christians need Jesus, Jews do not, because G'd has another plan for the Jews". This has made her want to bring her adolescent sons here to Israel and learn about all this more closely. I gave her boys a tour in Jerusalem, which I hope will remain with them. Similarly, a couple of non-Jewish friends came to me once for a holiday meal. A few days later, they told me that they discussed this and realized that it was the laws and commandments that we keep (same laws referred to in Deut. 4: 5-6) that served as a mechanism to keep us as one nation. So keeping the laws - again - reminds everyone around us, Jews and non-Jews alike, that there is G'd and that He is the giver of the Torah, because the laws that we keep are so filled with divine wisdom, they cannot be simply man-made. The effect of us keeping them has transformed humanity.
- Judicial influence: It is not a coincidence that of all possible things, it is our Ten Commandments that are placed at the entrance to the US Supreme Court. All developed countries have designed their judicial systems based on laws derived from the Hebrew Bible (the term 'Old Testament' is misleading and therefore I try not to use it). Think of Japan, again - before the constitution was written to them at the end of WWII by the US (with many Jewish lawyers in the team that drafted it) - there were totally different laws governing social life and social justice in Japan. If a person from a lower place in the social hierarchy didn't bow down deep enough to a Samurai who was passing by, he could have had his head cut off and that would have been justified by all. These things have changed, and this too is an influence of Torah values.
- Serving as a witness to the existence of G'd: Jewish history has been full of miracles. The fact that we have survived for almost two millennia without a land of our own, without a country of our own, without one Jewish population center - as we were scattered all over the place - without a common language (Hebrew was used mostly for liturgical purposes, as we know) and while a sword was often drawn against us - is a much greater miracle than the splitting of Yam Suf. This mere survival is incredible and unparalleled in human history. Add to this the fact that after two such millennia we have suddenly started returning to our promised land, the land of our forefathers, and we not only survive here, amidst a sea of hostility on all borders and within our country - we thrive and prosper, so much so that people from many countries come here to learn and decipher the secret of our success. Where else in history has anything like that happened? Where could anything like that happen? The fact that all of this was written a few millennia ago and recorded for eternity in the Hebrew Bible in the form of prophecies, and there are so many of them that say the same things in different words by different prophets - this serves as a witness, a testament and a reminder for all of humanity that G'd exists, that G'd is one and that He is the giver of the moral code recorded in the Torah.
That's it - without trying to proselytize, without trying to do anything else - just by being us and observing the laws we were given - we serve the purpose to which we were chosen which is to be witnesses to the fact that there is G'd, and the nations slowly and gradually realize the divine wisdom in this all and are deeply affected by this. The price we had to pay for this mission is dear, but antisemitism has been used as another mechanism to keep us cognizant of our unique identity - yet this is a topic for another conversation :)
You are absolutely right about life in Israel - there is no better place for a Jew than here. Even when we, Israelis, go abroad to travel, to study, to work for any number of years, we do not feel like Jews in the diaspora do. We feel as Israelis (translation: proud sovereign Jews in their homeland). Living here or making Aliyah to live here, we participate in the building of our own country, we participate in the defense of this country, we live, work and study in our ancient mother tongue, we develop our own unique culture rather than imitating the culture of our hosting nations. All of us contribute to the success and prosperity of our country. Even the Hareidis that are often blamed for not serving in the army or not contributing much to the economy, etc. - even they have an immense contribution to our society: they keep the Talmud alive when they study it in depths in their Yeshivas, and - the biggest, most amazing Chesed organizations are initiated and run by them, such as Yad Sarah, Ezer Mi'Tzion, Zaka and numerous, numerous others. These charity organizations serve and benefit all segments of Israeli society (all - that means also secular Jews and non-Jewish people, including Arabs, and even in times when the political situation is tense). Israel is a miracle in itself.